Verhaeghe Brewery
The historic brew house of Verhaeghe in Vichte, West-Flanders Region of Belgium
VERHAEGHE
Brewery Verhaeghe Vichte is a small family-owned brewery in the southwest of West Flanders, Belgium. The history of the brewery dates back to 1885.
Paul Verhaeghe started his company initially as a brewery and malthouse and sold his products to the town Vichte and ‘exported’ to Brussels as the city was connected with a convenient railway line. This type of commercial activity was a rarity during these days as breweries usually only brewed for consumption in their immediate vicinity.
During the first world war, Paul Verhaeghe refused to brew during the German occupation which resulted in his brewery being completely dismantled by the Germans. After the war, the brewery had to start from scratch by investing in new production equipment to continue brewing again.
The Verhaeghe brewery follows one simple rule: do a little less but do it better. At home in Belgium but also across the globe, beer consumers tend to gravitate more and more towards high-quality, unique beers. The flagship beer ‘Duchesse de Bourgogne’ is living proof of this philosophy. This popular red-brown west-flemish ale is brewed according to traditional wild yeast fermentation that this region in Belgium is famous for and additionally matured in oak casks for 8-18 months to ensure the unmistakable full flavour of ‘the Duchesse’.