Beemster Boezem

Hoppy blonde ale

Before excess water is drained from the Beemster polder it is stored in the ‘Boezem’, the reservoir where water is collected before flowing onwards. The water flows away through a system of canals: the so-called Boezem-system. Our blonde ale is a homage to this Boezem. We carefully combined five sorts of hop to create a light and golden yellow coloured beer with nuances of citrus fruit. The Beemster will surely stay dry, cheers to that!

4.7%

28

11 Sorachi Ace, Mandarina Bavaria, Simcoe, Citra en Magnum

Ruys

White IPA

Symon Ruys was Jan Adriaenszoon Leeghwater’s grandfather and a beer brewer in the 16^th century. Situated in a small town called De Rijp he was probably already working on a nice dryhopped beer: at that time a technique used for its conservation purposes. Our Ruys is a refreshing and aromatic white ale with strong tropical fruity flavours. The IPA-bitter finish leaves us wanting more. Symon Ruys, this one’s for you.

4.7%

50

6 Cascade, Simcoe en El Dorado

Rijper Liefde

American Red Ale

Rijper Liefde refers to the hemp mill “De Liefde” from the village of De Rijp in North Holland. De Rijp is located in the heart of the Land of Leeghwater and is the birthplace of Jan Adriaenszoon Leeghwater. De Liefde was built in the 16th century and burned down some 120 years later as a result of a heavy thunderstorm. Hemp fibers were used in the mill as a raw material for making cloths, ropes and fishing nets. De Liefde was part of the industry in De Rijp, and that at a time when the Land of Leeghwater could make good use of that love.

3.5%

30

40 Bramling Cross, Centennial, Exp. 43

Opperbock

Bock beer

An ‘opper’ is a storage place for mowed, still moist grass. A long wooden pole is supported by sloping posts, where the grass is stacked against it to allow it to dry further. In our Opperbock, the wooden pole consists of rye, barley and wheat malt, supported by caramel and liquorice.
And unlike a real opper, this full beer with a slightly bitter finish does not have to dry up as far as we are concerned. The Opperbock embraces you, like the grass embraces the wooden poles. Because of this dark colored beer you only see the best of autumn.

6.3%

25

85 Hallertauer and Magnum

Brewery

It was 2012 when Hans, our head brewer decided to start brewing beer. Local beers, with a lot of hop and with inspiration from the area he drank his own first beer. Special beer with a stubborn character: low in alcohol, lots of flavour. Beer from the Land of Leeghwater.

This began somewhat amateuristic, as many hobbies do. Every guitar player remembers the blisters on their fingers from endless practice, every professional football player once tripped over the ball instead of kicking against it. Where others were perfecting their guitar play or football skills, Hans was goofing around with a big pan on a stove and a wooden spoon in hand.

Many beers later the recipes started to evolve. The beer got better with each brew and the technology and brewing installation improved along the way. The dreams became more realistic, the amount of barrels more impressive. A group of friends raised in the Land of Leeghwater became a devoted and strong entrepreneurial team drawing their inspiration from the Land of Leeghwater: the area, the technology, the nature and of course the water. A team that joined forces for one common goal: turning water into beer.

In the summer of 2017, Brouwerij Leeghwater officially became a BV (limited liability company). Innocent words and terms turned into lively product names. Names that define our heritage, our cultural background, our legacy. Labels were designed and a collaboration with the Jopen brewery in Haarlem was established where our recipes are now being brewed extensively.

Brouwerij Leeghwater produces beer that is brewed with attention to detail and a good dose of quirkiness (and hop!). And the best news is, as long as there’s water in the Land of Leeghwater we’ll continue to turn that water into craft beer. Enjoy!

Jan Adriaenszoon Leeghwater

In 1575, the man after whom we named our brewery, Jan Adriaenszoon Leeghwater, was born close to where our brewery is currently situated in a little town called De Rijp. Though his last name Leeghwater, wasn’t his name back then.

At that time, Leeghwater’s native soil, the polder landscape between the cities of Alkmaar, Purmerend, Haarlem and Amsterdam, consisted of peat meadows; vulnerable islands surrounded by water. Leeghwater’s vision was to connect these islands by creating more land. In fact, protecting ‘his’ island De Rijp against the threat of water became one of his goals in life.

In the first half of the 17th century, Leeghwater was closely involved as an engineer in draining the Beemster (1612), Purmer (1622), Heerhugowaard (1625), Wormer (1626), Schermer (1635) and Starnmeer (1643) lakes. For the first time in history, windmills were used to pump water out of lakes to create land. This is why the Beemsterpolder earned a spot on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Jan Adriaenszoon Leeghwater turned high water into low water and the peat meadows into an agricultural landscape. Gradually, Leeghwater finished his Magnum Opus: the Land of Leeghwater.

Leeghwater already changed his name in 1605, even before the draining of the Beemster had begun. Before that he was called Jan Adriaenszoon. The surname ‘Leeghwater’ can be translated in English as ‘empty water’ or ‘low water’. As stubborn as he was, he probably thought he would succeed in creating the ‘Land of Leeghwater’. Turns out he was right.