16th century
Menen Flourishes as a Flemish Brewing Center
During the first half of the sixteenth century, Menen became known beyond its region for beer. The Flemish town had 104 master brewers, a concentration that made brewing an important part of its urban economy. Historian Hugo Soly places the count around 1520 and identifies Menen as one of the principal Flemish brewing centers of the century. Menen's beer reached markets across Flanders: Soly cites the sixteenth-century writer Lodovico Guicciardini's account of exports of its keutebier. Brewing remained prominent later in the century. A municipal report written in 1597 recalled 90 master brewers in Menen in 1577. These relatively modest enterprises formed a substantial local industry alongside cloth and linen production.
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Sources
These sources support the dating and historical claims in this entry.
City of Menen. "Menen historisch," section "Beknopte historiek van a tot z." Identifies 104 master brewers and the town's wider beer reputation in the first half of the sixteenth century.
Soly, Hugo. "De economische betekenis van de zuidnederlandse brouwindustrie in de 16e eeuw. Problematiek." Handelingen van het Colloquium over de economische geschiedenis van Belgie: Behandeling van de bronnen en problematiek, 1972, pp. 97-117; reprinted in Studia Historica Gandensia 179, Ghent, 1973. See p. 104 and notes 1-2 for the count around 1520 and Guicciardini's account of keutebier exports. Those earlier works are cited through Soly, not claimed as directly inspected.
"Geluwe op het einde van de XVIde en het begin van de XVIIde eeuw." De Leiegouw 4 (1962), p. 103. Discusses a municipal report of 1597 recording 90 master brewers in 1577, modest enterprise scale, and cloth, linen, and beer production.
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