Those stories the Wielemans-Ceuppens brewery could tell…

The Wielemans Ceuppens brewery has a lot of stories to tell. From its very beginning in the centre of Brussels to the then new installations in Forest, the brewery worked first with steam and then with electric engines.

The machines we are working on in this restoration project are those located at what is today the building occupied by the BRASS cultural centre, which was built in 1905. The building itself has a lot of importance, given its materials and because of its architectural style. In terms of technology, the brewery was considered one of the most modern factory installations of its time in Europe.

It was in this machinery room that the refrigeration needed for the production of bottom fermentation beers was produced. The refrigeration system has obviously evolved in the Wielemans-Ceuppens brewery since its first installation. What was decisive was the source of energy, which went from coal to electricity. Firstly, the power needed for refrigeration was produced by the means of three steam machines and subsequently, around the 1920s, by the means of electricity.

The Belgian steam machine Carels&Freres was built and installed in 1905, being the most important back then at the new engine room. It was this exceptional machine that used to drive another impressive one: the Sulzer compressor.

If the Wielemans Ceuppens brewery's first refrigeration system – before the 1905 engine room – was from the German brand Linde, the first compressors installed in the new room were the Swiss Sulzer and the American De La Vergne, which had its own steam machine. Rumour has it that the American compressor has cost half of the investments the brewery had used to make technical improvements at that time...

With the advent of electricity, however, two new American compressors were brought to the engine room: the horizontal and vertical Ingersoll Rand. With this new acquisition, the De La Vergne compressor was disabled.