Brouwerij Bliksem

Brouwerij Bliksem is a Dutch specialty beer brand based in Breda, Netherlands. It was founded in 2015 by Merijn Dietvorst and Sebastiaan van Fessem, and its first beer reached the market in June of that year. The company operates as a contract brewer, or brouwerijhuurder: it does not own brewing kettles and instead uses the facilities of other breweries, including De 3 Horne, Ramses Bier, Vandeoirsprong and Bierbrouwerij Breda. In its early years the founders combined the brewery with their regular jobs — Dietvorst as a graphic designer and Van Fessem as a business analyst at Interpolis. The brand's range includes Blitzkrieg Bob (alcohol-free blond), Blitz (hoppy weizen), Black Sabbath (quadrupel) and Hemelvuur (tripel). Brouwerij Bliksem has won prizes in regional and national competitions. In 2018 it won the 'Brabants Lekkerste Bier' election with Black Sabbath. At the national Dutch Beer Challenge, Black Sabbath took gold in 2018 in the 'Donker - Zwaar donker' category, while Kermis in de Ale won bronze in 'Donker - Dark/Black IPA'. In 2019 Grom won gold in 'Innovatie/Speciaal - Houtgelagerd'; in 2020 Grom Kamikaze took silver in the same category; in 2021 Black Sabbath won bronze in the heavy dark category; and in 2022 Black Sabbath repeated its bronze while the brewery also won two silver medals in 'Innovatie/Speciaal - Hout' with Mad Mountie BA and Grom: Beast of Bourbon. From autumn 2018 the brewery was involved in BRACK, originally a pop-up bar with Ramses Bier in the old factory hall of Backer & Rueb during the BredaPhoto photo festival. On 30 August 2019 BRACK became permanent with a tasting room in the former Van Puijfelik hall in Breda's Havenkwartier, opposite Pier15, a collaboration between Brouwerij Bliksem, Ramses Bier and Bredase Bomen. The acronym BRACK refers to Backer & Rueb, Ramses and Bliksem, and the location also served as a small-scale brewery for Bliksem. In 2021 the company moved within Speelhuislaan from number 175 to 173 after the discovery of the harmful substance chromium-6 in the previous hall; the necessary renovation for water, electricity and sewage was partly financed through crowdfunding. The BRACK tasting room closed permanently on 2 September 2023, the result of a combination of financial setbacks including the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis, rising energy prices that made heating the business hall difficult, infrastructure works on the street and disappointing seasonal income. Talks about a possible restart of the location, including with project developer Amvest, came to nothing. Brouwerij Bliksem itself continues as a beer brand.

Brouwerij Bliksem was founded in 2015 by Merijn Dietvorst and Sebastiaan van Fessem, and its first beer was brought to market in June of that year. The company is a Dutch brewery tenant (brouwerijhuurder) based in Breda, focused on the production of specialty beer. Because the business does not have its own brewing kettles, production uses the facilities of other breweries, including De 3 Horne, Ramses Bier, Vandeoirsprong and Bierbrouwerij Breda. In the early years the owners combined the brewery with their regular jobs; Dietvorst worked as a graphic designer and Van Fessem as a business analyst at Interpolis. While Dietvorst had the ambition to become a full-time brewer, Van Fessem preferred to keep his regular position. In autumn 2018, BRACK began as a pop-up bar by Brouwerij Bliksem and Ramses Bier in the old factory hall of Backer & Rueb during the BredaPhoto photo festival. On 30 August 2019 the initiative became permanent with the opening of a tasting room of the same name in the former Van Puijfelik hall in Breda's Havenkwartier, opposite Pier15. This was a collaboration between Brouwerij Bliksem, Ramses Bier and Bredase Bomen, a company that makes furniture from locally felled wood. The acronym BRACK refers to Backer & Rueb, Ramses and Bliksem. The location also served as a small-scale brewery for Bliksem. In 2021 the company moved within Speelhuislaan from number 175 to 173 after the discovery of the harmful substance chromium-6 in the previous hall. The necessary renovation for water, electricity and sewage was partly financed through a crowdfunding campaign. The tasting room closed permanently on 2 September 2023. The closure was the result of a cumulation of financial setbacks, including the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis, rising energy prices that made heating the business hall difficult, infrastructure works on the street and disappointing seasonal income. Talks about a possible restart of the location, including with project developer Amvest, came to nothing. The brewery's range includes Blitzkrieg Bob (alcohol-free blond), Blitz (hoppy weizen), Black Sabbath (quadrupel) and Hemelvuur (tripel). Brouwerij Bliksem has won various prizes with its beers in both regional and national competitions. In 2018 the brand won the 'Brabants Lekkerste Bier' election with Black Sabbath. During the national Dutch Beer Challenge, various beers from the brewery have also been awarded. In 2018 Black Sabbath won a gold medal in the 'Donker - Zwaar donker' category, and Kermis in de Ale won bronze in the 'Donker - Dark/Black IPA' category. A year later a gold medal was awarded to Grom in the 'Innovatie/Speciaal - Houtgelagerd' category. In 2020 Grom Kamikaze received silver in this category. In 2021 Black Sabbath won a bronze medal in the heavy dark category. At the 2022 edition this beer extended its bronze medal, and the brewery also won two silver medals in the 'Innovatie/Speciaal - Hout' category with the beers Mad Mountie BA and Grom: Beast of Bourbon.

• 2026

  New website goes online on 18 June.

• 2023

  The BRACK tasting room closes permanently on 2 September.

• 2022

  Black Sabbath repeats its bronze medal; Mad Mountie BA and Grom: Beast of Bourbon win silver in the 'Innovatie/Speciaal - Hout' category.

• 2021

  The company moves within Speelhuislaan from number 175 to 173 after chromium-6 was found in the previous hall; renovation partly financed by crowdfunding.

• 2021

  Black Sabbath wins bronze in the heavy dark category at the Dutch Beer Challenge.

• 2020

  Grom Kamikaze wins silver in the 'Innovatie/Speciaal - Houtgelagerd' category at the Dutch Beer Challenge.

• 2019

  On 30 August, BRACK opens a permanent tasting room in the former Van Puijfelik hall in Breda's Havenkwartier.

• 2019

  Grom wins gold in the 'Innovatie/Speciaal - Houtgelagerd' category at the Dutch Beer Challenge.

• 2018

  BRACK begins as a pop-up bar by Brouwerij Bliksem and Ramses Bier in the old Backer & Rueb factory hall during BredaPhoto.

• 2018

  Black Sabbath wins the 'Brabants Lekkerste Bier' election; Black Sabbath wins gold and Kermis in de Ale wins bronze at the Dutch Beer Challenge.

• 2015

  Brouwerij Bliksem founded by Merijn Dietvorst and Sebastiaan van Fessem; first beer brought to market in June.

Contract-brewed Dutch specialty beer brand from Breda, focused on distinctive and award-winning craft beers.

• Blitzkrieg Bob

  Alcohol-free blond beer.

• Blitz

  Hoppy weizen.

• Black Sabbath

  Quadrupel; multiple award winner.

• Hemelvuur

  Tripel.

• Kermis in de Ale

  Bronze at Dutch Beer Challenge 2018 in Dark/Black IPA category.

• Grom

  Gold at Dutch Beer Challenge 2019 in wood-aged innovation category.

• Grom Kamikaze

  Silver at Dutch Beer Challenge 2020 in wood-aged innovation category.

• Mad Mountie BA

  Silver at Dutch Beer Challenge 2022 in wood category.

• Grom: Beast of Bourbon

  Silver at Dutch Beer Challenge 2022 in wood category.

1. 1Brouwerij Bliksem official websitebrouwerijbliksem.nl
2. 2Brouwerij Bliksem - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Brouwerij Bliksem - Wikipedia (Dutch)nl.wikipedia.org