A particularly small but quirky brewery. Five friends brew lambic, saison and oud bruin, and come up with surprising flavours and blends with imaginative names such as Hurdy Hurry or Children of the Grapes. They use local grain and fruit, herbs or even blackthorn, which they pick during their cycle rides through the region.
Find out more about Lambiekland and the various breweries and events
Practical
Book your group visit here.
This brewery is part of the Lambiekland Passport.
Alcohol abuse is harmful to your health.
Location and accessibility
You can park your bike inside the gate.
Story
Donder Brews is one of the very smallest breweries in Lambiekland, but big on creativity. Five friends – Jan, Koen, Wiet, Filip and Mathieu – started brewing as a hobby on the Donderberg in Jette. They produce lambic, saison and oud bruin, exclusively through spontaneous fermentation during cold nights. They brew just fourteen times per season, after which the beer matures further in Vlezenbeek in thirty barriques from Burgundy and Piedmont.
The result? Beers with evocative names such as the lambic ‘Hurdy Hurry’, the geuze ‘Ziggy Sitar Dust Raga’, the blonde beer ‘Le Sourire Volé’ or ‘Children of the Grapes’, a lambic macerated with grapes.
The grain simply comes from a local farmer in the Pajottenland. You’ll often see the friends cycling through Lambiekland, in search of blackthorn for their ‘oud bruin’ Serclaes Dente. Many more herbs play a part in their creations, such as sage in the quince lambic and rosemary in the rhubarb lambic.
Experience
Don’t expect to find large brewing installations or a cellar full of casks here. Donder Brews is small, but delightfully quirky.
Visit and guided tour
Take a guided tour amongst the wine barrels in Vlezenbeek and enjoy a tasting afterwards.
🧍🏻🧍🏻Group tours for up to 12 people are available in Dutch, French, English and German. A visit lasts 90 minutes.
🦽 Private tours can be arranged by appointment. There are no toilet facilities in the brewery, but there are in the house.
