Jopenkerk Haarlem, Haarlem, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

Jopenkerk is a brewery, tasting room and restaurant in a former church in the centre of Haarlem, at Hortusplein 2. It is the home of Jopen, the Haarlem beer brand whose name comes from the old 112 litre barrels used to ship the city's beer. It is a good place to taste a local craft and see how Haarlem's brewing past lives on.

The story behind it

Jopen began as the Stichting Haarlems Biergenootschap, a foundation set up in 1992 by people who wanted Haarlem beer back. In December 1996 it became the company Jopen BV. For its first years it had no brewery of its own and brewed in the facilities of other breweries. That changed in 2010, when Jopen gained its own brewery in this former church.

The name Jopen goes back to the 112 litre barrels in which Haarlem beer was once transported. Haarlem has a long reputation as a brewing town, and the brand takes its name from that trade rather than from a modern invention.

What to look for

• The church architecture itself, with its tall interior, which now holds brewing equipment and tables instead of pews.
• The brewing vessels, which show that the beer is made in the same building where you drink it.
• The Jopen beer list, where the brand name and the beer styles link back to the old Haarlem barrel.
• The mix of sacred space and everyday pub life, which is the most distinctive thing about the place.

Tips for your visit

• Plan an hour for a drink or a meal, longer if you want to taste several beers.
• Late afternoon or early evening suits it best, when the interior is lively. Check current opening hours before you go.
• It is a working restaurant and brewery, so you can go inside as a guest. Check whether brewery tours are on offer.
• The old centre of Haarlem is a short walk away, so it fits easily into a day of strolling the canals and squares.

See it on a quest

Writing history in Haarlem is a self-guided walk that passes Jopenkerk as one stop on a longer route through the area. You reach it on foot, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle in what is in front of you. One ticket covers the whole group, and you can start whenever you like, with no guide and no group to join.