Stop Into Upright’s Newly Refurbished Taproom and Ask For a Little Head Butt

The Kopstootje is less a beer than a way to drink it. Literally "little head butt," the term refers to the typically Dutch habit of knocking back tulips of genever and beer in quick succession until you're dead.

They don't serve the genever, but Upright brewer Alex Ganum has been making a taproom-only Kopstootje beer off and on for seven years, a juniper-and-ginger-and-allspice biere de garde made with a cereal mill full of grains, including corn and rye. But if you're not actually pairing the beer with genever as designed, the clove in particular was always a bit aggressive for my palate—the beer crackled with rye and Christmas spice.

This year, however, Ganum made a special Kopstootje batch for its first bottling, aging the beer in vermouth barrels from local maker Imbue. The vermouth manages to level out that spice with notes of cinnamon and even strawberry, making the beer at once both brighter and warmer. It's a lovely beer—and for now the bottled version is on tap at a renovated Upright tasting room that now has both a bar and a Square reader to accept credit cards. Stop in for a head butt.

Recommended.