BEER IN YPRES

Ypres has a rich history when it comes to beer. Although the city boasted almost thirty breweries and distilleries halfway through the seventeenth century, only five breweries reopened after the First World War. The Brasserie Centrale Yproise, was established in 1922 with government funding made available to various breweries as compensation for war damages. The brewery was renamed the Ypersche Centrale Brouwerij in 1941 and given the name Brouwerij Roberg in 1960. Brasserie La Cour de Bruxelles in Diksmuidestraat became Brouwerij Vermeulen in 1836. The last municipal brewery active in Ypres closed its doors in November 1976.

If walls could speak

The unique, historic casemates of Het Houten Paard at the Lille Gate are situated in the ramparts surrounding the city of Ypres. In 2014, it became apparent that this was an ideal place to brew beer, but the history of these casemates is unrivalled. 

The ramparts of Ypres – and therefore our three unique casemates or basements – were built around 1680 according to plans drawn up by Mr Vauban, Louis XIV’s foremost engineer for similar structures. The casemates had been used to store ammunition and army equipment for centuries. They also served as a hiding place and sleeping quarters for troops that defended Ypres during numerous sieges. British troops, for example, used the casemates as an officers’ mess during the Great War. Their command post, common room and field hospital were all located at the ‘Hotel des Ramparts’, as they ironically referred to the casemates. It was also here that the British soldiers printed their satirical newspaper The Wipers Times.