Hanssens, Dworp

Hanssens is one of the oldest lambic blenders in Belgium. Before moving to their current site in 1896, lambic was brewed and blended at the family farm since 1871. Hanssens came into existence through a non-lambic brewery known as Het Hooghuys brewery. This brewery was initially owned by the Van Hemelrijk family and eventually became associated with the Hanssens name after Petrus Van Hemelrijk married Joanna Maria Hanssens in 1837. The oldest son of Petrus and Joanna, Jozef (1861-1890), continued the family brewing tradition until he fell ill in 1888. That same year, Jozef let his cousin Bartholomé Hanssens (who later became the mayor of Dworp from 1914-1927) take over the brewery operations on the condition that he would return it back to the Van Hemelrijk family when Jozef’s young children were old enough to maintain the business. The brewery was signed over on a 9-year lease to Bartholomé.

Bartholomé’s second marriage resulted in four children (two daughters and two sons). One son Theo began to learn the lambic blending craft at the age of 14. Theo took over the business full time when his father passed away in 1928. In 1932, Theo married Rosa Vastiau, whose name makes up Hanssens barrel marking today: THV.

Theo Hanssens and Rosa Vastiau had one son, Jean, who would eventually learn the trade from his father and move into the business after completing his military service.

The numerous brewery closures after World War II lead to Hanssens using wort from Lindemans and Girardin. By 1990, the blend also contained lambic from Boon. Today, these three breweries make up all of Hanssens’s gueuze blends.