It's Not Just All Windmills and Tulips Over There: Dutch Kuit by Next Door Brewing

 

"What have the Dutch ever done for us?" you ask.

Beer?

In his paper "'Ale for an Englishman is a natural drink': the Dutch and the origins of beer brewing in late medieval England", Milan Pajic argues that the Dutch introduced beer to the English back in the middle of the 14^th century. This doesn't mean that the Brits at that time weren't having piss ups at their local Ye Olde Taverns but rather that they were doing so with copious amounts of ale, the fermented grain drink without hops. I'd bet this new-fangled brew was welcomed heartily as the country was recovering from The Great Mortality which had abated in late 1349. No doubt they were drinking a lot to celebrate their survival (and newly rising wages) but also to mourn the loss of roughly a couple million of their compatriots.

Today Dutch beer usually means Heineken for most Americans but back then they were brewing up ever increasing amounts of Kuit (or Koyt, Kuyt, Keut or Keute). Within a century the Hanseatic League was doing brisk business shipping it outside of its homeland. Kuit is notable for the large amount of oats used in brewing it. Oats were a very popular beer ingredient back then. They grew well in northern Europe, for one thing. Perhaps the availability of other grains was shakier 700 years ago. A drought may have put the barley supply in doubt during some years or the bakers guilds may have had really good lobbyists resulting in laws dictating that most wheat must be made into bread.

I don't really know; I am just spitballin' here. But I have made oatmeal before and can only imagine that brewing with oats is a real pain the ass. You don't see them listed on cans and bottles all that much here today. When they are, it's usually on the labels of stouts where they give the beer a rich smoothness because of the oaty proteins and/or starches. However, it seems that oats are used more often than their appearance in oatmeal stouts would lead one to believe. The proteins in oats are highly coveted for use in NE IPAs as they help give the beer it's murky appearance. If you're brewing Kuit with 40-50% oats, how the heck do you keep it from becoming porridge? Some older brews had even more oats – like 80%. That's a helluva lot of stirring. And cursing too, no doubt.

My guess is that this is one, if not the main, reason why modern day craft brewers have been slow to resurrect the Kuit. You've gotta spend all day wringing beer out of oatmeal and then clean up the mess so that another batch of IPA is in the hopper before the dawn.

Well, thankfully some masochist at Next Door Brewing decided to try their hand at brewing a Kuit. It became available in the latter half of May, methinks. And of course I had to try this take on a historical brew. Having never encountered a Kuit before - or at least having no recollection of it if I had - I wasn't sure what to expect beyond it tasting heavily of grain. Oh, and I figured it had a boat load of oats in it so it'd be rich and smooth. But we're talking a brew from the Middle Ages here. Likely it would be dark and smoky and have bits of insects in it with a couple newt eyes as well, right?

And so I was mildly surprised to pour myself a glass and find that it was a very hazy light gold, befitting the heat wave we are experiencing. Now, it's hazy but not hazy IPA hazy meaning I could see a few bubbles here and there. The head was gleaming white and frothy and it went away rather quickly. No sign of insects nor newt peepers. It smelled grainy/bready with just a hint of lemon.

In addition to oats, there is wheat here and it gives the Kuit a bready flavor. There's also an earthy, slightly nutty taste too that I assume comes from the oats. And yes, it was rather smooth but not like stuffing a length of silk in your mouth which is what I thought of when I read about the historically high oat content of this brew. For tasting of grain so, it had a remarkably light body. When you add in a bit of fizz and a healthy dose of spicy hops, there was nothing chewy or heavy about this beer at all.

For the finish, there was some hop bitterness and a little of that lemon that my nose caught when I took a whiff. It was just a little astringent to boot.

I have no idea how much Next Door's Kuit resembles the late medieval stuff coming out of the breweries of Holland. To my knowledge, this wasn't some detailed historical recreation where the brewer sought out heirloom grains & hops from the far corners of the earth and personally flew to The Netherlands to scrape yeast traces from the floor of the ruins of an old brewery that burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp for that medieval authenticity. Ergo it probably tastes rather different from the stuff that the Dutch were enjoying back in the day.

Regardless, this was one tasty brew. I thoroughly enjoyed the flavor which I assume comes from the oats and also how those hops provided a sprightly contrast to its earthy/nuttiness. That little bit of acidity lent the beer a nice bite which is perfect on a hot summer day.

Junk food pairing: Pair your glass of Kuit this summer with a something that is light yet full flavored like the beer. I heartily recommend some pickle flavored popcorn.