uiselede, West Flanders, Belgium. Urthel was established in 2000, a creation of the wife and husband team of Hildegard and Bas van Ostaden, owners of The Leyerth Breweries. The duo share responsibilities with Hildegard formulating recipes and Bas, an artist and marketing expert, designing the artwork, packaging and sales materials.

he Van Ostadens never planned to brew a Cult Beer, it just happened that way. From their home in Ruiselede, Bas and Hildegard created the recipes for the beer as well as the charming labels, tap handles and other sales materials. Their beer has been brewed according to the authentic Flemish brewing style, at Thee Koningshoeven Brewery in Berkel-Enschot in The Netherlands.

he gnome-ish figures on the label actually predate the beer itself. Bas had been working on a modern-day fairy-tale for some time when he and Hildegard decided to start brewing. Searching for a brand image was going nowhere, until Bas had the idea to combine his fairy-tale characters, The Erthels, with their new beer. Thus Urthel was born...

he beers of The Leyerth are different from others because of the numerous fairy-tales and Urthellegends which surround this original product. At this moment, there are five different types of Urthel in the market. Hop-It®, the hoppy golden ale of 9.5% ABV, Parlus Magnificum (winner of the Bronze medal at the World Beer Cup 2008 in San Diego), a deep-dark ale of 7.5% ABV, Hibernus Quentum, the award-winning classic tripel of 9.0% ABV, Vlaemse Bock of 7.5% ABV(also winner of the Bronze medal at the World Beer Cup 2008 and only for sale in the USA), the dark and mysterious drink of The Bockereyders of Ghorp, and of course the most fairy-like beer of all, Samaranth, of 11.5% ABV, the king of degustation beers.