Alfa Brewery is a family-owned independent brewery located in Schinnen

Schinnen

Schinnen is a municipality and a town in the province of Limburg, the Netherlands. It is home to US Army Garrison Schinnen, a support base for US personnel assigned to nearby Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum...

, the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

. Alfa was started in 1870 by Joseph Meens and is one of the few independent breweries left in the Province of Limburg

Limburg (Netherlands)

Limburg is the southernmost of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands. It is located in the southeastern part of the country and bordered by the province of Gelderland to the north, Germany to the east, Belgium to the south and part of the west, andthe Dutch province of North Brabant partly to...

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Availability

Until 1960 Alfa beer

Beer

Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...

s were only available in the local area, but since then the brewery has expanded, and their beers are now available throughout the Netherlands. Since 1993 Alfa also expanded their distribution to Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, and Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

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Brief details

The brewery follows the Reinheitsgebot

Reinheitsgebot

The Reinheitsgebot , sometimes called the "German Beer Purity Law" or the "Bavarian Purity Law" in English, was a regulation concerning the production of beer in Germany. In the original text, the only ingredients that could be used in the production of beer were water, barley and hops...

and is the only brewery in the Netherlands that uses an officially certified underground spring. The Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport certified the underground spring in 1995 and retests it every six months to ensure it continues to meet the stringent standards. It is one of only 10 such springs in the country and the only one used in the production of beer. The water is so pure that it does not require any processing before it is entered into the brewing process. Only a certain amount of water is permitted to be withdrawn each year, and this has led Alfa to number their beer bottles to ensure that only the authorised amount is used.

Awards

Alfa has won a variety of national and international recognition. They were granted a Royal Warrant

Royal Warrant

Royal warrants of appointment have been issued for centuries to those who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the royal family, so lending prestige to the supplier...

 by Royal Decree from HM Queen Beatrix

Beatrix of the Netherlands

Beatrix is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands comprising the Netherlands, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and Aruba. She is the first daughter of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. She studied law at Leiden University...

 in 1995. Their beers have also won gold medals in the 31st and 33rd Monde Selections

Monde Selection

Monde Selection, created in 1961, is an international and independent quality institute located in Brussels, that tastes and tests consumer products in order to grant them a renowned Quality Label...

 in Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

and received an award in the 1999 UK Beer and Cider Competition.