A Place Where Everyone Belongs

A Third Space, Built with Purpose

From the very beginning, the vision for Gezellig was about more than great beer. It was about creating a third space. Not home, not work, but somewhere in between. A place where people could exhale. Today, that vision is fully realized. Multi-generational families gather around tables for card games. Baby showers, wedding showers, and fundraisers fill the room with laughter and life. Silent book readings and painting nights draw in a crowd. People have grieved here, celebrated here, and, as more than one regular will tell you, fallen in love here. In many ways, Gezellig has become less a brewery and more a backdrop for the moments that matter most.

The beer, of course, doesn’t hurt. Head brewer Joe, a staple of the Iowa craft beer industry, has helped Gezellig earn over 21 national awards, from the San Diego Beer Festival to the Great American Beer Festival. If you’re new to craft beer, ask for the Liquid Hug. It’s the flagship for a reason.

How Hard Can It Be?

Betsy will be the first to laugh at how it all began. When she and her husband were approached by a group of locals who believed their community deserved its own brewery, her reaction was immediate. Well, I can do that. How hard can that be? Joke’s on her, she’ll say, but only a little. Because what followed was a decade of resilience, reinvention, and remarkable growth. Just six months after opening in Newton, the pandemic arrived. Rather than slowing down, Gezellig pivoted fast: packaging, distributing, and hand-labeling cans until midnight because there was no canning line yet. Despite it all, they not only survived, but built something the community could hold onto during one of the hardest stretches in recent memory.

“To reach the first year of business and celebrate with our community, who still showed up the best they could in spite of the restrictions,” recalls Rachel Braafhart, a longtime friend and collaborator, “that was an incredibly high point.”

The People Behind the Pints

What makes Betsy remarkable is not only what she’s built, it’s how she shows up while building it. She manages a full-time career as a project manager, raises three kids with full sports schedules, and still finds a way to pour herself into the brewery with intention and care. Moreover, she does it all without losing sight of what matters most: the people. The secret, according to those who know her best, is equal parts clear values and healthy boundaries. Betsy doesn’t say yes to everything; only to the things that are truly purposeful, truly impactful. That discernment has shaped Gezellig into something that doesn’t feel stretched thin. Instead, it feels like it was built with love, and tended to the same way.

In Newton, the Feeling Has a Name

Nearly a decade ago, Betsy wrote a business plan and pitched it to the bank. Today, she’ll tell you it looks almost nothing like what Gezellig became. Gezellig has not only survived but thrived, earning over 21 national awards and preparing to open a second location in Pella. Meanwhile, the Newton taproom remains exactly what it was always meant to be: a place to belong. Because ultimately, that’s what Newton offers. Room to build something real, space to grow, and people who show up when it matters. Gezellig found all of that here. And poured it into every pint.

“I am so pleased that over nine years ago, we chose Newton as our home,” Betsy says, “because it allowed us to meet wonderful people, to build our brand, and to have a place to grow into and to grow up.”