19 December 2018 will forever be regarded as a milestone in the history of the Omer Vander Ghinste brewery. On that day, the brewery’s annual beer production exceeded 100,000 hectolitres for the first time in its history. The brewery was founded by Omer Vander Ghinste in Bellegem in 1892 and has grown steadily ever since.

Whereas 20 years ago Omer Vander Ghinste was mainly a regional lager brewery, now it has developed into a national craft brewery with international ambitions.

Blonde craft beer OMER. Traditional Blond has accelerated the brewery’s growth. The brewery’s Tripel LeFort beer, which was launched in 2016, gave the company an extra boost by winning gold medals in the two most important beer competitions in the world in the "Best Tripel" category in 2018 (World Beer Cup and World Beer Awards).

Reaching the milestone of 100,000 hectolitres a year is the crowning achievement of the entire team at the Omer Vander Ghinste brewery.

Investments

The new, modern brewhouse was opened in mid-2018. It replaced the old brewhouse that was built in 1947 in order to expand the brewery’s capacity.

The brewery in the centre of Bellegem continues to invest in fermentation, lagering and a new bottling plant, so the entire production process still takes place in the historic buildings where everything started back in 1892.

A new logistics centre will also be built just a stone's throw from the old brewery in Zwevegem.

These investments allow the brewery to continue to guarantee the consistent quality of its beers.