Uiltje x Deschutes Brewing: Hella Dolcita Launch Party

Joost Hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello. Welcome to the release party of Number 12, Hella Dolcita with Deschutes. Is that right? It’s my first time. There are a bunch of brewers here, so if you’ve always wanted to know what an IPA is, or what’s a West Coast IPA, or a fucking New England IPA, there are a bunch of brewers over here. Please ask whatever you want to ask about brewing and stuff. We’re also going to do a live Q&A between the brewers and Rick Kempen, one of the most famous beer people from the Netherlands and the outer regions. Yeah, so that’s that. Welcome to the party, and have a couple of beers. Cheers.

Rick Yeah, yeah, thank you so much for the cool introduction. But let’s first raise our glasses to Jake and Clay, who actually made it all the way from Oregon, from the far northwestern United States, to join us here tonight. They’ll be doing more tastings tomorrow in Amsterdam. It’s quite a privilege. And by the way, if you do a toast, you should drink. Nice.

I think it’s a privilege to introduce these guys. None of you have any fucking clue who I am, so I’ll keep it short. My name is Rick Kempen, beer ambassador for Bier & Co. I talk about beer, and I introduce the people who actually make the beer.

We’re lucky to have Jake and Clay here, and also a couple of brewers from Uiltje Brewing Company. And what do these guys have in common? Well, a lot. Uiltje has been here for 13–14 years, and Deschutes is over 35 years old — 38, actually. Thirty‑eight? I stand corrected. These guys represent a brewery that was at the forefront of bringing great beers with actual flavour, taste, and character to the scene.

I’m looking at one of my favourite beers — Anchor Liberty Ale — which is still my favourite American beer, an IPA before we even used the term. Anchor Brewing Company from San Francisco was craft brewing before we even thought about the word “craft.”

Jake and Clay come from that second wave that focused on flavour and quality, never compromising on ingredients or enjoyment. And that’s what we’ve got again with Uiltje, which started in 2012, making crazy beers — doing things you normally wouldn’t want to do, like throwing Christmas trees into a brewing kettle to make Fuck the Christmas Tree Is on Fire, or throwing apple pie into the kettle to brew Apple Strudel, a fantastic dubbelbock.

It’s great that these guys have partnered to recreate an ancient beer style and bring new ideas into brewing. Jake and Clay are R&D brewers — research and development. They think about recipes, think about ideas, and bring them to the public. That’s the energy of new ideas, the motivation I share with them: always think outside the box and introduce people to new drinking experiences.

You’ve succeeded. I’ve had two Hella Dolcitas — this is my second glass. It has the drinkability of a Helles. You don’t want to think about it; you just want to drink it. But then you’re suddenly struck by this cool aroma. There’s more hop aroma than you’d expect from a Helles, and when you drink it, you get flavours you wouldn’t expect from a simple thirst‑quencher. A work of art dedicated to your enjoyment. That’s what it is.

I salute Jake and Clay, and also Marko, Paddi, and Nico.

Beer is not only the oldest man‑made alcoholic drink in the world — it stands at the base of our civilization. When we started making bread and brewing beer, we learned that if we nurture our plants, we’re better off. We’re not very smart individually, but if we work together and enjoy the bread and beer we make together, we start something bigger.

This kind of global rivalry, this kind of civilization, is what we still do. Every beer you drink actually makes the world a better place. It’s my pleasure. I salute you guys. The floor is yours.

Jake Yeah, it’s been a pleasure. Paddi came to America last September with the idea that we brew a fresh‑hop beer, but the timing didn’t work out. So we decided to brew a traditional German Helles. Clay and I had never brewed a beer with just a single hop — Dolcita, one of the newest hops in America — so it was a good experiment to brew a light lager single‑hopped all the way through. I think the results speak for themselves. It’s fabulous. It’s got notes of bread and gummy peach rings.

I want to give a shout‑out to the Uiltje crew. They’ve hosted us, given us recommendations throughout Europe for the last week. We’re sleeping at the brewery, so it’s been lights out. We’ve got a couple more days left, but this is a great way to kick off Friday night. And thank you to the taproom for hosting us.

Paddi Yeah, thank you guys for coming over and brewing. I’m glad Jake and Clay came over and we could brew this amazing beer again, because we didn’t have a chance to taste it. I chased it out of the BBT in the US and it was already amazing, and I thought, “I wish I could have it when it’s actually done,” and here it is. And I fucking love the beer as well. I’m really glad. Cheers to you guys. Thank you for coming.

Apart from that, we have a small micro‑collab with them — our Kontraband Baklava. Deschutes made a baklava imperial stout five or ten years ago, and we thought, “Let’s make something special.” Not something available to everyone, but something special for this launch. So Kontraband Baklava is a micro‑collab we did. We only have three kegs, and it’s only served today and tomorrow. The beer doesn’t exist beyond that. I hope you try it. I hope you like it. Cheers, cheers.

Rick Kempen I want to stress one thing: how lucky you are to be able to speak to the people who made the beer you’re drinking. It’s almost impossible to stand next to someone from Heineken and talk about the beer he or she makes. But here, you can talk to Clay and Jake, who do the R&D for this beer.

Think about how we started. Fifteen years ago, Robbert Uyleman was here doing weird and wicked things. And now we have the descendants of that. Please talk to Nico — Nico, say hi. Go talk to Marko — Marko is here. Talk to Paddi, who is now going to the toilet. These are the guys who make your beer. Cherish that. Cherish those guys. Embrace them and have a great evening. Cheers, bye.

Marko Sorry to bother you. I’m Marko, one of the brewers from Uiltje. Tonight, besides the two special beers with Deschutes — and thanks for coming over and making the beer with us — we also have three other beers that are super fresh, packaged this week.

We have Juicy Lucy Double New England IPA, our core Juicy Lucy but with more alcohol and more hops — on steroids, basically. We also have another Kontraband, a small limited‑edition batch, and we only have three kegs. It’s kind of a Mind Your Step from the past — a blast from the past — with maple syrup and Moyee Coffee. And we have Super Fresh Deacon Old Drain Old, an unofficial release for now, basically for the World Cup. It’s a hoppy pale ale, easygoing and easy to drink.

Please try a couple of these beers. Let us know if you have any questions. We’re here. Enjoy your night. Cheers.

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