Another year flew by! Amidst the global turmoil and increasingly impactful events both geopolitically and environmentally, Rotterdam breweries are still going strong. Not to say 2024 hasn’t been rough. Breweries all over the world are going through a challenging time and it seems like the forever green pastures may not be so green after all. Still, we have a lot to be thankful for: all the breweries are still standing and making flavorful brews for happy customers. There were quite a few happy moments this year: beer festivals, new bars opening and memorable beery gatherings. Sadly one beer store closed its doors, Hop-In in the Zwaanshals street in Noord, to pursue other opportunities. They will be missed. Below an overview of my highlights of 2024. Cheers to another beery year in 2025!
Eurobrouwers
Following a successful crowdfunding, the Schiedam-based brewery Eurobrouwers opened a second location in the newly renovated Station Bergweg, a food hall housing 12 culinary and beverage entrepreneurs where Happy Italy used to be. It looks great and the beer list is excellent, with some fabulous and sometimes daring (guest) beers on tap! Coen Wooldrik is the man behind the Eurobrouwers beers that you will find there and in Schiedam. Their beers are also canned and sold in stores.
Brewers’ Renaissance
In honor of the unique and creative art project by Willem Stoop – Brewers’ Renaissance – Brouwerij Noordt hosted an exhibition and festival at their brewery in April. The artist created a series of Renaissance portraits of famous, innovative and impactful brewers, such as Orval, Boon, The Kernel, Nogne O, De Kromme Haring, Westmalle, Dupont, Noordt and more. Some of them were also present at the festival, creating quite a stir even amongst veteran brewers! The opening of the festival was kicked off by none other than the famous Frank Boon, who also features on the cover of the catalog. For more info click here.
10 years Kaapse Brouwers
In May Kaapse Brouwers celebrated their tenth anniversary with a magnificent party at their brewery! They invited some impressive friends as well, such La Cantina Errante, Jopen, Fyne Ales, Stigbergets, La Pirata, BBP and more. Erwin van Moll (yes, from the Van Moll brewery) was DJ for a day. It was a swinging party! And in the fall they organized another fantastic Oktoberfest at De Kaai, the old Unilever margarine factory. That was one for the books as well! After a few years at their current location on the Keilestraat, they are thinking about expanding at a new location. Curious if they will move in the new year and what the next venue will be!
Brouwersbijbel
An ode to the Rotterdam beer scene, this comprehensive and beautiful Rotterdam Brouwersbijbel tells the stories of 20 local breweries, 22 beer bars and one beer store. It also touches on the local beer history. The book was written by journalist Sander Grip with spectacular photos by Sander Nagel. Brouwersbijbel was published in September and is available at stores or online.
Note: An elaborate history of Rotterdam beer and breweries by writer Willem Verboom is expected in 2025.
Rotterdam Bierstad
Twelve Rotterdam breweries have teamed up for a unique collaboration! After brewing two beers together for Rotterdam Beer Week in 2023 (Sterker door Samenwerking) and 2024 (MAASsive Rotterdam collab), they are taking things a step further. In December the foundation Rotterdam Bierstad was launched, whose main purpose will be to bundle resources and organize collaborative events to further promote Rotterdam beer and breweries. They are opening with a big splash by organizing a Rotterdam beer festival on Saturday February 8, 2025.
More beer highlights
There were of course many more special moments this year; too many to name in one blog post. I do want to give a shoutout to my friend Erik Terlouw of Brouwerij IJssel who put on his very first (and very successful) beer festival in Krimpen aan den IJssel with Rotterdam guest breweries Jelster and Vet & Lazy, which was sold out in no time. Next year it will be back and even bigger and better!
In February Etienne Vermeulen, head brewer at Kaapse Brouwers and De Bebaarde Brouwer, won the Dutch Craft Award 2024 for best brewer. Well done and a proud moment for Kaapse and for Rotterdam! A very deserved award for an expert brewer who is well-respected by the beer community. Congratulations also to Brouwerij Noordt and Jelster Bier for being nominated for the best brewery award.
For his 40th birthday local beer ambassador Michael Pelle, aka Yoda’s Beerhut, brewed an English style Best Bitter beer together with Jelster ‘Dagobah Elixer’, which was released in July and I was one of the first to get a taste. A nice easy drinking beer and very limited edition.
Something to look forward to next year is the opening of Café Donders, previously named Café De Stal, on Uitweg in Hillegersberg. For the new owner, former bar manager of BrewDog Rotterdam and the taproom at Noordt, it is a dream come true to have his own place. Looking forward to the opening in January!
In more personal news, I broke my own beer festival attendance record. This year I managed to visit 22 festivals, a number which I don’t expect to top any time soon! Some small, some big, some local, some far away, but all were impressive in their own way. Keep an eye out for my events page where I will add the ones I think are worth a visit.
Wishing you all a hoppy and healthy New Year!
All photos by Tina Rogers / 010 Beer Blog, unless otherwise specified.
