Omer Vander Ghinste

Omer, Omer, Omer: the brewery, its founder, and the succeeding generations behind it all. The story of Omer Brewery started with Remi Vander Ghiste - a dedicated father who bought a house, farm, and brewery for his 23-year-old son Omer. To promote his brews, Omer fitted stained-glass windows in his cafe with his name on them. Omer decided to name his son after him so that they wouldn’t have to change the name on the glass, but it later became a family tradition that continues on today! After 5 generations of Omers, Omer Brewery is now one of the most renowned Belgian breweries that produce high-quality and uniquely flavoured beers that have snagged multiple awards.

Award WinningHighly Rated

Omer Belgian Blonde

8.0% ABV / 0.0

$9.95

Learn more

Single
330ml

$9.95

4 Pack
4 x 330ml

$29.50
~~$39.80~~

Case
24 x 330ml

$160.00
~~$238.80~~

Double Case
48 x 330ml

$295.00
~~$477.60~~

let's tap into their story!

Omer started with Remi Vander Ghinste, a dedicated father who bought a house, farm, and brewery for his 23-year-old son, Omer, in 1892. In the year, the first barrels of Ouden Tripel and the current Vanderghinste Roodbruin were produced and distributed via a horse and carriage around Bellegem. Back then, brand names did not yet exist, so Omer used his own name for the beers.

OMER. - 1 name, 5 generations.

In 1893, Omer promoted his beers by fitting stained-glass windows with the words “Bieren Omer Vander Ghinste” on them. Thanks to his excellent yet inexpensive marketing strategy, the brewery started to gain popularity. In 1898, Omer met Marguerite Vandamme, the granddaughter of Felix Verscheure who owned Brasserie LeFort - a thriving town brewery in Kortrijk.

3 years later, Omer and Marguerite got married and named their son Omer - who we shall refer to as Omer 2. Since then, every first-born son of the family has been named “Omer”, so the words on the windows do not have to be replaced with each generation. This was the start of a running family tradition!

In 1911, Felix passed away and left Brasserie LeFort, as well as a bunch of pubs and cafés in Kortrijk, to Marguerite. Eventually, the brewing at LeFort was discontinued as they focused on brewing in Bellegem instead. Through his marriage with his young and capable heiress Marguerite, Omer’s humble village brewery was assured to grow and prosper.

During the First World War, Omer Vander Ghinste had to flee to Paris and leave his brewery behind. At the place Omer stayed, Rue Des Jacobins, he was inspired by the famous Dominican monastery, Hospice Saint-Jacques, and created Cuvée Des Jacobins - an undiluted lambic that has been matured in oak casks for 18 months.

In 1929, Omer 2 was influenced by the new "Pilsener Type" from Czechoslovakia and had to build a low fermentation tower for brewing pils at his own brewery. Omer started operations in the tower a year after its construction and it still dominates the rolling countryside of Bellegem. In fact, one can clearly see the tower from the highway that connects Kortrijk to Tournai.

In 1933, Omer 3 was born. Omer 2 handed over the brewery to his son at the beginning of the golden sixties and left it in his capable hands. Shortly after the Second World War, a new brewing room was set up with copper brewing kettles in order to meet the growing demand for Bockor Pils.

In 1964, Omer 4 was born, and he started working in the brewery in the early 90s. Omer 4 led the brewery with his father and later decided to change the name of the brewery to Bockor Brewery because of the overwhelming success of their Bockor Pils. However, Bocker Brewery was renamed Brewery Omer Vander Ghinste in 2014 to honour the Vander Ghinste’s rich family history.

In 1993, Omer 5 was born; that’s right, the tradition is still being continued, and the 5th generation of the Vander Ghinste is ready to take on the beer industry!

Omer’s specialty brews

In the early 2000s, fruit beers were on the rise. As a result, Omer Brewery launched the Kriek Max - a cherry beer with no less than 25% natural cherry juices! The delicious cherry lambic was so well-received that it won the gold medal at the European Beer Star merely 2 years after its launch.

At the end of 2008, the brewery introduced the OMER Traditional Blond - a top fermentation beer with a secondary fermentation in the bottle brewed according to a traditional recipe that resulted from 120 years of brewing. Both the name and image of the beer refer to the brewery’s origin as well as the stained glass windows that promoted Omer’s beers in the past.

5 years after the Traditional Blond was launched, the brewery presents LeFort as a tribute to Felix Verscheure - the founder of Brasserie LeFort. The dark, complex degustation beer has chocolate and caramel notes that are perfectly balanced by the roasted, dark barley malts.

In 2016, Omer Brewery released the Tripel LeFort, a strong blond beer with flavours of banana and red apples and hints of citrus, lime, and roses. Within a year of its release, the Tripel LeFort won a gold medal at the European Star Awards as the best “Belgian Style Tripel”!

With multiple award-winning beers under its belt, Brewery Omer Vander Ghinste is one of the most respected breweries in Belgium. Seeing how the brewery prides itself on its rich family history and brewing traditions, we can only look forward to any future concoctions it’ll produce from here on out!