Nevel is located in Nijmegen, a small city in the east of the Netherlands with a strong craft beer tradition. Our brewery focuses exclusively on wild fermentation, creating carefully balanced beers that do not shout but have a lot to tell. A distinct character with challenging flavours, but also refreshing, sessionable and low in ABV. We work closely with our local suppliers to harvest organic herbs, fruits, tree bark and even vegetables for our brews. To us, brewing is more than just making beer; it’s the road to a new balance.

Wild beer
We brew with our own wild captures from grape skins, mixed with cultures from other natural sources. Hence the terms ‘wild yeast’ and ‘wild beer’.

True wild beer, however, is not just about wild yeast. It is about patience and moving along with nature’s flow instead of using quick and cheap production methods. Our beers are brewed without unnecessary additions like enzymes, extracts or artificial flavourings. The ingredients we use are pure and mostly unprocessed, straight from the field.

A new balance
Every new beer we make challenges us to find a new balance between character, intensity and accessibility. We prefer subtle, intriguing flavours without overwhelming notes. Our herbs and fruits are delicately woven into the flavour palette, not immediately present in the foreground. This is where we differ from many other breweries.

We try to extend our philosophy of a new balance to our company as well. We try to keep ethical practices and social responsibility at the core of everything we do. When we established our brewery, we did so without the intention of pure economic gain for ourselves. We work directly with our suppliers so we can offer fair prices that benefit all parties involved, with the intention of allowing us all to continue our sustainable work. In return, we ask fair prices for our beers.

Connected to nature
The lush nature of Nijmegen forms the heart of our brewery. We pick cherries in an old orchard, clip elderflower blossoms near an abandoned fort on the river and harvest willow bark in a nearby food forest. We gather our ingredients with our own hands or buy from small, local, sustainable growers. Our barley and hops are grown locally too. When you drink Nevel beer you can almost feel the natural, pure ingredients in your hands.

We gather our ingredients with our own hands or buy from small, local, sustainable growers. Our barley and hops are grown locally too.

Most of our suppliers are pioneers in their field who possess valuable knowledge of the flavours and applications of plants. This is another important reason for us to avoid resellers and seek out suppliers’ farmsteads ourselves. Each visit teaches us something about the particular varieties they grow and their subtle nuances in flavour.

Foodforest Ketelbroek is our main partner. Wouter van Eck transformed an old corn field into a permaculture ecosystem with hundreds of edible trees, bushes and herbs where we harvest on an almost weekly basis. We usually don’t ask for specific ingredients while we are there; instead, we simply take what the forest offers. Our aim is not to search, but to find. We harvest from other local food forests as well.

When we first set out to build our brewery, we dreamed of growing our own barley. Since 2019 we are collaborating with Hans Lamers, Gordons Spoor and Staatsbosbeheer, who have planted fields for us near Nijmegen with naturally grown, unsprayed barley. We send the harvest to local floor malting house Vloermouterij Masterveld , enabling us to brew with our very own regional malted barley.

In addition to this, we use heirloom grain varieties like Heliaro wheat, Ebner Rotkorn spelt and Sint Jans rye from the Doornik natuurakkers near our brewery.

Our hops are grown by organic farmers Hop voor Bier and Hogenelst Hop, close to Nijmegen. These hops, together with our local barley and our wild yeast, allow us to create beers that originate 100% from our province Gelderland.

We pick some of our fruit in old orchards, including the Warmoes in Lent.

Other partners include historic garden the Ommuurde Tuin, the Sterregaard and Kiemkracht 64.