Van den Bergh & Cie

Van den Bergh & Cie was a historic Belgian drinks and malting business based in Antwerp. Its activities combined malt production, beer brewing, and the distillation of jenever, a traditional Belgian and Dutch grain spirit. The enterprise originally traded as De Gulden Klok and later became associated with the names La Cloche and La Cloche - De Klok. It therefore belonged to an earlier period of integrated urban brewing and distilling, when a single concern could produce or handle raw materials, brew beer, operate cellars, and manufacture spirits. The company was founded by Jean (Jan) Jacques Van den Bergh-Aerts, who lived from 1768 to 1844. He came from a family with a long history in brewing and distilling, reportedly extending back three centuries. Beyond the drinks business, Van den Bergh-Aerts was involved in the shipping company Van den Bergh et Fils and held several public and diplomatic roles, including municipal councillor, alderman, senator, and consul of Greece. These connections placed the business within Antwerp's commercial, maritime, and civic networks. Shortly before their father's death, his sons Maximilian Van den Bergh and Jean Félix Van den Bergh acquired the brewery in 1843. The business operated from prominent Antwerp premises, including the brewery at 7-11 Oudeleeuwenrui and the jenever distillery at 26-32 Brouwersvliet. A Gervais fire-insurance map from 1898 records a substantial industrial complex on Oude Leeuwenrui, with beer cellars, ovens, a workshop, a machine room, a cooperage, and a forge. These features indicate a vertically integrated operation requiring brewing, storage, maintenance, and barrel-making capabilities. The company later passed, apparently after the deaths of the Van den Bergh brothers, to Louis Lysen, a prominent Antwerp banker and relative by marriage. The available historical record does not establish a complete chronology of ownership, product formulations, sales volumes, or the precise date on which brewing and distilling ceased. By 1919, however, the company's warehouses had been sold to Werf- en Vlasnatie and renamed Magazijn Albert, marking a significant loss of the original operating site. The business also left a built-heritage legacy in Antwerp. On the corner of Oudeleeuwenrui and Hessenplein stands a yellow building known as Magasins et Entrepôts Réunis La Cloche. Designed by architect Joseph Hertogs in 1909 and built in 1910, it incorporated the La Cloche name. An original seventeenth-century gate from the former brewery was preserved and reused, linking the later warehouse architecture to the earlier brewing enterprise. Van den Bergh & Cie is consequently best understood today as a defunct historical Antwerp producer and trading concern rather than as an active international consumer brand.

Van den Bergh & Cie emerged from Antwerp's longstanding family brewing and distilling tradition. Its founder, Jean (Jan) Jacques Van den Bergh-Aerts, belonged to a family said to have worked in brewing and distilling for approximately three centuries. He established the business while also participating in Antwerp's maritime and public life. His other activities included involvement in the shipping company Van den Bergh et Fils and service as a municipal councillor, alderman, senator, and consul of Greece. The enterprise originally traded under the name De Gulden Klok. In the nineteenth century it developed as a combined malt house, brewery, and jenever distillery. Shortly before the founder's death, his sons Maximilian and Jean Félix Van den Bergh purchased the brewery from him in 1843. Their acquisition represents the clearest documented transition from the founder's ownership to the next generation of the family business. The company's principal Antwerp locations included the brewery at 7-11 Oudeleeuwenrui and the jenever distillery at 26-32 Brouwersvliet. The Oudeleeuwenrui site was more than a simple brewing building. A Gervais fire-insurance map dated 1898 shows beer cellars, ovens, a workshop, a machine room, a cooperage, and a forge. The range of facilities reflects the practical requirements of nineteenth-century beverage production: brewing and heating equipment, extensive storage, mechanical maintenance, and in-house barrel work. After the deaths of the two Van den Bergh brothers, the business apparently passed to Louis Lysen, an Antwerp banker who was related to the family by marriage. The evidence available for this subject does not provide a full account of the later ownership structure, production quantities, distribution network, or individual jenever and beer labels. The company was subsequently associated with the name La Cloche, also appearing as La Cloche - De Klok. The enterprise's physical presence continued to influence Antwerp's architectural landscape even after its original industrial functions declined. In 1909, architect Joseph Hertogs designed a building at the corner of Oudeleeuwenrui and Hessenplein; it was constructed in 1910 and became known as Magasins et Entrepôts Réunis La Cloche. The name recalled the former brewery. The building also reused the original seventeenth-century gate of the brewery, preserving a fragment of the earlier site. In 1919, warehouses designed by Frans J.H. Bex were sold to Werf- en Vlasnatie and renamed Magazijn Albert. This sale is the last major dated event identified in the available reference material and indicates that the original Van den Bergh & Cie premises had been transferred to another commercial use. The precise legal winding-up date of the business is not documented in the supplied material. Its historical identity is therefore tied to Antwerp's former brewing and distilling economy, while its surviving architectural references preserve the La Cloche name.

• 1919

  Warehouses sold and renamed

  [1]Van den Bergh en Cieen.wikipedia.org

  The warehouses designed by Frans J.H. Bex were sold to Werf- en Vlasnatie and renamed Magazijn Albert.

• 1910

  La Cloche building constructed

  [1]Van den Bergh en Cieen.wikipedia.org

  The yellow warehouse building associated with the La Cloche name was completed, incorporating a preserved gate from the former seventeenth-century brewery.

• 1909

  La Cloche warehouse designed

  [1]Van den Bergh en Cieen.wikipedia.org

  Architect Joseph Hertogs designed the building later known as Magasins et Entrepôts Réunis La Cloche at Oudeleeuwenrui and Hessenplein.

• 1898

  Industrial complex documented on Oudeleeuwenrui

  [1]Van den Bergh en Cieen.wikipedia.org

  A Gervais fire-insurance map recorded beer cellars, ovens, a workshop, a machine room, a cooperage, and a forge at the brewery site.

• 1843

  The Van den Bergh brothers acquire the brewery

  [1]Van den Bergh en Cieen.wikipedia.org

  Maximilian Van den Bergh and Jean Félix Van den Bergh bought the brewery from their father, Jean (Jan) Jacques Van den Bergh-Aerts, shortly before his death.

A historic Antwerp integrated producer of malt, beer, and jenever, associated with the De Gulden Klok and La Cloche names.

• Distilled spirit

  Jenever

  Jenever was the company's principal identified distilled-spirit category. The business operated a dedicated jenever distillery at 26-32 Brouwersvliet in Antwerp. The available sources identify the product category and the distillery location but do not provide surviving brand names, recipes, maturation details, or production volumes.

• Brewed alcoholic beverage

  Beer

  Van den Bergh & Cie operated a brewery at 7-11 Oudeleeuwenrui. Its documented infrastructure included beer cellars, ovens, a machine room, workshops, a cooperage, and a forge, indicating a substantial brewing and storage operation. Specific beer styles and commercial labels are not identified in the available reference material.

• Brewing ingredient

  Malt

  The company is described as an Antwerp malt house as well as a brewery and jenever distillery. Malt production or handling would have supported its brewing and distilling activities, but the sources do not identify individual malt products, varieties, or external customers.

1. 1Van den Bergh en Cieen.wikipedia.org