Jan Kemker likes to stay close to his roots, coming back to a farm near his hometown of Münster, Germany to found Kemker Kultuur in Alverskirchen.
He is brewing farmhouse beers, sours, and gruits along with his interpretation of traditional Münster beers such as his Aolt beer with plums.
He sources his ingredients from the farm, foraging in the nearby area, and from local farmers and businesses.
“We brew beers that are inspired by our local history and agriculture,” he told the Beer Idiots.
He ferments his beers and ciders with a house culture or spontaneous with local microflora.
His background is in agriculture and food business and he says after his studies he decided to go into beer rather than industry as he thought he was “pretty good” at home brewing.
In 2018 he renovated a 100 year old building, an old cow stable he is renting. He started brewing in the building at the end of the year. Prior to that he was producing about 600 litres a month from a small kitchen, driving to beer festivals with the beer and getting feedback from other brewers.
He started with two barrels in 2017 and now has about 70 for ageing his beer. Kemker Kultuur now produces about 30,000 litres of farmhouse beers – mostly the golden sour Aolt, made with barley malt, wheat and spelt.
“The idea is to make very drinkable but complex beers,” he said. “Beer where you want to drink five and not just one.”
Kemker is also big on cider. This year he bought his own cider mill and press and his busy finding the right apples for his blends.
Note: On 28 August you can meet Kemker and taste four beers on tap at the Belgian Beer Week tap takeover and dinner event hosted by La Tana & Agalmalt.
Listen to more about Kemker Kultuur in the Beer Idiots’ podcast:
