The librije x Uiltje

Serving specialty beer with a five-course meal. Top restaurants do not always want to do this. Plenty of wine packages on the menu, multiple wines on the menu to match one and the same dish, or even cooking the dishes to a wine; it is still the norm in most restaurants. With that, specialty beer is rarely part of a balanced multi-course menu. Beer is often no more than an aperitif, which is quickly parted with during the meal. A shame.

The Librije switches to canned IPA

Fortunately, the tide is cautiously turning. With De Librije leading the way, specialty beer is slowly finding its way to the top of Dutch gastronomy. In Zwolle, for example, you can now enjoy our award-winning Bird of Prey with a star dish. Recently, our flagship IPA has been poured with various dishes at De Librije. Simply. Straight from the can. And we are proud of that. Together with Sabas Joosten (sommelier at De Librije), Rick Kempen (beer ambassador at Bier&cO) and Robbert Uijleman (founder Uiltje Brewing Company), we explore the cautious gastronomic advance of specialty beer in general and the canned Bird of Prey in particular.

Uiltje beer at The Librije

'Our guests were increasingly asking for an arrangement of beers instead of wines,' Thérèse Boer told nu.nl back in 2016. So beer ambassador Rick Kempen was there at the time, when the team of sommeliers at De Librije investigated whether offering special beer could add something to the taste experience of its guests. The answer was a resounding yes. The birth of a beer menu at De Librije was thus a fact. Whereas in that first tasting an IPA was still considered too strong to go well with the refined and elegant cuisine, that insight has now also changed. The development is easy to explain: specialty beers are on the rise. The choice is getting wider and wider, and with that comes more and more beautiful combinations with dishes. In addition, consumers are becoming more accustomed to more distinct beer flavors. All developments that have now led to our Bird of Prey, on the menu at De Librije. And that in a still rather unusual appearance.

New look at look

Gaze. Surely it often produces associations with students, vagrants and alcoholics. Consumption in large numbers, preferably picked up from the bottom shelves of a German chain grocery store. And yes. That's definitely one way to look at canned beer. Let's just say that can has its function there, too. But cans have a number of important advantages that specifically contribute to the taste experience of specialty beer. For beer, light and air are the two main factors that greatly accelerate the aging process. Factors that have no chance in the air- and light-tight can packaging. As a result, canned special beers stay fresh longer, which ensures a longer retention of flavor. Beer ambassador Kempen says: 'Precisely beer like an IPA, where those crisp, crisp, fresh hop aromas and hop experience are so crucial, you want to drink it as fresh as possible.' Add to that the fact that transportation of canned beer can be set up a lot more efficiently (read: environmentally friendly) than for bottles, and suddenly you have three important reasons to give canned beer that extra bit of appreciation.

Ultimate freshness

At Uiltje , we believe in the distinct flavor of hop forward beers. And if you want to fully enjoy the flavors that come with them, freshness is crucial. Freshness and beautiful hops; it comes together fantastically when pouring the Bird of Prey at De Librije. These IPAs are transported in refrigerated conditions as soon as possible after filling. That means guests at De Librije can enjoy our flagship IPA within 48 hours of filling. Only with a pop-up restaurant in our own brewery could we perhaps pair our Bird of Prey faster with your favorite dish, but we don't have that ambition for now. De Librije further underscores the importance of freshness by only serving the Bird of Prey at the table, straight from the can. 'That is unusual and was also new to us,' explains sommelier Sabas Joosten, 'but it is the case with IPA that the character of that beer comes into its own especially when you pour and taste it fresh.' After De Librije took the lead in 2016 by giving special beer a place on the menu at all, they are now overturning the stigma on canned beer. 'It is an honor that a restaurant like De Librije takes the lead and shows the Netherlands that you can simply serve canned beer at the table,' says our founder Robbert Uijleman.

!