Brasserie Taymans Brouwerij

Website: https://www.brasserie-taymans-Brouwerij.be

Email: info@brasserie-taymans-brouwerij.be

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brasserietaymansbrouwerij/

Instagram: @brasserietaymansbrouwerij

Phone:

Address: Rue Van Bortonne 46, 1090 Jette, Belgium

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Overview

Taymans Brouwerij was founded in 1906 (originally under the name "Brasserie-Malterie Taymans") producing geuzes and krieks until 1970, when Pierre Taymans retired and closed down the brewery. In 2022, they officially reopened as Taymans Brouwerij, initially offering non-lambic, top-fermented beers (IPA, saison, amber ale), while also beginning work on lambic offerings for the long-term. In 2025, the brewery announced that they were preparing to release their first gueuze in over 50 years.

All ingredients used are certified organic.

History

Founded in 1906, the original brewery, named "Brasserie-Malterie Taymans" (as they were also operating as a malthouse), was born through a partnership between Adolphe-Philippe Taymans, a brewer from Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and his father in law, Pierre Belien, a beer merchant established in Jette-Saint-Pierre.

A five level warehouse was first built at Rue Van Huyneghem 32 for maturing lambic barrels with a total surface area of 1500 m² (300 m² per level), and in 1911, a brewhouse was finalized in the building on the other side of the street (Rue Van Huyneghem 35), just next to what is known today as the Park Garcet. The brewhouse was a 4 vessel system with a brewing capacity of 120 hl per batch. The beer brewed there was cooled overnight in a coolship, then transferred into oak barrels that were then rolled across the road to the warehouse.

The main market for the brewery was the city of Brussels, and the brewery survived despite going through very challenging times, such as both world wars. Pierre Taymans (his full first name was Adolphe-Pierre but everyone called him Pierre) took over the brewery in 1936, and continued the operations despite the limited development options authorized to him on the site during wartime. He remained as the head of the brewery until he ceased operations in 1970 after being expropriated by the authorities who disagreed with having an industrial activity at this location in the city (the brewery was located nearby an administration building, the community house ) and pushed him to retire.

The buildings, which included the family house and adjacent brewhouse, were transformed into a youth center, welcoming local youth for many years before removing later the brewhouse building for an extension of the Park and adjoining school.

The warhouse remained in the ownership of the family and underwent a number of transformations over the years, until in 2019, six brothers (Laurent, Jean-Marc, François, Benoit, Robert and Joseph), all great-grand-children of Pierre Taymans, decided to revive the brewery.

The new installation has a 10 hl capacity, about 1/12th of the original brewery.

Lambic takes time and they decided to first restart with a focus on top-fermentation beers (IPA, saison, amber ale), allowing them more freedom while lambic matures in the warehouse. A saison/lambic blend and a saison/lambic blend with black currant have been released shortly after.

In March 2025, they announced the release of their first gueuze in over 50 years.

Side Notes

The brewery offers guided tours (for a fee), where they display a large amount of original memorabilia from the old brewery.

Refurbishment

The old workshop has been refurbished, respecting the patrimonial nature of the building to accommodate a microbrewing facility integrated into the urban environment.

Improvements have been made, including the priority use of sustainable energy (solar panels) for brewing, recuperation of the heat generated from the brew process (including recuperating heat from water vapor which is both energy efficient and eliminates adverse smells in the environment), the building has been isolated to reduce the impact of noise and vibration, and the interior has been entirely renovated with new electricity and plumbing as well as brewery compatible floor and drains.

The beer warehouse is now utilized for private apartments, and is also home to the Rayon Vert cultural center on the ground floor. However, a large part of the cellar that is also accessible from the new brewing facility is being refurbished for future use in beer maturation.

André & Jacqueline Taymans Fund / King Baudouin Foundation

The brewery supports social inclusion initiatives in favor of Brussels inner city youth. This double aim combines the life’s work of 2 past generations in the Taymans family: the grandfather Pierre Taymans who brewed his whole life and the parents André & Jacqueline who founded a fund to support citizen initiatives in Molenbeek promoting social inclusion.

To do this, a percentage of the net profit of the brewery is donated to the André & Jacqueline Taymans Fund and managed by the King Baudouin Foundation. This allows the fund to provide more generous financial support to projects for Brussels inner city communities, such as sports and cultural projects that provide development possibilities and improve gender equality.

Beers

• Saison-Lambic