Brouwerij Excelsior

Brouwerij Excelsior was a major Ghent brewery, best known for its Star Pils. It emerged in the early twentieth century from the merger of several local breweries, including Florin and Maenhout, and adopted the ambitious name “Excelsior”. During the 1920s and 1930s it built a substantial modern brewery complex around the IJkmeesterstraat and Nieuwpoort, with Art Deco offices on the Steendam. Star Pils became its most familiar beer and was widely advertised in cafés well beyond Ghent. Excelsior was acquired by Brouwerij Haacht in 1969 and brewing ceased during the 1970s. Most of the buildings were demolished in 1997 for a housing development, leaving only small reminders of this once-important Ghent brewery.