Two Chefs
• • • EU Champion Brewery • • •
Robyn Gilmour
Saturday 22 October 2022
This article is from
Beer52 Awards 2022
issue 84
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In selecting our European Champion, we look for more than the ability to brew great beers. That’s a given. For this award, the winner must stand out from the crowd while showcasing all that is best about beer in their country, so our friends at Amsterdam’s Two Chefs Brewing were an obvious choice.
Even in the pits of festival fatigue, co-founder Sanne Slijper is cheery, welcoming and full of excitement around what has been a truly memorable summer for the brewery. It kicked off with a collaboration with Cloudwater, which Sanne says was “the highlight of 10 years for Two Chefs”.
“Cloudwater has been so influential in shaping modern IPAs,” he continues, “so collaborating with them feels like playing in the Champions League”. Together, the two breweries made two beers, Big Chef and Little Chef. Both were hazy pale ales, single hopped with Nelson Sauvin, but with Big Chef doubling up on the ABV of Little Chef to demonstrate the impact this has on hop character.
Continuing its exploration of New Zealand hops, Two Chefs also spent the summer curating a limited release four-beer series, each single hopped with Nelson, Motueka, Riwaka and Pacific Sunrise. All these beers come in at 6% to provide the best basis for hoppy comparison.
In the box, we have Two Chefs’ The Gold Heist Oat Pale Ale. Strata hops are underpinned by Citra and Mosaic, complementing creamy oats, 40% of which come to you from the Hague, to give the beer a distinctively Dutch quality. Most importantly to Sanne, this beer is an approachable 4.7%, delivering that hallmark Two Chefs drinkability.
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