Brouwerij De Glazen Toren

Brouwerij De Glazen Toren is a Belgian artisanal brewery whose roots trace back to 1988, when Jef Van den Steen, a mathematics teacher, and Dirk De Pauw, a jurist and municipal secretary, met in Erpe-Mere. After years of homebrewing and formal brewing education, they founded a first small company in 2002, converted in 2004 into a Bvba with its own small 500-litre installation. The brewery gained early success with its Saison d'Erpe-Mere, which was picked up by an American importer after the 2005 Zythosbierfestival, leading to international expansion.

The roots of Brouwerij De Glazen Toren go back to 1988, when Jef Van den Steen, a mathematics teacher, and Dirk De Pauw, a jurist and municipal secretary, met in Erpe-Mere. After conversations over food and drink, it emerged that both shared a love of homebrewing, and joint brews from a 50-litre kettle followed with varying success. In 1991 they decided to change course and enrolled at the then 'Hogere leergangen voor Technisch Onderwijs van het Gemeenschapsonderwijs' (now HOGENT), completing the three-year 'Afdeling Brouwerij-Mouterij-Gistingsbedrijven' programme by 1994, both earning their diploma with great distinction. After further years of trial brewing, they decided to take the gamble of starting a small brewery. In 2002 a first small company was founded, and in 2004 it was converted into a real Bvba with its own small 500-litre installation, formerly owned by the closed brewery Meesters in Galmaarden. The brewery achieved a first success with its Saison d'Erpe-Mere when, at the Zythosbierfestival in Sint-Niklaas in 2005, the beer was picked up by an American importer on the recommendation of Chris Bauweraerts of La Chouffe. A few months later a first pallet of Saison d'Erpe-Mere departed for the USA. With the flagship Saison d'Erpe-Mere leading the way for additional beers such as the tripel Ondineke and the dubbel witbier Jan De Lichte, the young artisanal brewery quickly put itself on the international beer map in several countries. The 5 hl installation was already replaced in 2007.

Artisanal brewery

• Saison d'Erpe-Mere

  Flagship beer.

• Tripel Ondineke

  Tripel beer.

• Jan De Lichte

  Dubbel witbier.

1. 1De brouwerij - Glazen Torenglazentoren.be