The Best Dutch Craft Breweries

Kompaan has been making premium beers in the Hague since 2012, and the brewery’s first few batches sold out almost immediately. Since then, they have moved into a bigger plant and created several fantastic lines of ale, lager and witbiers. The brewery is still expanding and continues to create outstanding seasonal and regular brews from the Hague.

📍 Kompaan Beer Bar, Saturnusstraat 55, The Hague, The Netherlands, +31 70 762 2494

Brouwerij ‘t IJ is located underneath the largest windmill in Amsterdam and stamps its bottles with labels featuring this iconic, Dutch machine. Due to its outstanding brews and incredible location, the brewery is a household name in the Netherlands, and many bars in Amsterdam keep Brouwer ‘t IJ beers on tap. The brewery is particularly well-known for its stronger, darker beers, like its Natte and Zatte.

📍Brouwerij ‘t IJ, Funenkade 7, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, +31 20 528 6237

Amsterdam’s Oedipus Brewery was founded by four beer loving friends that wanted to experiment and perfect their brewing capabilities. Oedipus is well known in North-Holland for its unconventional, original brews and its daring approach to brewing. Its headquarters in Amstedan-Noord features a cosy taproom that has all of Oedipus beers on tap and its team regularly organise musical and culinary events

📍 Oedipus Brewing, Gedempt Hamerkanaal 85, Amsterdam

Jopen was founded in 1992 after a group in Haarlem decided to establish a brewery that was dedicated to recreating their hometown’s historical brewing recipes. To accomplish this, they used old recipes borrowed from Haarlem’s city archives and began applying their research. Today, Jopen is a full-scale enterprise and has moved its headquarters to a church on the outskirts of Haarlem’s Medieval city centre, where its team continues to make superb lines of international and Dutch beers.

📍 Jopenkerk, Gedempte Voldersgracht 2, Haarlem, The Netherlands, +31 23 533 4114

Considering that Jopen is Uiltje Brewing Company’s main competitor, it is remarkable that this small brewery has successfully managed to chisel out a unique place within Haarlem’s craft beer scene. The company launched in 2012 and has since gone on to create several lines of tasty, imaginative beers that are all stamped with an adorable cartoon owl. Their operation is still growing and Uiltje Breweing Company recently opened a new bar in Haarlem.

📍Uiltje Brewing Company, Bingerweg 25, Haarlem, The Netherlands, +31 23 844 6395

As its name suggests, this brewery is located on the northern Dutch island Texel and uses local ingredients, fresh water and craftsmanship to make its delicious beers. Its seasonal ranges are always superb and include Dutch classics such as dark bocks or fruity witbiers as well as speciality brews like its Eyerlander- a smooth, amber beer that is named after Texel’s northern coast.

📍 Texelse Bierbrouwerij, Schilderweg 214, Texel, The Netherlands, +31 222 313 229

Like many craft brewers, the team behind Oersoep Brouwerij started making beer at home, and after tasting their first creations, quickly realised the potential of their small enterprise. As their venture grew, Oersoep Brouwerij moved their operation into a old honey factory in Nijmegen. Apart from conventional lagers, the brewery also experiments with its beverages and is currently working on a batch that contains Brettanomyces yeast- an unpredictable agent that gives beer a rich, unconventional flavour.

📍 Oersoep Brouwerij, Waalbandijk 14D, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Rotterdam is fast becoming the best place in the Netherlands to experience the finer sides of Dutch cuisine. Over the past few years several innovative culinary projects have been constructed inside the city, including its massive, state-of-the-art market hall, and Fenix Food Factory. De Kaapse Brouwers can be found inside the latter location and shares the building with several other inventive enterprises. The brewery’s beers simultaneously represent Rotterdam’s distinctive charms, whilst adding modern twists to classic recipes.

📍 De Kaapse Brouwers, Veerlaan 19D, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, +31 10 218 0853