The history

1997

It starts in the microbrewery...

The brewing adventure of Luc Vermeersch, owner of Brouwerij De Leite, began in 1997. Passionate about craftsmanship, he installed a bread oven and a small 30-litre Finnish brewery in his garden shed. With only a short training course and a lot of experimentation, he learned the trade. Ten years later, he took a brewing course and began to dream of a larger brewery.

Brouwerij De Leite - historiek -1997

2008

Expansion and professionalisation

In 2008, Luc's hobby became a real business: Brouwerij De Leite. The first brewing equipment found a home in the Helbig building, where Luc was also the owner and manager. With an 800-litre brewing kettle and a 650-litre yeast and lager tank, he brewed 500 litres at a time. On a brewing day, they brewed twice, once or twice a month, for three years. Demand for the beers grew rapidly, leading to the brewery's expansion in 2011.

2011

Further capacity expansion

In 2011, the first large tanks arrived:

  • 6,000 litre cooking kettle
  • Filter tank of 9,800 liters
  • 6,000 litre yeast tank

Brewing took place for the first time in the new installation between Christmas and New Year.

Over time the brewery continued to grow with:

  • Yeast and storage tanks from 4,000 to 10,000 litres
  • Fixed stainless steel pipes between all tanks
  • A new 11,000 litre mash/boil kettle
  • A 7,250 liter whirlpool
  • Automation of the mashing process
  • New 8,000 litre cylindroconical fermentation tanks
Brouwerij De Leite - historiek -2011

2011

Start of sour beers

In 2011, another dream of Luc Vermeersch came true: he acquired 14 wooden wine barrels (barriques) from winegrowers he had befriended in the Médoc region of France. With these, he brought his love for sour beers to life in the ‘Cuvée beers’ series.

2018

Own bottling line

In 2018, the brewery acquired its own bottling line. Previously, the beers were transported in tanks to an external bottling plant, but now everything is bottled in-house. The new bottling line processes both 33cl bottles and large 75cl champagne bottles at a rate of 5,000 and 2,500 bottles per hour respectively.

Brouwerij De Leite - historiek -2018
Brouwerij De Leite - historiek -2021

2021

Acquisition of Paljas

In 2021, Brouwerij De Leite continued to grow with the acquisition of the Paljas beer brand. Five speciality beers were added, allowing even more beer lovers to enjoy our range.

2023

15th anniversary

For the brewery's 15th anniversary in 2023, the team created a unique 12% limited edition anniversary beer. This exclusive beer was bottled in magnum bottles and presented in a luxurious wooden box.

Brouwerij De Leite - historiek -2023
Brouwerij De Leite - historiek -2024

2024

Acquisition of Tietje

In 2024, Brouwerij De Leite acquired the beer brand Tietje, which was founded in 2020.

Tietje, a 7.5% blonde beer, supports the Beautiful After Breast Cancer Foundation. This foundation is committed to raising awareness about early detection of breast cancer.

Logo De Leite - Belgian Brewery

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Logo De Leite - Belgian Brewery
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