St Feuillien

One of the most respected breweries in Belgium, St Feuillien has been run by the same family, the Friarts, since it opened its doors in 1873. Now with the fifth generation at the helm, St Feuillien blends strong tradition with innovation at its beautiful brewery in Le Rœulx.

St Feuillien takes its name from the Abbey that used to stand in the town, home to around 40 monks. The monastery was condemned during the French revolution in 1796, like so many other religious establishments, and Saint Feuillien beer disappeared. Less than one hundred years later though, the name was revived by Stéphanie Friart, the great-great-aunt of the current owners.

In addition to its traditional styles – the St-Feuillien Abbey, Grisette and its superb Saison – the brewery has not shied away from the evolving market, with the release of new beers including its Grand Cru, gluten-free, organic Grisette Blonde and even a ‘Belgian coast’ IPA.

It’s fascinating to see the equipment that, until a few short years ago, was still used to brew all of St Feuillien’s beers. Dodging the tour groups as we work our way up to the top of the gravity-fed wood and copper brew kit, it really does feel like we’re in a museum. It’s beautiful and certainly romantic, but not what you expect to see at a successful, progressive brewery.

Passing through the back of the cobbled courtyard at the heart of the brewery, we’re suddenly in more familiar territory. Through panoramic windows, we see St Feuillien’s brand new, state of the art brewkit. An elegant tangle of stainless steel pipes and gently steaming vessels, this new facility is the result of a significant investment by the brewery in both capacity and consistency.

St Feuillien’s owner, Dominique Friart, says the new kit is extremely efficient, both in terms of the number of staff required to run it and the yield it achieves using the latest technology.

“We clearly needed to upgrade, but it was very important to us that it didn’t affect the character of the beer. St Feuillien is trusted by beer lovers all over the world, and if we lost that special character it would be as disaster. So we were very careful in specifying the new brewhouse, and spent a long time experimenting and perfecting our processes before we moved production across.”

Although St Feuillien has embraced changing beer tastes at home and abroad, Dominique does express some doubts about the new crop of breweries springing up across Belgium.

“I think there are too many, and their quality is not always high enough,” she says. “There will be some shake-out I think, where the good breweries rise to the top and the poor ones disappear. But I hope they don’t damage the reputation of Belgian beer as a brand before that happens.”

Before we leave, I enjoy a bottle of Grand Cru in the brewery’s swish new taproom, located in the storage cellar of the old brewery building. With its bare stone walls, vaulted ceiling and stylish concealed lighting, it seems to sum up St Feuillien’s general approach: the perfect blend of heritage, uncompromising quality and a willingness to embrace the best of the modern world.