Winkelen, ik gruwel haast bij het idee alleen al. Althans wanneer we het hebben over het struinen langs allerlei kledingwinkels. Winkel in- winkel uit met mijn vrouw om allerlei broeken, shirts en schoenen te passen om uiteindelijk iets te kopen in de eerste winkel. Het wachten bij de pashokjes naast andere ‘slachtoffers’ en vooral het ontwijken van de verkopers die vragen of ze je ergens bij kunnen helpen. De voorafgaande lunch en de afsluitende borrel in een café naar mijn keuze maken de dag enigszins draaglijk. Echt uitkijken naar een dagje winkelen zit er voor mij helaas niet in. Tenzij..
We naar een heel ander type winkel gaan, de bierwinkel! Er zijn er meerdere waar ik graag even binnenstap. Van een kleine specialist tot de grotere Belgische bierverkooppunten. Uiteraard kom ik er graag om nieuwe bieren uit te kiezen, maar er is meer!
In een goede bierwinkel:
Staat de muziek nooit op standje technoclub
Geven ze advies wanneer je hierom vraagt
Weet je altijd iets te vinden waar je blij van wordt
En als je helemaal gelukt hebt, kennen ze de klant.
Zo overkwam het mij afgelopen week dat de eigenaar van een bierspeciaalzaak zei: “Ik heb nog wat kratjes Gouden Carolus Cuvée van Keizer uit 2015 op te kop kunnen tikken met twaalf flessen erin. Dat is wel iets voor jou toch? Ik heb maar drie kratten dus de schappen zullen ze niet halen.” Even bedacht ik mij dat de al kelder aardig vol zit en ik stond ook al met een krat Ter Dolen in mijn handen. Bovendien zijn deze flessen meestal aardig aan de prijs. Toch maar even vragen: “Wat mag dat kosten zo’n krat? “Ik zal er een mooi prijsje van maken” klonk de eigenaar als een ware verkoper “€ 89,95 is ie voor jou”. Voor negen tientjes was ik spekkoper en vijf minuten later lag de kist in de kofferbak. Dit is dus waarom hier zo graag kom. Mooi weekend in het vooruitzicht!
We also search the digital world for interesting stories in the wonderful world of beer. On social media we came across the following description “The smallest beer shop in the Netherlands”, our interest was raised! One phone call with Fred Buddingh, owner of ‘Driemeterbier’, was enough. ”An article about my store? Nice, there is enough to tell, come by.” So here we are at ‘Little Beershop’ – an interview with Fred.
First of all, Fred, the name ‘Driemeterbier’, tell us the story!
We are now in the store called Little Beershop, which is the result of the ‘Driemeterbier’ store (translation: ‘Threemeterbeer’). In the time that I was still working as an editor for television, it always interested me to start my own beer shop. My brother-in-law has a delicacy shop in town and we came up with the concept 3 years ago to create a kind of shop in shop by placing a rack of ‘Driemeterbier’ with very nice beers in his shop. And so the smallest beer shop in the Netherlands was born with literally three meters of beer.
Every week I adjust the product range with 15 new beers. A good working concept, now there are also two locations of Driemeterbier in Hilversum and Amersfoort. Because the concept ran so smoothly, I started thinking about my own store and so I began looking for a suitable place. This area used to be a prostitution area and redevelopment turned this into retail property. After a successful crowdfunding campaign in which I even sold beer in one of the (vacant) red-light district rooms, this store started. The new name of the store was Little Beershop, to fit the theme of Driemeterbier.
How did you gather the knowledge to put together the right assortment?
Well, I kind of grew into it. I have been interested in specialty beer for a long time and have visited many beer festivals. I also had a lot of practice in the time when I only had Driemeterbier at the ‘Amsterdamsestraatweg’ (street name). We were just a small beer shop at the time. I learned a lot during that time by trial and error.
We see a special device and beer taps in the store, you don’t see that often, please explain!
At the time when we only had Driemeterbier, we also filled bottles with beer ourselves, so that people could take home fresh beer. Then I started searching for a way to also can beer and I came across this mini-cannery – a machine that could seal cans filled with beer. I wanted to create the atmosphere of a bar, but a bar where people can’t drink. You can drink it everywhere except inside the store, that is the underlying idea. It is quite new, nobody is familiar with this concept. ‘Frontaal’ Brewery also has one, but that’s the only other store to my knowledge.
Is there another thought behind the beers that you can can yourself?
9 out of 10 times I’ll try to find beer that you can hardly get in bottles or cans. For example, I currently have 3 beers from a German brewer with very good IPAs that can only be purchased on kegs. We immediately build a theme around it named ‘Deutsches Wochenende’, including German schlager music.
How do you determine what to include in your assortment?
I am in contact with both the ‘middlemen’ and directly with the brewer himself. You get so much offered as well and I’ll just make a selection from that. The Netherlands has so many brewers that I have chosen to support the local community. For example, I have a rack here with all the beers from the area, think of ‘Kromme Haring’ and ‘Van de Streek’. I prefer to sell more local beer and support local friends than, for example, to offer beer from Enkhuizen (a town further away). The funny thing is that people really appreciate the local beer, but also want to try beer from all over the world.
What trends do you see in 2020?
You always see that people specify a certain beer style here, for example “this is the year of alcohol-free and of sour or NEIPA”. I also think this will be the year of NEIPA, but I think this will also be the year in which a very large group of people will finally discover specialty beer. I notice more and more that people who used to drink standard ‘LaChouffe’ at home now come to the store and say: “I recently had something with tropical fruit” after which I point them to a beer and they say “I’ll take 6 of them!”. This large group of people is starting to discover the possibilities of specialty beer.
Who are your customers?
Pretty diverse, but generally young people. Few elderly people … some, but few? This is probably due to my assortment. For example, I have little Belgian beer, those beers aren’t runners either in my store. 98% comes from modern breweries.
What do customers indicate as the main reason why they keep coming back?
I really try to create an atmosphere in the store. For me it is fun to make it a ‘Deutsches wochenende’ now. For my store in Hoogland I had also canned beers with the label of the village, and the Brexit was also a theme in the store.
In addition, the constantly innovative range is of course also something that is appreciated. That is perhaps what I focus on the most, I just want to be the store for the new beer. I just want to have the coolest beers available.
How would you describe the atmosphere?
It must be a kind of bar where you like to stay and have a chat, and yes it is a shame that you can’t have a beer with it, but that’s the way the law works. It would be my ideal store if you can just order a beer while shopping here. Until then we are a store where you can buy fantastic beer in a bar environment that you can drink anywhere except here, haha!
And your future plans?
Future plans? I still have so many things that I want to do in this store, I still have to put finishing touches on a lot of things. My to-do list is still huge haha. For now I am busy with that, and with a feeling that I just want to be here and practice my passion.
The very first featured beer store is Beer Lokaal. This atmospheric store in the center of Breda is a mecca for the true beer lover.
Name: Bier Lokaal Breda Owner: Hans Vermeulen Founded: June 1st, 2018 Address: Boschstraat 150, Breda Website: www.bier-lokaal.nl
Where does the name Bier Lokaal come from?
The name is two-folded. In Dutch, lokaal means both local as space or room. This space is in fact a room full of beer. Another part of the concept is me trying to sell as much (local) beers from Breda beer as possible.
Why a beer store?
Very simple. The craft beer product has been my passion for at least 15/16 years. There are so many differences in flavor, experience and design. Though there are not many different styles, every beer is just a little bit different. You keep tasting new things and that still brings a lot of pleasure. With this store I can convey my passion very well.
Who are your customers?
In terms of customers you can say that there is a divide. On the one hand it’s people who are looking for local beer. These customers often give it away as a regular or promotional gift. On the other hand, it’s the enthusiasts who are looking for the special things. The craft scene, beer geeks, whatever you want to call it. The sometimes come to me like: “Hans, beer X will be on the market next month. Can we buy it from you?”. That of course, is very cool. Because of my ever growing network of suppliers en importers I can get the craziest beers sometimes. If necessary, I will collect it myself or have it brought here by a transporter.
Many of the beers that do well for the beer geeks are the IPAs, imperial souls, barrel aged, limited editions and collaborations. As long as it’s unique, special or intense, there’s market. With this I’m fairly well in a niche market. It sometimes costs a little more but it’s really worth it. These are really top-notch products.
Where are your customers from?
Mostly locals from Breda. But I notice that more and more Belgians come to Bier Lokaal and keep coming back. They do indicate that the range in beer shops differs a lot between Belgium and the Netherlands. Belgians are increasingly open to extreme and unusual beers that are easier to find here than in Belgium. In Belgium, they are more likely to sell doubles and triples.
What trends do you see in beer sales?
More and more cans. Canning is solid growing and I expect this to continue for a while. Of course this also has its advantages. There is hardly any air and light, which are the natural enemies of beer. Tin-plate is directly suitable for all styles of beer. It sometimes feels a bit strange to serve a barrel aged or imperial stout from a can. I’m curious to see what aging in a can will do in relation to a bottle.
Another nice trend that I see is that the more acidic beers are becoming increasingly popular. Not only the sturdy and dry old gueuses but also the more accessible ones such as Beriner Weissner. I think this wil further continue in 2020.
What does your product range look like?
As diverse as possible. I want to be able to sell anything that is interesting and delicious. I am not committed to one supplier or importer. I look out for anything that’s interesting for my customers. Listening very well to your customers is very important. If you do so, you always know what to buy. Just after I started I had 280 different beers and I slowly grew to 500 beers. Later, I brought this number down again because more does not always mean better.
I’m changing products really fast and my customers appreciate this a lot. Of course I also change products within different seasons.
What’s your personal favorite?
Would it be silly if I name my own brewery Witte Anker? I am really fan of Frau Gruber at the moment. These are genuinely good IPAs. Wylam from Newcastle is also one of the outside category. If you would ask about my favorite style, it would certainly be the saison. A bit of a stranger in our midst that people sometimes find difficult to place. In particular, you should definitely try the Witte Anker saison!