Het Uiltje

From contract brewer to his own brewery in Haarlem

Robbert Uyleman started out homebrewing and later moved on to contract brewing, because he wanted to make what he was missing in the Netherlands. According to him, the beer list in Haarlem was mostly Belgian at the time, while pale ales, IPAs and imperial stouts from Scandinavia, the US and the UK were barely being drunk.

In 2012 he started contract brewing. Three years later he opened his own brewery in Haarlem. Before that he worked for a few years at Jopen, where they brewed on a 20 hectolitre system, and he brewed during collaborations at breweries all over the world. Designing his own brewery took a few months.

The name comes from the family. His surname loosely translates as 'owl man', and his father had a bar called Het Uiltje in Zandvoort, where Uyleman originally comes from. In 2021 Royal Swinkels Family Brewers took over the brewery. You can find them at Bingerweg 25 in Haarlem.

Hoppy, full of flavour and barrel aged

Uyleman wants flavour you don't have to search for. If there is cherry in a beer, you should taste it. He would rather leave subtle nuances aside for a beer that hits you 'in your face'. You can see that in the hoppy line, from IPAs like Bird of Prey to imperial IPAs like Dr. Raptor.

The brewery also works with barrels. Uyleman is a big fan of Scotch whisky and thinks that heavier beers such as porters, stouts, barley wines and imperial red ales go well with whisky and bourbon barrels. According to him, Johnny Cash plays all day in the barrel room.

Quality is the starting point: every beer that is dry hopped and every beer after production goes through the lab. Het Uiltje now exports worldwide. On their own site they call their beers award-winning and promise special releases every month.

Het Uiltje at Hoptimaal

At Hoptimaal you'll find a compact selection of Het Uiltje in 33 cl, in styles such as pale ale, blond, witbier and IPA. The strength is between 5.5 and 6 percent, so these are beers you can easily open more often. On Untappd, Uiltje Juicy Lucy, Uiltje Dikke Lul 3-0, Uiltje Dikke Lul 3 Bier!, Uiltje Blond and Uiltje Wit are rated highest. The range changes, so check the brand page for what is in stock now.

Drink the hoppy beers fresh and cold, straight from the fridge. Hops lose aroma over time, so keep an eye on the best-before date. If you come across a barrel aged stout or porter from them, give it a bit more time and drink it more slowly, not ice cold.