Stout Hearts And Dutch Courage

Heineken used to brew a stout called Van Vollenhoven, based on a recipe from a brewery taken over and closed by the Dutch giant. It was in truth a black lager, made by cold fermentation, but it was so delicious that it was clearly too good to last and Heineken duly phased it out in 2000.

The Dutch used to make and drink large amounts of stout but the domination of the market by golden Pils from Heineken and its stable mate, Amstel, sent the style in to sharp decline in the 20th century. Now the Jopen Brewery in Haarlem has restored stout in a great trading city that had some 100 breweries in the 17th century.

Canal water was used until the supply became polluted. The importance of pure water to the brewing industry encouraged the city fathers to build a new canal to bring fresh supplies and it still exists today, named Brewers Canal.

The last brewery in Haarlem closed in 1916. Records show that two breweries in the city earlier in the 20th century produced stout: the Lans en het Hert (Spear and Deer) and Het Scheepje (Little Ship).

In 1995 a group of beer enthusiasts led by Michel Ordeman launched a range of beers based on medieval recipes that used "gruit", a blend of herbs and spices that predated the use of hops. The best-known Jopen beer is called Koyt, an old Dutch variant of gruit.

Extra Stout is 5.5 per cent ABV and is brewed with roasted malt alongside pale. Two unspecified hop varieties are used. It started life as an occasional brew called Jubeljoop II but it was so well received by drinkers that Michel and his colleagues decided to relaunch it as Extra Stout and put it on regular sale. Jopen Extra Stout The beer is jet black with a ruby edge. It has a rich aroma of dark, burnt grain, spicy hops and a hint of lactic sourness. It is bitter and sour in the mouth with powerful notes of bitter chocolate and espresso coffee, followed by a long, complex finish with bitter hops, burnt fruit and chocolate and coffee. It is on sale in the Netherlands in the Mitra chain of liquor stores and specialist beer shops at around 1.20 euro for a 30cl bottle.

Jopen doesnt currently brew - its beers are produced for it by several independents, including Van Steenberge in Belgium. But Michel is talking to the Haarlem authorities about building a brewery in the city that could come on stream in 2007.