Wispe

Wispe is an independent Dutch brewery based in Weesp, a historic fortified town near Amsterdam. The name Wispe refers to an early medieval name for Weesp. The beer brand was started in 2009 by the Vellenga brothers, who set out to put Weesp back on the map as a beer city roughly a century after the town's last brewery closed in 1920. The first bottles were symbolically handed over to local hospitality businesses by the then mayor of Weesp, Bart Horseling. Since 2011, Wispe has been the only beer brand from Weesp. The brewery focuses mainly on the Amsterdam and Het Gooi regions, though it also has points of sale further afield. Its beers are brewed organically and the company carries the EKO quality mark. Since 2012 it has been a member of CRAFT, the Dutch trade association for breweries. For years Wispe brewed as a contract brewer (brouwerijhuurder) at other facilities: successively at Brouwerij De Prael (2009), Brouwerij De Leckere (2010–2020) and Sallandse Landbier Brouwerij (2015–2020). Production grew from 25 hectolitres in 2009 to 120 hl in 2013, 207.5 hl in 2014 and 450 hl in 2015. In 2017 work began on converting the Sint-Laurentiuskerk in Weesp into a brewery with a tasting room. The brewery opened there in early 2020, but the coronavirus crisis almost immediately brought operations to a halt. The church's namesake saint is the patron saint of brewers, among others. The brewery has a capacity of 15 hl per brew. In addition to its own beers, Wispe also brews beers on behalf of contract brewing clients. The Wispe site in the church also houses a café-restaurant and tasting room where guests can lunch, have drinks and dine with a view of the copper brewing kettles. There are 18 tap lines, a cupboard full of board games, and regular events such as the Wispe Oktoberfest, Comedy Night and Sing-Along Bingo. The tasting room has a large terrace overlooking the water. Wispe's core range has expanded over the years and includes Wispe Blond (6.0%, since 2009), Wispe Wit (4.8%, since 2013), Wispe Tripel (7.6%, since 2014), Wispe IPA (6.4%, since 2018), Wispe Porter (6.8%, since 2018), Wispe 0.5 (0.5%, since 2019), Wispe Dubbel (8.7%, since 2021), Wispe Weizen (5.9%, since 2021), Wispe NEIPA – Roaring Twenties Revival (5.6%, since 2021), Wispe Pils (5.2%, since 2021), Wispe Quadrupel (10.5%, since 2022), Wispe Saison (6.2%, since 2022), Wispe Imperial Saison (11.5%, since 2024) and Wispe Imperial Stout (8.7%, since 2025). Seasonal beers include Wispe Bock (7.4%, first brewed in 2015), Wispe Hartenlust (6.8%, brewed annually with hops from its own hop field, first brewed in 2021) and Wispe Lentebock (6.4%, first brewed in 2022). The brewery has won several awards, including the Amsterdamse Communicatieprijs 2021, two gold medals at the European Beer Challenge 2023 for Wispe Dubbel, silver at the Dutch Beer Challenge 2024 for Wispe Quadrupel, and silver and bronze at the Dutch Beer Challenge 2025 for Wispe IPA and Wispe Imperial Saison respectively.

Wispe takes its name from an early medieval name for Weesp. The beer brand was started in 2009 by the Vellenga brothers, who wanted to restore Weesp's brewing tradition. The town's last brewery had closed in 1920. To promote the new brand, the first bottles of Wispe beer were symbolically presented to local hospitality businesses by the then mayor of Weesp, Bart Horseling. Since 2011, Wispe has been the only beer brand from Weesp. In its early years Wispe did not have its own brewery and brewed as a contract brewer (brouwerijhuurder) at other facilities. It brewed successively at Brouwerij De Prael (2009), Brouwerij De Leckere (2010–2020) and Sallandse Landbier Brouwerij (2015–2020). Production grew steadily: from 25 hectolitres in 2009 to 120 hl in 2013, 207.5 hl in 2014 and 450 hl in 2015. The brewery focuses mainly on the regional market of Amsterdam and Het Gooi, but also has points of sale outside the region. Its roots in Weesp are reflected in the name and in the logo, which uses the town colours white and blue. Wispe brews its beers organically and carries the EKO quality mark. Since 2012 it has been a member of CRAFT, the Dutch trade association for breweries. In 2017, work began on converting the Sint-Laurentiuskerk in Weesp into a brewery with a tasting room. The church's namesake saint is the patron saint of brewers, among others. The brewery opened in the church in early 2020, with a capacity of 15 hl per brew. However, the coronavirus crisis almost immediately brought operations to a halt. In addition to its own beers, Wispe also brews beers on behalf of contract brewing clients. The Wispe site in the church also includes a café-restaurant and tasting room where guests can lunch, have drinks and dine with a view of the copper brewing kettles. There are 18 tap lines, a cupboard full of board games, and regular events. The tasting room has a large terrace with a view over the water. Over the years Wispe has expanded its range and won several awards. Its core range includes beers such as Wispe Blond (since 2009), Wispe Wit (since 2013), Wispe Tripel (since 2014), Wispe IPA (since 2018), Wispe Porter (since 2018), Wispe 0.5 (since 2019), Wispe Dubbel (since 2021), Wispe Weizen (since 2021), Wispe NEIPA – Roaring Twenties Revival (since 2021), Wispe Pils (since 2021), Wispe Quadrupel (since 2022), Wispe Saison (since 2022), Wispe Imperial Saison (since 2024) and Wispe Imperial Stout (since 2025). Seasonal beers include Wispe Bock (first brewed in 2015), Wispe Hartenlust (first brewed in 2021, brewed annually with hops from its own hop field) and Wispe Lentebock (first brewed in 2022). One-off brews have included Wispe Torenblond (2021, a jubilee beer commemorating the 2016 tower fire), WispEK 20/21 (2021, for the UEFA Euro 2020), Wispe Gefelicivaccineerd (2021, for the coronavirus vaccination programme), Wispe Kalisse stout (2020, collaboration with Brouwerij Hoop), Wispe Tripel Jenever (2017, with Anker Weesp) and Wispe Lager (2017, with KEK! bier and de Naeckte Brouwers). Awards include the Amsterdamse Communicatieprijs 2021, two gold medals at the European Beer Challenge 2023 for Wispe Dubbel, silver at the Dutch Beer Challenge 2024 for Wispe Quadrupel, and silver and bronze at the Dutch Beer Challenge 2025 for Wispe IPA and Wispe Imperial Saison respectively.

• 2025

  Wispe Imperial Stout introduced; Wispe IPA wins silver and Wispe Imperial Saison wins bronze at the Dutch Beer Challenge.

• 2024

  Wispe Imperial Saison introduced; Wispe Quadrupel wins silver at the Dutch Beer Challenge.

• 2023

  Wispe Dubbel wins two gold medals at the European Beer Challenge.

• 2022

  Wispe Quadrupel, Wispe Saison and Wispe Lentebock introduced.

• 2021

  Wispe Dubbel, Wispe Weizen, Wispe NEIPA, Wispe Pils and Wispe Hartenlust introduced; one-off brews Wispe Torenblond, WispEK 20/21 and Wispe Gefelicivaccineerd; Amsterdamse Communicatieprijs 2021.

• 2020

  Brewery opens in the Sint-Laurentiuskerk; coronavirus crisis almost immediately halts operations; Wispe Kalisse stout collaboration with Brouwerij Hoop.

• 2019

  Wispe 0.5 introduced.

• 2018

  Wispe IPA and Wispe Porter introduced.

• 2017

  Work begins on converting the Sint-Laurentiuskerk into a brewery with tasting room; Wispe Tripel Jenever collaboration with Anker Weesp; Wispe Lager collaboration with KEK! bier and de Naeckte Brouwers.

• 2015

  Production reaches 450 hl; Wispe Bock first brewed; brewing also starts at Sallandse Landbier Brouwerij (until 2020).

• 2014

  Production reaches 207.5 hl; Wispe Tripel introduced.

• 2013

  Production reaches 120 hl; Wispe Wit introduced.

• 2012

  Becomes a member of CRAFT, the Dutch trade association for breweries.

• 2011

  Wispe becomes the only beer brand from Weesp.

• 2010

  Brewing moves to Brouwerij De Leckere (until 2020).

• 2009

  Beer brand started by the Vellenga brothers; first bottles symbolically handed to local hospitality by mayor Bart Horseling; brewed at Brouwerij De Prael.

Independent organic regional brewery with a café-restaurant and tasting room in a former church in Weesp, focused on the Amsterdam and Het Gooi regions.

• Wispe Blond

• Wispe Wit

• Wispe Tripel

• Wispe IPA

• Wispe Porter

• Wispe 0.5

• Wispe Dubbel

• Wispe Weizen

• Wispe NEIPA - Roaring Twenties Revival

• Wispe Pils

• Wispe Quadrupel

• Wispe Saison

• Wispe Imperial Saison

• Wispe Imperial Stout

• Wispe Bock

• Wispe Hartenlust

• Wispe Lentebock

• Wispe Torenblond

• WispEK 20/21

• Wispe Gefelicivaccineerd

• Wispe Kalisse stout

• Wispe Tripel Jenever

• Wispe Lager

1. 1Wispe official websitewispe.nl
2. 2Wispe Brouwerij - Wikipedianl.wikipedia.org
3. 3Wispe - Wikidatawikidata.org