Stadsbrouwerij Middelburg
The Netherlands
"Passion and love for beer will always be our guideline for brewing Hosternokke beer."
While on a short vacation in the south-western Dutch province of Zeeland, we spent a day in the city of Middelburg, the provincial capitol. Looking for a local Zeeland brewery to swing by we ended up at Stadsbrouwerij Middelburg.
From hobby brewing to a brewery in Zeeland
Headbrewer and owner of Stadsbrouwerij Middelburg, Jacco de Wee, started out brewing beer as a hobby for many years. As so often happens, the hobby started to get more and more serious and as a consequence the volumes of beer started to grow. The province of Zeeland borders Belgium and the obvious choice was to brew larger volumes at a Belgian brewery that creates beers for third party brewers. These beers were brewed under the name Brouwerij Dienges.
His search for the ultimate recipe resulted in 2014 in the Blond ‘Hosternokke, lekker Dieng’ beer. Fun fact is that ’Hosternokke’ is actually a profane curse, a corruption of ‘godverdomme’, which translates to ‘goddamnit’. It’s a typical local Zeeland word that you don't hear anywhere else in the Netherlands.
City brewery and beerbar in Middelburg
The ultimate dream for most brewers is to start your own brewery. Although Jacco and his wife Marja did not have concrete plans to start a brewery at first, the unavoidable happened. In 2015 a building was purchased in a quiet street in the historic city centre of Middelburg. Subsequently a successful brewery crowdfunding campaign made it possible to realize a small city brewery with tasting room.
Brouwerij Dienges was renamed to Stadsbrouwerij Middelburg and the city brewery officially opened its doors in October 2016. A brand new 500 liter brewing installation and six fermentation tanks are situated in the back of the cosy tasting room.
Hosternokke beer
What started with a Hosternokke Blond beer is now a range of around twenty Hosternokke beers and Stadsbieren (city beers). The Stadsbieren include a Blond and a Dubbel. The Hosternokke beer styles include besides Blonds also Lagers, Dubbels, Tripels, Stouts, IPA’s and even a Smoked Porter and a Stout that is infused with Laphroaig Scotch Single Malt Whisky.
Two great specials in large 75cl bottles are a Saison, based on a local Farmhouse Ale recipe and an Amber Beer at 10% ABV. Obviously, nowhere else do these beers taste as good as straight from tap in the tasting room of this Middelburg brewery.
As of April 1, 2023 the city brewery was taken over by new owners Maarten and Dominique Anthoni. Stadsbrouwerij Middelburg will be moved to De Dam, a street real close to te city center. The beers are available at Bar Gaudi, located at Plein 1940.
Visiting Middelburg
Besides this small city brewery, Middelburg is also home to renowned Brouwerij Kees. Unfortunately, this brewery is not open to visitors and does not offer tours. Fortunately, the historic city center of Middelburg has more than enough to offer. The city is teeming with shops, cozy bars, eateries and restaurants. All kinds of smaller markets are held on the various market squares, but the main market is held every Thursday.
Also well worth a visit is museum De Vleeshal (contemporary art) that resides in the former town hall of Middelburg. The Gothic architecture of the building alone is quite impressive. Not tired yet? Climb the 207 steps of the Lange Jan tower and enjoy the view over the peninsula of Walcheren. Now you really deserve a beer.
Updated: 15-12-2024
