Brouwerij Verhaeghe has a history dating back to 1885 when Paul Verhaeghe established a brewery and malt works in the small village of Vichte in south west Flanders, near to the city of Kortijk.
Today the brewery is run by the fourth generation of the family, borthers Karl and Peter. It no longer operates as a malt works, but the brewery is such in integral part of the local community that the family crest forms part of the town's crest.
When I first visited Brouwerij Verhaeghe, on a quiet day in December 2015, I almost turned around and continued on my way. Driving around the grounds of the brewery I thought it was closed for the day. Fortunately I peered into an office window and was beckoned inside.
I was lucky enough to be introduced to Karl Verhaeghe who took time out of his day to guide me around the brewery and share stories of the brewery's past. This depsite him being phiscally restricted having recently been involved in a motor vehicle accident!
He was very generous with his time, and his passion for his family brewery was contagious. I left with a very generous box of samples (though I alaready knew I loved the Duchesse de Bourgogne) and a promise to get some Verhaeghe beers on our future shipments.
Ever since, the beers of Verhaeghe have been a core in our portfolio with the Duchesse de Bourgogne being one of our best selling beers.