Jopen

The word "jopen" comes from the Dutch town of Haarlem and was once used for beer barrels with a capacity of 112 litres. These large vessels were used to transport the barley juice from one bank of the Spaarne river to the other. Today, bridges are used and the beer is mostly found in bottles or stainless steel tanks, but there is a monument to the good old days: the Jopen brewery.

A treasure from the past

Work on the range began before the brewery was even founded. The Stichting Haarlems Biergenootschap came together in 1992 on the occasion of the 750th anniversary of the city of Haarlem to track down classic beer recipes from Haarlem's past and make them available to the modern beer market. Two recipes were found in the Haarlem city archives. One dates back to 1407, was called Koyt and is a so-called grut beer. Before the Bavarian Purity Law banned the use of all raw materials except yeast, hops, water and malt, beer was seasoned with all kinds of different herbs. The spice mixtures could contain all kinds of plants, often aromatic wild plants such as rosemary, sage, thyme, juniper, yarrow or heather were used. The grut beer of the city of Haarlem contained myrtle, among other things. The other traditional recipe was a very early brew with hops. The Jopen brewery was founded in 1996 and took up the work of the Stichting Haarlems Biergenootschap by brewing the ancient recipes in great detail. At first, the brewing was done using the cuckoo method, which meant that Jopen rented space from established breweries and brewed using their system. It was not until 2012 that the company moved into its own brewery in the former St. James' Church in Haarlem. They acquired a modern brewing system and also built a café and a restaurant. Four years later, another location was opened to meet the growing demand.

From Grutbier to Craft Beer

Over the last three decades, the brewery's product range has expanded and received a modern touch. A range of craft beers populate the selection and represent the brewmasters' repertoire wonderfully. The brewery has no set motto, but is inspired by the word "open". The team is open to new styles, unusual tastes and unconventional raw materials. Variety is the order of the day and people let their curiosity and desire to try new things lead them. Craft beer is a broad field in which the brewers are only too happy to let off steam. We benefit from their love of experimentation and are excited to see what the guys and girls from Haarlem come up with next!