ROEM

Two men, one kitchen, and a dream: brewing better beer. Loek translated ideas into taste, Viresh into ambition. Since 2015, this has grown into the city brewery of Zoetermeer, with its own brewery on Edisonstraat, transforming from a butter village into a beer city.

That individuality runs through the entire line. The Blond stays creamy and drinkable at six percent. The Tripel throws in coriander seed and sweet orange peel, letting the Tripel yeast blast out the fruit. The Stout is an 8.5 percent Russian Imperial, in which a hint of star anise picks up the finish. And the IPA 0.3% was tinkered with for over a year, until low alcohol no longer tasted like a compromise. Then the heavier and seasonal beers were added: the Autumn Bock, the Double Bock, the Quadrupel, and the Märzen.

There was also a beer that reached beyond the brewery: Beer Geeks beats ALS, brewed jointly by eighty-nine breweries, with the proceeds going to ALS research. That beer is sold out and will not be returning.

Artisanal, proud, and unmistakably Zoetermeers.