Uiltje - Portal to Hop Hell

Each November Uiltje Brewing Co. treats its fans to a limited-edition holiday season Brut IPA. Typically packaged in a collector’s box or magnum bottle, for its end-of-year beer Uiltje drastically tones down its branding and turns its cans into canvases. “It is a gift to our most loyal fans,” says Joyce Kooijman, marketing manager at Uiltje. “Something they can collect, talk about and enjoy during the festive month of December.” This year, the Haarlem brewery allowed itself to be inspired by 1980s thrasher cinema. The result is Portal to Hop Hell, a meticulously crafted collector’s boxset of four all-black 440cl cans, each featuring a hand-drawn gruesome character. Announced appropriately on Halloween, Portal to Hop Hell will be released on November 20th. Uiltje has built a reputation as both a brewer of unorthodox craft beer and a creative studio. Every single one of the 60-odd beers they brew each year has a unique recipe, label and tale produced by its longtime inhouse creative team. Admittedly, however, they save their best for last, and this year’s end-of-year beer is no different. “This is the one batch each year where we absolutely ignore the laws of brewing and branding to create something truly mischievous,” says founder Robbert Uyleman. “The time and effort that goes into our holiday boxsets makes absolutely no commercial sense, but it’s something we love to do. You can’t put a price on passion.” Portal to Hop Hell Whereas previous years featured gangster-themed Brut IPAs packaged in magnums, this year’s Portal to Hop Hell is available exclusively as a boxset of four. The packaging is an extravagantly illustrated Hop Box covered in ‘owls from hell’. There is even a warning to buyers: ‘Open this box and Uiltje owns your soul.’ Each of the dark, sinister cans feature a different horror classic character drawn by in-house cartoonist Gerben Valkema. Each comes with a short tale by writer John Weich. “We toned down our branding to the point that it’s almost non-existent, using almost all the can space for art,” says Kooijman. “Of course we want our fans to drink the beer fresh, but secretly we hope they display our Portal to Hop Hell boxset on their bookshelves. Kind of like a trophy for hopheads.” Uiltje’s Portal to Hop Hell will be released at selected retailers and on uiltjebrewing.co on November 20th, 2023.