Het Anker Brewery
Brouwerij Het Anker

Known for their Golden Carolus beer, this brewery’s origins date back to the 14th century. Take a tour and have a taste.

Het Anker is one of the oldest breweries in Belgium. Long story short, the 15th century beguinage had a hospital where they brewed beer for the nuns. Duke Charles the Bold said that the nun’s brewery should be exempt from taxes. In the 1800s the brewery was bought by the Van Breedam family and they’ve been brewing up a storm ever since.

Their beers are made in the traditional Belgian style meaning they’re top fermented and refermented in the bottle. Their Golden Carolus beer (named after Charles V the Holy Roman Emperor raised in Mechelen) is perhaps the most famous thing on offer, but try their others as well.

You should also check out their Maneblussers blond beer. It means ‘moon extinguishers’ and is inspired by the nickname for Mechelen residents. Around 1687 everyone thought there was a fire in the tower of the nearby St. Rumbold’s Cathedral, so they grabbed buckets and started throwing water through the windows. Then they saw it was the light of the moon and not a fire. After that, the nickname ‘moon extinguishers’ stuck.

• Learn all about the history of the brewery and how they make their beer on a guided tour. You’ll get to see their boilers. Two of their boilers are from 1946.
• Het Anker also has a distillery where they distill their Golden Carolus beer to make whiskey. You can go on a guided tour of both the brewery and distillery but you'll need about 2 hours
• Het Anker has a range of different beers brewed at Het Anker such as Boscoli (fruit), Lucifer (blonde) and Maneblusser (city beer of Mechelen)
• The Golden Carolus has its own range with new versions coming out all the time. Including a Christmas version!Their Brasserie Het Anker has beer on bottle & tap. The alcohol gets great reviews but their food not so much
• Het Anker has a special relationship with Japanese brewery Konishi as they’ve imported Belgian beers since the 1980s so you’ll find some of their sake in the shop here too
• They also do beer tastings, sake, whiskey and chocolate events so check their website and book online if you’re interested