In 1895, Léon Stassen, a farmer, produced his first cider, using apples from his own orchard in Aubel. He wrote down his original recipe, which was carefully treasured and passed on to his son, Léon, who in 1937 founded a small traditional cider brewery in the centre of the village. Léon junior’s son Jean kept this passion for cider alive for over 50 years, only retiring from the business at the age of 68 after entrusting its destiny to his three sons, who today carry on the family tradition.
Between 1987 and 1991, the company experienced exceptional growth thanks to the success of its flavoured ciders. It thus became the leader in the Belgian and Dutch cider markets.
Between 1992 and 2008 Stassen was owned by the UK’s Bulmers group which in turn became a part of Scottish & Newcastle. Over that time the focus was taken away from producing Stassen’s famous ciders and directed towards expanding the Bulmers brand throughout Europe.
In 2008 however, the Stassen family decided to buy back the family business to once again concentrate on producing top quality Belgian ciders and today has export markets right across the globe.
Click on any of the above logos to view the wonderful Belgian ciders of Stassen
