100 Watt Brewery

The Netherlands

"We use only natural ingredients in the brewing process."

Eindhoven breweries

Although the city of Eindhoven once used to have over thirty breweries, by the 1950’s they had all disappeared. Local entrepreneur David Hendrich went in search of the oldest beer recipe in Eindhoven with the aim of writing a book about his quest for historic Eindhoven beers. The bigger dream was to actually brew these historic beers again. Or at least trying to revive the feeling and those flavors of the past. He managed to do so by gypsy brewing under the brand name Eijkenrode Bier, a tribute to the many old breweries that disappeared over time.

In 2014 Eijkenrode Bier stopped brewing beers under this brand name and and merged with gypsy brewer Rob Bours of Brasserie Bours. Rob had attended a lecture of David about his book on historic Eindhoven beers. A shared interest in putting Eindhoven as beer city back on the map, eventually resulted in the birth of Stadsbrouwerij Eindhoven.

Schellens factory

Eindhoven used to be a highly industrialized city and once had a major textile industry. In the 19th century, industries like the tobacco industry and the textile industry provided employment for a great number of people. Many textile factories were located near the banks of the river Dommel. These factories used water mills to drive machines and for the pressing of cotton fabrics.

Stadsbrouwerij Eindhoven established itself in the monumental Schellens factory building. This building belonged to the last company that was left of the original Eindhoven textile factories. The factory was founded in 1902 and around 1924 approximately 150 people worked here. The current brewery and tasting room are located in an extended part of the building that was built in 1954. The textile company actually still exists, but has since departed from this location and even from Eindhoven.

100 Watt beers

Another major, globally well known, industrial company in Eindhoven is Philips. The company had a factory in the city centre of Eindhoven where it produced light bulbs. Hence the nickname of Eindhoven: the City of Lights. As Stadsbrouwerij Eindhoven already brewed beers that referred to this history under the brand name 100 Watt, the choice was made to rename the brewery into 100 Watt Brewery. The lightbulb logo obviously refers to the industrial heritage of Philips.

The diversity of beers that are brewed at 100 Watt Brewery is immense. The core range consists of four different ‘Watt’ beers and three ‘Volt’ (voltage) beers. 150 Watt, a quadrupel of 10% ABV was rewarded Best beer in the Netherlands at the Dutch Beer Challenge 2020. Then there are barrel aged beers that have been aged on Whisky, Bourbon, Port and Armagnac barrels, to name a few. The seasonal beer range provides something for everyone, all year round. From fresh summer beers to heavy winter beers and everything in between. Limited edition beers are usually one-offs, you guessed it. 

Café 100 Watt

The immense diversity reflects the character of headbrewer and Eindhoven local Rob Bours, who clearly doesn’t like to be fenced in. Brewing traditional beer styles? Only when tweaked a little, to give these beers his signature. The former sound technician and musician also prefers to work with natural ingredients as much as he can. By now you will realize: when in Eindhoven, checking out Café 100 Watt, the tasting room right next-door of the brewery, is a must!

Another absolutley great place to visit for beer lovers in Eindhoven is Van Moll craft beer bar. Besides a choice of 12 different Van Moll beers on tap, there are another 12 taps with plenty more beers to explore.

Updated: 11-09-2024