Het Anker Brewery is a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

brewery in Mechelen, founded in 1471 by a community of

Beguines The Beguines () and the Beghards () were Christian lay religious orders that were active in Western Europe, particularly in the Low Countries, in the 13th–16th centuries. Their members lived in semi-monastic communities but did not take forma ...

. In 1872, the brewery was acquired by Louis Van Breedam, who renamed it ''Het Anker'' ("The Anchor") in 1904. Expanding its assortment from

lager Lager () is beer which has been brewed and conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. The term "lager" comes from the German for "storag ...

to ale, it began producing "Emperor beer" after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. In 1960, it renamed it "Gouden Carolus" (''Golden Charles'') after Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (who was raised in Mechelen). They opened a

brasserie In France, Flanders, and the Francophone world, a brasserie () is a type of French restaurant with a relaxed setting, which serves single dishes and other meals. The word ''brasserie'' is also French for "brewery" and, by extension, "the bre ...

and a hotel, and in 2010 began producing a single malt whisky, distilled from the Gouden Carolus Tripel. The company's Lucifer beer (which was originally brewed by

Liefmans Brewery Liefmans is a Belgian brewery which produces oud bruin Oud Bruin (Old Brown), also known as Flanders Brown, is a style of beer originating from the Flemish region of Belgium. The Dutch name refers to the long aging process, up to a year. It unde ...

and then acquired by

Duvel Moortgat Brewery Duvel Moortgat Brewery (Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat) is a Flemish family-controlled brewery founded in 1871 in the Antwerp Province (Belgium). Its strong golden pale ale, Duvel, is exported to more than forty countries. Duvel is Brabantian, Ghent an ...

) was ranked #6 in a 2010 ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' test of Belgian-style beers. Het Anker is also brewing Dentergems Wit, a wheat beer brewed earlier by Liefmans. Specialty beers include the ''Cuvée van de Keizer'', brewed once a year on the birthday of Charles V, available as a

strong pale ale Pale ale is a golden to amber coloured beer style brewed with pale malt. The term first appeared around 1703 for beers made from malts dried with high-carbon coke, which resulted in a lighter colour than other beers popular at that time. Diff ...

(red) and a dark ale ("blue").

Distillery De Molenberg

In 2010, a full-fledged whisky distillery was built and put into operation in

Blaasveld Willebroek (, old spelling: ''Willebroeck'') is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of , Heindonk, , Klein Willebroek, and Willebroek proper. In 2021, Willebroek had a total population o ...

, in the 17-century family farm. From the mash of Gouden Carolus Tripel, a grain whisky was distilled. Gouden Carolus Single Malt was introduced on November 23, 2013, and has already won several international prizes.

References

External links

* 1471 establishments in Europe Anker Brewery Breweries of Flanders Companies based in Antwerp Province Mechelen 1470s establishments in the Burgundian Netherlands 1470s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire {{beer-stub