Brouwerij De Leyerth

Brouwerij De Leyerth emerged in Ruiselede as the brewing venture behind the Urthel beers, founded by brewer Hildegard Overmeire and her husband, Bas van Ostaden. Its distinctive place in Belgian beer history is that the company’s identity was Flemish and Belgian, while much of its production was contract-brewed elsewhere. The brewery later evolved into Microbrouwerij Urthel, leaving De Leyerth as an important earlier name in the brand’s story. A brewer-led beginning The venture began in 2000, when Hildegard Overmeire and Bas van Ostaden started producing their own beer under the name Brouwerij De Leyerth. Overmeire brought formal brewing expertise and developed the beers; van Ostaden contributed the label illustrations and commercial presentation. The brewery was associated with Ruiselede in West Flanders, and its beers were marketed under the Urthel name. Belgian identity, shared brewing homes De Leyerth belonged to the Belgian beer-firm tradition: a brewery or beer company whose beers could be made at another brewery. Early production took place at Van Steenberge, while from 2007 the Urthel beers were brewed at De Koningshoeven in the Netherlands, the home of La Trappe. In 2011, the owners acquired a small brewing installation in Ruiselede and changed the operating name to Microbrouwerij Urthel, primarily using it for experimental brewing. The end of the original name The De Leyerth name did not remain the long-term commercial identity. The Urthel brand was acquired in 2012, and production later moved again, with Urthel beers brewed at Palm from 2017 according to the historical brewery record. The result is a brewery story shaped less by one permanent brewhouse than by a brewer, a distinctive beer range and successive production partnerships. De Leyerth’s defining character is a Flemish brewing identity carried through changing production homes. Ruiselede, West Flanders, Belgium 2000 2000: Hildegard Overmeire and Bas van Ostaden began brewing under the name Brouwerij De Leyerth. 2007: Urthel beers began being brewed at De Koningshoeven in the Netherlands. 2011: A microbrewery was installed in Ruiselede and the operation adopted the name Microbrouwerij Urthel. 2012: The Urthel brand was acquired by Bierbrouwerij De Koningshoeven. 2017: Urthel production moved to Brouwerij Palm.