Hoegaarden returns to De Kluis

The brewing of Hoegaarden beer moved despite many protests because of the potential loss of jobs and also because the move was seen as the demise of a local tradition. Many has called the move "a spreadsheet management decision". The famous Hoegaarden wheat beer was produceded in brewery De Kluis from 1966. The Brewery did not last long in the town of Jupille. The Belgian-Brazialian drinks group InBev is now getting cold feet and returns the production of that famous wheat beer to Hoegaarden.

Allegations very soon appeared that InBev would not succeed in brewing the same quality of wheat beer in Jupille. And indeed, much of the production has been thrown away and there has been big delivery problems as a result. The more official explanation is that it is about an unexpected expansion of international sales that’s causing this U-turn. The original brewer who invented the beer says different however. “Any brewer should know you can’t brew a Hoegaarden anywhere else” he says. But InBev stopped being brewers a long time ago.

The trade unions of InBev protested for a long time against moving production of the wheat beer to Jupille. They are now very happy that the management has decided to definitively transfer the production back to Hoegaarden. “It is courageous of the management to come back on their decision to brew wheat beer in Jupille,” says Roger Van Vlasselaer of the socialist trade union ABVV.

Hoegaarden was the beer that introduced be to wheat many years ago, and it is still one of my favourite wheat beers. You feel like a real man holding their HUGE glasses.