Situated in the middle of the very busy tourist center of Brugge (Bruges), between the Beguinage and the Cathedral, this brewery is also a restaurant. You could call it a brew pub with international exposure and centuries of tradition. Indeed, the first time Brewery was mentioned on paper was in 1546, a time when Brugge housed over 30 breweries.

The document states the split of the premises of Brewery De Maan (Moon), and thus the brewery acquired the name Half Moon. In the 16th century Brugge had lost most of its dominance in the Low Lands, and the religious wars, brought on by the Spanish army, were chasing half of the Flemish population to the North. No wonder, then, that the brewery had to downsize.

The actual family of today’s brewers bought the brewery in 1856. Xavier Vanneste is the sixth generation at the helm of the brewery. The focus of the brewery is the Brugse Zot beer, launched in June 2005, after an extensive taste-testing and fine tuning during a year where people from all over the world--millions of tourists--were invited to rate the beer.