West Kent CAMRA Christmas Meal 2016

Yesterday lunchtime (Sunday), Eileen and I joined a dozen or so other local CAMRA members and friends for the West Kent Branch annual Christmas meal. Following last year’s successful event we returned to the atmospheric Brecknock Arms at Bells Yew Green, which is just five minutes walk from Frant station. 

Travelling by train allowed all those who wished to, the opportunity to enjoy some of the excellent Harvey’s beers which are on sale at the Brecknock without having to get behind the wheel of a car. At the risk of not sounding too self-righteous, this also fitted in well with the branch ethos of making full use of public transport wherever possible.

I have known the Brecknock for the past twenty-five years. It is a small and comfortable Harvey’s pub, just one stop down the line from Tunbridge Wells. It has been altered a few times over the years, principally to make better use of the available space, and whilst this involved combining the former public and salon bars, the layout is such that there are still a number of distinct drinking areas.

Bells Yew Green itself is a tiny village on the B2169 road which runs between Tunbridge Wells and Lamberhurst. The pub is the focal point of the village and as well as providing a place for the local cricket team to meet, is popular with both villagers and people from further afield. Given its location on the main London - Hastings rail line, Bells Yew Green has become increasingly popular location for commuters, and in recent years a number of new houses have been built, along with a village shop.

The Brecknock therefore provided the perfect location for our lunch, combining the relaxed informal atmosphere of a village local with good food and equally good drink. Like last year, the weather was again unseasonably mild, so there was no need for the landlord to stoke up the fire much beyond the level of “just smouldering”. An open log fire though does add to the atmosphere, and with the Christmas tree and a few other tasteful decorations, the pub was looking suitably festive.

I decided to be a bit different this year, so opted for the braised lamb shank, whereas Eileen stuck with the traditional roast turkey. Both were very good. The beers were also in fine form, with the IPA and Sussex Best being joined on the bar by XXXX Old Ale and draught Christmas Ale. We have the licensee to thank for the latter as he drove down to Lewes specifically to collect a cask from the brewery, as apparently Harvey’s have been a bit late this year in getting the Christmas Ale out to their pubs.

I sampled three of the four beers on sale; ignoring the IPA which I have never been particularly keen on. The Old went well with my main course, and after the dessert I gave the Christmas Ale a try. This excellent 7.5% ABV seasonal never fails to disappoint, and you have to admire Harvey’s for managing to squeeze so much hop character into a beer of this strength.

 

There was a lively crowd hanging around by the bar, along with a family group who were eating in the former saloon bar area. It was good to see the Brecknock comfortably busy, as it really is everything a village pub should be.

We left the pub, shortly before 4.30pm, to catch the train back to Tonbridge, after what had been a most excellent afternoon and, for me, my second Christmas meal in three days!

English-style ales from the heart of Bavaria

I wrote a piece about Regensburg’s Spital Brauerei at the beginning of October, singing the praises of its beer garden, and its lovely setting overlooking the River Danube. During our stay in the city, the family and I spent a couple of hours in this idyllic garden enjoying a spot of lunch along with a few of the beers, which are brewed next door,

What I didn’t mention was that after our visit, I popped round to the brewery in order to pick up a few bottles of some of Spital’s more unusual beers. Several of these brews are English-style beers, such as Pale Ale, India Pale Ale and Chocolate Stout. For a German brewery, this is really stepping outside your comfort zone, and for a company with the boast that it is the oldest brewery in Regensburg; this definitely is pushing the envelope.

The beers are packaged in attractive-looking, long-necked 330ml bottles with a definite “craft” look to them, and are sold under the Regensburger Spital Manufaktur brand. There are six of these beers in total; but the Pils and the seasonal Märzen are also packaged in this style of bottle. I came back with four of them (including the Pils), missing out on the Maibock, Märzen, Summer Ale, Chocolate Stout and Weizenbock (I’m not a huge fan of wheat beers).

According to the Spital website, there is a shop attached to the brewery, so having briefly parted company with my wife and son, leaving them to go off and get an ice-cream, I wandered round to the rear of the brewery to find it and make my purchases.

It’s a good job I can speak German, as after walking around for a while, with no obvious signs of a shop, I strolled into the brewery yard, where a group of workers were busy loading a dray, to enquire further. It turned out the “shop” was sited in a warehouse at the back of the yard, and was more like a desk and a couple of computer screens for what was obviously the "goods-out" area of the brewery. Fine if you are in the know, but if, like me, you are a casual caller, not so good. Having found the shop my linguistic skills were again put to the test, as the two members of staff there, also spoke no English.

Most local customers, of course, would turn up by car and buy their beers by the 20 bottle case-load, but the staff were quite happy to sell me a selection of individual bottles, placing them in a handy cardboard carrier. I’m sure that visitors from UK are few and far between, so me turning up and showing an interest in the brewery and its products must have been a relatively rare experience.

Whatever the case, the staff seemed genuinely pleased to assist me. As I said earlier, the Chocolate Stout and Maibock were not available; the former being a winter beer and the latter a spring one, but I was pleased with what I’d bought and departed to meet back up with my family.

The beers I purchased were:       Pils 5.5%

Pale Ale 6.5%

                                                India Pale Ale 8.0%

                                                Strong Ale 9.9%

All the beers are on the strong side; even the Pils, and all are attractively packaged, with stylish and modern-looking foil labels. I’ve only sampled the India Pale Ale so far, and can report that it’s very much in the English tradition, rather than the more modern American interpretation of the style. It’s an attractive amber colour and pours with a nice frothy head which remains in the glass. It’s also a very malt driven beer, with a nice hoppy aroma and sufficient bitterness to counter some of the sweetness derived from the malt. After writing that, I’m looking forward to trying the other beers.

This IPA is probably not the sort of beer to be drunk under the chestnut trees in Spital’s lovely beer garden, overlooking the Danube. I would describe it as much more a late autumn or early winter beer to be enjoyed in a small and intimate bar, tucked away in one of Regensburg’s narrow medieval streets.

I suppose imitation is the highest form of flattery, but it’s still very unusual to see a German brewery knocking out Pale Ale, IPA and Stout, particularly when the brewery is as traditional and as old as Spital Brauerei.

As far as I know none of the Spital Brauerei beers are available in the UK, which means that in order to enjoy them you will have to make the journey to Regensburg. However, a visit to this lovely unspoilt medieval city, with its picturesque setting on the banks of the Danube, is one which is well worth making, and what’s more there are the products of two other breweries, plus two brew-pubs to enjoy there as well.

Driven to drink

My firm’s Christmas party took place yesterday afternoon. I ate far too much, but was rather more frugal with the beer – there just wasn’t room for it. This was good news really as, unlike some of my colleagues, I felt bright and breezy this morning rather than suffering from a king-size hangover!

After the party, I caught the train home to Tonbridge. The station is directly opposite the pub where the event took place, so why apart from our General Manager, was I the only other person who travelled into work that morning by public transport? Why did nearly everyone else either drive in themselves, or get picked up by a colleague?

Several people in fact had car shared, but seeing as not everyone wished to drink, this was a sensible arrangement. Despite this I was still surprised to learn that just two out of approximately 30 members of staff had let the train take the strain. It does seem that many people have an aversion to public transport, even when it’s practically on their doorstep! It’s almost as though they are too frightened to catch a bus, or jump on a train.

Fellow blogger Red Nev, made a similar comment in his post about the Merseyside Police’s crackdown on drinking and driving at Christmas. “There are drivers who have become so wedded to their cars that going anywhere without them is inconceivable.”  We have noticed this reluctance to leave the car at home when organising our CAMRA bus trips, but it seems that even when people are more or less spoon-fed the relevant public transport information they would still rather drive, or not show up at all.

Before going any further I wish to sat this is not an anti-motorist post. I am a motorist, and I drive to and from work each day. I enjoy driving, although my morning journey is a lot more pleasant during the school holiday than it is during term time, when the roads are clogged up by dozens of “yummy mummies”, ferrying their little darlings to school in over-sized SUV’s, which they have difficulty in driving properly, let alone parking!

However, much as I enjoy driving, as a beer lover I will not normally drive to a pub, unless I intend to limit my intake to a pint of ordinary strength bitter. If a pub can be reached by means of public transport, or even by walking, then so much the better. I accept there are occasions when the public transport option is not available, and this particularly applies to rural bus services during the evening. This is why we tend to restrict our visits to isolated country pubs, to weekends and during the hours of daylight.

I am really not sure why people are so ignorant about local bus and train services, as there is far more information available, particularly on-line, than there ever was before. With the click of a mouse it is dead easy to carry out a spot of prior research; and all from the comfort of ones home. I have even done this when planning trips abroad; looking up bus and train times in order to plan trips out to some of the more isolated and rural drinking spots.

I think much of this aversion to public transport is because people are too frightened to step outside of their own comfort zone. They are perhaps frightened of missing the last bus home or are anxious about the behaviour of some of their fellow passengers; especially on late-night train services.

I can assure my fellow travellers though, that public transport is by and large a safe and reliable means of visiting pubs, which otherwise one would have to drive to – which kind of negates the whole thing! What do others think?

A good start to December

It’s been a hectic and rather beer-fuelled start to December, with the British Guild of Beer Writers Annual Awards Dinner taking place on Thursday evening in the glitzy Art Deco opulence of the Park Lane Hotel in London’s Mayfair; whilst in complete contrast, the Annual General Meeting of West Kent CAMRA took place on Saturday afternoon in the rather more modest setting of the Tunbridge Wells Constitutional Club.

The former was my first BGBW awards dinner and I enjoyed it very much; but of more interest to readers is Saturday’s event, especially as the future of my local CAMRA branch hung in the balance.

It’s a few years now since I stepped down from the West Kent committee, but I still play a reasonably active roll within the branch. Like other ordinary members who received the invitation to the AGM, sent out a few weeks ago, I was acutely aware that for health reasons, branch chairman Iain, would be standing down. I also knew from conversations I’d had, several weeks ago, that my friend Don would also be standing down from his position as branch social secretary. With no obvious candidates to fill either role, here was a real possibility that the branch could be left rudderless and in danger of being unable to fulfil its responsibly as part of the Campaign for Real Ale.

It was therefore with a slightly heavy heart that I caught the train over to Tunbridge Wells, just after 1pm on Saturday, and made my way along to the Constitutional Club. I walked up through Calverley Grounds, stopping to take a few photos of the ice rink, whose appearance each year at the end of November heralds the start of Christmas in Tunbridge Wells.

This year is the fifth time in a row that the Constitutional Club has hosted our AGM. The club is housed in what must once have been a large private house and the Doric columns at the entrance, help give it the appearance of a stately home. The interior is well appointed with two large lounges, a snooker hall in the basement plus a number of function rooms upstairs. It was in one of these rooms that the meeting took place.

Before going on to describe what took place, mention should be made of the beer. The club stocks renowned local favourite Harvey’s Sussex Best as its regular cask ale, with up to three other changing guests. Saturday’s line-up featured Greedy Goose 4.2% from Hook Norton, Mandarina 4.5% from Kent Brewery and Natural Privileges a 5.2% Porter from Pig & Porter. I tried all three over the course of the afternoon, and can confirm that all were good.

And so to the meeting; there are 620 members on our books, but only 16 of them could be bothered to turn up! Most were people known to us, but it was good to see a couple of new faces in the room. Despite the poor attendance, the outgoing chairman was able to report on a highly successful year for the branch; the highlight being the beer festival we run in association with the Spa Valley Railway.

There were some quite lengthy reports from our Publicity and Campaigns Officers, detailing the excellent work these two individuals perform on behalf of the branch. The Social Secretary’s report highlighted the thoughtful approach taken by the departing incumbent, in trying to reach out to as many pubs as possible and to provide an interesting and varied programme of social events and activities designed to offer something for everyone. The report concluded that despite all the effort and careful planning which had gone into setting out the year’s programme of events; for, as in previous years, the attendance at many of these socials was disappointing, with few members, apart from those on the committee attending. This remains an ongoing problem for the branch and with no obvious answers of how to turn it round.

I have been involved with West Kent CAMRA for the past 30 years, in one capacity or another, and unfortunately the issue of poor attendance has been evident right from those early days. A comment from one member present on Saturday, that weekday evening socials were awkward for him, shed some light on one possible cause. His reasoning that by the time he gets home from work in the evening has his evening meal and spends a bit of time catching up with the family, the last thing he feels like doing is going back out again, especially if it involves a train journey to get to a particular pub.

I empathise completely with him, as I also have felt the same way, especially on a cold winter’s night. Basically there is no easy answer, but the meeting did agree to adopt a more flexible approach to socials, by notifying members of up and coming events, such as “tap-takeovers”, “meet the brewer evenings” etc, by means of social media, rather than relying solely on activities being advertised in “What’s Brewing”. The 21^st Century demands a 21^st Century approach, rather than a 19^th Century one where printed notices appearing each month in the Campaign newspaper!

When it came to the election of branch officers, it was to the relief of everyone that a volunteer did step forward for the position of chairman. He is someone known to the committee as well as to some ordinary members like me. I know he will perform well in this role and will contribute much to the branch. As for the role of social secretary, it was agreed that this role be handled by a new member, who was elected to the committee, with input from other branch officials.

We adjourned for a beer break, and also to take advantage of the buffet laid on for us by the club. This was followed by nominations for the 2018 Good Beer Guide. This I an area I haven’t been involved with for a number of years, but seeing as I’d just grabbed a pint, I sat in on the meeting and even agreed to survey a pub – I must be going soft in my old age!

So the branch survives for another year, but without the influx of some younger active members this is surely nothing more than a stay of execution. I know there are other CAMRA branches in a similar predicament, who are hanging on by the skin of their teeth. It will be interesting to see what CAMRA’s Revitalisation Project comes up with, but the chances this already delayed project  will recommend more of the same. I hate to say it, but CAMRA has long since ceased to be a young persons’ organisation, and unless it attracts new blood it will wither and die.

After the meeting ended, several of us decided that more beer was in order (as if we hadn’t drank enough!). Seven of us adjourned to the George, at the top end of the town. The temperature was already falling, but a brisk walk back into the centre and then through the main shopping area, brought us to this fine old former coaching inn, which reopened back in the spring after years in the doldrums and an undeserved fate as a dodgy night-club. The new owners also run the Sussex Arms and the Ragged Trousers in the Pantiles area of the town. The George offers half-dozen or so cask ales, plus a range of “craft kegs”, all sourced from small independent brewers. I kicked off with a pint of Indian Brown 4.9% from Cornwall’s Harbour Brewing Company, followed by a pint of Larkin’s wonderful 5.2% Porter.

There was a really nice ambiance about the George that evening, helped by the welcoming warmth from the log-burner, and the way in which the pub has been divided up into several different areas. There was some good 70’s rock music emanating from the speakers, but played at a sensible volume which allowed conversation to take place at a comfortable level without the need to shout, or even raise one’s voice. It is good to see this lovely old pub restored to its former glory. I wouldn’t say it was heaving, but given its location on the edge of the common it was comfortably busy, with a good mixed crowd in the bar.

Four of those present decided to head back down to Fuggles, but the rest of us stayed put, content with the fact we were comfortable, with somewhere to sit and plenty of good beer to enjoy. Rather foolishly I rounded off the evening with a half of Zozoma Strong IPA 6.5%, from Gun Brewery. It was rather nice though! 

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A difficult job

Every Friday, over the course of the past couple of months I’ve made a point of calling in at the Greyhound at Charcott for a lunchtime pint. Friday is the only weekday which the pub opens at lunchtime, so seeing as my regular lunchtime walks often take me right past its door, it seems rude not to pop in for a quick pint and a chat with whoever happens to be in.

I also feel that I am doing my bit, albeit in a small way, to help keep this rural pub open. For the background to the Greyhound’s current situation, please refer to my previous post on the subject. However, even with my presence I have yet to see the number of customers reach double figures.

The landlord tells me that trade is busier in the evenings; something I will find out for myself in a fortnight’s time, when my local CAMRA branch will be holding a social at the pub. Unfortunately, relying solely on wet sales (the Greyhound serves no food, but customers are welcome to bring their own sandwiches or rolls and eat them in the bar), does not appear to be a sound business model; certainly in the long term.

Larkin’s only have the pub on a short term lease, as owners’ Enterprise Inns, have the pub up for sale. The talk in the bar  has been that the only interest in the property has been from those wishing to convert the pub into a private dwelling, and the only reason this desire has not yet come to pass is the pub has no garden. If one wished to be pedantic, it does have a grassed area at the side, which is separated from the road by a hedge, but this “garden area” belongs to the house behind. It is currently leased to the pub.

So at the moment, the Greyhound is in a sort of limbo. It’s great that Larkin’s have taken on the lease so that the pub can remain open, but with its long term future uncertain, it’s understandable they don’t wish to invest in a full-blown catering operation.

For my part, I will continue to call in when I can, as there’s normally some friendly and interesting conversation at the bar. Last week whilst I was there, Larkin’s made a delivery and their drayman, whom I have known for years, popped in for a pint and a chat. He brought his canine companion in with him, and the dog amused us by begging for tit-bits (the pub sells crisps) and then got a little vociferous when no rewards came his way.

I enjoyed my ham roll along with an excellent pint of Larkin’s Porter. Walking back to work along the lanes, with the sun low in the sky, and full on in my face, I started to think that perhaps life isn’t quite so bad after all.

Going Dutch

I realised after writing my last post about Jopen Bier that in spite of spending five days in Amsterdam I hadn’t written that much about Dutch beer or the brewing scene in the Netherlands.

I came back from my trip in a reflective and slightly melancholy mood, made worse by the realisation that because of a reckless and unnecessary political gamble, followed by a misleading and at times completely untruthful campaign, the country I am proud to call home will be divorcing itself from a European ideal which offers far more than it takes, in pure monetary terms. Also, by cutting ourselves adrift from our friends in Europe we will lose far more than we will ever gain from a rather outdated nationalistic ideal of “controlling our own sovereignty.”

The fact that this year’s European Beer Bloggers Conference will be the last such event in its current form only served to increase my feelings of melancholia and isolation, but such is life and at east the latter  decision was one based on pure financial and logistical considerations, rather than highly charged and emotionally unsound ones. Such is life, and if these sorts of decisions do nothing else, they serve to remind us that there are no certainties in life.

However, angst over the direction the country is taking should not be allowed to detract from the thriving and rather interesting beer scene just the other side of the North Sea so here, somewhat belatedly, are some facts, observations, thoughts and comments about beer and brewing in the Netherlands.

Like us British, the Dutch were a great sea-faring and trading nation who established links and eventually possessions in the Far East; in particular with what is now modern day Indonesia. Following a hard-won independence from Spanish rule in 1648, Holland as the new country became known, entered a Golden Age during which trade, industry, the arts and sciences all flourished. For a time, Holland was the most economically powerful nation in Europe, although it was eventually eclipsed by Britain.

The story of beer in the country goes back much further than the 17^th Century. I mentioned the Old Dutch beer style, known as Gruit in my previous post. In this medieval brew, herbs and spices provided the flavouring, rather than hops, but given the country’s position on the North Sea coast, and also the fact that Europe’s largest river, the Rhine, enters the sea via the Netherlands, it is not surprising that hops began to be used in brewing much earlier than they did in England.

The various cities of the powerful Hanseatic League played key role in the introduction of hops, and as early as 1325 many Dutch brewers had switched to producing hopped beers. The city of Haarlem, mentioned in my previous post, played a pivotal role here, but for centuries there were many indigenous and local styles of beer peculiar to the country. Beers such as Oud Bruin, Beiersch (a Munich-style dark lager), Licht and Gerstebier, were once common; as were local interpretations of British-style ales and porters; but it was the increase in the popularity of paler, bottom-fermented, beers which led to the dominance of Pils in the Netherlands.

The Netherlands remained neutral during the First World War, thereby avoiding the whole scale slaughter experienced by the warring parties, but neutrality came at a price, as the war virtually cut the country off from its normal trading partners. Brewing experienced a gradual decline, as did the number of different beer styles. Takeovers and mergers took their toll, leading to s situation where one company in particular came to dominate the Dutch brewing industry, eventually becoming the world’s third largest brewing corporation.

I am talking about Heineken of course, and it must be said that some clever marketing played an important role in this meteoric rise, which made Heineken one of the most recognised brands on the planet.

Dutch hopes of remaining neutral in the next conflict were dashed in May 1940 when German forces invaded the country. Five years of occupation did further damage to the country’s brewing industry, especially towards the end of the war, when the northern Dutch provinces were cut off from the advancing Allied forces, and many people died due to mass starvation. It is hardly surprising that beer consumption in the country nose-dived during the 1940’s, and took several decades to recover.

The Netherlands ended up being dominated by Pils, with just the occasional Bock-style beers being produced for consumption during the winter months. By the mid 1980’s only 17 breweries remained in the entire country, with the industry dominated by four large players; Heineken, Skol (remember the name?), Grolsch and Bavaria.

Slowly, inspired by the growing interest in beer observed in other countries and in particular the influence of close neighbour Belgium, things began to look up, and by 2001 the number of breweries had risen to 61. Many of the new-style breweries were dismissed at the time as “copy-cat” breweries inspired by neighbouring Belgium, and it took the arrival of American inspired “craft beers” before things really began to improve.

During the last decade, the Dutch brewing scene has really started to take off, and by the time Tim Skelton’s excellent “Beer in the Netherlands” appeared in 2014, the number of breweries in the country had risen to 200, producing in excess of 1,000 regular beers. This number has certainly been surpassed over the course of the last two years.

There is still much work to be done in order to educate Dutch beer drinkers and wean them off their addiction to Pils. Part of the problem is said to be the indifferent way in which many Dutch bars serve their beers. It is little wonder then that many Dutch people prefer to drink beer at home, rather than in a pub. However, drinking quality, locally-produced beer at home is not that easy, as the products of 9 out of 10 small Dutch breweries are reportedly never seen on supermarket shelves.

The picture I have painted so far is just a very brief snapshot of beer and brewing in the Netherlands, and doesn’t really do justice to a scene which is still very much up and coming. I would recommend visitors to do their homework, and to travel around away from the obvious tourist attractions of Amsterdam, Utrecht and The Hague.

To my own detriment, I did very little research, prior to my visit back in August, primarily because I arrogantly thought that having visited Amsterdam once, I knew sufficient about the country. This was despite having bought “Beer in the Netherlands”, and a "DK Eyewitness Travel Guide to Amsterdam".

My complacency was shattered as soon as I jumped on the train heading south from Schiphol Airport to the charming town of Den Bosch in the province of North Brabant. The day which fellow bloggers and I spent in this unspoilt and attractive part of the country, proved a real eye-opener to what the Netherlands has to offer, and I’m equally certain that a trip to some of the Northern provinces would also pay dividends.

It is worth mentioning the religious divide between the Catholic south and the Protestant north of the Netherlands; a situation which has plagued much of Europe for centuries. The Maas and the Rhine rivers provide a natural boundary between these two halves of the country, and the influence of religion is reflected in the numbers of breweries in each region. Given the Protestant association between alcohol and sin, it is perhaps hardly surprising that historically there were far less breweries in the Northern provinces, than the more easy-going Catholic south, and to a certain extent, this situation still prevails today.

A visit though to some of the more isolated Northern provinces such as Friesland and Groningen certainly looks appealing, and is something I intend to do on my next visit to the Netherlands.

Like my brief look at the country as a whole, I only scratched the surface of what is available beer-wise in the Netherlands. Like other attendees at the EBBC, I was fortunate to have sampled some of the best beers the country has to offer; particularly with regard to those produced by Jopen and De Molen. Visiting the respective breweries of these two legendary producers was also a huge bonus, as was visiting the monastic La Trappe Brewery at Koningshoeven, during our stay in Brabant.

Other beers of note were those from the small Brouwerij Vandeeoirspung, in the village of Oirschot – which we cycled to from Koningshoeven,  Kompaan (based in Den Haag, who also provided me with a rather nice glass), and Amsterdam’s Brouwerij De Prael, whose 6.5% ABV, true to style India Pale Ale was, without doubt it was the best beer of my entire visit.

Well I trust I’ve now whetted your appetite, so the next time you’re looking you’re your next suitably beery adventure, why not hop over to the Netherlands and explore some of these places, and try some of these beers. Easy Jet operates several flights a day to from Gatwick to Amsterdam and, as I discovered after chatting to a couple from Essex on my last day, they also fly from Southend.

If you prefer to travel by train, take the Eurostar to Brussels, from where you can get a train to either Rotterdam or Amsterdam. For the real romantics amongst you, the night ferry still operates between Harwich and Hook of Holland, from where you can get a rail connection to many parts of the Netherlands. Anglia Rail will sell you a return “through ticket” from Liverpool Street to Hook of Holland, although you will need to book a birth on board the ferry. With this option, you arrive in the country awake and refreshed with the whole day ahead of you and with plenty of time for sight-seeing and beer drinking!

Jopen Bier

One of the excursions at this year’s European Beer Bloggers Conference in Amsterdam, was a trip to the neighbouring city of Haarlem. On what became an increasingly wet evening we were picked up from the conference hotel in a couple of vintage buses.  I would estimate their era as the 1960’s, but as I am no bus geek, I may well be wrong. From what I recall they were made by DAF, if that means anything, and for those of a certain age, a ride in these classic old buses brought back some pleasant memories

The purpose of our trip was a visit Jopen, Haarlem’s major brewery, which was founded in 1992. Jopen beer owes its existence to a group called "Stichting Haarlems Biergenootschap", whose aim is to re-create traditional Haarlem beers and then bring them to a wider audience by marketing them commercially. Two old recipes were found in the Haarlem city archives, and these were used as a foundation for the company’s first two beers.

The beers were initially brewed in the Halve Maan Brewery in Hulst, but then in December 1996 Jopen BV acquired the beers and put the company on a much sounder footing. The name "Jopen", incidentally, refers to the 112 litre beer barrels that were used in early times to store and transport beer in Haarlem.

The new owners switched brewing to the La Trappe Brewery in Berkel-Enschot, continuing very much in the vein of a “gypsy” brewery, relying on other companies to brew its beers. In 2001 brewing of the Jopen brands was transferred to the Van Steenberge Brewery in Ertvelde, Belgium.

Then, at the end of 2005, it was announced that the Jacobskerk, a redundant old church in the Raaks area of Haarlem, would be transformed into a brewery. On November 11, 2010, the "Jopenkerk" (Jopen church) opened its doors for the public, who must have been amazed at the transformation of this former church into a fully-operational, modern brewery. Here, visitors can sample the entire range of Jopen beers within full view of the brewing system.

The modern brewing unit forms the heart of the Jopenkerk, and was built and installed by BrauKon  from Germany. It has a 2 x 20 hectolitre brewing capacity. Depending on the type of beer being brewed, 12 to 20 hectolitres are brewed per batch. Two large gleaming copper brewing kettles stand behind the bar, alongside eight large lagering tanks. The Jopenkerk though, is not just a brewery, as there is also a café and restaurant on site. A separate room, called the Rectory, is used as a venue for meetings, social gatherings and other events.

Following fermentation, the beer is transported to the Waarderpolder Industrial Park in Haarlem. Here, the beer is lagered and dispensed into bottles or barrels, by means of an innovative and fully-automated bottling line. This impressive new facility was our first port of call. Unfortunately it had just started raining when we arrived, which was a shame, as the brewery staff had laid out the area in front of the brewery with picnic benches, ready for a barbecue. Fortunately the really heavy rain didn’t arrive until later on in the evening, so we were able to sit out, at least for a while, and enjoy both the beer and the food.

The former consisted of two Jopen beers; North Sea IPA and Koyt, both dispensed from wooden casks. The former is a strong, well-hopped 6.5% ABV IPA, whereas the 8.5% ABV Koyt is an Old Dutch beer style, known as GRUIT. Herbs and spices provide the flavouring, rather than hops. The recipe for Koyt dates from 1407, and is one of the original beers brewed by the Haarlem Biergenootschap, back in 1992.

The food was very good and was the perfect accompaniment to the beer. There were barbecued sausages, burgers, satay chicken with peanut sauce, plus ribs, with either pasta or potato salad as accompaniment, so it was rather unfortunate that the before we had properly finished, the rain came on much heavier and drove us all inside.

The Waarderpolder unit now houses it own brewery, as well as all the maturation and packaging equipment, but it is unclear from Jopen’s website as to which beers are brewed at which site. Of rather more interest to us beer enthusiasts was the well-stocked taproom, housed on the first floor. Here we were given free reign to pour our own beer from a selection of 13 taps. Not all the beers were Jopen brands, but a sizeable majority were. Unfortunately I have mislaid the notes I took at the time, so am unable to recount which beers I sampled.

It was back on the buses for the second part of the evening, which saw us driving the short distance into central Haarlem and then making a dash through the pouring rain to the Jopenkerk. Once inside we were ushered to the upstairs gallery, where a row of tables had been set out for us. Having enjoyed our main course at Waarderpolder, we were to be treated with dessert in the form of chocolate cake, crème brûlée and cheese. There were beers specially chosen to accompany each dish; all strong and dark, and I have to say that in the main these pairings worked well.

Again, the notes I carefully took at the time appear to have vanished, but I noticed a beer called Harlem (spelt the American way) Shake in a couple of the photos I took. Confusingly, the beer is not listed on the brewery website, although a strong, 9.0% ABV Double Bock called Johannieter is shown. This was probably one of the other beers alongside the 5.5% ABV Extra Stout.

After thanking our generous hosts, we traipsed out through the heavy rain, which was still falling, to the awaiting buses. One bus was allocated to take people straight back to the conference hotel, whilst the other would be dropping people off in central Amsterdam for a mini-pub crawl. I opted for the former, as I had no desire to be walking around in the pouring rain. Besides, I’d had more than enough beer for one day and was ready for me bed.

If you visit the Netherlands, and in particular the Amsterdam-Haarlem area, I’m sure you will come across Jopen beers. Do give them a try, and with such an extensive range there is bound to be a beer suitable for every taste.