Brouwerij Homeland

Brouwerij Homeland is an independent Dutch craft brewery based on the Marineterrein (the former naval yard) in the heart of Amsterdam. Founded on 29 July 2015 by hospitality and events entrepreneurs Koen Vollaers, Joost Carlier and Astrid van der Meiden, the brewery began as a small operation brewing in the kitchen of the nearby Pension Homeland using a second-hand brewing installation acquired from the former Dinkel-Lager brewpub in Gronau, Germany. Its early output was limited and served only in the founders' own hospitality venues. The brewery takes its name and the maritime styling of its beers from the naval history of its location. It produces mainly specialty beers, brewing roughly 25 to 30 different beers each year, of which about eight form the permanent range. The rest are temporary editions and wood-barrel-aged beers released under the Klapgijp series. Homeland is known for unusual ingredients: the pastry stout Donderbus is brewed with peanut butter, and the IEPa uses seeds from elm trees along Amsterdam's canals. A collaboration with Hotel Okura Amsterdam produced beers for the hotel's own hospitality, including a tripel with batak berries and orange peel and a New England IPA with kumquat and passion fruit. In late 2017 Bart Maes joined the management and later became a co-owner. To increase production, the company moved in autumn 2018 to the 'Bierwerf', a warehouse elsewhere on the Marineterrein. There, in 2019, it commissioned a sixteen-vessel installation that raised brewing capacity per session to twenty hectoliters, and it became the first Amsterdam brewery to use its own canning line. In October 2025, for its tenth anniversary, Homeland released a jubilee edition of its New England IPA Zeebonk. Homeland has won numerous medals since 2021, mainly at the Dutch Beer Challenge. In 2021 it took gold for Zwartbaard RIS and Pieremegoggel Saison and silver for Amsterdams Wit and Melkmeisje Bokkenpoten Milkstout. In 2022 it won gold for Scheepsbok and Lorre and silver for Katzwijm and Brassers Blond, and placed second in the Bierverkiezing Noord-Holland. In 2024 Ketelbinkie took bronze at the Dutch Beer Challenge, followed by gold for Zwartbaard and bronze for Black Pearl in 2025. At the 2026 edition the brewery won four medals in total, with gold going to Lifeline (Blond: Hoppy Lager) and Lorre (Innovation/special: Fruit). The brewery remains independent and describes itself as a close, passionate crew of brewers, creatives and go-getters.

Brouwerij Homeland was founded on 29 July 2015 by hospitality and events entrepreneurs Koen Vollaers, Joost Carlier and Astrid van der Meiden. The brewery is located on the Marineterrein, the former naval yard in the heart of Amsterdam, and its name and the maritime styling of its beers refer to the site's naval past. The first beers were brewed in the kitchen of the nearby Pension Homeland using a second-hand brewing installation from the former stadsbrouwcafé Dinkel-Lager in Gronau, Germany. In this early phase production was limited and destined exclusively for the founders' own hospitality venues. At the end of 2017 Bart Maes joined the management and later became a co-owner. To increase production, the company moved its operations in autumn 2018 to the 'Bierwerf', a warehouse elsewhere on the Marineterrein. There, in 2019, the brewery commissioned an installation with sixteen vessels, increasing brewing capacity per session to twenty hectoliters. At that time it also became the first Amsterdam brewery to use its own canning line. In October 2025, to mark its tenth anniversary, Homeland released a jubilee edition of its New England IPA Zeebonk. The brewery produces roughly 25 to 30 different beers per year, of which eight belong to the permanent range. It also brews temporary editions and wood-barrel-aged beers released under the series name Klapgijp. Unusual ingredients are used for specific beers: the pastry stout Donderbus is brewed with peanut butter, and the IEPa contains seeds from elm trees along Amsterdam's canals. In collaboration with Hotel Okura Amsterdam, Homeland developed beers for the hotel's own hospitality, resulting in, among others, a tripel with batak berries and orange peel and a New England IPA with kumquat and passion fruit. Since 2021 the brewery has won various medals, mainly at the Dutch Beer Challenge. In 2021 it won gold there for Zwartbaard RIS and Pieremegoggel Saison, and silver for Amsterdams Wit and Melkmeisje Bokkenpoten Milkstout. A year later gold followed for Scheepsbok and Lorre, and silver for Katzwijm and Brassers Blond. In 2022 the brewery also took second place in the Bierverkiezing Noord-Holland. In 2024 Ketelbinkie received bronze at the Dutch Beer Challenge, followed by gold for Zwartbaard and bronze for Black Pearl in 2025. At the 2026 edition the brewery received four medals in total; the gold that year went to Lifeline (in the Blond: Hoppy Lager category) and Lorre (in the Innovation/special: Fruit category).

• Brouwerij Homeland founded by Koen Vollaers, Joost Carlier and Astrid van der Meiden

• Bart Maes joins management, later becoming co-owner

• Operations move to the 'Bierwerf' warehouse on the Marineterrein

• Sixteen-vessel brewing installation commissioned; first Amsterdam brewery with its own canning line

• Gold at Dutch Beer Challenge for Zwartbaard RIS and Pieremegoggel Saison; silver for Amsterdams Wit and Melkmeisje Bokkenpoten Milkstout

• Gold for Scheepsbok and Lorre, silver for Katzwijm and Brassers Blond; second place in Bierverkiezing Noord-Holland

• Ketelbinkie wins bronze at the Dutch Beer Challenge

• Gold for Zwartbaard and bronze for Black Pearl at the Dutch Beer Challenge

• Tenth anniversary jubilee edition of Zeebonk New England IPA released

• Four medals at the Dutch Beer Challenge, with gold for Lifeline and Lorre

Independent, adventurous craft brewery producing maritime-themed specialty beers with unusual ingredients, based on Amsterdam's historic Marineterrein.

• Scheepsbok

  Malt-forward bok beer with a sweet finish, brewed with a large amount of rye and caramelized malts.

• Klapgijp #13

  Calvados barrel-aged quadrupel bok, described as 'heavy weather in a can'.

• Zeebonk

  New England IPA; a jubilee edition was released for the brewery's tenth anniversary in October 2025.

• Zwartbaard RIS

  Russian imperial stout that won gold at the Dutch Beer Challenge in 2021 and 2025.

• Lorre

  Beer that won gold at the Dutch Beer Challenge in 2022 and 2026 (Innovation/special: Fruit).

• Ketelbinkie

  Beer that won bronze at the Dutch Beer Challenge in 2024.

• Donderbus

  Pastry stout brewed with peanut butter.

• IEPa

  Beer containing seeds from elm trees along Amsterdam's canals.

• Pieremegoggel Saison

  Saison that won gold at the Dutch Beer Challenge in 2021.

• Amsterdams Wit

  Witbier that won silver at the Dutch Beer Challenge in 2021.

• Melkmeisje Bokkenpoten Milkstout

  Milk stout that won silver at the Dutch Beer Challenge in 2021.

• Katzwijm

  Beer that won silver at the Dutch Beer Challenge in 2022.

• Brassers Blond

  Blond beer that won silver at the Dutch Beer Challenge in 2022.

• Black Pearl

  Beer that won bronze at the Dutch Beer Challenge in 2025.

• Lifeline

  Hoppy lager that won gold at the Dutch Beer Challenge in 2026 (Blond: Hoppy Lager).

1. 1Brouwerij Homeland Amsterdambrouwerijhomeland.nl
2. 2Brouwerij Homeland - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Brouwerij Homeland - Wikipedianl.wikipedia.org