Wide open green landscapes and medieval looking monasteries, surrounded by century old trees. That is what most people probably think of when they hear the term “abbey brewery”. Incidentally, that is exactly what brands like Leffe and Affligem want you imagine when you order their massive factory produced beers with abbey style labels and (if you’re lucky) flavor profiles. Trappist breweries are exactly like that, but more on that in a later episode.
In Amsterdam , at a 5 minute walk from an office building I happened to visit for work, there’s an abbey brewery too: Kleiburg. To set the scene, the office is located in a high-rise office park dominated section of an otherwise rough (for Dutch standards) part of Amsterdam, plagued by poverty and the corresponding societal challenges (Bijlmer, for intimi). Finding an abbey brewery on Google Maps near that office building was at least surprising, so obviously I had to pay them a visit in my hour-and-a-half break between meetings.
Kleiburg is the beer of the Kleiklooster: a spiritual and hospitable place in Amsterdam’s Bijlmer. We are a social enterprise and are inspired by traditional Belgian monastery beers and give them an innovative twist. This results in very unique beers: always recognizable and at the same time surprising.
From their own website.
When approaching the premises, the lovely decorated beer garden can’t be missed. Like a small park in the city, with lots of green, the picnic benches and couches give plenty of place to sit in either sun or shade. The brewery and tap room itself are in what looks like over-sized sheds or barns that shows little resemblance with your typical monastery or otherwise religiously inclined place. The tasting room has a nice view on the brewing facility, which looked decent. Half the window is in abbey-style stained glass, which is a cute accent. The rest of the tap room has a lot of wood accents, with a mix of authentic woodwork and modern handwriting, displaying the brewing process and beers.
The staff was a little less than knowledgable on their own product, but very helpful nonetheless. They let me have some tasters and served me with a smile with the beer for direct consumption as well as some takeout.
The beers are of varying quality. Their Session IPA has quite a decent body for the ABV, with aromas of pine, grass and citrus. The sweet basis orange works well with the lemon and resin in the flavor. The fair bit of bitterness was gentle and dry until well after swallowing. The Bok was quite metallic overall, in the nose, taste and aftertaste. A bit more bitter and less sweet than expected, with hints of some sour as well. Bready, caramelly and a bunch of pennies in your mouth. The “Quadrupel Poorter”, is that a quadrupel? Is it a porter? Is it both? Neither, even?! I don’t know, but it’s good. A nice aroma of licorice and vanilla with a hint of bourbon. Sticky and a full body. Quite sweet, but with a hint of salty, too. Two more beers await me. Not for long.
All in all, I love the authenticity and uniqueness of this place and think it’s definitely worth a visit when you’re in the neighborhood. A very interesting take on abbey breweries where you can easily spend an hour. Or a few!
Tasting Craft Beer 
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