Begun in 1995 by former printer and homebrewer[2] Johan Brandt, it was originally titled "De Regenboog" (The Rainbow), the same name as his earlier printing business.

This experimental brewery exports roughly half of its annual product outside Belgium to countries such as the United States, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Denmark.

Despite its minuscule size, for many years Smisje has kept six beers in regular production in addition to a large variety of seasonal and occasional brews.

[4] Brandt began brewing in 1995 with a jury-rigged system capable of producing only 250 liters per batch, and slowly expanded the equipment over time in the original Bruges location.

In addition to various spices and non-traditional ingredients such as sloe berries, Smisje is known to utilize the traditional Belgian method of using a significant amount of candi sugar in their recipes to lighten the body of stronger brews.