The Belgian breweries have started brewing in recent weeks now that the reopening of the catering industry is approaching on 8 May. They do not expect any problems to meet the demand, according to a survey among some brewers. Millions of drinks have been brewed.
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In mid-April there was some light on the horizon for many a café owner. The Consultation Committee then announced the reopening of the catering industry on 8 May. It is true that only the terraces are allowed to open, and the opening hours are limited, from 8 am to 10 pm. A shortage of beer such as on the other side of the Channel – since the reopening of British pubs, suppliers have been struggling to meet demand in time – the brewers do not fear.
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Market leader AB InBev already has 20 million beers ready for the whole country. “This should be more than enough for the reopening. If this is necessary, we can easily scale up. The Belgian should therefore not worry. We are ready for the reopening, ”says spokeswoman Pascaline Van de Perre. The brewery in Leuven (including Stella) is still running with two instead of three shifts, Jupille (Jupiler …) runs at 88 percent. There are currently no plans to scale up production. The beer giant expects only 40 percent of customers to reopen.
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A similar sound can be heard from Alken Maes. “We do not foresee any shortages, we are completely on schedule. We have monitored our stock very well in the past weeks and months so that we do not have to start from scratch, ”says spokesman Sebastiaan De Meester. The breweries in Alken, Opwijk and Kobbegem are now operating at 100 percent capacity again. “The full focus is on the specific products for the catering customers, for example lager in cask from Cristal and Maes.” In Alken, the group’s largest brewery, 16.7 million liters of beer was brewed in the entire month of April, or approximately 66.8 million beers, the company says.
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Alken Maes, Heineken’s Belgian subsidiary, says that about 60 percent of customers will now reopen on Saturday. That is less than at the reopening in June last year after the lockdown, it sounds, partly because not every café can set up a terrace. The group treats its own employees to a round on 8 May, when they go to a café.
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Palm has also done his homework. “For example, after the first signals of reopening were given, we started building our stocks. This is necessary because our Cornet beer needs time for refermentation in the bottle ”, says spokesman Peter Buelens of Palm, which is part of the Dutch Swinkels Family Brewers. “Last week our warehouses were almost completely filled so that we can easily meet the demand, which is now very high.”
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In the warehouses in Steenhuffel (Palm, Cornet …) and Roeselare (Rodenbach …), a total of 12 million drinks in bottles or kegs are waiting. At Palm, an estimated 75 to 80 percent of customers will reopen the doors. The brewery, like colleagues, points out that the tap installations have also been cleaned in recent weeks.
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