Brouwerij Nieuwhuys

Brouwerij Nieuwhuys grew from a Hoegaarden inn into a compact brewery rooted in local names, landscapes and brewing memory. Founded at the end of 2006, it first brewed Alpaïde, a dark, forceful beer named for the medieval countess associated with Hoegaarden. The brewery later expanded into a separate building, where its beers continued to connect the glass with the town around it. From inn to brewery The brewery began in the Nieuwhuys inn in Hoegaarden, where brewing equipment was installed in the taproom and cellar. Its first official authorization came in December 2006. The small historic building soon proved too restrictive: production plans rose from roughly 50 hectolitres a year to 200–300, prompting the search for a larger site. A local vocabulary of beer Nieuwhuys gives its beers distinctly Hoegaardse identities. Alpaïde recalls the medieval figure linked with the town’s early history; Rosdel takes its name from a nearby nature reserve; and Huardis uses an old written form of Hoegaarden. The brewery’s own range presents Alpaïde Bruin as a dark tripel built around dark malts and Poperinge hops, while Rosdel is an amber 6% beer with a fruit-led profile and dry bitterness. A new brewing home In 2008, Jan Dewachter and Mieke De Backer acquired a nearby property with a larger shed for brewing. The new installation officially opened on September 3, 2009, when Huardis was presented as a wheat beer for the occasion. Its continued existence turned a planned opening beer into a lasting part of the Nieuwhuys range. Nieuwhuys is distinctive for turning Hoegaarden’s people, place-names and landscapes into the organizing language of a small independent brewery. Hoegaarden, Flemish Brabant, Belgium 2006 2006: Brouwerij Nieuwhuys officially began brewing after receiving its definitive authorization in December. 2008: The brewery acquired a nearby property to create a larger brewing facility. 2009: The new brewery opened on September 3; Huardis was presented for the opening and later remained in the range. 2010: Alpaïde was selected in a blind tasting as the best Brabant beer in the cited regional competition. 2012: Alpaïde won gold in the Abbey and Trappist category at the Brussels Beer Challenge, according to the brewery.