Belgium: AB InBev discontinues production of Belle-Vue Geuze beer

Beer giant AB InBev has decided no longer to produce Belle-Vue Geuze beer in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw (Flemish Brabant) due to insufficient demand, vrt.be reported on August 26.

‘The beer has been removed from our range,’ confirmed a spokesperson for AB InBev following a report in daily De Tijd. Production of Belle-Vue Kriek at the brewery in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw will continue.

Belle-Vue Geuze was originally launched by Constant Vanden Stock, the brewer and later chairman of football club RSC Anderlecht. When he took over the family brewery after the Second World War, he hit on the idea of marketing a sweetened Geuze.

Geuze beer was traditionally quite sour and was often served with sugar cubes. The sweeter Geuze in bottles with a crown bottle cap (instead of a cork) proved to be a success.

Interbrew that was later to become AB InBev bought Belle-Vue from the Vanden Stock Family in 1991. In recent years, the volume of Geuze sales has fallen sharply as consumption patterns have changed.

In 2018, the brewer launched a product that was closer to the traditional Geuze, which is making a comeback, but now the production of Geuze in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw is being completely discontinued. The group insists the halt to production will not lead to job losses.

‘True Geuze lovers didn't drink Belle-Vue Geuze anyway,’ insists beer expert Patrick Van der Spiegel. ‘Geuze and sweetness are contradictory, because a Geuze should be slightly sour.’ But he also believes that the rise of microbreweries has played a role. ‘Their local beers are a success, and they are pushing sweet Geuze out of the market. And so there is no longer any place for a sweet, industrial Geuze.’

Belle-Vue's Kriek will continue in production. ‘It is and remains popular, especially among women,’ says Van der Spiegel.