Brouwerij Van Roy
About this Brewery
Brouwerij Van Roy was established at Wieze in 1866, when farmer Pieter Jozef Van Roy began brewing for his workers and local customers. The business expanded under succeeding generations of the family, eventually becoming one of the area’s largest employers.
Wieze Pils was introduced in 1952 and became the brewery’s best-known beer. Its familiar “garçon” emblem had been created earlier by Belgian artist Raymond Van Doren and remains associated with the Wieze name. The brewery achieved wider fame through the Wieze Oktoberfeesten, held from 1956 until the 1980s and modelled upon Munich’s Oktoberfest. At their height, the celebrations attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors.
Van Roy first became bankrupt in 1994. A smaller successor, Wieze Het Anker, continued production until a second bankruptcy in 1997. The brewery buildings were demolished in 2001, although the Wieze name and imagery survived. The brand was later revived and modern Wieze Tripel is now brewed by Brouwerij De Brabandere.
Historic location: Wieze, East Flanders Closed: 1997; brewery demolished in 2001