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The origin of beer making is unknown, we only have human memory.
The period between 1890 and 1914 : In the beginning there were two 5m x 6m vaulted cellars, which were reinforced in about 1900 by the construction of a 12m x 5m jack arch cellar with iron girders and by another, much higher one of 5m x 7m. This latter appears to have been intended for installing the vats (which would correspond to the arrival of Louis Dehaene, the Douai ENSIA engineer, in 1904). In 1890, a 5 to 6 horsepower steam engine (a Bollinck from Brussels) was installed to work the mash tub, the malt crusher and the water pump. In about 1900, two new malting rooms were built and the kiln was extended. To solve the problem of a lack of water (the Flanders subsoil is a clay one), a surface well was dug at the bottom of the village with a centrifugal pump worked using a Dion Bouton single-cylinder motor like the one used in the first cars. In about 1908, a petrol-driven Dequewer motor made in Hazebrouck (the capital of French Inland Flanders) replaced the steam engine. A few years later this was in turn replaced by a 8 horse-power English-made Crossley that gave long and loyal service until 1934. At the same time, bottom-fermentation yeast was being tried out, in the fashion of the Eastern breweries. An ice cellar was built to conserve the ice from small lakes. This was a complete failure as the Flanders Winter is not very cold. In the absence of refrigerating machinery, top-fermentation yeast was retained as the only one possible in the region. The brewery had 35 taverns at that time. Its production would have been between 5 and 6000hl. During the 1914-1918 war, Stout was brewed using roasted malt to please the English troops, but this was not continued after the troops had left. In 1920 , when the brewery was taken over by Rémy Ricour, 10 cafés out of the 35 were sold. A “brewmaster,” having made his career in various breweries, managed production using very routine methods. In 1929 , a 120-metre bore-well was drilled under the layer of clay in the Ostricourt sandy soils. This new water source gave a modest flow rate of 3m3/hour. The alkaline water was difficult to brew but ideal for the last running and it solved the brewery water-shortage problem due to the Flemish subsoil. At the same time, two second-hand Landouzy vats were installed, then quickly replaced by four other vats of the same system (Solesmes construction), but which could stand up to pressure. From then on the barrels were coated by a Theurer tarring machine. In 1934 , a 20 horse-power diesel motor and 10 000 Frigorie refrigerating machinery was installed. Beer could be cooled and saturated within a closed circuit in the vats. Bottled beer started at the same time, the last running was initially by hand and bottling by a small rotating bottler, then followed the construction of a bottling system equipped with a frame filter, a 600 bottles/hour scrubber and a semi-automatic Vandergheteen bottler. Just before the war, the majority of the 5 000hl was already being bottled, but only in litre bottles which were unlabelled. The beer weighed between 3 and 4 Régie degress. In 1939, Rémy RICOUR was called up for six months, along with two thirds of the workers. His son, Pierre, was 16 at this time and he temporarily abandoned his studies to manage the brewery with replacement personnel. With hindsight, this was well worth the effort. The specific gravity of the beer fell rapidly to about 0.8°, draught beer was stopped and incidents during production became frequent even in the large breweries. Thanks to a fairly consistent and popular quality, several brewers entrusted their production to the brewery. In 1947, Pierre Ricour returned, full of ideas from the brewery in Nancy: Steam-heating meant brewing every day or even more frequently; brewing over an open flame took two days because the water had to be heated the day before. As cleaning the “miniaux” vats had been unpleasant, a cylindro-conical unitank was chosen. Former brewers used to say “The beer must be left where it has made its nest.” The quality was there. A battery of eight vats was installed, as well as a Lebrun refrigerating compressor worked over an iced water tank. The bottling system was set up with new equipment, with a 15-nozzle bottler and a carousel scrubber (Vandergeeteen). Many fellow brewers stopped manufacturing. Production soared to between 15 000 and 20 000hl, which came to a head in the Summer due to the field work. The quality of 2 Regie degree table beer was unique as small beer (1 Regie degree) had been stopped after the war. In 1954, Pierre Ricour again took over the management of the brewery. His first investments were the construction of a semi-series brewing room with recycled equipment and a new APV-plate chiller. In 1960, the village was connected to a water supply and the brewery had, at last, a sufficient quantity of water. In 1964, in accordance with changes in consumption, the method using top-fermentation yeast is stopped to make way for the bottom-fermentation yeast method and a storage vat is built (18 tanks of 80hl) instead of increasing the number of cylindro-conical appliances. This error of judgement in investment would only be remedied 10 years later on. In 1965, the brewery invested in a new bottling room with an automatic Ponty scrubber, a 24-nozzle Vandergeeten bottler and a Virey Garnier labelling machine. In 1975, in a new building, a new scrubber (Dubru), a recycled bottler (Baele) and a labelling machine (Holdefleiss) meant it was possible to add labels of guarantee. The process of bottling in small bottles 25 and 33cl) started in that year. In 1976, 6 cylindro-conical vats were purchased to enable all the beers to be brewed in unitanks. In 1980, the bottling system was again changed. A second-hand Enzinger bottler was purchased, a large part of the machines were moved, the beginning of the scrubbing process (the uncaser) was automated and a caser was installed. In 1982, the capacity for fermentation was extended with the purchase of two 240hl vats. In 1984, 80hl of the top yeast “Bière de Mars” with high specific gravity were brewed in a trial venture. In 1985, Pierre Ricour passed on the company to his two sons François and Serge RICOUR and the RICOUR Brewery became the St. Sylvestre Brewery, Ltd, with a capital wholly owned by the RICOUR family. It was in this same year that the 3 MONTS beer was created as the fruit of the experience and innovation of two generations of brewers. In 1991, the bottler was replaced by a Holstein and Kappert. The reduction of oxidization during the bottling process gave the beer greater organoleptic stability. Besides this, the purchase of second-hand vats from Britain enabled production to meet demands while maintaining quality. In 1992, the brewery bought the brewing room of a brewery in Norten Hagenberg in Germany. The equipment was taken apart there and reassembled in St Sylvestre. In 1995, palettisation was automated and new fermentation vats were purchased. In 1998 a new Handmann filter for finished beer was installed and an automatic cleaning system for washing the fermentation vats was set up. In 2000, a centrifuge was purchased for warm beer wort.
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