Het Anker Brewery

In Mechelen’s historic Groot Begijnhof, Het Anker links a living brewery to a site where beer was already being brewed in the late medieval period. Its modern identity was shaped by the Van Breedam family’s arrival in 1872, a later turn away from lager toward traditional speciality beers, and the rise of Gouden Carolus as the brewery’s international calling card. A Beguinage brewing site Het Anker’s roots lie in Mechelen’s Groot Begijnhof, where buildings on the present brewery site date to the early 15th century. The brewery’s own history records that beer was already brewed there in 1471, when Duke Charles the Bold granted tax and excise exemptions for beers made for the beguines and their officers. The Van Breedam transformation In 1872, the Van Breedam family acquired the brewery and invested in its future, beginning with a steam boiler and later adding modern malting and bottling equipment. Their most consequential change came in the late 1950s, when Het Anker stopped brewing lager and concentrated on traditional speciality beers. From Mechelen to the world Under Michel Van Breedam, from 1962 to 1990, Gouden Carolus grew into Het Anker’s flagship and gained national and international recognition. Since 1990, Charles Leclef has continued the brewery’s development while preserving its historic Mechelen setting. In 2025, Het Anker entered a new chapter through its partnership with Brewery Huyghe. A Mechelen city brewery where medieval foundations, family continuity and speciality-beer ambition remain inseparable. Groot Begijnhof, Mechelen, Belgium 1471 1471: Beer was already being brewed on the Groot Begijnhof site, and Charles the Bold granted an exemption from excise duties and taxes. 1872: The Van Breedam family acquired the brewery and began its modern family-brewing era. Late 1950s: Het Anker stopped brewing lager and focused on traditional speciality beers. 1962: Michel Van Breedam began the period in which Gouden Carolus became the brewery’s flagship. 2025: Het Anker began a new chapter together with Brewery Huyghe.