A Belgian beer pipeline is set to be constructed under the cobblestone streets of a medieval city in Belgium. With the new Belgian beer pipeline set for construction next year, it will be more beer and less trucks for the city's residents and tourists.
According to Fox News, the Belgian beer pipeline was mapped so that citizens and tourists can enjoy booze, minus the traffic in the beautiful gothic streets of Bruges. Apparently, everyone in the city is in agreement that delivery trucks rumbling near the city's picturesque canals are taking away the aesthetic nature of their medieval town.
The AFP reports that the city council have already approved the construction of the Belgian beer pipeline in order to link five-century-old brewery to a bottling factory nearby. The 3 km (1.86 mile) underground Belgian beer pipeline will be connecting the historic De Halve Maan brewery beneath Belgium's medieval city of Bruges to a bottling factory located two miles away.
The project, which will carry up to 6,000 litres of beer an hour from a brewery to a bottling plant, will be cutting dramatically the number of lorries clogging the city's cobbled streets, according to Sky News.
Once fully constructed, the Belgian beer pipeline will take away 500 tankers out of Bruges every year, which is about 85 per cent of the town's lorry traffic.
According to the AFP, booze has been brewed on "De Halve Maan" for more than five centuries. In addition, since the brewery is a major stop on tours of the town and is a UNESCO World Heritage site, 100,000 tourists have been visiting the area yearly, and the firm reportedly aims to continue the tradition through the Belgian beer pipeline.
Local official Franky Demon said they "always wanted to keep the beer brewed at the historic site" even though bottling was moved out of the town in 2010.
However, in order to avoid changing the city's gothic structures, the construction of the Belgian beer pipeline will be using the latest technologies especially made for the transport of oil and gas.
According to Sky News, the pipes which will be used for the Belgian beer pipeline will be made of high-quality plastic - polyethylene - and will be primarily installed using advanced computer-guided drilling techniques to avoid roadworks.
In 2010, a new processing plant was opened on the Waggelwater industrial estate, where every litre of the famous "Brugse Zot" beer continues to be brewed at De Halve Maan on the Walplein.
According to Fox News, the brewery's director and CEO, Xavier Vanneste, told Belgium's Het Nieuwsbladsaid, "The beer will take 10 to 15 minutes to reach the bottling plant."
Vanneste said that making the beer at the historic location and reducing transportation time to the factory has been a constant struggle. They plan to make things easier with the construction Belgian beer pipeline.
Vanneste explained, "By using the pipeline we will keep hundreds of lorries out of the city centre. This is unique in the brewing industry with the exception of one German brewery that has installed a similar system."
The underground Belgian beer pipeline will be linking the "De Halve Maan" brewery in the heart of the "Venice of the North" to an industrial park where the beer will be bottled and shipped to thirsty drinkers worldwide, said Vanneste.
He added, "The idea is born of environmental and quality of life concerns, and not economic ones. It will keep hundreds of lorries (trucks) out of the city center."
Fox News reports that the Belgian beer pipeline is designed to carry more than 1,500 gallons of beer each hour. According to Belgian publication deredactie.be, construction is set to begin next year.
The brewery will reportedly pay for the Belgian beer pipeline. It will be a Belgium's first. Vanneste has yet to estimate the cost at this stage in the planning.
Bruges' Alderman for Spatial Planning, Franky Demon, said, "In time, this innovative investment plan would reduce the amount of transport by heavy goods vehicles by 85%. It is a win-win situation for everyone."
"Moreover, the city has received a guarantee from the Halve Maan that all costs relating to the pipeline - both for installation and for any necessary repair works - will be met in full by the brewery," Alderman added.
The Belgian beer pipeline will certainly become another unique addition to Belgium's history. According to FoodBeast, the only other beer pipeline in the world is at Gelsenkirchen, Germany where brews are pumped into huge stadium.
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