Vantaa, Uusimaa, Finland
- I studied Food Technology in Holland, brewing technology was a part of that study. - After my graduation, I started as a brewer in one of the first craft breweries in Holland. That was in the year 1989. In 1992 I decided to move to Finland and worked for some years as a recipe developer at a small brewery. - In 1998 I started up my first company, called Diamond Beer, nowadays called Diamond Beverages. This company grew to the leading beer import company in Finland and belonged to the 50 fastest growing companies in Finland. After running this company for 11 years I decided to sell the company and travel for some years. - Experienced 7 years of great freedom. Traveled with my camper through the whole of Europe and into North Africa. - During the travel, I experienced the NoMadic way of life, which means for me a total feeling of freedom, living in the moment and feeling connected to nature. I got inspired by those experiences and I realized I wanted to return to my roots and start brewing again. - In 2015 The Flying Dutchman NoMad brewing company was established. - Until this date, we have received over 50 international awards for our beers! My Values and passions: I like to be involved in new ideas and creations. This gives me much energy. Focus on quality and feeling. The aspect of quality comes back to every part of my life. In beer, food, free time, traveling, relationships and art. Photography, exercising, yoga, walking in nature are part of the daily practice. I love to travel and observe other cultures. This is a perfect combination with my passion for photography. Facts and figures: I speak 3 languages: Dutch, English, and Finnish. At this moment I have been living 26 years in Finland.
I am responsible for product management, contact with suppliers, sales to Horeca and other activities at Brewseeker.
Ronald de Waal aka the Flying Dutchman is a true NoMad brewer. With more than 20 years of brewing experience under his belt, Ronald is one of the torchbearers of the craft beer movement. He has brewed beers in Finland, Holland and Belgium, partnering always with the best craft breweries. He loves to roam the road from one brewery to another and dream exciting new beer recipes. He loves the freedom of the road and freedom of choice. Cheers for that!
After running Diamond Beer for 10 years we managed to become one of the leading import companies on the Finnish market for speciality beers. For me this was the right time to sell the company and create some free time to reflect on the past 10 years and focus on new ideas. I stayed in the company for another year to assist as a business developer.
Way before the craft beer boom arrived, I started up this company to bring top-quality beer to the Finnish market. We were building up a very diverse portfolio of beers from many different countries. Many of the brands were unknown in Finland at that time and with our passion and dedication we manged to build them up to nationwide recognized brands. Distribution to bars, restaurants, supermarkets, wholesalers and Alko( the state monopoly shops).
Product developing and testing out new recipes. The brewery was in the startup face. Setting up a small lab for quality control. During this period I put up a product line of beers which was clearly different than the beers brewed by other breweries at that time.