Posts in category: Geen categorie

Nederland heeft een periode van vele jaren doorgemaakt waarbij grote pilsmerken de biercultuur vormden. De laatste tien jaar is daarin veel veranderd met de opkomst van kleinere brouwerijen en biermerken die op creatieve wijze te werk gingen en vele verschillende innovatieve bierstijlen maakten. Ook met Pontus Brewing hebben wij ons sinds 2013 daar voor ingezet, voor wat rustig de bierrenaissance genoemd mag worden.

Bier, en alle creatieve brouwsels van de zogenaamde “craft brewers”, zijn zo belangrijk geworden voor de cultuur in Amsterdam dat het Amsterdam museum het tijd vond een tentoonstelling te wijden aan bier in onze hoofdstad welke tot 1 november is te bezoeken.

De tentoonstelling begint in het heden, bij de “craftbeer-revolutie van kleine brouwerijen, en werkt zich terug door de geschiedenis heen en behandelt daarbij de opmars van pils aan het einde van de 19e eeuw en gaat terug tot het begin van Amsterdam als stapelmarkt voor Duits hoppenbier in de 14e eeuw.

Met Pontus Brewing hebben we ons inmiddels jarenlang ingezet voor een rijke en diverse hedendaagse biercultuur en het deed ons goed te zien dat ook onze bierflesjes zijn opgenomen in de selectie van het museum en dat wij daarmee onderdeel zijn van een levende geschiedenis.

Vergeet als bierliefhebber niet het museum te bezoeken en de tentoonstelling te bezoeken en kijk uit naar de flessen Gigantic Sailor, Allmouth, Red Surfer, Beach Boy of Oceanic Flight!

Met de kortingscode 7augustus krijg je zelfs 25% korting op een entreebewijs. Boek snel!

The Netherlands have gone trough a period of many years in which it, as a country, was dominated by big pilsner brands. They shaped the beer culture of our country for decades. A lot has changed with the dawn of many small independent craft breweries and gipsy brewers. In a creative way they started brewing innovative new styles of beer and also with Pontus we aimed at establishing what can be called a beer renaissance.

Beer has become so important to the identity of Amsterdam as beer capital of the Netherlands that the Amsterdam Museum thought it was time to dedicate an exposition to the topic.

The exposition start in the present with the contemporary craft beer revolution and the rise of small breweries. It then works back trough history to treat the rise of pilsner at the end of the 19^th century to continue back to the 14^th century to time where Amsterdam functioned as a important distribution point of German beer.

With Pontus Brewing we have been brewing beers for years now, trying to enrich the contemporary beer scene and make it more divers. We were happy to see that our beers have been included in the exposition. Visitors can keep an eye out for our Gigantic Sailor, Oceanic Flight, Red Surfer and Allmouth. With our spot in the museum we are part of living history and that makes us proud.

Don’t forget to visit the museum. You can enjoy the exposition till the first of November. And with the code 7augustus you will get a reduction of 25% when you book your ticket online!

Bij Pontus geven wij om het verenigingsleven. Plekken waar mensen bij elkaar komen om samen mooie momenten te beleven en herinneringen op te bouwen dragen wij een warm hart toe. Dit kunnen cafés zijn, maar ook sportclubs vervullen een belangrijke rol in ons sociaal leven. Dit bleek des te meer toen tijdens de coronacrisis de verenigingen gesloten werden en mensen hun clubje ineens moesten missen.

Gelukkig is er de afgelopen weken meer ruimte ontstaan om te kunnen sporten en Tennisvereniging Festina greep de kans aan om hun jaarlijkse open toernooi te organiseren. Vanaf 8 tot en met 16 augustus nemen spelers het tegen elkaar op in de brandend zon om de felbegeerde eerste plaats te bemachtigen. Er zijn winnaars en verliezers, er zijn momenten van vreugde en frustratie en al die emotie en hoge temperaturen vragen om heerlijk bier om mee af te koelen en te kunnen proosten.

Met Pontus Brewing hebben wij onze meest sportieve dorstlessers afgeven, samen met een bar deze vanuit te kunnen schenken. De strijders van de arena en de mensen die hen toejuichen kunnen gedurende dit evenement rekenen op heerlijke verse en verkoelende Beach Boy Tropical Lager en het alcoholarme bier van ons zustermerk van <0,5%.

Wij wensen alle spelers succes, veel plezier en zeggen alvast proost!

At Pontus Brewing we care about community life. We cherish places where people get together to create beautiful moments and lasting memories. Sometimes these places are bars or pubs but we mustn’t forget our beloved sport clubs. They play a key role in our social lives, something which became very evident during the corona crisis when they were shut down and people suddenly had to miss something which they always had seen as normal.

Luckily things have changed the last couple of weeks and with the reopening of sport club Tennis club Festina in the Vondelpark decided to continue with their yearly open tournament. From the 8^th to the 16^th of august players are competing with one another for that passionately desired first place in the scorching sun. There will be winners and losers, moments of joy and frustration and emotions that need to be ventilated under the burning sun. All of this requires special beers!

We decided to support this great initiative and placed a bar where people can get acquainted with our most sportive and refreshing beers. For all the entertainers of the arena and the people that root for them we brought a fresh batch of Beach Boy Tropical lager, to be served both from tap and bottle and a <0,5% beer from our sister brand. We wish all players best of luck. Cheers!

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Friendship and solidarity are key values for Pontus. Beer is a social lubricant and many memorable moments find their origin in a fun evening with friends and a glass of proper beer. At Pontus Brewing we brew beer with the intention of enriching people’s lives by making those specials even more remarkable with our quality brews.

During the corona crisis we worked hard to get a shop online. Up to this moment we have only used it to sell our own beers and that of our sister brand Naeckte Brouwers. That’s now changing with the introduction of a Pontus & Friends beer box. Beer is meant to bring people together and with this in mind we approached several other Amsterdam based breweries with the question whether they liked the idea of contributing to the content of the abovementioned box. By selling their beers we want to support them a bit, give them some extra attention and solidify friendships.

They responded enthusiastically and at the 15^th of July the first Pontus & Friends box went online with beers of Butcher’s Tears, De School and Poesiat & Kater. We created a nice mix and besides our own Lighthouse Saison you will find an American Pale Ale, English Mild Ale and a Belgian Tripel in this treasure chest. So, visit our online shop and don’t forget to buy a box of us and our friends. Cheers!

Vriendschap en saamhorigheid zijn belangrijk voor ons. Bier draagt bij aan gezelligheid en menig goede herinnering is ontstaan na een fijne avond met vrienden en een glas goed bier. Met Pontus Brewing brouwen wij bier vanuit de behoefte het leven van mensen te verrijken en die speciale momenten met vrienden nog bijzonderder te maken met onze kwaliteitsbieren.

Tijdens de coronacrisis hebben wij hard gewerkt om een webshop te onderhouden. Tot nu toe hebben wij daar enkel bieren van ons en ons zustermerk Naeckte Brouwers op verkocht. Daar komt nu verandering in. Bier is bedoeld om mensen bij elkaar te brengen en vanuit die gedachte hebben wij de afgelopen tijd verschillende Amsterdamse brouwers benaderd met de vraag of ze het leuk zouden vinden om als vrienden in een bierbox te zitten: Pontus & Friends. Door hun bieren te verkopen en hen een beetje extra aandacht te geven willen wij hen steunen en de vriendschappen versterken.

Er werd enthousiast gereageerd en op 15 juli 2020 is de eerste box online gegaan met bieren van Butcher’s Tears, De School en Poesiat & Kater. We hebben voor een mooie mix gezorgd. Zelf hebben we Lighthouse, een gedrooghopte saison, toegevoegd en de andere brouwers leverden een heerlijke American Pale Ale, een English Mild Ale en een fijne Belgische Tripel. Bezoek onze webshop en koop gauw een pakket van ons en onze vrienden. Wij zeggen proost!

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At Pontus Brewing we always aim for quality, whether it concerns brewing beer or providing a specific service. We also believe that working with quality craft beers requires specific knowledge and certain skills. Not only will your staff be happier and more confident when they are armed with knowledge, also the guests visiting your bar will appreciate advice based on solid knowledge.

For that reason, we also do product training sessions where we dive into topics as the manufacturing process of beer, the diversity of beer styles, how to objectively taste or sample beers and how to use that information to better help visitors of your bar with solid recommendations.

Earlier we had a presentation for some stafmembers of ANNA and under the supervision of the founder of Pontus Brewing, Nando Servais, several beers were sampled in categories ranging from Pilsner to IPA and witbier. With the help of a flavour wheel the group learned to recognize and describe flavours and see them in conjunction with each other.

The group was enthusiastic and a big part of it immediately signed up for the next educational activity, a day in the brewery to participate in the brewing process. Of course, they are more than welcome to join us in brewing a fantastic beer.

Reach out to us should you be interested in a similar training session for your staff, or in working with our beers and want to make use of the schooling benefits we of to our partners. We are here to help.

Met Pontus streven we kwaliteit na met onze bieren, maar ook wat betreft de service die wij leveren. Wij vinden het belangrijk dat onze bieren met kennis en kunde geserveerd worden. Niet alleen is dat fijn voor het personeel, dat gewapend met kennis met meer zelfvertrouwen achter de bar zal staan, ook voor de gast is het prettig goed advies te ontvangen.

Om die reden geven wij ook producttrainingen waarbij wij ingaan op de wijze waarop bier gemaakt wordt, de diversiteit aan stijlen die er zijn en de wijze waarop je via object proeven een hoop over bier kan achterhalen en dat je daardoor de gasten betere aanbevelingen kan doen.

Eerder deze wek verzorgden wij een training voor het ANNA-personeel en onder de begeleiding van Pontus oprichter Nando Servais werden bieren van tap geproefd in categorieën als pils, IPA en witbier. Met behulp van een smaakwiel leerde de groep welke smaken er zijn en hoe deze te herkennen in de geselecteerde bieren.

De groep was enthousiast en een gedeelte van de ploeg heeft aangegeven graag een keer mee te brouwen om zo ook meer over het productieproces te leren. Natuurlijk zijn zij van harte welkom.

Mocht u na het lezen van dit stukje ook geïnteresseerd zijn in een training voor uw personeel, laat het ons weten en neem contact met ons op. Of geef aan dat u interesse hebt in een samenwerking en vraag naar de mogelijkheden die wij onze partners bieden op het gebied van personeelsscholing.

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The 8th of July was a momentous occasion. On this day, a large section of the most important people of the Dutch beer world came together at brewery Duits & Lauret at Fort Everdingen for the ceremony of the Dutch Beer Challenge where the best Dutch brewers received their awards. The Dutch Beer Challenge is the largest and most professional beer competition of the Netherlands with certified judges tasting hundreds of different beers to select the best our country has to offer.

We participated with several beers and both of our brewery brands, Pontus Brewing and Naeckte Brouwers. With Pontus Brewing we brew creative beers and registered one of a brews for the category Innovation: Smoke. With our Naeckte Brouwers brews we focus on tradition and make authentic beers. Hence, we signed up for the categories of Bockbier and Barley Wine.

A few weeks ago we received to good news that in the aforementioned categories we won three bronze medals and with that achievement we belong to a very select group of brewhouses with three or more medals. With these results we stay true to our goal of brewing high quality beers and we were happy with the recognition.

For the year to come we keep on brewing elegant and tasty brews, learning every day to brew better and next year we will aim for an extra medal to add to the collection. In the meantime, keep drinking the good stuff and keep an eye on our site for the lasts beer news.

Woensdag 8-7-2020 was een bijzondere dag. Op deze datum vond de uitreiking van de Dutch Beer Challenge plaatst, de grootste en meest gewichtige bierkeuring in Nederland. Ieder jaar weer doen  honderden bieren van vele verschillende brouwerijen mee aan de Challenge met de hoop als beste van hun categorie te worden benoemd.

De uitreiking vond plaats bij brouwerij Duits & Lauret welke gevestigd zijn in Fort Everdingen. Bierprominenten uit heel Nederland kwamen samen om hun prijzen op te halen of deze juist uit te mogen delen. Ons brouwhuis deed met beide merken (Pontus Brewing en Naeckte Brouwers) mee in verschillende categorieën die passen bij de kernwaarden van onze merken. Pontus, als meer creatief en vooruitstrevend merk, deed mee binnen de categorie Innovatie: Rook en met de Naeckte Brouwers zonden we bieren in voor de meer klassieke en traditionelere categorieën van Bockbier en Gerstewijn.

Enkele weken geleden kregen we het goede nieuws dat we met onze bieren in alle drie de categorieën een bronzen medaille hebben gewonnen en daarmee behoren we tot een selecte groep Nederlandse brouwerijen die drie of meer medailles wisten te behalen. Met deze resultaten wisten we ons wederom te presenteren als een absolute kwaliteitsbrouwerij.

We gaan ons ook komend jaar weer inzetten voor het brouwen van mooie bieren met als doelstelling volgend jaar nog een extra medaille binnen te slepen. Houd onze website en socials in de gaten voor al het leuks dat nog gaat komen!

We always love it when one of our partners gets creative and comes up with a great idea to deepen the collaboration that we have and challenges us to think along. At Pontus Brewing we have a deep appreciation of creativity and we always do our best to support inventive initiatives.

Recently we were approached by the Pampus Island, a fortress island, museum, event location and appreciated partner of us with the message that due to the Corona crisis they decided to pursue a new line of additional products.

Our curiosity was stimulated and they soon revealed to us that where they normally focus on festive and culinary events, they now decided to sell “kerstpakketten”, boxes filled with Christmas gifts that companies traditionally hand out to their employees as a token of appreciation at  the beginning of December.

The team of the island showed great agility and created a fantastic box filled with treats made by their (local and artisanal) suppliers. We brewed their very own house beer and others like Saru Soda and Van Eigen Deeg (just to name a few) delivered beautiful products like a fantastic lemonade syrup and delicious cookies.

The products included in the box were selected with the greatest care. They are of the highest quality, with the best flavours and locally produced with a focus on sustainability.

We fully support this great initiative. Make sure to take a look at their site to get the complete picture and if you feel curious about our contribution you can have a look at the video below.

Pontus Brewing

Discovering flavours is exciting and at Pontus Brewing we offer people the opportunity to expand their horizon and enhance their flavour pallet by brewing exciting beers. Furthermore, we believe that the right flavours at the right, special moments enrich people’s lives and contribute to great memories.

With this in mind we recently brewed a new beer called Beach Boy, a Tropical Lager of 4,7% brewed in accordance with a broad history of pale lagers. We did this because a good lager is suited for many great or festive occasions like drinking with your friends in your favourite bar or celebrating life at birthday party!

From all the lagers, or bottom fermented beers, Pilsner is now by far the most consumed style of beer and the image of what it should be is dominated by big brands that operate internationally. The most well-known variations are Czech, European, and German. The first one is high in carbonation and foam, brewed with hops that impart mild floral aromas. It has a deep golden colour and a crisp, bitter finish. European variants tend to be more sweet and the German ones are more bitter and earthy in taste with a pale, golden colour.

To make pilsner strict fermentation procedures are required and carefully balancing your ingredients is a must since they need to result in a perfect and harmonious combination of delicate flavours.

Brewing Beach Boy was a challenge because of the finesse that is required. However, we were clear in our goal of creating the perfect party beer for all the happy moments when a tasty refreshment is needed and our brew master simply nailed it!

Beach Boy has a very pale appearance and is mild in carbonation as not to fill the drinker with gas.  When consumed you notice a mild malty sweetness with a medium mouthfeel. Contrary to the older pilsner styles that are more floral or earthy hoppy, ours is characterized by more fruity, lime-like aroma’s and taste. As like many other pilsners it has a crisp and clean finish.

Make sure to get your Beach Boy to make those festive moments a little more celebrative. In the meantime expect more tasty brews coming soon.

Keep drinking the good stuff!

Pontus Brewing

With the COVID-19 virus crippling our economy we had to be inventive in our efforts to bring our tasty brews to all those thirsty flavour fanatics out there. Here you can read how we succeeded in that effort by successfully launching a fantastic looking and easy to use online shop. We have been working tiresomely to keep up with demand and since quality service, next to producing great flavours, is a core value of our company we decided it was time to investigate how satisfied people were with their purchase and use of the site.

To get the answers we needed we sent out a questionnaire containing eleven questions and loads of people voiced their opinion! The great number of people responding was a clear indication of how involved they were and that on its own was heart-warming to see. We asked them questions concerning the ordering and payment process on the site and we also checked how happy they were with the offered selection of beers and the delivery of the ordered products.

We are proud to say that of the all the replies no less than 96,7% said they were happy to extremely happy with the offered selection of beers on the website. Almost everybody (97,2% to be exact) experienced the ordering and payment process as smooth to extremely smooth. However the number which made us the proudest is the one relating to the question whether or not someone would recommend our online shop to a friend. No less than 99% answered yes!

The results of the survey made us happy and have shown us we are on the right way in bringing our beers to you at home, so you can enjoy them in the comfort of your own houses. To continue to path taken we have now also opened a small shop in our taproom where people can drop by to purchase all of our tasty treats and take it with them immediately or place an order and get it delivered to their homes in just a couple of days.

If you feel curious about our shop after reading this, make sure to pay it a visit and click here.

With Pontus Brewing we aim to brew the best and tastiest brews. We try to enrich the lives of people by offering delicious beers, to make those moments when a toast to life is appropriate even more special.

Sometimes brewing great beer has everything to do with creating the perfect balance, to bring different, delicate flavours together. One of the beer styles that is harmonious and easy to drink, yet offers depth of flavour is a Belgian witbier. It’s a style our brewmaster wanted to make for quite some time and now he did with the creation of White Wave of 4,7%.

Witbier was the dominant beer style in Brussels during the 17^th and 18^th century. It was brewed mainly in Leuven and Hoegaarden from where Brussels was supplied. The beer style was almost extinct after WWII but was revived by Pierre Celis with the well known Hoegaarden.

Typically witbier has an alcohol percentage between 4.5% and 5.5%. With White Wave we wanted to create a refreshing variant of the style and with 4,7% ABV we are at the lower end of the spectrum. Because of that, we had to be extra careful using spices like sweet orange peel and coriander seeds which are common to the style but tend to dominate a beer when used wrong.

Our White Wave is brewed as a typical example of the style. It has a very light banana like sweetness, complimented with lemony and orange citrusy aromas and flavours. It is a beer with a soft and creamy mouthfeel, a hazy, pale, whitish appearance and a refreshing fruity finish.

Order it now in our webshop or keep an eye out for this tasty brew, as it will find its way to shops quickly.

Pontus Brewing

At Pontus Brewing we don’t shy away from making unknown beers and experiment with flavours. We like to dive into history in search of lesser known styles and are keen on trying out new ways to produce beers.

In our everlasting exploration of the world of beer we often find ourselves in a dusty beer store in the Netherlands or somewhere in Europe in search of unknown beers. We regularly go on the internet, hunting for scraps of information about beer styles of times long passed or draw inspiration from obscure fellow brewers. Sometimes, that hunt results in something beautiful like our tasty new Red Surfer, a raspberry fruit beer based on a traditional Gose. I hear you say: “What is a Gose?”

In the last few years this unknow beer style has been going trough somewhat of a revival. It’s a type of beer that uses the concept of sour and saltiness in elegant way. It is a style that, due to the use of special microbes in combination specially selected herbs like coriander and certain malts, is refreshing, floral and slightly tart.

It is a style with an interesting history that started over a 1000 years ago and has it’s roots in the town of Goslar in Germany. The name derives from the river Gose that runs through the town of which the surrounding area was rich in minerals like salt. This salt got mixed with the groundwater that was used for brewing and not surprisingly had a major impact on the character of the beer. The wort made during the brewing was then spontaneously fermented with a mix of yeast and Lactobacillus that descended into the open fermenters and provided the beer with the clean crispy sourness.

With the passing of time the style went into decline but survived in the city of Leipzig where, despite the heavy bombings of WWII and the communist regime that followed the style was kept alive.

A Gose in general is crisp, moderately sour, with a slight hint of salt and spiciness from the coriander in the background. You may expect citrusy flavours such as lemon and bitterness is low and the mouthfeel is dry. Reading about this style we immediately felt like brewing it and we wanted to give it a modern twist so decided to enhance the natural fruitiness of the beer with the addition of raspberries.

Despite the fact that at the brewery we don’t do spontaneous, open fermentation we managed to mimic the results through a more modern process called kettle souring whereby we pitch the wort with the same microbes that normally would enter the beer naturally in an open fermentation vessel. The wort is than soured overnight and then brought to a boil to halt the process. The result is a clean and stable sour wort, ready to be fermented with a yeast of the brewer’s choosing.

Our red surfer turned out great! She looks amazing with her bright red colour and she manages to seduce every beer drinker and what the look promises the smell and taste deliver. The first thing you notice is a wonderful raspberry scent and flavour, complimented with a mild lime like sourness. The small addition of salt has enhanced the flavours and blended them together to form one whole. With her 4,7% ABV she is an easy drink but the tart and raspberry give her a definite bite! Make sure to try her out!