Continuing with the narrative of our stay in the historic
city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch), which formed the prelude to this year’s
European Beer Blogger’s Conference, we pick up with the majority of party as we are about to depart from the Abbey of Koningshoeven at Berkel-Enschot.
As I alluded to in the Part One of this narrative, the Dutch
bikes provided on behalf of our hosts, Visit Brabant, took a bit of getting
used to; the main point being remembering to pedal backwards in order to brake.
That and the rather light steering; but once we were underway the group set off
at quite a pace, under the leadership of tour guide Nathalie.
I found myself towards the rear of the party, in the company
of our other guide, Yannick. We had met Yannick in Brussels
last year, when he acted as r guide for the post-conference excursion to West
Flanders. Yannick works for Visit Flanders, the tourist
organisation covering that particularly region of Belgium.
He told me that he’d been asked by conference organiser Reno Walsh, if he could
join the team from Zephyr Adventures, for this year’s event, as not only would this negate
the organisers having to fly someone over from the United States, but it would
also have the benefit of employing someone with local knowledge, capable of
speaking the language (Flemish is very similar to Dutch, but don't say that in the company of anyone from either country!).
Anyway, Yannick kindly held back to keep me, plus a couple
of other stragglers company, and to also make sure we didn’t get lost. I was
rather surprised though, when he told us the ride would be around an hour in
duration, as I was expecting something shorter; however, I am pleased to say
that despite now being the wrong side of sixty, I managed the ride without any
problems, apart from a rather sore backside! The latter was caused by an
overtly soft and rather too well sprung saddle, which was in sharp contrast to
the much harder road bike saddle I am used to on my bike at home. Speaking to a
work colleague, who is also a keen cyclist, the other day led us both to
conclude that somewhat perversely, the harder the saddle, the more comfortable
the ride.
Taproom Brouwerij Vandeeoirsprong (and above) |
We eventually reached our destination the village
of Oirschot, and after crossing a
bridge over the canal, and riding through the streets of this attractive North
Brabant village, we found ourselves at Brouwerij Vandeeoirsprong,
where we were welcomed with a refreshing glass of their Amber Bier. The brewery
is a newcomer on the scene; having only been operational since 2015, but it
occupies the site of a much older brewery, as we later found out. For the
minute though, sitting out on the patio, at one of several picnic tables, gave
us the chance of recuperating a bit after our cycle ride.
The patio is adjacent to the Brouwerij Vandeeoirsprong
taproom, but before venturing inside, we were led through a courtyard, to a
much older, farmhouse-like building at the front of the complex. Here we were
given a talk by a member of the brewery, whose name escapes me. He explained
the history of brewing on the site, and the brewery’s place in a village which once
boasted four breweries.
I was correct about the old building, as it was part of a
farm. It dates back to 1623, an important date in Oirschot’s history, as much
of the town burnt down in that year and had to be reconstructed. The original brewery
survived into the 20th Century, because it had the cooling equipment
necessary to produce the new fangled pilsner; a beer style which swept all before
it during the early years of the last century.
After the end of World War II, the brewery was known as de
Kroon (the Crown), and was named after the family who owned it. By the 1980’s
de Kroon were one of only 15 breweries left in the Netherlands, but a tie-up
with Bavaria Brewery a decade later, didn’t bring the results the family were
expecting., as not long afterwards, Bavaria signed an agreement with La Trappe
at Koningshoeven Abbey, which left the Oirschot plant surplus to requirements.
De Kroon closed in 2000, only to reopen some 15 years later
under a completely new name. That this happened at all, is in no small way
thanks to the head of the Kroon family who, as well as collecting memorabilia
associated with the old brewery, had the strength of vision to see the opening
of the new brewery, on the same site. He achieved this by going into
partnership with his niece.
I’m not certain where the name of the new brewery comes
from, as the website is in Dutch only, but I did make a note that the new
concern produces between 8 & 10 beers. It also sticks with classic,
easy-drinking styles rather than going for some of the more OTT barrel-aged
stuff favoured by craft hipsters. The beers certainly seem popular with locals
from the village and surrounding area, given the size of both the beer garden
and taproom.
De Kroon - Old brewery |
After a quick tour of both old and new breweries and an all too short time in the taproom, we re-boarded our coach and headed back to Den Bosch. Before checking into our hotel, we discovered our hosts had another surprise up their sleeves in the form of a boat ride along the network of canals which ring the city. Some of these canals were defensive, and some were used to bring goods right into the city. Others were used mainly as open sewers, and nearly all the canals pass through underground tunnels at some point. Fortunately, in light of the latte use, the entire network has been cleaned and restored, and nowadays a boat ride, by means of small open, electrically-powered boats is a popular way to discover a hidden part of s-Hertogenbosch.
Canals - Den Bosch |
This was the Café Bar le Duc, a brew-pub and beer-café,
situated right in the historic centre of the city, and just a short hop from
our hotel. Here we were shown the compact brewery by owner-cum-brewer Jan van
Kollenburg. The business was started by Jan’s father; also called Jan and Café
Bar le Duc is still very much a family affair, with the majority of the
brewery’s production sold through the bar. The remainder of its output is
mainly in the form of bottles, but Jan was quite enthusiastic about a new beer
called Jheronimus, produced in honour of local artist Hieronymus Bosch; the
medieval painter responsible for such works as “The Garden of Earthly
Delights”.
Brew-kit - Café Bar le Duc |
I’m not exactly sure what time we departed but, unlike some
of the group who visited another bar or two, I made my way back to our well
appointed hotel for a most welcome and much needed appointment with my bed. After breakfast the following morning, the coach turned up
to transport us to Amsterdam,
dropping us at the Mercure City Hotel for the opening of the European Beer Bloggers
Conference.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to Nathalie and
the rest of the team at Visit Brabant, for their hospitality and for organising
what for me, was one of the main highlights of the whole weekend. I am extremely grateful
for the opportunity of visiting a part of the Netherlands
which I perhaps wouldn’t have thought of doing so. s-Hertogenbosch and the
surrounding Brabant region are certainly well worth
seeing, and spending some time in, and I highly recommend the area to those
people from the UK
who want to experience something a little different.
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