Bruges Beer Pipeline Will Save Time, Money And Emissions

A city already known for its historical architecture and a 2008 dark comedy starring Colin Farrell will soon have a new, frothy claim to fame. Local reports say an underground beer pipeline in Bruges, Belgium, will move 1.5 gallons of beer 1.86 miles every hour from the De Halve Maan brewery in the heart of the city to a bottling facility a three miles away.

The Bruges city council approved the plans last week, with hopes the change will be better for traffic and the environment.

“In time, this innovative investment plan would reduce the amount of transport by heavy goods vehicles by 85 percent,” Franky Dumon, the alderman for spatial planning who approved the project on behalf of the city council told Wired. “It is a win-win situation for everyone.”

Even without the new project, which the brewery owners plan to finance themselves, Brouwerij De Halve Maan is a well-known tourist attraction. It was founded in 1856 in a city UNESCO has designated a World Heritage Site.