Brasserie Moriau
History
Moriau was a lambic blendery founded in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw by Johannes Moriau in 1880. Moriau originally was a brickmaker, who began working as a brewer at Brouwerij Merlo in Uccle. He was more interested in the beer trade, so he built his own warehouse for a blendery. Johannes' son Leopold later took over the business, from 1920-1956, then it was passed to his sons Jan and Pierre. At the height of production in 1958, Moriau produced 96,000 bottles a month, with the help of 15 seasonal employees. In the early days, lambic was sourced from Van Haelen, Van Lierde, De Neve, and Eylenbosch.[1]
Officially it closed in 1983, but still operated sporadically until 1993 by 4th generation blender Jos Moriau, Jan's son. It stopped because they could no longer source De Neve lambic for blending [2]. The family café Herberg Moriau was founded in 1943, and closed in 2013 after 70 years in business. They were known for serving their own blended Kriek with cherries from the local market in Sint-Truiden. [3]
Moriau Geuze is still produced today by Brouwerij Boon. Previously it was produced by De Neve until 1994, when the brewery was purchased and closed by Inbev. It is still the house geuze at In de Oude Smis van Mekingen in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw. A local beverage distributor, Drankenservice Schoentjes, currently owns the brand and handles distribution.
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
Beers
- Geuze Moriau Oude-Vieille
- Moriau Framboos
- Moriau Geuze
- Moriau Geuze Oude Vieille
- Moriau Kriek
- Moriau Lambik [8]
References
- ↑ Piet Sierens, Wiels.nl. [1]
- ↑ "A Letter From Belgium", Joris Pattyn [2]
- ↑ Jef Van den Steen, Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer, 2012, Page 47
- ↑ Translated article about Moriau cafe's closing in March 2013. File:Herberg Moriau.pdf
- ↑ All About Beer article mentioning Moriau Geuze at In de Oude Smis van Mekingen.
- ↑ Article about Herberg Moriau history.
- ↑ Promotional website.
- ↑ Moriau Beers[3]