Brouwerijen Alken-Maes

Alken-Maes is a modern Belgian brewing group with two older roots: Maes in Waarloos and the Cristal brewery in Alken. Its identity was formed in 1988 when those traditions were brought together, linking the Maes family brewery’s long development with Alken’s pioneering pilsner history. Today, the group remains associated with a broad Belgian portfolio, while its Alken site continues to anchor the story. Two brewing lineages become one The Maes story reaches back to 1880, when Egied Maes revived the small Sint-Michaël brewery in Waarloos. His sons modernised the business, and a new generation expanded the brewing facilities in 1926. In Alken, a separate brewing tradition developed around the Cristal brewery. Alken-Maes was officially created in 1988 through the merger of these two breweries. A pilsner-led Belgian portfolio The group’s heritage is closely tied to pilsner. Cristal was launched in 1928 and is widely recognised as Belgium’s first pilsner, while Maes Pils followed in 1946 according to the Flemish Brewers’ historical overview. The wider portfolio later came to include beers such as Grimbergen, Ciney, Affligem, Hapkin, Mort Subite and Judas. From Belgian group to Heineken company After periods under Danone and Scottish & Newcastle, Alken-Maes joined the Heineken company in 2008. The Alken site remains a significant production location, brewing Cristal and Maes among other beers. This makes Alken-Maes distinctive as both a consolidated brewing group and the continuation of two older regional Belgian brewery traditions. Alken-Maes is the meeting point of Waarloos family brewing and Alken’s landmark Belgian pilsner tradition. Belgium; formed through the 1988 merger of the Maes brewery in Waarloos and the Cristal brewery in Alken. 1988 1880: Egied Maes revived the Sint-Michaël brewery in Waarloos. 1928: Cristal was launched at the Alken brewery and became associated with Belgium’s early pilsner tradition. 1946: Maes Pils followed as a major pilsner product of the Maes brewing tradition. 1988: The Maes and Cristal Alken breweries merged to form Alken-Maes. 2008: Alken-Maes became part of the Heineken company.