Old Delft Water Walk
We turn right to our last stop, “Delft Brewery House” on the Hippolytusbuurt. Go inside and order a locally brewed beer and read our final commentary.
Delft was a city with many breweries. An estimated 200 breweries were producing beer in Delft by the mid-15th century; at that time, Delft had fewer than 10,000 inhabitants! Due to the surrounding peatlands, the water in Delft was relatively clean, and the soil was suitable for growing the many ingredients of beer. Because it was not safe to drink water directly from the canals, almost everyone drank (low-alcohol) beer. It thus became an important export product of the city, made possible in part by Delft’s favorable location on navigable canals and its seaport, Delfshaven. In subsequent centuries, however, the number of breweries declined rapidly, to 100 in 1568, to 14 in 1700, and 0 at the beginning of the 20th century. In this bachelor’s thesis, you will read more about the history of the Delft breweries.
In the cellar of the Delfts Brouwhuis, you can still find traces of what is likely one of the oldest breweries in The Netherlands. In 1983 and 1984, archaeological excavations took place at the Heilige Geestkerkhof (Holy Spirit Cemetery). This is the small square around the corner where you find the terraces of Café de Oude Jan (Old John) and of the Delfts Brouwhuis, right next to the Old Church. During these excavations, many archaeological finds were unearthed, including the discovery of the oldest known brewery in the Netherlands. A wooden building with an almost square floor, approximately 8 x 8 meters, was unearthed here. The facade consisted of vertical planks, the side wall of wickerwork plastered with clay, and the roof was made of straw or reed. The growth rings of the poles and planks from which the building was constructed indicate that it was built in 1210. The cellar itself stems from around 1300. It was discovered during restauration works in 2020. In the house, a charcoal fire burned on its earthen floor . The smoke curled freely upward and escaped through a hole in the roof. The shape of this building is similar to that of a typical residential house from that period. This is not surprising, as beer was brewed at home back then, not in purpose-built workshops.
The beer in the Delftse Brouwhuis is brewed by the Delftse Brouwers (Delft Brewers). Their headquarters are located in Bodegraven. However, the Brouwhuis Delft also houses three fermentation tanks, with a capacity of over 500 liters each. With six batches per year, around 10,000 litres are brewed annually here at the Hippolytusbuurt.
Cheers!
