January 3, 2017 · Team HG

Consumers in the Dutch hospitality industry consider the best draft beer. Every year, bartenders compete for the Dutch Beer Tapping Championship. Tapping competitions have been organized both locally and regionally over the past few months. The best tappers will come to the largest trade fair for the hospitality industry, Horecava in Amsterdam, on Wednesday, January 11, 2017, for the final. A professional jury assesses the craft of preparing, tapping, presenting, and serving the draft beers and specialty beers.
Joeri van de Vegte van Café Mooi and Marieke van Gaalen from Brasserie Bij van Boven (photo header article) have on October 3, 2016 during the Tap competition Northern Netherlands on the Hospitality Fair Northern Netherlands placed.
On Wednesday, January 11, 2017, starting at 1:30 PM, the best beer tappers in the Netherlands will compete for the final during the Dutch Beer Tapping Championship at Horecava – the Elicium Centre. Five regional competitions and a large number of local preliminary rounds have been held, from which 56 top tappers have qualified for the final. The task for the participants is clear: tap two small glasses, two large glasses of beer, and present a specialty beer to the expert jury by pouring it from the bottle. The final starts around 3:30 PM with the 10 finalists, and at 4:30 PM it will be announced who can call themselves the Dutch Beer Tapping Champion for a year.
Information about the tapping competitions, such as the competition rules, competition protocol, and the specific criteria on which the expert jury will judge the finalists: www.tapwedstrijden.nl
The Dutch Beer Tapping Championship is organized by the Tapwedstrijden.nl Foundation to enthuse hospitality professionals about the correct tapping and pouring of beer and make them familiar with it. Since the founding of the Tapwedstrijden.nl Foundation in 2010, 300 tapping competitions have taken place, and seven Dutch Champions have already been crowned following this National Beer Tapping Championship. According to Vincent van der Wardt, the chairman of the foundation, the demand for hospitality and good tapping has increased. “The level of the participants is higher every year, and we see that entrepreneurs put a lot of effort into the hospitality they and their staff provide to guests.”
Just like in previous years, the foundation will dedicate itself 100% to a wonderful national final at Horecava 2017. Vincent: “In collaboration with the four major brewers and Koninklijke Horeca Nederland, the Tapwacht and HORECAVA, and all enthusiastic entrepreneurs and tappers, many local and regional beer tapping competitions will be organized again in 2017.”
| Winner | Company | Place of residence |
| Jesse Westerveld | Grand Cafe De Lindenhof | Soest |
| Amber Ott | Restaurant De Korte duinen | Soest |
| Jasper Lintjes | Cafe Ich & Dich | Sittard |
| Jouk van Bergen | Cafe ’t Stulpke | Uden |
| Ramon de Vries | The Colline | Oss |
| Nick Vink | H32 | Oss |
| Erwin Stokmans | Beachclub Lemmer | Lemmer |
| Dennis Goossens | The Coat of Arms of Ens | And |
| Marieke van Gaalen | At van Boven | Groningen |
| Joeri van de Vegte | Cafe Mooi | Groningen |
| Linda Kouwen | Cafe ‘t “Wapentje” | And |
| Roy Schieving | The Strandhoeve | Baarlo |
| Henry Juffermans | Restaurant le Mirage | Emmeloord |
| Bram Huisman | Grand Cafe Together | Alkmaar |
| Wilco Kuppens | Cafe Biessels | Nijmegen |
| Danny van der Pluijm | Irish Pub The Shamrock | Nijmegen |
| Joep Raemakers | Cafe Samson | Nijmegen |
| Bram Reinerman | Cafe Beer & Bites | Nijmegen |
| Bart Peters | You and I | Gemert |
| Bart Smeters | Jut and Jul | Bakel |
| Hein Bijsterbosch | Cafe Boeien | Katwijk aan Zee |
| Fleur Houtzager | Tom Thumb Brewery | Hillegom |
| Raymond Hardy | At the Mill | Brook |
| John Meijerink | Pavilion het Lutterzand | De Lutte |
| Nick Redeker | The Red Lion | Venhuizen |
| Hans Raven | Double & Cross | Enkhuizen |
| Kevin Wenker | Grand Cafe De Dres | Nibbixwoud |
| Rinse Kirst | The Heart of Breda | Breda |
| Vincent Nicolaes | Fernanda – Drinks & Bites | Breda |
| Bram de Weert | Cafe de Bruine Pij | Breda |
| Melvin Baak | SunseaBar | Velsen-Noord |
| Frank Bruin | De Noot Horeca | Wijk aan Zee |
| Hidde Spinder | Hotel Sonnevanck | Wijk aan Zee |
| Mattias Buitelaar | The Newspaper | Zutphen |
| Edwin Bentum | The Corn Exchange | Zutphen |
| Camiel Absil | Il Bacaro | Maastricht |
| Bram Boetzkes | In the Old Ostrich | Maastricht |
| Suzie van Amelsvoort | Gauchos Breda | Breda |
| Nick Driehuis | The Beach | Aalsmeer |
| Angela van Kooten | The Kruidvat | Vinkerveen |
| Kim Reijnen | Jambon | Uden |
| Ronald Verwegen | Our Caffeej | Uden |
| Robin van Soest | Sergeant Pepper | Uden |
| Stephanie van Sabben | Brasserie De Panhoeve | 's-Heer Arendskerke |
| Michel Mok | The White Cat | Sneek |
| Frank Smits | West End | Helmond |
| Maikel Geurts | Eigenweijs | Groesbeek |
| Lenn Janssen | Cafe Catering De Gouden Leeuw | Winssen |
| Lieve van Diest | Uylenspieghel Restaurant | Nijmegen |
| Isabel Deijnen | Wirtshaus Elten | Elten |
| Rogier Hendriksen | Cafe De Gracht | Borculo |
| Dennis Matser | Count Otto | Arnhem |
| Nico vd Veen | The Coat of Arms of Westerbork | Westerbork |
| Koen Wilmes | Beer Tavern the Governor | Maastricht |
| Mark Huts | Basilica | Maastricht |
| Prosper Minnaart | Desafinado | Middelburg |