Located in the town of Bodegraven in The Netherlands, about a 30-minute drive south of Amsterdam, is Brouwerij De Molen. In Dutch, that means 'The Mill' and it is in this picturesque 17th-Century gristmill, on the banks of the Oude Rijn, that the brewery began back in 2006.
First included in Ratebeer's 'World's Best 100 Breweries' in 2014, this brewery has been an ever-present in that annual list every year since.
We first visited De Molen in August 2014, and were treated to a sampling of their delicious wares. It was the big porters, stouts, barley wines and barrel-aged creations that this brewery is most well-known for, but it was no surprise to find that the lighter pale ales and IPA's were just as worthy of praise.
We received our first shipment of De Molen beer in July 2015, to much excitement and anticipation. Needless to say it was very well-received, and we look forward to each and every future shipment from the brewing masters.
Update 2020: back in 2018, De Molen was sold to the Swinkels Family Group who will now take over the distribution of De Molen beers in Australia through their domestic company Heron Beverages.
Update 2023: Hooray! Looks like we have De Molen back in our portfolio. We were asked this year if we wanted to again distribute De Molen's beers in Australia - which of course we do. So from late this year we will have a shipment of De Molen beers heading to Oz. We look forward to many more shipments in the future.
This smoked dopplebock is a collaboration between De Molen and Poch's Cervesa Artesana from Spain
21 grams of Cryo-hops per litre of beer for this wonderfully dank, resinous, fruity Imperial NEIPA
De Molen's 3,000th brew was this black barley wine with roasted wheat
A Berliner weisse with hibiscus flowers and fresh blueberries
A big, juicy American style double IPA, dry-hopped with Amarillo
An American-style Pale Ale-ish, featuring Columbus & Amarillo dry-hop
Another 2019 Boreft Festival Beer, this is an imperial stout with chocolate nibs and fresh mint
An American Strong Ale, a big malty body, lots of fruit flavours and a pleasant hop bitterness
A combination of English and German smoked malts combine in this rich, tasty dark treat
De Molen's annual spring time release is 'Day & Dew' - an IPA featuring a bevy of US hops and bergamot fruit
This Borefts Festival beer from 2018 is an imperial stout with amarene cherries, finished on cedar wood
A Boreft Festival beer from last year, this is a Belgian style quadruple with South American Tonka Beans
De Molen's first take on the currently trending north-east IPA
A Double IPA made for Boreft's, featuring hops from De Molen's own hop fields
De Molen's new core range Belgian Blond with Sorachi Ace hops
One of De Molen's Bereft Festival 2017 beers, this is a smoked Earl Grey IPA - heavy on the smoke and tea, light on the IPA!
A barley wine with smoked malt and three varieties of chillies. Different but delicious!
A simple, traditional style porter 'made they way porters used to be'
De Molen's take on a Belgian Tripel style - lots of sweet malt and generous hop bitterness
An English Strong Ale, like a smaller version of a Barley Wine
The flagship imperial stout from De Molen - 'Hell & Damnation'
De Molen's 'Hell & Damnation' Imperial Stout
De Molen's flagship imperial stout has been given a hazelnut twist
De Molen's 'Heaven & Earth' - s smoky, peaty Imperial Stout
This is a fun IPA from De Molen with extracts of vanilla, chocolate and orange
An imperial banana choco porter, this is one of the 2017 Borefts Festival beers from De Molen
Originally a one-off beer, this Imperial Hefeweizen has become an autumn seasonal regular
The spring seasonal offering from De Molen is technically an India Pale Lager
Essentially an American Pale Ale, with a decent caramel malt body
De Molen's 'Beautiful & Ruthless' is part quadruple part imperial stout
De Molen's 'Malt & Mocha' is their winter seasonal coffee imperial stout
De Molen's 2018 Boreft Festival '9+1' beer is an imperial stout with added aloe vera
An Imperil Stout with 5 different barley malts, flaked oats and hand roasted coconut flakes
This collaborative brew between De Molen and Omnipollo is an Imperial Pineapple IPA
A session bitter, nudging toward an IPA dry-hopped with Amarillo
A delicious bourbon barrel aged quadrupel, made for De Molens Boreft Festival
One of De Molen special 'Bereft Festival' beers from 2016, a Red Rye Ale
A slightly sour imperial stout with walnut extract, caramel and salt, aged in Bowmore Whiskey barrels
A beer sitting between a pale ale and an IPA, celebrating 50 years of Maris Otter malt
An old-school IPA, the gift of De Molen's brew team to John Brus for his recent marriage to partner Petra
A delicious smoked dopplebock is the result of a collaboration between De Molen and Sound Brewery of Washing State USA
A tasty little red ale from De Molen, it has a fruity aroma, a sweet malty body with a sustained level of hop bitterness
De Molen's farewell to their European summer is this hoppy wheat ale
A light and refreshing summer style Berliner Weisse, dry-hopped with Simcoe, Mosaic and Citra hops
De Molen's summer Berliner Weisse for 2019 is fruited with cranberries
'Explain in detail' is a cross between a pale ale and a farmhouse ale
De Molen's Imperial Porter - all the sweetness and complexity of an imperial stout, without the roasted bitterness
A blend of two of De Molen's imperial stouts, then aged in various barrels, blended again and spiked with a wild Brettanomyces yeast
A NEIPA by De Molen with Cryo Citra, Lemondrop, Simcoe and Mosaic hops
A classic Belgian style saison, with a twist - dry-hopped with Cascade & Amarillo
A bottom fermented India Pale Lager, dry-hopped with Simcoe & Citra hops
A saison with winter-type spices added including timut and szechuan peppers, mustard seeds and juniper
A refreshing India Pale Lager, dry-hopped with Cascade for a fruity, bitter bite
This weizenbock with passionfruit and Tango hops is a perfect spring beer
A massive Imperial Stout, with loads of roasted malt, chocolate and coffee
A collaboration between De Molen and Reketye (HUN), this dopple bock features smoked malts and smoked paprika powder
A collaboration between De Molen and Beavertown (UK) sees a beery take on the traditional Gin & Tonic