AB InBev invests €5.7 million in production of Hoegaarden

Leuven-based AB InBev is investing €5.7 million in increasing the brewing capacity of its Hoegaarden wheat beer by one-third, to meet increased demand, particularly in export markets.

Hoegaarden, brewed in the Flemish Brabant town of the same name, is enjoying a boom in popularity even as pilsner-type beers such as Stella and Budweiser – the mainstay of AB InBev’s business – are in worldwide decline. Hoegaarden is sold in 70 countries, with Asia a major growth market.

The investment will include new fermentation tanks, yeast propagation tanks, a centrifuge and pasteurisation equipment. Works will also be carried out on the warm chamber, where refermentation takes place, the cooling capacity and the site laboratory.

“We are delighted to be able to announce this new investment for the Hoegaarden brewery,” said Eric Lauwers, business unit president for AB InBev Benelux. “The original Hoegaarden white beer as well as the new Hoegaarden Rosé are enjoyed enormously in Belgium, the Netherlands and France.”

Works will begin next week, to be completed in the second half of 2016.

Photo courtesy AB InBev