From Rue Valduc to Le Ponceau
Our history
A meeting in UCL's laboratories, a first brew in 2017 and a brewing tradition that dates back to the former Meurice-Hanquet brewery.
A meeting at UCL
Bioengineer Antoine Limbourg developed Rio, an amber tripel, with friends. In 2013, he met brewing engineer Peter Gerard in UCL's brewing laboratories.
In 2016, they decided to combine their skills to create a modern craft brewery rooted in Belgian tradition and mindful of its environment.
The first brew in Le Ponceau
On 6 April 2017, the new facilities in Thorembais-Saint-Trond hosted their first brew. The brewery moved into a square courtyard farm in the hamlet of Le Ponceau, beside Le Pré du Duc.
The village water, farmland and neighbouring farms give the project its local roots. The beers are brewed on site and refermented in the bottle.
2004
Rio was born in the kitchen of a flat on Rue Valduc in Auderghem, with four beer enthusiasts.
2013
Antoine Limbourg and Peter Gerard meet at UCL.
2016
The two brewers bring their project to life in Thorembais-Saint-Trond.
6 April 2017
First brew in the new facilities.
The former Meurice-Hanquet brewery
The village's brewing history dates back to the mid-18th century. Originally a farm, the building passed through the hands of the Delattre, Salmon and then Meurice-Hanquet families. Barley from neighbouring fields was malted there, and the brewer made his own deliveries, sometimes by sleigh in winter.
A fire destroyed the buildings in 1915. Mr Meurice rebuilt his brewery with improved safety and ventilation. The Second World War, a nearby explosion and the brewer's captivity in Germany later interrupted its development.
In 1950, the brewery became a drinks depot. Most of its buildings were demolished in 1974. A few kilometres away, the Valduc-Thor project continues this tradition by working with neighbouring farms and brewing and bottling on site.
Why Valduc-Thor?
Valduc recalls the street in Auderghem where Rio was conceived in 2004. Thor takes the beginning of the name Thorembais-Saint-Trond. Nearby Le Pré du Duc also echoes the brewery's name.
This combined name pays tribute to Rio's beginnings, the village that houses the tanks and the Meurice-Hanquet tradition.
Le Pré du Duc
Also known as Bois des Ducs or Pré des Ducs, this natural area brings together a poplar plantation, a meadow and a wet grove fed by the Thorembais stream. It preserves traces of former farming practices.
Willows, blackthorn, wild currant bushes and hops grow here. Birds use it as a migration stopover and a breeding site. This neighbouring natural setting inspires the brewery's medieval imagery and its attachment to hops.
The village's memory
This account and the pictures of the former brewery draw on the archives of the Cercle historique Perwézien, courtesy of Francis Meurice. Thank you to everyone who preserves this history and makes it possible to pass it on.