In the early days of ONP5, I tried an alcohol-free porter from Braxzz. I thought it was awful. Too flat, too malty. Just to be sure, I asked someone else to try it. They weren’t impressed either. Decision made: this beer wasn’t going in the shop. Not long afterwards, a customer asked why we didn’t stock that porter. He said it was the best alcohol-free beer he had ever tasted. What I found flat, he called subtle. And that astringent edge? He actually liked it. We added the beer to our range after all. An important lesson, early in the shop’s history: our taste isn’t the benchmark for everyone. A beer has to bring something to the table Of course we care about quality. But “good” doesn’t mean every beer has to be as bold as possible. In a fruit beer, we want to taste the actual fruit. In an IPA, we look for a good hop character. But a beer can also be clean and crisp. Then we want that fresh pilsner flavour or a lovely malt balance. It doesn’t always need mango, coffee or chocolate to get us excited. We’re looking for something that makes us think: yes, this brings something extra. That’s what makes small craft breweries so interesting to us. For large breweries, consistency matters. You want your favourite beer to taste the same wherever you drink it. With smaller brewers, we often see more room to keep tweaking. A different hop variety, an adjusted recipe, a slightly different balance. I sometimes say that large breweries work with recipes, while small brewers work more with concepts. That’s a bit of a generalisation, but it captures part of what we enjoy about craft beer. A brewer can surprise you all over again with the next version. We taste together When Bas, Fenna and Maxim are around, they join in. We discuss what we can smell and taste. Sometimes you know straight away what you think. Sometimes you work it out as you talk. Customers occasionally join us too, if they happen to be in the shop at the time. That often leads to some great conversations. Especially when someone picks up something completely different in a beer. We try to distinguish between a beer that isn’t particularly well made and one that simply isn’t to our taste. Those are two different things. That Braxzz porter still reminds us of that. And sometimes you need a little nudge. You might not be in the mood for a sour, but then you take a sip and find yourself pleasantly surprised. Those are good moments. Sometimes we have to take a chance Ideally, we taste before we buy. But that isn’t always possible. When we bring beers in from abroad, either ourselves or through an importer, we can’t always order a sample can first. So we look at Untappd reviews, read people’s experiences on social media and try to judge whether our customers will enjoy the beer. And how much we should order. Sometimes a familiar brewery releases a new beer and there aren’t any reviews yet. Then we have to rely on previous experience and our own judgement. We don’t always get it right. Very occasionally, a beer disappoints. But it can go the other way too. At first, I consistently ordered too little from Omnipollo. Their beers weren’t cheap, so I bought cautiously. Then they sold like hot cakes. Funky Fluid’s Free Gelato range was also almost impossible to keep in stock in the beginning. Apparently, our customers were a lot less hesitant than I was. And then there’s the price A good beer can still be too expensive for what it offers. That’s why we always consider value for money. At a higher price, we want to find something special in the glass. Real fruit, interesting spices, plenty of hops, coffee, chocolate or a smoky note. Or a combination that makes you wonder: could that work? And after the first sip, you know: yes, it can. But a well-made, affordable beer deserves a place too. We get around five to ten new beers in every week. Some have familiar flavours, while others take us outside our own comfort zone. Thankfully. It would be pretty boring if nothing ever surprised us. What can you expect from our selection? We’re discerning, we stay curious and we’re honest about what we think of a beer. Whether you agree with us is entirely up to you..

I love good beer. That probably won’t surprise you. And I can really look forward to a good alcohol-free IPA. The kind where, as soon as you open the can, you can smell that the brewer hasn’t held back on the hops. But why do you sometimes crave one so much? We’re talking about beers with up to 0.5% alcohol, so it’s not the alcohol. Could the hops have something to do with it? After all, aren’t hops related to cannabis? Reason enough to find out what this little plant actually does. Photo: biernet.nl First things first: what are hops? Hop is a climbing plant. Brewers use its female flowers, known as hop cones, to make beer. They contain compounds that give beer its bitterness and aroma. Depending on the hop variety, you might smell and taste citrus, flowers, tropical fruit or something resinous. That also explains why two alcohol-free IPAs can taste so different. Some are quite bitter, while others greet you with a burst of fruit. The hops a brewer chooses and how they use them make a big difference. And that’s what makes tasting so much fun. There are so many different alcohol-free IPAs that you can keep discovering something new. Related to cannabis. Really? Yes. Hops and cannabis both belong to the hemp family, Cannabaceae. There’s a word for your next Scrabble game. So they are botanically related. That would make a fun fact on a beer label. They also share certain aroma compounds. That may explain why some heavily hopped beers remind you of another smell. Especially those resinous aromas often described as “dank”. But ordinary brewing hops won’t get you high. Being related doesn’t mean that hops contain the same compounds or have the same effects as cannabis. A generous dose of hops won’t turn your alcohol-free IPA into a liquid joint. What about that relaxing effect? You’ll also find hops outside the beer world. In herbal teas, for example, and in sleep remedies containing plant extracts. Often alongside valerian. Hops have traditionally been used for mild tension and to help people fall asleep. That sounds like a pretty good explanation for that relaxed feeling when you’re having a beer on the sofa. But it’s not quite that simple. Scientific evidence for a sleep-promoting effect of hops is limited. And when studies look at a combination of hops and valerian, you can’t easily tell how much of the effect comes from the hops. So the fact that hops are used in a sleep remedy doesn’t make alcohol-free beer a sleep aid. However tempting that reasoning might be. But are hops addictive? Hops aren’t known to be addictive. There’s no evidence that normal use causes physical dependence. At the same time, long-term use of hops as a stand-alone herbal remedy has only been studied to a limited extent. So a definitive statement would be too simplistic. What can happen is that you get used to your beer. To the taste, the cold glass, the moment you open it. Friday afternoon. Work’s done. Time to sit down. A nice alcohol-free beer. When those things often go together, you can start wanting a beer before you’ve even opened the fridge. Hops don’t need to have an addictive effect for that to happen. And looking forward to another one the following Friday doesn’t make hops addictive. Enjoying something and being physically dependent on it are two different things. Personally, I’m mostly curious about what brewers can do with hops. Some beers hit the spot; others aren’t quite for me. And sometimes you find a truly superb beer. With a beer like that, what I really want to know is which hops went into it. That gives me something else to look out for when I open the next can.

Pratumplaats 2A, Utrecht (De Meern) MAXIMUSBROUWERIJ.NL (030) 737 00 77 When you think of Leidsche Rijn, you immediately think of new construction, of terraced houses. That is correct. Less well-known is the gigantic city park in the middle of the district, where there is plenty to do. The new city dwellers enjoy meeting up there by the campfire or at the bar of Maximus, for a locally brewed beer and, of course, a fine non-alcoholic beer. Director Ewald Visser started pouring beers at Bert's Bierhuis when he was fifteen. After a few years as manager at Kafé België, the oldest specialty beer café in the Netherlands, the idea for his own brewery emerged. The Bouwloods Foundation offered him and co-founders Arend-Jan van Dieën and Marcel Snater a home to start a craft training company in a brand-new building on the edge of a park that was yet to take shape. For two and a half years, the men were busy with finances, permits, and finding equipment. They managed to acquire a fantastic copper steam brewing system from a German brewery. It took a year of blood, sweat, and tears to restore it and put all the pieces back together. With the help of family and friends, they opened the tasting room in 2011. A final financial setback meant that the bar at the opening was constructed from wooden pallets. This suited the informal atmosphere well. The same applied to the spacious terrace, where local residents and park visitors have since become regulars. Maximus organizes fun festivals, a pub quiz, and communal meals at long tables there. Steam brewing is unique to the Netherlands. It is therefore extra fun to visit Maximus during the day, so you can see the brewers at work with those magnificent kettles. The result is a fine line of beers. Ewald describes the eight beers in their permanent range as 'non-standard, a touch exciting'. The Pandora is their flagship for a reason. Even with low alcohol, there is something to discover: Aurora 030 Blond is a high-fermentation blond beer with only 0.30% alcohol, a nod to Utrecht because of the area code. The Simcoe and Mosaic hops give the beer a fruity character with notes of melon and peach and a fine bitterness. In addition to their permanent beers, they also have specials and seasonal beers. Amazing beers and now a cider too. A tasting feast for beer geeks! You can make a reservation for a tasting alone or with a group (1–16 people). Every second and last Sunday of the month, from 12:15 to 14:15, you can discover Maximus beers and receive an explanation of the brewery and the brewing process. Advance reservation is required. You can always order a tasting board with 4 glasses of draft beer at the bar. Maximus has 22 of its own beers on tap, so you can definitely come back again! Bustling city park The brewery is located in the Máximapark, which is almost as large as the entire city center of Utrecht. You can easily spend a whole day there. For example, rent a bicycle (or public transport bike) and ride a loop around Het Lint: the main route around the park is eight kilometers long, with an extra two-kilometer loop around the Castellum. This way, you will naturally pass the butterfly garden by world-renowned landscape architect Piet Oudolf and the Parkpergola, where Maximus grows hops with local volunteers for their Mockingbird park beer. MAXIMAPARK.NL