The brewery was founded in 1758 by Adriaan Geerkens as an annex of a village inn. Theodorus Martens, a brewer's son from Reppel, entered this company in 1823 by marrying within the Geerkens family. From 1923 they started brewing the bottom fermentation beer and since 1962 half of the lager is brewed in accordance with the Reinheitsgebot, because of export to Germany. Eighty-five percent of production is destined for export.
In 1988, Brouwerij Martens bought the Hengelose Bierbrouwerij in the Netherlands from the then Interbrew. In Belgium, Martens Brewery is mainly known as a supplier of the private labels for Aldi (Karlsquell), Colruyt (Cara Pils), Makro, Carrefour and Cora. The private label Schuttersbier for the Dutch purchasing organization Superunie is also brewed at Martens. The Martens Brewery's own brands are Martens Pils (0.0% to 16.2%), Sezoens (6.0%), Kristoffel Witbier (5.0%), Kristoffel Blond (6.0%) and Kristoffel Donker (6.0% ), and 1758 (6.5%).