Kopstootjes. The trend nobody saw coming. Except Frans.
I once had a colleague named Frans. He smoked unfiltered Gauloises – right at his desk, because that was still allowed back then. And when it was no longer allowed, he did it anyway, because that was Frans. On Fridays, at half past five, he’d have a kopstootje. Or two, three.
During the Friday afternoon drinks, which usually started on Wednesday anyway, nobody ever said, ‘Gosh, that’s a nice drink, that kopstootje, I’ll have one too.’ Because beer with a glass of jenever was for old men – and a dangerously potent combination to boot.
But guess what? Kopstootjes have become rather trendy lately.
And I mean metropolitan-hipster trendy. As in: kopstoot pairings trendy. So no little tablecloth with a beer and a glass of jenever on it, but a craft beer, perfectly matched with a craft jenever.
The rebellious drinker trend
Yes, we had to scratch our heads over this one in the newsroom too. Kopstootjes?! Isn’t there a Great Health Cloud hanging over our country, full of trendy glasses of kombucha and algae juices, where this messing around with two glasses of alcohol doesn’t fit at all?’ You’d think so, but that’s the thing about trends: there’s always a counter-movement too. Let’s call this one the rebellious drinker’s.
Beer & jenever: a natural fit
The fact that jenever and beer pair well isn’t all that strange, by the way. Both in production and in flavor, beer and jenever have a lot in common. Both have grain as their main base ingredient and use herbs such as hops for flavor. Because many of the ingredients are the same, beer and jenever have often been brewed side by side since the 17th century.
And now the Jip & Janneke of the brown café, of the old men of yesteryear, can once again be found fraternally side by side. And so it happened that recently I bravely worked my way through various kopstoot pairings at the bar of Amsterdam café Helst. It was educational (not every pairing turned out to be equally successful, for example because the beer wasn’t powerful enough for the jenever in question), it was fun (because I discovered new flavors) and delicious (because the good pairings tasted superb). In short: a kopstoot pairing like this comes highly recommended. But take it easy, because we’re not all Frans. Watch your head, then.
Photo: Gabo Engel
Also read:
- The ultimate hangover breakfast: chilaquiles
- At this café, you can choose from 52 Dutch beers
- Is older whisky always better?
