Sint Servattumus

Schijndel has a centuries-old history of hop cultivation, breweries and inns. Today, beer lovers can indulge themselves at Sint Servattumus, a craft brewery with an atmospheric tasting room and a brewery shop. Brewer Carli van den Ekart helped found Sint Servattumus nearly thirty years ago. The brewery is especially known for its spelt beers. And of course, Schijndel hops are still used in the brewing process.

Brew Day
Wednesday is the weekly brew day at Sint Servattumus. It starts with malt: grain that has been germinated and dried in the malting house. The malt kernels are first crushed and then mixed with an equal amount of water in the brewing kettle. “In many beers, barley malt is the main ingredient. We add spelt malt to it, made from locally grown spelt. The mix of light and dark (roasted) malts determines the colour and flavour of the beer,” explains brewer Carli van den Ekart. He runs the brewery together with Theodor Verboort, who handles the day-to-day operations.

Malt, hops, yeast
Sint Servattumus is a compact and complete brewery. It features a small installation for test brews and a large system for regular production. Carli passionately explains every step. “When we clarify the mixture of water and malt (filter it), we get a clear wort. Taste it—it’s a sweet sugar solution. Then we add hops and yeast. The controlled fermentation process takes about two weeks. Half of the sugars turn into alcohol, and the other half into carbon dioxide. Then it’s time for bottling—the beer goes into bottles. At a constant temperature, the bottles undergo a second fermentation for another two weeks to build up the right pressure. Some beers are then left to mature further, also known as lagering. The higher the alcohol content, the longer the maturation.”

Beers from Schijndel
Some of the beers from the early years of Sint Servattumus include Hopbelleke, Skèndelse Bok and ‘t Winterkunninkske. Today, the brewery produces around ten different beers—from Spelt Enkel (a top-fermented, golden beer with a lightly sweet and refreshing taste) to Spelt Saison Tripel (a spicy seasonal beer with notes of coriander). Carli regularly gives tours and tastings for groups.

Taste for yourself
Want to taste Sint Servattumus beers for yourself? You can do so at several local establishments, including wine bar De Buren, Het Tramhuys, bistro Het Goeie Leven and rock café The Holy Cow. Bottles are also available at various local liquor stores and supermarkets. Prefer to buy straight from the source? The Sint Servattumus brewery shop is open every Thursday and Friday afternoon until 4:30 PM, and on Saturdays by appointment. The brewers warmly welcome you.

The taproom at Sint Servattumus Brewery is only open for groups by appointment (for tours/tastings), and the brewery shop has limited opening hours. For more information, visit sintservattumus.nl.

This text has been translated using AI.