Brouwerij Den Hopperd

Brouwerij Den Hopperd is a small Belgian house brewery whose identity is closely tied to organic brewing and hands-on continuity. Bart Desaeger began brewing in 1996 after acquiring equipment from a closed brewery, first working in Ramsel before establishing the brewery in Westmeerbeek. Its beers remain brewed and bottled in-house, with traditional methods, natural ingredients and bottle refermentation at the heart of the range. A brewery born from recovered equipment Desaeger trained at brewing school in Ghent and later worked for larger breweries, but eventually set out on his own. In 1995 he bought brewing kettles and a bottling line from a brewery that had closed; in 1996 Den Hopperd’s first own beer reached the market. The brewery’s present home is Westmeerbeek, while its earliest brewing began in the shed and stable of his in-laws in nearby Ramsel. Organic by deliberate choice In 1999, Den Hopperd shifted to fully organic brewing, responding in part to demand from an organic market in Heist-op-den-Berg. A regional heritage account identifies it as the second Belgian brewery to produce organic beer, after Dupont. The brewery’s own site describes its beers as made without additives, using naturally sourced ingredients, and brewed and bottled on the premises. The Kameleon range Den Hopperd’s principal range is Kameleon, comprising Tripel, Saison, Blond, Donker and Amber. The beers are high-fermentation ales, bottle-conditioned, unfiltered and unpasteurized. The brewery’s product descriptions distinguish the variants by their documented profiles, from the dry, gently bitter Blond to the citrusy and spicy Saison and the softly malty Tripel. A compact Belgian house brewery defined by organic ingredients, in-house production and bottle-conditioned tradition. Ramsel, Belgium; the brewery is now located in Westmeerbeek, Belgium. 1996 1995: Bart Desaeger acquired brewing kettles and a bottling line from a closed brewery. 1996: Den Hopperd began brewing and released its first own beer. 1999: The brewery adopted fully organic brewing.