The Belgian de Poes brewery decided to issue a dedicated strong Ale to commemorate Polish World War 2 general, Stanisław Maczek. General Maczek was in charge of the Polish troops fighting in Belgium and the Netherlands. He is most famous as the liberator of the cities of Ypres, Ghent and Breda from German occupation.

In 2024 the Belgians celebrate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of their country. General Maczek was himself responsible for freeing several Belgian and Dutch cities.

The De Poes Brewery said in a statement: 

“Today we are bottling the liberation beer ‘General Maczek’ in memory of our Polish liberators! The beer was brewed as an initiative of the  ‘First Polish Armoured Division – Belgium’ association. The beer must now rest for several weeks in the warm room (re-fermentation in the bottle) and it will be available from the beginning of September 2024.”

The De Poes also informed about the production of the second batch of the beer.

Born on 31 March 1892 in Szczerc in today’s Ukraine, General Maczek is a symbol of the Polish fight against the Nazi German regime in Western Europe. His armoured division, “the Black Devils” was famous for many battles with the Germans and the liberation of Belgian and Dutch cities with little or no civilian casualties. The communities of those cities commemorate the liberation every year and invite Polish soldiers, military bands and veterans to participate in the events. 

You can see the Polish Military Band marching through Breda in a YouTube video: 

And witness the meeting of the living veterans of Breda liberation here:

Photo: Facebook/Brouwerij De Poes

Tomasz Modrzejewski