How it all started
In the 19th century, the large farms of Hainaut grew barley and hops so they could brew seasonal beers for their field workers. In Silly, a small village around 40 kilometres to the south-west of Brussels, Marcelin Hypolite Mynbrughen started up his own brewery in 1850, originally named Cense de la Tour.
Marcelin produced malt from his own barley harvest to brew beer every winter. This particular beer, Saison Silly, was served over the summer to seasonal workers employed on the farm. In 1900, Marcelin's grandson Adelin won a silver medal at the World Exhibition in Paris. Towards the end of the First World War in 1918, Scotch de Silly beer saw the light of day. Scottish soldiers who moved around the town of Silly got a taste for their classic Scotch Ale. They sought out a brewery and demanded that this beer be brewed for them. With the help of Scottish soldier Jack Payne, who was a brewer back home in Scotland, he managed to brew the first batch of Scotch de Silly beer, the recipe of which has remained untouched to this day.
By 1947, brewing had become more important than farming. At the time, Brasserie de Silly produced only top-fermented beers such as Grisette, Saison Silly and Scotch. In 1950, Pils beer, i.e. bottom-fermented beer, was introduced for the first time. The brewery was taken over by Brasserie Tennstedt Decroes from Edingen in 1975. A dark, top-fermented beer, Double Enghien, was also introduced that year. There are now three beers with the Enghien label: Enghien Blonde, Enghien Brune and Enghien Noël Christmas beer. Blanche de Silly and La Divine were launched in 1990, joined in 2004 by Pink Killer, a fruity pale ale made with grapefruit juice.
In recent years, the brewery has focused on research and development. This led to the creation of three more new beers:
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Abbaye de Forest, the renowned abbey beer
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Silly Pils BIO, the only ecologically produced beer in Wallonia
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Green Killer IPA, a beer with a very pronounced hop bitterness
Brasserie de Silly in modern times
Brasserie de Silly NV is still family owned and is now in the hands of the sixth generation of the same family. The company is run by cousins Lionel and Bertrand Van der Haegen. Bertrand is responsible for making the beer and Lionel takes care of selling it. Their parents, brothers Jean-Paul and Didier Van der Haegen, are still active board members. Brasserie de Silly has seen steady growth thanks to export sales and a quality image. Production in 2008 was 1,000,000 liters, but in 2018, 2,500,000 liters have already flowed from our tanks. Belgian beers produced in the traditional way are becoming more and more popular all over the world.
You can read more about the Silly brewery here .
You will be able to enjoy all this and more in our upcoming brewery in the heart of the Prague vineyards.
