Brouwerij De Kromme Haring
The Netherlands
"The only thing we fear is shitty beer"
Creative hotspot in Utrecht
‘Quality and experimentation’ are two foundational buzz words at brewpub and brouwerij De Kromme Haring. This young brewery, located just south of Utrecht city center, opened in December 2016.
They found a home in the building of Vechtclub XL, a meeting place with workspaces for creative entrepeneurs, but it also houses a bakery, coffee bar, restaurant and even a flower store. With this addition Utrecht, and its surrounding suburbs, is becoming a truly great beer destination with some amazing bars, brewpubs and microbreweries.
Brewing with a Biology PhD
From a home brewer that used to be staring at the yeast, flying around in a glass carboy, to owning a brewpub and brewery. Biologist and homebrewer Stephen Grigg, originally from Massachusetts, travelled via the UK to settle in the Netherlands. With a PhD in Biology he found a solid job at Utrecht University. Nevertheless he made a radical but well-thought out decision to quit his job at the university and follow his heart.
Stephen teamed up with beer-afficionado Gijs van Wiechen, former manager of well-known Utrecht beer pub Kafe Belgie. Together they started out as contractbrewers but quickly decided they needed their own place. With the help of a successful crowdfunding campaign they were able to realize their dream.
Brewing hybrid beer styles
With his background in the biology field, Stephen Grigg loves to use interesting yeasts, in particular English ale yeasts. It doesn’t necessarily mean that he makes all English style beers because he also likes to combine these yeasts with American hops and make sort of hybrid styles.
Working with both ‘clean’ and ‘wild’ yeasts like Brettanomyces is what they love to do. With names like Smokey the Barracuda, Lactic Fantastic, Twisted Kipper and Rhubarb Gurnard you know you’re in for some surprising flavours.
Brewpub De Kromme Haring
With twelve taps you can choose to drink a selection of their own brews, but they also offer a nice selection of other good beers. Otherwise a bottle selection might suit your needs. Even some great natural wines are available for those who like to swim against the grain. Although we really like a good glass - or bottle - of wine, this is the place to (also) fall in love with beer!
When the sun is out you can enjoy your beer(s) on the outside terrace 'Pintenhof' that is open from Thursday 'till Sunday. An excelllent place to also meet other local beer geeks that appreciate De Kromme Haring beers just as much as we do!
Updated: 11-09-2024
