The Smisje Brewery ( Brouwerij Smisje in Dutch ), with a tiny production of only 200 hectoliters per year, is one of the smallest existing Belgian craft breweries . Begun in 1995 by former printer and homebrewer Johan Brandt, it was originally titled "De Regenboog" (The Rainbow), the same name as his earlier printing business. Brandt is also a bee-keeper , which accounts for the prominent use of honey in some of the brewery's offerings, including its first commercial beer, which was named 't Smisje or "the little blacksmith" to reflect the hand-crafted nature of the product as well as a local landmark blacksmith's house near the brewery's original location.
16-615: From 1995-2008, the brewery was located in the West Flanders municipality of Assebroek , a suburb of Bruges . In 2008 it relocated to the village of Mater in Oudenaarde , East Flanders and changed its name to simply "Smisje". Smisje is known for beers in both traditional Belgian styles and others, but particularly for brewing with distinctive ingredients and flavorings, often fruits or herbs. This experimental brewery exports roughly half of its annual product outside Belgium to countries such as
32-502: A jury-rigged system capable of producing only 250 liters per batch, and slowly expanded the equipment over time in the original Bruges location. The new premises in Mater utilize the second-hand equipment of the now-defunct De Teut brewery of Neerpelt . The brewer maintains his own distinctive house yeast strain and utilizes primarily native Belgian hops. In addition to various spices and non-traditional ingredients such as sloe berries , Smisje
48-441: A new blond, hoppy ale to be called "Smiske". Only the annual "Smisje Christmas" would be preserved. Following the example of Duvel Moortgat , who offered to brew again their limited-edition "Duvel Triple Hop" if 10,000 people would sign a petition for it, Brandt announced that if 20,000 people would join a Facebook group supporting it, he would offer to brew one additional historic recipe per year. Brandt began brewing in 1995 with
64-1676: Is divided into 8 administrative arrondissements . The Province of West Flanders is divided into 4 judicial arrondissements . Municipalities that have city status have (city) after their names. 1. Alveringem 2. Anzegem 3. Ardooie 4. Avelgem 5. Beernem 6. Blankenberge (city) 7. Bredene 8. Bruges (city) 9. Damme (city) 10. De Haan 11. De Panne 12. Deerlijk 13. Dentergem 14. Diksmuide (city) 15. Gistel (city) 16. Harelbeke (city) 17. Heuvelland 18. Hooglede 19. Houthulst 20. Ichtegem 21. Ypres (Ieper) (city) 22. Ingelmunster 23. Izegem (city) 24. Jabbeke 25. Knokke-Heist 26. Koekelare 27. Koksijde 28. Kortemark 29. Kortrijk (city) 30. Kuurne 31. Langemark-Poelkapelle 32. Ledegem 33. Lendelede 34. Lichtervelde 35. Lo-Reninge (city) 36. Menen (city) 37. Mesen (city) 38. Meulebeke 39. Middelkerke 40. Moorslede 41. Nieuwpoort (city) 42. Ostend (city) 43. Oostkamp 44. Oostrozebeke 45. Oudenburg (city) 46. Pittem 47. Poperinge (city) 48. Roeselare (city) 49. Ruiselede 50. Spiere-Helkijn 51. Staden 52. Tielt (city) 53. Torhout (city) 54. Veurne (city) 55. Vleteren 56. Waregem (city) 57. Wervik (city) 58. Wevelgem 59. Wielsbeke 60. Wingene 61. Zedelgem 62. Zonnebeke 63. Zuienkerke 64. Zwevegem Tourism in Belgium Tourism in Belgium
80-561: Is known to utilize the traditional Belgian method of using a significant amount of candi sugar in their recipes to lighten the body of stronger brews. Beers formerly in regular production: Seasonal or limited-run beers (past and present): West Flanders West Flanders ( Dutch : West-Vlaanderen [ˌʋɛst ˈflaːndərə(n)] ; West Flemish : West-Vloandern [βæst ˈflɒːndərn̩] ; French : Flandre-Occidentale [flɑ̃dʁ ɔksidɑ̃tal] ; German : Westflandern [ˈvɛstˌflandɐn] )
96-636: Is one of Belgium 's industries. Its accessibility from elsewhere in Europe makes it a popular tourist destination. The tourist industry generates 2.8% of Belgium's gross domestic product and employs 3.3% of the working population (142,000 people). 6.7 million people travelled to Belgium in 2005. Two-thirds of them come from the larger nearby countries - France , The Netherlands , the United Kingdom , and Germany ; there are also many tourists from Spain and Italy . Like many national institutions in Belgium,
112-807: Is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region , in Belgium . It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the northwest. It has land borders with the Dutch province of Zeeland to the northeast, the Flemish province of East Flanders to the east, the Walloon province of Hainaut in the south and the French department of Nord to the west. Its capital is Bruges ( Brugge ). Other important cities are Kortrijk in
128-560: The United States , the Netherlands , Italy , Spain and Denmark . Despite its minuscule size, for many years Smisje has kept six beers in regular production in addition to a large variety of seasonal and occasional brews. Many of their beers have featured label art by Brooklyn cartoonist and craft beer enthusiast Bill Coleman. In 2010, the brewery announced that it would be discontinuing all of its historic products in order to focus on
144-611: The Belgian coast, the historic center of Bruges, the Yser Tower in Diksmuide and Flanders Fields , the World War I battlefields around Ypres . A Dutch dialect called West Flemish is spoken here. The city of Bruges has two clubs playing at the highest level of football in Belgium ( Belgian First Division A ), namely Club Brugge and Cercle Brugge . Other cities with teams playing at
160-477: The cities of Bruges and Ostend . Both cities also have important seaports: the port of Bruges-Zeebrugge and the port of Ostend . The south is known for its textile industry, with companies such as Beaulieu and Libeco-Lagae . The region around Kortrijk is called the " Dallas of Belgium" for its entrepreneurship. Tourism is also an important industry in West Flanders. Major touristic attractions include
176-558: The highest level are Kortrijk ( KV Kortrijk ), Ostend ( KV Oostende ) and Waregem ( Zulte Waregem ). The teams Knack Randstad Roeselare and Prefaxis Menen play in the highest volleyball league. Knack Randstad Roeselare also plays in the CEV Champions League , the European Championsleague. BC Oostende is a basketball team which plays in the major basketball league of Belgium. The Province of West Flanders
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#1733093070819192-631: The length of the coast, from De Panne on the French border to Knokke-Heist on the Dutch border. West Flanders has two seaports , the Port of Zeebrugge and the Port of Ostend . West Flanders consists of the North Sea coast , followed by a very flat polder landscape. Only in the south are some small hills, with the Kemmelberg (159 m (522 ft)) being the highest point in the province. The Leie and IJzer are
208-456: The main rivers. West Flanders is the only Belgian province that borders both France and The Netherlands; it is the only province not landlocked . The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the province was 46.9 billion € in 2018. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 34,700 € or 115% of the EU27 average in the same year. In the north of the province, most industry is concentrated in and around
224-480: The national tourist agencies are split along regional lines with two tourist agencies. They are the Belgian Tourist Office Brussels & Wallonia for the regions of Wallonia and Brussels Capital-Region , and Toerisme Vlaanderen covering Flanders , although it covers Brussels as well. In 1993, 2% of the total workforce was employed in tourism, less than in many neighbouring countries. Much of
240-443: The south and Ostend ( Oostende ) on the coast, Roeselare and Ypres ( Ieper ). The province has an area of 3,197 km (1,234 sq mi) which is divided into eight administrative districts ( arrondissementen ) containing 64 municipalities. As of January 2024, West Flanders has a population of over 1.22 million. The North Sea coast of Belgium, an important tourism destination, lies in West Flanders. A tram line runs
256-688: The tourism industry is located either on the heavily developed coastline or in the Ardennes . Brussels and the Flemish cities of Bruges , Ghent , Antwerp , Leuven , and Mechelen , the Flemish Cities of Art , attract many cultural tourists. Much tourism in Brussels is business tourism. Belgium was ranked 21st on the World Economic Forum's 2017 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness report . The country
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