KOMPAAN Launches Its First Commercial Beer

In 2012, KOMPAAN introduced its first commercial beer in The Hague, the Netherlands. The project grew out of homebrewing begun in 2010 by school friends Jeroen van Ditmarsch and Jasper Langbroek, with Frans ter Steege also involved in the early team. The first release, Kompaan 20, was a dry-hopped blond beer later known as Bondgenoot. Its number referred to the recipe. As a contract brewer, KOMPAAN initially used other breweries' equipment for commercial production. It moved into The Hague's industrial Binckhorst district in 2014 and opened a crowdfunded beer bar on Saturnusstraat in 2015, giving its beers a dedicated public venue in its home city.