Verhaeghe Brewery continued to grow by investing in new production equipment, adapting to new trends, and improving the quality of its beers. Eventually, the brewery created the Duchesse de Bourgogne (Duchess of Burgundy) - a beer that was so successful that the brewery managed to become a strong regional player after its release.

At the time, Verhaeghe realised that breweries that focused on producing less (beers), but better were better at attracting crowds. This not only applied to customers in Belgium, even far outside the Belgian borders, consumers preferred high-quality beers with a unique identity, rather than mass-produced low-quality beers that tasted pretty much the same as one another. As such, Verhaeghe Brewery came up with the Duchesse - a red brown ale matured in oak casks and brewed according to an ancient method from West Flanders.

In 1457, Mary of Burgundy was born, and she ruled over France and the Low Countries. That’s right, Mary is the Duchess that Verhaeghe’s flagship beer is named after. Interestingly enough, Mary was involved in a serious accident that affected her spine. During a falcon hunt in the woods near Wijnendale Castle, her horse tripped, threw her in a ditch, and landed on top of her, breaking her back.

Unfortunately, Mary died several weeks later due to her severe injuries at the tender age of 25 - a fact that Verhaeghe was not aware of when he named his unique beer after the Duchesse. Contrary to Mary’s tragic fate, the beer rose to fame and success. Many simply loved the sweet fruit ale - with its vinous aroma and a sharp sourness tempered by the sweet character of the malt.

Today, Verhaeghe Brewery continues to be family-run, with the 4th generation of Verhaeghe - Karl and Peter - running the brewery since 1991. Besides the world war-related issues Paul faced back then, the Verhaeghes have continued to face several issues, including Karl. During a furniture run in 2012, Karl was involved in a horrible traffic incident that left his ribs broken and his back vertebrae completely smashed into pieces.

Verhaeghe Brewery’s future was shaky and uncertain due to Karl’s serious road traffic accident. When Karl first came back to work, he became exhausted at the slightest physical tasks, and was struggling to get back into his work routine. However, Karl was incredibly tenacious; he began waking up at 4.30am every morning for appointments with a physical therapist before undertaking an extra gym session at 8am. He continued going to the office and sticking to his routine until he was eventually able to resume his work activities as per normal.

Perhaps it is only fitting to mention Verhaeghe’s logo - a coat of arms that features a lion on both sides and a crown on top. From a distance, the brewery’s logo could easily be mistaken for the emblem of Belgian Royalty, but with its characteristic beers and frequent Royal visits, who could blame you? Verhaeghe Brewery has had a rich history of beer production, tenacity, and glowing success, and with that, we can only anticipate what’s to come in the future!