In 1998, the brewery was acquired by Jos Tjoen, who modernised it so that it could expand. It soon became clear that the premises were too small for the planned extension and so, in 2001, he moved Brouwerij De Bie to a larger location in Loker but kept the name: Hellekapelle. And an entirely new brewery was born, one with an adjoining pub where people could enjoy a good chat with close friends over great beer. At the same time, they opened a beer boutique.
Because of the enormous success of regional craft beers, this location was soon far too small. So, in 2011, Brouwerij De Bie moved to a much larger farmstead in Wakken (Dentergem). What began as a craft brewery with 3 beers has today grown into a renowned brewery with 10 beers. But it hasn’t lost its artisanal qualities.
fonefan (84534) reviewed Zatte Bie from Brouwerij de Bie 18 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottle. Brown color with a average frothy fair lacing mostly diminshing light brown head. Aroma is brown sugar, licorice, alcohol, light hoppy. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet, moderate acidic, light to moderate bitter with a long duration. Body is medium to full, texture is oily, carbonation is soft to lively, finish feel is light alcoholic.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Bottle. Hazy light amber color with a large fizzy fair lacing mostly diminshing off-white head. Aroma is moderate fruty / berry, licorice tratment, light cola ? and vanilla ?. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and light bitter with a average duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft.
MiP (20366) reviewed Hellekapelle from Brouwerij de Bie 18 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Bottle, 5%. Chalky, bready aroma. Quite cloudy golden colour, sparkling. Small white head. Slightly metallic flavour with a little sourness. Yeasty aftertaste. Starts out rather poorly, but turns out to be drinkable after a few sips. The sourness makes it slightly interesting, but still strange.
MiP (20366) reviewed Kriekedebie from Brouwerij de Bie 18 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Bottle, 6%. Aroma of strawberry champagne. Slightly hazy prune/red colour. Big pale pink head, plasticky and stable. The flavour is also a little like strawberry champagne, only better. A bit sweet with a little white-wine alcohol bitterness and sourness. There is some berry sweetness in the flavour, more like strawberry to me than cherry. Only in the aftertaste do I get the cherry flavours. Quite good beer, a different kriek.
MiP (20366) reviewed Plokkersbier from Brouwerij de Bie 18 years ago
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 2 | Flavor - 1 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 0.5
Bottle, 7%. Strange, rough aroma, but not unpleasant, vinous and peppery. Hazy orange colour, small white head. The flavour is very metallic with some vinous notes. Awful metallic flavour, too much aliminium! Drainpour, like something from Haus der 131 Biere.
MiP (20366) reviewed Helleketel / Helleketelbier from Brouwerij de Bie 18 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
Bottle, 7%. Very slow gusher. Peppery aroma with a little vinous maltiness. Almost clear, grey/copper colour. Small big-bubbled head. The flavour is quite peppery and malty with a touch of anis and metal. Good balance between sweetness and alcohol, making it nicely drinkable.
Downender (11275) reviewed Zatte Bie from Brouwerij de Bie 18 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 4
Bottle from Hopduvel warehouse, Gent. Near black in colour with honeyish aroma. Taste failed to go beyond an indeterminate one-dimensional sweetness. An unrewarding strong beer - possibly part of an an off-batch?
JK (8181) reviewed Hellekapelle from Brouwerij de Bie 18 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5
Amber color and a short, thin head. Aromas has sour apple and alcohol with some malt and grain. Taste isn’t very good, metallic and undercooked meat, more apple. Strange chemical finish.
Fin (18365) reviewed Zatte Bie from Brouwerij de Bie 19 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Bottle from Ken Sheathers Wines, Cheltenham, 24-02-07. Poured very dark brown with a ruby hue. Great aroma that had toffee apple and bonfire toffee notes lovely. Taste was molassess, bonfire toffee again, nice honeyness, really good beer.
oh6gdx (51139) reviewed Hellekapelle from Brouwerij de Bie 19 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Bottled. Hazy yellow colour, small white head. Aroma is honey and spices with lots of earthy notes. Flavour is wheat, yeast, fruits, alcohol, hops and slight caramel. Tripel meets witbier or something like that. Quite nice!