The Belgian brewery Liefmans is known for its love for a very special ingredient: At Liefmans it's all about the cherry.
The red summer fruit already played a major role in the early 20th century: local farmers brought the fruits to the brewery when they had a surplus and received fresh beer in return. This ensured that Liefmans always had enough cherries in-house for their wonderful beer creations and the farmers did not have to let any cherries go to waste. The brewers used the aromatic fruit to create fine beers such as Kriek, which is characterized by its fruity acidity and the sweetness of sun-ripened cherries. Fruit beers are a Belgian specialty and taste great, especially in summer. The playful lightness, the fresh fruit and the tartness of the beer harmonize in a unique way and result in a very special beer experience.
When talking about the Liefmans brewery, one name cannot go unmentioned: Rosa Merckx. She was a pioneer in the Belgian beer scene and the first woman in the country to be both master brewer and lead brewer at a brewery. She is a shining role model for many young female brewers and has paved the way for her peers into the Belgian brewing scene. Rosa was a revolutionary from a young age. She was the first woman in her hometown to drive a car, is fluent in three languages and played basketball in her free time. However, her career at the Liefmans Brewery did not begin in the brewhouse, but rather at the typewriter. The young woman began working as a secretary for the head of the brewery in 1946. But he soon discovered that Rosa had a good palate for beer tasting and occasionally consulted her when making decisions. Her curiosity was piqued and she was entrusted with smaller jobs in the brewery. A short time later she brewed her first beers together with her boss and it was discovered that Rosa had a skillful knack for brewing and the beer market. Rosa adapted the brewery's range to the modern tastes of Belgians and led Liefmans to great success. Ideas such as beer bottles wrapped in tissue paper gave the beers a feminine, elegant and noble flair and increased the target group enormously. When her boss died, his family named her his successor. Today, the grand dame of Belgian beer no longer works, but she still lives near the brewery.
Rosa Merckx's signature can still be found on the labels of all the brewery's bottles to this day - a small homage to a heroine of Belgian beer.
