This brewery is home to popular local beers Brugse Zot and Straffe Hendrik, the ones with the funny cartoons on the bottle. Try them on one of the tours of their active local brewery to learn all about them
De Halve Maan Brewery is most known for Brugse Zot, it has an iconic cartoon on the bottle of a jester. What does the cartoon logo mean? Well, they were inspired by the visit of Emperor Maximilian of Austria in the Middle Ages. Long story short, they asked him to build a madhouse in the city. After seeing jesters and fools around during his visit, he said “A madhouse is what I’ve seen all day”
It’s known as the city beer of Brugge. At this family owned, local brewery, you can enjoy a drink, relax, and go on a tour of their brewery. You’ve got two choices for the brewery - the standard (45 min) or an extra long version (90 min). Long story short, the longer one you get more beers!
The most unique thing about this brewery is that their beer literally travels through a pipeline to the bottling plant. Yes, you read that correctly. They installed pipes beneath the city to transport beer more easily because traffic was getting in the way. The beer travels 3.2km (almost 2 miles!) to get to the bottling plant.
Even if you’ve been on more brewery tours than you can count, this tour really is worth it for the sheer amount of beer you get at the end. If you’re not going on the tour then at least try out a glass of one of their iconic beers. You’ve got two to choose from. Both are top fermented and refermented in the bottle in the traditional Belgian way.
- First up is Straffe Hendrik. It’s a dark and strong beer (11% ABV). Then there’s Brugse Zot. It’s a special Belgian blonde beer (6% ABV)
- The standard tour takes about 45 mins and you get one beer after. Their XL option takes 90 minutes and you get three beers. We recommend the longer one if you’ve got time.
- On the tour you get lots of info and know-how from the guide about the brewing process, so you’re not looking at signs like in a museum. You’re getting what you paid for
- At the end of the tour you’re taken up to the rooftop to see a great 360 view of Bruges
Tips and Tricks
- Tours are available in English, Dutch, French
- Psst! Go on a Saturday. They don’t brew then so you can see into the tanks
- The tours have limited accessibility. There’s a lot of steep stairs so it’s not really doable for some people or recommended for young kids
Getting There
- By Car: close to car park Parking Oud Sint-Jan
- By Train: 15 min walk from Bruges Train station. Trains IC, L, and P stop here
M to W, 11:00 to 18:00
Th to Sa, 11:00 to 21:00
All seasons
Adult 12€, Kids 6€, special discount rates available
Open. Wearing a mask during your visit is mandatory. National COVID measures are in place.