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Ieper van 't vat - publication archive service (City of Ypres)

BEER IN YPRES

Ypres has a rich history when it comes to beer. Although the city boasted almost thirty breweries and distilleries halfway through the seventeenth century, only five breweries reopened after the First World War. The Brasserie Centrale Yproise, was established in 1922 with government funding made available to various breweries as compensation for war damages. The brewery was renamed the Ypersche Centrale Brouwerij in 1941 and given the name Brouwerij Roberg in 1960. Brasserie La Cour de Bruxelles in Diksmuidestraat became Brouwerij Vermeulen in 1836. The last municipal brewery active in Ypres closed its doors in November 1976.

Two families of brewers join forces

Kazematten, the Ypres City Brewery, is the creative brainchild of Hans Depypere (CEO of the St.Bernardus Brewery) and Rudi Ghequire (master brewer and brand ambassador of Rodenbach). Hans had dreamt about starting a microbrewery for years, and his quest for the perfect location had been a long and difficult one. The project gained momentum when the St.Bernardus Brewery started looking for a new location to brew its Grotten Santé. It was Rudi Ghequire – one of Hans’ closest friends – who drew his attention to a unique location: the casemates of Ypres. And so, at the instigation of both beer-brewing families, Brouwerij Kazematten was born and Ypres could once again boast a municipal brewery after a hiatus of more than 35 years. 

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Facade Kazematten - Houten Paard - Anno 2021

“The fact that such an exceptionally fine beer is brewed at this unique location is all thanks to the visionary entrepreneurship of Rudi and Hans. Although this jewel in the crown of our cultural heritage simply breathes history, there were quite a few hurdles that had to be taken in order to brew anything at all here: there was no gas, no water, no sewage system, no floor, and so on. In short, we, as the municipal council, are very proud to see that Brouwerij Kazematten has given this historic location a new dimension. As a matter of fact, the brewery has since grown into one of our most popular tourist attractions!” Emmily Talpe - Mayor of Ypres

Ypres' ramparts - Anno 1919

If walls could speak

The unique, historic casemates of Het Houten Paard at the Lille Gate are situated in the ramparts surrounding the city of Ypres. In 2014, it became apparent that this was an ideal place to brew beer, but the history of these casemates is unrivalled. 

The ramparts of Ypres – and therefore our three unique casemates or basements – were built around 1680 according to plans drawn up by Mr Vauban, Louis XIV’s foremost engineer for similar structures. The casemates had been used to store ammunition and army equipment for centuries. They also served as a hiding place and sleeping quarters for troops that defended Ypres during numerous sieges. British troops, for example, used the casemates as an officers’ mess during the Great War. Their command post, common room and field hospital were all located at the ‘Hotel des Ramparts’, as they ironically referred to the casemates. It was also here that the British soldiers printed their satirical newspaper The Wipers Times.

Niek Benoot - Hooge Crater Museum

THE LINK WITH HOOGE CRATER

Quote: Niek Benoot – Hooge Crater Museum: “When I conducted research in 2013, together with sales manager Marco Passarella, we discovered something very interesting. We found out that there was an important historical connection between the Twelfth Battalion of the Sherwood Foresters – during WWI – and Meenseweg and Het Hooge, where our museum is located. This is why the words ‘Ypres & Hooge’ are always printed on the reverse side of The Wipers Times. More than a century ago, they fought valiantly at Het Hooge to later put their adventures into perspective by writing about them in an amusing way in their newspaper, The Wipers Times. The fact that the beer offered by the Hooge Crater Museum is brewed where this newspaper was once printed is of tremendous symbolical value to us, and our way of paying homage to their courage and vigour.”

“When Fred Roberts & Jack Pearson got their hands on a printing press – they actually stole it – found in the ruins of the Ypres city hall, they decided to start printing a newspaper of their own. Many important items were discussed in The Wipers Times. They thanked the officer who allowed whiskey to be sold in Poperinge again profusely, announced a beautiful concert to be performed by the ‘Big Bertha’ cannon (which would bring the house down) and reported on a golfing competition held at Hooge Crater. Herlock Sholmes, the infamous detective, was also mentioned in this newspaper. The Great War, as they called it, seemed to take place somewhere far away in Europe. When their printing press was confiscated by the Germans, they were nevertheless able to salvage another, smaller printing press. They brought it into safety in the casemates beneath the ramparts and were able to continue publishing The Wipers Times, and The Better Times in later years, until 1918.” Simon Louagie - Manager Talbot House

THE BEGINNING OF A NEW CHAPTER

In 2013, Koen Hugelier and Rudi Ghequire joined forces to brew the first batch of their Wipers Times Blond beer. It was a great success, which Rudi recalls as one of the happiest days of his career as a brewer. Hugelier has personally brewed every drop of beer ever since. He takes full responsibility for the artisanal brewing process, even going so far as removing the draff (the spent grain) from the brewing kettle. After the beer has been allowed to rest sufficiently in the lager tanks, it is transported in tanks to Watou where it is bottled at the St.Bernardus Brewery. 

Rudi Ghequire (c) Sophie Callewaert

“We were very fortunate with the support we received from the city. It was not easy to build a brewery at this location, which had never housed a brewery before. We bought the equipment from an old brewery and adapted it to the basement, which is 26 metres long, 6 metres wide and over 4 metres high. There were no facilities, so we had to start from scratch. But look, we succeeded: after many months of hard work, beer was flowing through the vats and we breathed new life into these old casemates.” Rudi Ghequire - brewmaster

Julie Depypere

A NEW GENERATION

Hans and Rudi left the honour to their children Julie Depypere and Maarten Ghequire to steer the frothy project of their dreams in the right direction – it runs in the family. With success, because the brewery’s flagship beverage – its Wipers Times Blond – won them a lot of awards at international beer competitions: one bronze medal at the Brussels Beer Challenge in 2017 and another at the World Beer Awards 2020 in the category ‘Belgian Style Blond’. The World Beer Awards 2021 were also a huge success: Wipers Times Blond was crowned 'Country Winner', in addition to the gold medal, and also voted as 'Best Belgian Style Blond'. The rebranding of the beer also won a bronze medal in the category 'Redesign / relaunch'. Furthermore, Wipers Times Dubbel won a bronze medal at the World Beer Awards 2021 in the category 'Herb & Spice' and Tremist won a silver medal in the category 'Saison'. 

“Actually, it was unheard of that a city as beautiful as Ypres did not have a brewery within its ramparts. It goes without saying that we are proud to have been able to restore this to its former glory through Kazematten. The authentic and virtually artisanal process with which we brew our beer harks back to the city’s rich medieval history. I can say without hesitation that it is our ambition to see the brewery anchored in the contemporary cityscape of Ypres.” Julie Depypere - manager Brewery Kazematten