Brouwer

Brouwer is a display typeface loosely inspired by a forgotten piece of Dutch design history. While studying the original blueprints of the Heineken brewery’s facade, Ramiro Espinoza discovered an unused alphabet in a style tributary to the Amsterdam School. This early alphabet, bold and industrial yet surprisingly elegant, became the starting point for Brouwer, a typeface that bridges archival research and contemporary craft.
Rather than reconstructing the letterforms literally, Espinoza distilled their essence—sturdy proportions, geometric structure, and a certain architectural rhythm—into a versatile typeface suited for editorial headlines and branding work. Brouwer balances the utilitarian with the expressive, echoing the spirit of early 20th-century industrial lettering while remaining unmistakably modern.
By reviving what might have been, Brouwer pays tribute to the untold stories hidden in architectural plans. Now available through Brutal Types, it invites designers to give new life to a nearly lost alphabet.