Berenburg

The name comes from Hendrik Beerenburg, a herb merchant with a shop on the Stromarkt in Amsterdam, close to the Haarlemmersluis. He sold ready-made herb packets intended to be steeped in jenever or brandy.

Frisian skippers took those herb blends north by boat. In Dokkum they ended up with innkeeper Fedde Sonnema, who made his own recipe from them in 1860. He used the herbs bought in from Beerenburg and supplemented them with herbs from the Frisian countryside.

Local variants soon appeared that were not allowed to use the name Beerenburg. As a result the drink has several spellings, such as Berenburg, Berenburger and Berenboarch.

Although its origin lies in Amsterdam, the drink became established mainly in Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe. Frisians count berenburg as part of their cultural heritage and call it ‘ús nasjonale slokje’.

In substance there is no difference: both names stand for the same kind of Frisian herbal bitter. The difference lies in the spelling and in the history of the brands.

The original spelling is Beerenburg, with two e’s in the first syllable, after the surname of Hendrik Beerenburg. According to Sonnema, Fedde Sonnema deliberately removed one e: that is how the name Berenburg came about, which the brand still carries.

Other makers stick to two e’s, such as Weduwe Joustra in Sneek and Hooghoudt. Besides Beerenburg, Boomsma also uses the name Beerenburger. On the label you will therefore see different spellings for the same category.

Calamus is a plant with the scientific name Acorus calamus; in English it is called sweet flag. For berenburg the root is used, the calamus root. Plantinga lists calamus first in the series of herbs that are customary in beerenburg.

Other herbs mentioned are centaury, liquorice, sandalwood, gentian root, bay leaf and juniper. For its recipe Sonnema names, among others, gentian root, sandalwood, centaury, ash leaf and orange peel.

Hooghoudt makes a separate Kalmoes Beerenburg in which the calamus root plays the main role. According to the maker it has an alcohol percentage of 30 percent and is sold in a litre bottle.

The base is jenever, in which the herb blend steeps for a while. At Weduwe Joustra in Sneek, where the widow began in 1864, the herbs steep for a month in self-distilled jenever. The drink then matures for one to fifteen years in oak casks.

The alcohol percentage of the well-known brands is around 30 to 34 percent. Plantinga gives 32 percent as its regular, with its own variant at 34 percent; Hooghoudt Kalmoes Beerenburg has 30 percent.

Berenburg is drunk neat, and often mixed with cola too. For this, Hooghoudt suggests 50 ml of beerenburg in a long drink glass with plenty of ice, topped up with cola and a wedge of lemon. Sonnema also mentions iced tea and sinas as mixers.

The berenburg and beerenburg in the shop all come from the Netherlands. There you will find brands such as Sonnema, Weduwe Joustra, Boomsma, Hooghoudt, Gorter, De Sjirurch, Brons, Woolderink, Stoocker and Kalmoes.

There are several expressions from Boomsma, including the Beerenburger and beerenburg in a jug and in stoneware. From Weduwe Joustra there is, among others, a 32 percent version. From Hooghoudt there is, besides the regular beerenburg, also the Kalmoes Beerenburg, and Kalmoes beerenburg is also available in a 50 cl bottle.

Can't decide between a Frisian classic and a calamus variant, or are you looking for a stone jug as a gift? Call the shop or drop by at Brink 2 in Bathmen.

The shop is at Brink 2 in Bathmen. Open Tuesday to Friday from 09.00 to 18.00 and Saturday from 09.00 to 17.00. For advice, call 0570 541 278 or email info@bockje.nl.