Description
Silly Brewery
The Silly Blanche comes from Brasserie de Silly NV which is owned by the 6egeneration of the family. Cousins Lionel and Bertrand Van der Haegen run the company. Bertrand is in charge of production, Lionel of sales. Their parents, brothers Jean-Paul and Didier Van der Haegen, are still active in the board of directors.
Brasserie de Silly is experiencing steady growth due to exports and the image of quality. In 2008, the brewery produced 10,000 hectolitres, in 2018 more than 25,000 hectolitres. The market is on the rise: traditional Belgian beers are becoming more and more successful in a large number of countries around the world..
History
In the 19th century, large Hainaut farms used barley and hops to brew seasonal beers for farm workers. In Silly, a Belgian village 40 km southwest of Brussels, Marcelin Hypolite Mynbrughen started the brewery in 1850, first still under the name Cense de la Tour. Decinia later, in 1900 Marcelin's son Adelin won a silver medal at the Paris World Exhibition. During World War I, Adelin's son, Adelin jr put a new beer on point with the help of English soldiers passing through Silly.
The agricultural activity stopped in 1947. Since then, the focus has been entirely on the brewery which then only produced top fermentation beers such as Grisette, Saison and Scotch. In 1950, a lager, a low-fermentation beer was launched, destined for the brewery's pubs.
In recent years, much attention has been paid to research and development. This led to some new beers:
- Abbaye de Forest, a recognised abbey beer
- Silly Pils BIO, the only Walloon organic Pils
- Green Killer IPA, a distinctively hoppy beer
