De Halve Maan Alcohol-Free Beers

De Halve Maan is the family brewery in the historic centre of Bruges behind Brugse Zot and Straffe Hendrik. Its alcohol-free beer, Sportzot, is a 0.4% blond made from Brugse Zot Blond, and it won gold at the World Beer Awards 2024.

Who are De Halve Maan?

Beer has been brewed on the De Halve Maan site in Bruges for more than five centuries, and the Maes family’s story there begins in 1856, with Leon Maes, also known as Henri I, the brewery says. In 1867 Henri II and his brother Achère took over and adopted an English brewing technique, and in 1919 Henri III invested in equipment for bottom-fermented beers.

In 1981 Véronique Maes, the fifth generation, joined her father; she was “one of the very first female brewers”, the brewery says. That year she and Henri IV launched Straffe Hendrik, “Strong Hendrik”, named for the family’s Henris. In 1997 she renovated the brewery, adding event rooms and a museum. In 2005 her son, Xavier Vanneste, renovated the old brewery, and Brugse Zot launched on 29 June 2005: “This top-fermenting beer was an immediate success”, the brewery says.

The brewery says it has been run by “6 generations by our family” (Wikipedia says five), and calls itself “the last authentic family brewery in the city”. It’s a member of Belgian Family Brewers. We found no drinks group involved, so we list it as independent, though the brewery doesn’t use the word itself.

The brewery in Bruges and its beer pipeline

“Today, every litre of beer is still being brewed in the original location in Bruges”, the brewery says; in 2011 its capacity in the city centre doubled to 45,000 hectolitres a year. Its bottling plant, opened in 2010, is just outside the city, and since 2016 an underground pipeline, part-funded by crowdfunders, has carried the beer there. The brewery gives its length as 3.3km on its history page and 3.2km in a 2024 news item, so about 3km. In 2019 it began building a new bottling plant to triple capacity, and in 2022 a crowdlending campaign for solar panels and water filtration reached its target in one day, it says.

More than 100,000 people visit a year, it says. Its Classic tour takes about 45 minutes, costs €16 and runs in Dutch, French and English, ending on the roof with a 360° view over Bruges and a glass of unfiltered Brugse Zot Blond, Brugse Zot Dubbel or Straffe Hendrik Tripel; the brewery is “the only place in the world” to drink them unfiltered, it says. A 90-minute XL tour, at €26, runs only at weekends. The tour page doesn’t mention an alcohol-free option.

What De Halve Maan brews

Brugse Zot Blond is a 6.0% Belgian pale ale and Brugse Zot Brune a 7.5% dubbel, the UK supplier James Clay lists, alongside a limited Brugse Bok at 6.5%. The Straffe Hendrik range runs to a Tripel, Quadrupel, Wild, Heritage and X-Mas Blend. The brewery said in 2024 that it exports 40% of its production to more than 30 countries; in 2025 it and Made in said Brugse Zot is available in more than 40 countries.

Sportzot, De Halve Maan’s alcohol-free beer

Sportzot launched in June 2018. “Sportzot was the very first non-alcoholic speciality beer in Belgium”, the brewery says; we found no independent check of that. It’s made from Brugse Zot Blond: “We filter out the alcohol by using a natural process which does not affect the taste of the beer”, the brewery says, and Belgian Family Brewers adds that it’s done “without distilling nor using other manipulations”. The brewery doesn’t name the method; The Alcohol Free Co, not the brewer, says it’s reverse osmosis at low temperatures.

The brewery describes “A bright, clear and sparkly golden blond speciality beer” with a fruity and spicy aroma, notes of malt and hop and a delicate bitter aftertaste, at 35 EBU and 13 EBC, to be served at 5°C. It comes in 33cl bottles and cans and a 15-litre size, and in December 2025 it was first offered as tank beer, it says; James Clay lists 24 × 33cl bottles in the UK. The Dutch label, as Albert Heijn prints it, gives 26 kcal (110 kJ) per 100ml, with 1g of sugars. Despite its name, the brewery makes no sporting claims for it.

It won gold in the No & Low Alcohol category at the World Beer Awards 2024 and bronze at the World Alcohol-Free Awards 2023, both confirmed on the organisers’ results pages. The brewery also says it won gold at the Best Beer Awards in 2021; we couldn’t confirm that.

How Sportzot compares

Alcohol-free blonds from Belgian breweries in our directory. Calories as published; checked 31 October 2026. Scores are Unhopped ratings out of 10.

The De Halve Maan beer in our directory

Checked October 2026. Calories are from the Dutch label, as Albert Heijn prints it. Scores are Unhopped ratings out of 10.

Where to buy Sportzot

On 29 October 2026 Wise Bartender had single bottles at £3 and The Alcohol Free Co at £4.11; those are affiliate links. For more, see our guide to the best Belgian alcohol-free beer.

Facts checked against De Halve Maan’s own websites, the World Beer Awards, the World Alcohol-Free Awards, Belgian Family Brewers, Made in, Wikipedia, Albert Heijn, James Clay, The Alcohol Free Co and Wise Bartender, 31 October 2026.