ROTT'ing

Robyn Gilmour speak to some of the cool kids, in the coolest town in the Netherlands

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There were not many craft bars and artisan restaurants in Rotterdam when Lisette and Olivier Tanis, co-founders of ROTT. Brouwers, moved there almost twenty years ago. It was a different city then, though Lisette says that for as long as she’s lived in Rotterdam she’s seen it change for the better. As a major port, Rotterdam was heavily bombed during the second world war, destroying many of the old buildings that Amsterdam still enjoys. The reconstruction of the city saw modern architecture become its defining characteristic, and over time, residents have come to enjoy its appearance, reinventing industrial spaces, and using them to champion the arts, innovation, food, drink, and sustainability. Not without reason is Rotterdam’s motto: “Sterker door strijd” (“Stronger through effort”).

Of course, with a city’s redevelopment comes the opportunity for breweries to find footing, and over the last ten years, nearly twenty craft breweries have sprung up across Rotterdam. ROTT. Brouwers’ story began 10 years ago now, when Olivier began homebrewing with friends. What started as a hobby grew arms and legs, and before the couple knew it, they’d taken steps together to make their passion a commercial reality. 

The pair made a decision early on that contract brewing was a route they wanted to pursue permanently. It would allow them to scale up and down flexibly, save them the cost of opening a brick-and-mortar brewery, and allow ROTT. Brouwers to remain a two-person team with Olivier designing the recipes, and Lisette managing the brand, marketing, sales and administration. This is a tale as old as craft beer itself, but what makes ROTT.’s story unique is the way it has approached brewing operations over the last decade. 


Lisette and Olivier split barrel-aging operations between its contract brewing facility, and their own workspace

At first, ROTT. Brouwers specialised in high flavour, low-alcohol beers. In the early days, ABV’s rarely exceeded 5%, but these were the kinds of beers that Olivier and Lisette liked to drink. Several years later, and quite unusually, the pair quite drastically changed their approach to begin making high ABV stouts, barley wines and barrel-aged beers, and barley wines, and develop a core range. In ROTT.’s view, flavour always took precedence over ABV, and so alcohol content was the trade off required if the pair were to continue exploring big, bold, punchy flavours. Today the brewery enjoys a barrel-aged series, both with one-off releases every time; a far cry from times gone by. 

For the same reason that it's less common to contract brew lagers than other styles — renting tank space for the length of time it takes to properly lager a beer makes production expensive — few contract breweries facilitate the production of barrel aged beers, due to the space and time that sleeping barrels take up. In the case of ROTT. Brouwers, Lisette and Olivier split barrel-aging operations between its contract brewing facility, and their own workspace, giving the couple the opportunity to sample and monitor beer around the clock, in the way they can’t when contract brewing. 

It would be unfair to suggest that this direct and round-the-clock access to the beer has made ROTT. Brouwers think twice about the potential of a brick and mortar brewery, as Lisette makes it clear that the pair have no aspirations to own their own large-scale production brewery. However, she says that ROTT. Brouwers already has an option on a small brewing system, around 500 litres at a time — which will allow ROTT. Brouwers to focus on experimentation and innovation while continuing to contract brew core range beers. These little adjustments and changes speak to the growth and maturity of the brand, as it navigates and explores new ways to engage with drinkers, and produce exciting beer. 

ROTT.’s development of a core range is another example of this. “In the beginning, we wanted to brew the beers we loved ourselves, but not everyone is into the same crazy flavours that you are, right?” says Lisette. “So we decided to narrow our beers down into a core range of really tasty yet accessible beer, where there would be something for everyone. As we like to call them: vibrant brews, bringing colour to people’s lives. That’s still our mission, and so today we make a non alcoholic, a blonde, of course an IPA, yeah, a saison — which is a very misunderstood style, which is a shame because it's a really beautiful beer — and a really easy drinking 5% milk stout. 


We place a lot more emphasis on quality control now, like the quality of the ingredients, the water, the whole process

“These beers are really welcomed now, whereas when we started out, people saw a coffee stout and thought ‘that the fuck?’. The market has definitely changed, but so have we. We place a lot more emphasis on quality control now, like the quality of the ingredients, the water, the whole process. I think that shows in our beers.”

Inviting drinkers to taste an accessible version of a beer they might not have tried before is no mean feat, and ROTT. Brouwers might not have been so successful in its mission if breweries across Rotterdam didn’t share its vision. Serendipitously, the same week that we speak with ROTT. Brouwers, 12 breweries across the city — ROTT. Brouwers, Kaapse Brouwers, Brouwerij Noordt, Stadshaven Brouwerij, Stadsbrouwerij De Pelgrim, Vet & Lazy, Hofbrouwerij Reijngoud, Trots Bier Rotterdam, Jelster Bier, Brouwerij Tureluur, Monarch Brewery and Hoevebrugsche Bierbrouwerij — came together to form the Rotterdam Brewers’ Alliance as an act of support for one another, and to rally behind Rotterdam’s budding beer culture. 

“We all really help each other,” says Lisette. “We have a Whatsapp group with the city’s brewers in it, so if there's a question, ‘how should I do this’ or ‘does anyone have this ingredient to spare because I’m out of it?’, we can all help each other. What is really nice is that we are united, and do activities together. For example, in 2025 we’re going to arrange a beer festival with only Rotterdam breweries, and every year we get together to make a collaboration brew together. I think that's kind of unique. I don't see this kind of camaraderie between breweries in any other cities in the Netherlands.” 

While ROTT. Brouwers doesn’t currently have a venue you can visit to sample its beers, the brand is well distributed around Rotterdam. Lisette says that hopefully, next year will see ROTT. Brouwers open their own taproom, so keep your eyes peeled for updates, and check out its wares if you’re in the city for its annual 10 day beer festival (held every May), featuring tasting events, tap takeovers, beer runs and more.

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