Dennis Kort (35) became Dutch Champion beer sommelier for the first time in Bodegraven on Monday evening. After he had won silver twice, the Eindhoven resident took the highest honor this time. In addition, he will represent the Netherlands in 2025 at the World Sommelier World Cup in Munich. “Unbelievable. It fell my way this time”, said the brand new Dutch Champion. The second place on the podium was also for a Brabander: Bas Schampers from Breda.
Dennis Kort says you can wake up 24 hours a day for a beer. “As a brewer and beer sommelier, I have been entrusted with that”, the old-timer says confidently.
Dennis is one of the beer connoisseurs who were the first to compete for the title of beer sommelier ten years ago. He also has his own brewery in Eindhoven: Oldskool Brewery.
In the preliminary round, Dennis had some solid tests of competence awaiting him. Such as blind tasting and recognizing six different beer styles.
“I recognize so many different beers blindly.”
“That’s my strongest point. I blindly recognize so many different types of beer,” says the sommelier. “In addition, my ability to detect and recognize taste deviations in beer types was also tested. This can vary from cat piss to chemical junk. Normally not my strong suit. But today it went fine.”
With his score, Dennis qualified with five other sommeliers for the final round on the podium. There Dennis was waiting for a final test of competence: giving a presentation about an unknown beer.
“I got an IPA. I get on well with it and have a lot of experience with it. I have been working with IPA beer for several years now. A beautiful type of beer that has often been honored in the Dutch beer world. I have told you how to make IPA with you can combine food. Not with a boring salad, but with pita, tzatziki and home-made oyster mushroom shawarma. Because IPA tastes like melon and peach, I also advised to eat smoked ham with it. That fits perfectly. Cheers!”