Into the wild
Het leven is mooi, ga naar buiten,
ontdek, speel, proef en blijf jong.
DE BIERHUB
Of De Nieuwe Brouwerij & De Goudsche Leeuw
1272
Gouda received city rights on July 19, 1272. The town had no more than a thousand inhabitants at the time. The place where you are now was the center of the city. The port was part of the main shipping route through the Dutch county. Beer was the most important drink for the Gouwenaars. This beer was brewed by local brewers. It did not yet contain hops and had a limited shelf life.
1392
On January 11, 1392, the Gouda brewers received permission to brew a new type of beer. It was a variant of Hamburgs Wit, an extremely popular beer that was brewed in Hamburg and was especially popular in Flanders. The Gouda variant was called roe beer and was cheaper than the Hamburg example. The beer contained hops and therefore had a long shelf life.
1430 - 1550
By adapting the recipe, Kuitbier became affordable for a large part of the population in the 15th century. This made Gouda beer extremely popular among working-class families in the Low Countries. At its peak, Gouda brewers produced 50 million liters of beer per year. The city had 200 brewers, the majority of which were located around the port. In the period 1450 – 1520, Gouda was the largest beer producer in Europe.
1550 - 1700
In the 16th century, Gouda brewers were surpassed by those from Delft, Antwerp and Rotterdam. In these cities, brewers were able to reduce costs by increasing scale. At the beginning of the 20th century, there was only 1 brewery in Gouda, which was located 50 meters away. However, this brewery could not compete with factory brewers such as Heineken and Amstel and had to close its doors in 1911.
2012
Fortunately, in 2012 Gouda’s brewery scene came back to life. City brewery De Goudsche Leeuw was founded and the Goudsche Kuyt (Kuitbier) was soon reintroduced in 2013. Subsequent beers often have a link with Gouda’s beer history: Goudsch Gruit, Goudsch Blond, Goudsch Tripel, Goudsche Zot and more.
2021
Gouda’s beer history really comes back to life with the arrival of De Nieuwe Brouwerij. Beers such as Gouwe Rakker, Zwanenliefde and Woeste Wilg pay tribute to the river and polders around Gouda from which the city emerged. This is also the year in which Remco van Gastel’s book City of Beer is published.
2022
In 2022, the two brewers from De Goudsche Leeuw and De Nieuwe Brouwerij will talk to each other. It was soon decided that the two companies would merge under the name Gouda Brewing Company. Both brands will continue to exist.
2024
In 2024, De Bierhub will open where you are now. This place plays an important role in Gouda’s (beer) history. Over the centuries, there was almost always a brewery less than 50 meters away. That is why you will now find De Beerhub at this location, from where the boys and girls of Brownies&downieS deliver our beers throughout the city center of Gouda.