Brouewerij Roman N.V.
The story of the Roman brewery begins officially in 1545, the first year the brewery was mentioned on an official document. The document talks about a well-known tavern-hotel-farm called “De Clocke” (The Bell), located in the village of Mater, where horses could be exchanged or rested. As in all such places of that era, the keeper of the public house brewed his own ale. It was Justistius Roman who ran the place in that time. The name “Roman” may mean that the family was of Roman descent and probably settled in the area in the first century A.D.
Over the course of 14 generations the Roman family built this brewery into the largest brewery in East Flanders. Over the centuries, the brewery itself has grown into a very large and impressive building. As a result of the many dangers and wars that have tormented Flanders in the last five centuries, the brewery was built into a closed fortress with a large open space in the middle and against which the it could defend itself. Today, the open space is used for rock concerts, and beer flows on-line straight from the brewery tanks for a festive string of summer weekends.
Until World War II the brewery built its success on ales, especially the typical Old Brown style of Flemish beers. After the war, the brewery jumped on the Pilsner bandwagon. Even so, the brewery’s international success has been built on its world famous ales, including the old brown ale, Adriaen Brouwer Dark Gold Ale, brewed in the same style as the original ancient family recipe using authentic yeast strains and top-notch ingredients.
Brewery Roman produces “living beers” that evolve in the bottle as the yeast continues to be absorbed over time into an even smoother, more complex beer. It can be said that Brewery Roman is keeping history alive and bottling it for your enjoyment. We invite you to take some home and open a bottle of history and share it with your friends.
