Brouwerij PALM
Description
The history of the Palm Breweries can be traced back to the year 1747 and Anne Cornet, who set up a small village brewery across the road from the church in the village of Steenhuffel (Brabant) to brew top-fermenting beers. She named her brewery “De Hoorn”, the Dutch equivalent of her French surname "Cornet".
At the beginning of the 20th century lagers were on the rise but Brouwerij De Hoorn stuck firm to its tradition of brewing top-fermenting beers. In 1908 Arthur Van Roy then created his own "Spéciale Belge". Later on, in 1920 he renamed this beer “Palm”, as a tribute to the victory of top-fermentation over bottom-fermentation.
At the world exhibition held in Brussels in 1958 ("Expo 58") traders were assigned their specific area in the market square of the "Ancienne Belgique" by lot. Arthur's son, Alfred Van Roy, won the big prize: his was the best spot, right in the centre of the market and the impressive Palm stand he built there was to create national fame for the brewery and the Palm brand.
During the revival of the traditional regional beer culture in Belgium, as a consequence of the student uprising and the 'flower power' movement of 1968, Alfred Van Roy became the main player and fastest growing producer in the market place with his amber beer "Palm", made in Brabant. Brouwerij De Hoorn subsequently changed its name to Brouwerij Palm.
Beers
PALM (5.4% alc. content):
This "Spéciale Belge" has an amber colour and a current alcohol percentage of 5.4%. The "Spéciale PALM" malts provide a honey-soft mellowness and the brewery's own selection of PALM yeasts give it a fruity fermentation aroma. Delicate hops imported from Kent provide a subtle harmony. PALM is served in its typical bulb jar.
Dobbel PALM (6% alc. content):
"Dobbel PALM" was created in 1947 to commemorate and celebrate the PALM Breweries' bicentenary. Ever since, "Dobbel PALM" has been the brewery's annual end-of-year gift to the general public: a heavier version of the standard PALM with a more distinctive malty and hoppy character but sold at the same price. "Dobbel PALM" is served in the typical PALM bulb jar.
PALM Royale (7.5% alc. content):
"PALM Royale" is a luxury beer that is not only surprising because of its light copper colour but mainly because of its extraordinary warm and full flavour and its rich aroma. This “ale” was created on the occasion of PALM brewer Alfred Van Roy's 90th birthday. His passion for the explicit fermentation fruitiness of his own selection of PALM yeasts is reflected in the PALM Royale, a rich beer to be enjoyed to the full. "PALM Royale" is served in the chalice-shaped glass specifically designed for this beer.
Palm Green
Brewery visits
Visit the brewery: PALM, Steenhuffel
Visitors welcome on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Group visits only (min. of 15 and max. of 45 people) and subject to prior booking. A guided tour takes about 3 hours. You will be asked to pay a small contribution of €4 per person. Students pay € 3 per person. Groups of 20 people or more can conclude their voyage of discovery through the brewery with a sumptuous meal in Het Brouwershuis, provided they make the necessary reservations.
The Palm brewery is located in the northwest of the province of Brabant. It can be found in the centre of Steenhuffel, in the shadow of the local village church.
The PALM Breweries reception team will be waiting for you in our visitor centre “De Oude Bottelarij”. They look forward to taking you on a voyage of discovery through the brewery that has been brewing the unequalled top-fermenting "Palm" beer for more than 255 years.
When the guided tour of the brewery is finished, the PALM train will take you to the listed building of Castle Diepensteyn. You will be given a guided tour of the stud farm and stables currently housing some 20-odd purebred Flemish draught horses. The draught horse used in the brewery's logo reflects and accentuates Palm's “roots” and authenticity. Due to industrial developments this powerful horse lost its economic importance and was even threatened with extinction! This is why Palm supports this unique living part of our listed cultural patrimony and why it tries to come up with initiatives to provide this draught horse with a new creative role.
After your visit to the Diepensteyn stables the time has come for you to enjoy a refreshing glass of Palm. In the visitor centre “De Oude Bottelarij” you will have the opportunity to try our Palm beer and other beers from our range. This hall also houses a museum where you can browse to your heart's content and find out more about the establishment and history of the brewery, the famous brewers' family and the unique Belgian beer culture with its 4 different fermentation processes. Beer lovers can even log in to the Palm Breweries website. In addition, you can visit the Palm gift shop, which has a wide range of souvenirs on offer. And that's not all! We won't give everything away but suffice it to say nobody will be going home empty-handed...
Location
Steenhuffel - Vlaams-Brabant
Address
Steenhuffeldorp 3 - 1840 Steenhuffel
Telephone number / Contact
Peter Buelens
Tel. +32 (0)52-30 94 81
Fax +32 (0)52-30 92 80
Visitor centre / Museum
After your visit to the Diepensteyn stables it will be time to enjoy a refreshing glass of Palm. In the visitor centre “De Oude Bottelarij” you will have the opportunity to try our Palm beer and other beers from our range. This hall also houses a museum where you can browse to your heart's content and find out more about the establishment and history of the brewery, the famous brewers' family and the unique Belgian beer culture with its 4 different fermentation processes. Beer lovers can even log in to the Palm Breweries website.
Beer on sale in the brewery
The shop is located in the visitor centre of the brewery in Steenhuffel and is open during visiting hours (Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 1 till 9 p.m. and Tuesdays from 9 a.m. till 5 p.m.).
Café/Restaurant/Hotel/Off-licence
Gastronomic menus
Our kitchen staff has created a choice of menus for you in which beer either features as ingredient or as accompaniment to the delicious dishes. The menus are served, before or after your guided tour, in Het Brouwershuis or Castle Diepensteyn.
Reservations from a minimum of 20 people - 1 menu per group. You can consult the menus on our website
www.palm.be
Additional information
Horse-drawn cart ride
From May till September you can combine your group visit to the brewery with a horse-drawn cart ride through the green and pleasant area that surrounds the brewery. This nature ride takes about an hour and you can book a cart for 12 people or a cart for 18 people. The cost amounts to € 50.00 for the cart of 12 and €70.00 for the cart sitting 18 people.