Leeuw brewery

I could, of course, turn this into a very exciting story. The reality was simpler: in spring 2015, the former Leeuw brewery in Valkenburg aan de Geul was being prepared for a pop-up restaurant. That opened a door which had often remained closed to me.

I had passed the building several times. Windows and doors were shut, there was security, and property guardians occupied the complex. Getting in without forcing anything was not possible. However interesting a building is, I will not break a door or window for it.

On a sunny spring day, I noticed activity on the site. I drove in and asked someone working there whether I could take photographs. After a brief discussion, that turned out to be no problem. Sometimes asking is much more effective than walking around the same locked building again.

Brewing beside the Geul

The brewery was acquired by Belgium’s Haacht in 2000. Brewing in Valkenburg ended in 2005. The building remained a recognisable part of the town’s industrial past.

A brewery is interesting even when production has stopped. Its spaces are arranged around a process: delivering raw materials, brewing, storing and dispatching. That creates a different architectural logic from a house or office. Those connections make it worth producing a series rather than photographing only one attractive room.

During my visit, floodlights hung in several photographically awkward places. They were there for security and to make work possible. Useful for the people working there, less useful for someone with a camera. Still, I was grateful for the opportunity offered by Van Melik Food Groep.

The pictures show the brewery in that transitional period. I returned later; the second series is at Leeuw brewery: the return visit.