Brouwerij De Molen

Brouwerij De Molen, which translates to "The Mill," runs a small brewery, distillery, and restaurant out of a 1697 windmill called De Arkduif in Bodegraven, Netherlands. The site also houses a taproom and a retail beer shop that stocks European and American craft beers, plus local items like farm cheese. Head brewer Menno Olivier started as a homebrewer, worked at several small breweries, and spent time at Stadsbrouwerij De Pelgrim in Rotterdam before founding De Molen in 2004. The brewery has collaborated with others such as Mikkeller and De Struise Brouwers, and has recreated historic beer recipes, including those from the defunct British brewery Barclay Perkins.

Technical information

The brewing system originally handled 500 liters per batch, with annual production averaging 500 hectoliters. Equipment includes converted dairy tanks used as fermenters. Beer is bottled by hand at the brewery in capped 335ml bottles and corked-and-caged 750ml bottles with a wax finish, each individually numbered. Unsatisfactory batches are distilled into a 21% ABV Beer Liqueur.

In 2012, batch capacity increased to 2500 liters, and a new building was acquired 200 meters from the mill. Main production now takes place there, though the old setup is still used at least once a week. In 2016, the current building was expanded to aim for 25,000 hectoliters per year.

Awards and recognition

In 2010, RateBeer ranked De Molen tenth in its "Best Brewers in the World" list. The brewery dominated RateBeer's Best Beers of the Netherlands in 2008 and 2009, taking 7 and 8 of the top 10 slots respectively. Menno Olivier received the 2008 Zilveren Knuppel ("silver bat") from the Dutch beer society PINT for his contributions to beer culture.

De Molen Tsarina Esra was voted the most appreciated winter beer at the 2008 PINT Winter Beer festival. UK beer journalists Roger Protz and Tom Cannavan listed De Molen and several of its beers among the Beers of the Year 2008. In RateBeer's 2016 awards, De Molen was named the No.1 brewer in the Netherlands and ranked sixth worldwide.

Events

Since 2009, De Molen has hosted the annual Borefts Beer Festival in early autumn, with participants including Belgium's Picobrouwerij Alvinne and De Struise Brouwers. In 2009, California's North Coast Brewing Company filed a trademark-infringement claim over the Imperial Stout Rasputin, which resembled their Old Rasputin.