Moersleutel

Owned by four engineers, the Zomerdijk brothers, with a side-line providing engineering services to other breweries, and with a name that translates as ‘The Wrench’, is it any surprise that Holland’s Moersleutal has bagged this year’s Beer Geeks award? Starting with few resources, this tenacious brewery has MacGyvered its way through every challenge it has inevitably faced. 

It’s a true team effort too, with eldest brother Pim running the overall business, with a focus on logistics and production, Tom leading Zomerdijk Engineering and working on new machines, Rob working on production, installation and recipe design, and Max designing new equipment to fit the needs of its brewing customers.

“It started as a joke” says Rob of the ‘Beer Engineers’ brand. “Marketing was never the motivation behind the name.” Moersleutal has certainly earned it though; having got the business onto a firm commercial footing, the brothers made a strategic decision to take their foot off the gas for a year, setting no targets for volume or revenue growth. Instead, they focused their considerable ingenuity on a single goal: brew better beer. 

The move has clearly paid off, with a slew of international awards and, much more importantly, a marked levelling-up of both the creativity and technical accomplishment of Moersleutal’s brewing. Beer geeks indeed.