Royal cheers with Máxima’s beer

Fancy raising a royal toast these days? You can with a new beer from Limburg-based Gulpener. Queen Máxima helped brew a special IPA, and the proceeds from sales will go to a wonderful cause.

The queen was in Limburg last summer because Gulpener had received the biennial King Willem I Prize for Sustainable Entrepreneurship the previous year. The beer brand, which has been around for almost two centuries (!), built an incredibly ‘green’ Gulpener Brouwhuis with energy-saving innovations and runs on renewable energy and local ingredients. Máxima did her part when she visited the farmers, growers and brewery on a working visit to mark the award.

Hopperdepop

Together with brewmaster Bas Jacobs, she put the full bag of hop cones she had picked from the growers into the kettle, after which Jacobs oversaw the rest of the process for this royal beer. He wanted to give the hops a starring role and chose to brew a hazy IPA: an unfiltered, cloudy beer in which you can still see the hops gently swirling around.

Big bottle

To further enhance the orange feeling (and add citrus complexity), he added mandarin: the little Oranges of Orange also happen to suit the season perfectly. Lemon adds even more freshness to this robust beer, which is bottled in a beautiful large 75cl bottle.

Good and local

Because Máxima is honorary chair of the Meer Muziek in de Klas foundation, Gulpener decided to donate the proceeds from this beer—which is a one-off and therefore a limited edition—to the youth programs of the local brass and wind bands. Since these associations create strong connections within the local community and also make every party even more cheerful, Gulpener felt this was the perfect cause to support.

Cheers

Gulpener Hazy IPA met Maximale Hop can be ordered from Gulpener’s webshop (or ask your local beer shop for it); the 75cl bottle costs €18.25. Only 500 bottles were made, and the advice, as with all hazy IPAs, is: the fresher you drink it, the better it tastes!

Also read:

• These are the most delicious things to eat with your IPA
• 7 tips: how to avoid mandarin disappointments
• Queen Maxima bakes cookies for her birthday, and this is her recipe

Header image: Marcel van Hoorn