Brasserie de Rochehaut
Brasserie
About this Brewery
Place: Rochehaut
Brasserie de Rochehaut is a craft brewery in the Belgian Ardennes, situated within the extensive Rochehaut Attractions complex outside the village of Rochehaut. The brewery forms part of a much larger family-oriented visitor destination incorporating restaurants, accommodation, shops, an agricultural museum and a forty-hectare wildlife park.
Brewer Arnaud Boreux produces a range of top-fermented beers carrying the Rochehaut name. The brewery emphasises local production, using soft water sourced within five kilometres, together with Belgian malt, and brews and bottles its beers on site.
The brewery is fully integrated into the visitor complex, with brewing equipment visible through windows in the building and a dedicated museum exploring the brewing process. The wider site offers a substantial restaurant, bar, covered outdoor seating and a large shop selling Rochehaut beers alongside regional food and a broad selection of other products. Visitors can explore the attractions, sample the beers and purchase them directly from the brewery.
Glasses in this collection
Curator's Note
Visiting Brasserie de Rochehaut is rather different from calling into a conventional brewery shop. The entire complex has been carefully designed as a destination in its own right, with attractive modern facilities, impressive views over the surrounding countryside and plenty to entertain visitors who may have little interest in beer.
The brewery museum is particularly striking, with a colourful entrance featuring agricultural imagery and brewing equipment. Its visitor experience includes a little tourist train and a sound-and-light presentation, although these are only part of a much broader range of attractions.
The shop is large by the standards of most Belgian breweries. Alongside Rochehaut beers and branded glasses, it sells regional cheeses and charcuterie, spirits, clothing, souvenirs and even pick-and-mix sweets. It is an unusually comprehensive retail operation, but one that feels entirely consistent with the wider visitor experience.
There are similarities with Brouwerij Wilderen, another brewery that has developed an extensive hospitality destination around its brewing activities. Rochehaut, however, takes the concept considerably further into family tourism. The result is an interesting example of how a working brewery can become part of a much larger visitor attraction without losing its identity as a producer of beer.
Dogs are welcome in the shop and the bar, but not on the brewery tour. It is worth checking on any canine restrictions for other parts of the visitor complex.
