Picking hops from the garden

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Published on Friday, 30 September 2011 00:00

Written by Alex Vokes

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It's September 2011 and my hops in the garden are ready to pick. I've been growing my own hops for a couple of years now up a rickety bamboo construction of my own design. I've heard that it's in the third year of planting that hops really start to bear fruit so I got my fingers crossed for a large crop! Hops are annual plants and die back to the root each year, so they have to struggle to occupy enough space to deploy their leaves in order to make enough food to grow healthy cones. Three years ago I planted roots from the Fuggles, Goldings and Target varieties and they've certainly taken the back garden in their stride. The first year I harvested around 20 hop cones which made me feel like it wasn't really worth the effort, but this year the back garden is literally dangling with clusters of hops. Last year I think I picked my hops too late in the season and they'd already started to go brown, so this year I was determined to get a green crop.

Hop picking is remarkably relaxing and once I'd started the actions became automatic. I've been watching the progress of my plants quite carefully over the last couple of months and notice that a good deal of wildlife has set up shop in amongst the stems. The whole area seems to be full of spiders and ladybirds and all sorts of other creepy crawlies. This was in the back of my mind as I was tearing down some parts of the plant as some of the spiders are whoppers. At the end of the day I was quite surprised at the volume I'd managed to collect - a whole washing basket full. The smell was amazing and my hands were almost black from all the hop oils they'd absorbed.

The next step is to dry the hops to reduce their water content. I normally tip out the hops onto a double bedsheet in the summerhouse at the end of the garden. I apply heat via two small electric heaters that blow hot air over the cones and during the next couple of days the hops will dry and feel more papery. The final step is to vacuum pack them and place them in a dark sealed container. Hopefully this lot will help make some great beers in the coming year :)

Bruges Trip, June 2011 Day 2

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Published on Saturday, 11 June 2011 20:15

Written by Alex Vokes

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It turns out that when you are recovering from a night out in Bruges it is a good idea to put the "Do not disturb" sign on the door handle of your hotel room. This turns out to be best all round and minimizes the embarrassment caused when maids that work in the hotel walk in and find two hungover englishmen in a state of semi comatose in their respective beds. It turns out that my hangover wasn't that bad and this surprised me as I'd been drinking mostly 7-9% beers all evening. I'm guessing that their strength had something to do with it as you tend to treat Belgium beers with more respect and drink them slowly. Even so it took me a little while to regain my humanity this morning and once Paul and I had showered we headed down to the Brasserie opposite for some caffeine in Paul's case, and hot chocolate in mine. We sat there for around an hour drinking our hot beverages, marveling at the sights and sounds of Bruges and eating the chocolate wafer tubes that come free with the drinks. Over the course of the hour the other joined us and we readied our plan of attack for the day.

We set off into the middle of town for a bit of an explore, and very soon we came across some tourist information boards and hung around them in a most convincing manner. We decided that we'd split into two groups. The first would head for the tower in the main square and ascend via the hundreds of steps to the summit. The second group would visit the chips museum. I opted for the latter as I was intrigued to what else there was to know about potatoes, oil and deep fat fryers. It turns out that there was quite a lot I didn't know about chips. Potatoes originally came from Peru and belong to an extensive family. Peeling the potato was a serious business and maidens hoping to marry would have to first peel the most difficult variety. We saw some impressive fossilized potatoes, and learned that potatoes contain no fat and are actually very good for you. Drinking raw potato juice is supposed to be excellent at curing stomach-ache, maybe this information will be useful this weekend. The Belgiums take their chips, or frites very seriously and there are medals awarding for producing them. The two frites stalls in the main square have a rent of 100,000€ per year. We learned the secrets of cooking the perfect frites, how to make music using potatoes and the origins of mayonnaise. At the end of the tour we used our discount tickets to buy a portion of the real thing each. They were absolutely delicious and were great as our breakfast.

The frites cafe was situated in the basement so we were unaware that it had started pouring it down outside. We set off into the rain and cut a comical sight. I was wearing my bright orange t-shirt and Paul had donned his balaclava with matching moustaches. All the locals of Bruges had taken cover under the capacious awnings that covered the pavements outside the various shops. We dived inside a Brasserie for a quick glass of Leffe Bruin and contacted the others. We decided that we should head for the local Halve Maan brewery and see if we could have a tour. When we got there we learned that we'd missed the last tour (4pm) and that the brewery's kitchen had closed for the day. We ordered some beer and took a look at the menu anyway. There were some very interesting dishes and most of them seemed to be made with beer. We agreed that we should return tomorrow for lunch. I thoroughly enjoyed the Straffe Hendrix Quadrupel that I had there (11%). It was so smooth and easy to drink that you soon forgot just how strong it was.

One of the places that people always talk about when the go to Bruges is De Gaare. This small pub is notoriously difficult to find but I was keen to try as I'd heard that it brews it's own house beer. I really did take us a while to find the tiny little alley off Breidelstraat but it was well worth the recommendation ( thanks internet! ). It was small and rustic inside with around 3-4 tables on the ground floor and some rather steep steps up to further seating on the first floor. It was the only place in Bruges I have visited so far that has a unisex toilet. We managed to grab a table next to the bar and had a look at the beer menu. The owner of the establishment was a friendly chap who instantly identified us as tourists and asked if we'd like to try the house beer. This was one of the reasons that I had come to Bruges so I was immediately keen on the idea! The owner rushed about procuring glasses and I couldn't help but notice just how busy he was with two floors of people to serve. The service was excellent and soon we were drinking the locally brewed tripel from bell-shaped glasses and eating the free cheese on sticks that accompanied the round. Halfway through the beers we all started to notice the effect it was having on us and Frank asked the owner just how strong the house beer was as we couldn't find it listed on the menu. "11%" replied the owner without any hesitation before disappearing to serve the next table. The choice of beers here was so good that we decided to stay for another and I managed to find the Trappist beer Achel Blonde from my list. The whole round was very interesting and my Achel was in good company with Chimay, Guillotine and Kwak ( with it's strange wooden serving glass holder ). I could understand just how tired the owner was as every beer had to be served in the correct glass and finding the right one must have taken him ages. When we decided to escape and find food the bill was presented to us written on the back of a couple of bar mats. I liked this bar, and although it was just off the square it felt very local. I'd recommend this to anyone visiting Bruges and hope to come back here before the holiday is over.

Our next stop was De Kelk, a local bar that had a good beer reputation. As luck would have it we found it just up the street from our hotel. This bar had a huge range of beers for such a small place, and the poor girl serving us admitted that it was here first day so she didn't know all the beers on the menu. One of the beers we tried here was the Girardin Black Label 1882 Gueze which was absolutely excellent. As we'd accidentally had more beer and no food we asked the bar maid for a good place to get some food for a reasonable price. We were directed to what would be fair to call a kebab shop. I ordered a Bicky Burger as I was in the mood for trying something unusual. I assumed it would be some type of Belgium Hamburger and when it arrived this turned out to be true. ( * A bicky burger is apparently a Belgium brand ). After eating this we took to the streets again in search of some new drinking venues. We passed a smokey bar and split into two groups. Frank and Paul and I decided we'd try this bar and see how it fared. The choice of beers wasn't great by Bruges standards and the locals looked at us liked we'd just landed. I was keen to try and sample some of the local atmosphere of Bruges so Paul and I stayed for another whilst Frank went to join the others. After the second beer I'd decided that I'd had enough and wasn't really up for a huge night out. I returned to the hotel and climbed into bed - remembering this time to put the do not disturb sign on the door. There is only one day left but I'm starting to feel like a know Bruges a little better now.

Bruges Trip, June 2011 Day 1

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Published on Friday, 10 June 2011 00:00

Written by Alex Vokes

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I, along with some friends of mine have been saying for a number of years that we'd like to visit Bruges. Having watched the film "In Bruges" it certainly looked like a great holiday destination with some sights to see. Also there was the fact it was in Belgium with all those beers! The plan was to travel to Bruges on Thursday and stay there enjoying the beer and sunshine and return to old blighty on Sunday. I'd never been to Belgium before so this was a chance to travel on the Eurostar from London Pancreas to Bruxelles . I'd booked my tickets separately to the other five of my drinking companions and would be travelling in a different coach. We all met up in Crouch End, London the night before and made plans in the Kings Head over pints of Sambrooks Wandle before moving onto the 3 compasses for a rather impressive pint of Redemption Trinity (3%). There was also a tasty lamb and chorizo pie to help wash it all down.  

Our train left for Brussels at 1057 Thursday morning so we were up early and out to door in order to reach King's Cross St Pancreas around 20 minutes early in order to check in. I was dubious about my printed paper ticket, but the QR code on it seemed to work flawlessly at the barrier The security guard by the metal detector was really friendly and was keen to chat about Bruges and the beers we would probably try. My seat reservations were in a different carriage to the other five of my companions to I spent an hour and 50 mins looking out the window at the French and Belgian countrysides. We arrived in Bruxelles and as we were nearby and had some time to kill we decided we'd visit the Cantillon brewery before travelling onwards. This brewery makes beer using age old traditional spontaneous fermentation. This process uses the wild yeast in the atmosphere to produce a sour tasting beer that is sometimes blended with fruits (typically raspberries or cherries ). These lambic beers are aged up to 25 years as the fermentation process is much slower than when using modern "top" or "bottom" fermenting yeasts. We were given information booklets and wandered around the brewery on our own examining the equipment and the fantastic cellar that stored up to 60,000 bottles. On seeing the exquisitely beamed roof space in which the brewery stores its grains and hops I decided that I should have something similar myself one day. Brewing is only active in the winter so the brewery wasn't producing anything during our visit. There were quite a few tour groups that came in whilst we were there and some people looked like they were regulars and had just come in for their regular glass of kriek or framboos. We were given two taster glasses and could choose from the Geuze ( Lambic beers of different ages blended together ), unblended lambic, Kriek ( cherry ), and Framboos ( raspberry ). We all passed these around so I got to try all of these. We also bought a bottle of the Iris which was made with pure barley rather than the usual blend of barley with wheat.

Although we are all supremely happy there and could have stayed all afternoon we all agreed we should try and arrive in Bruges by tea-time. We walked back to the station and on arriving it turned out that I needed to buy a connecting ticket to Bruges as my ticket wasn't valid for the journey. The ticket office in Bruxelles is slightly confusing. On entering you come face to face with a pleasant member of staff who stands next to a touch-screen computer terminal. You are supposed to enter your destination on the screen and then you'll be assigned a ticket number. You then need to queue up and wait for your number in "Argos" style. Luckily my confusion was obvious and the lady on the desk was kind enough to educate me. All people who work in the customer service sector in Belgium seem to be able to speak at least three different languages fluently. 

The journey took just over an hour and cost 6 euros each way. The trains were very comfortable and the whole experience put British Rail to shame somewhat. We were disappointed that we didn't get to travel on one of the double-decker trains as these looked loads of fun. On passing St. Pierre station we noticed a gigantic bike park that probably held over 20,000 bicycles. The bicycle is a MAJOR form of transport in Belgium and there were an equal number of these to the cars we saw during our visit.

Alighting from the train we left the station and strolled onto the huge cobbled area just outside. There was a noticeable difference between Bruges and Bruxelles that was immediately apparent. Bruxelles is definitely a "city" and has a large amount of concrete and traffic. Bruges is also a city but disguises itself as a 12th century cobbled village. These cobbles are a bit misleading as in the UK they normally signify a pedestrian area, but traffic in Bruges seems to be permitted everywhere. We walked to our hotel to drop off our bags and appreciated the canals and shaded woodland paths that exist across the road from the station. There was a relaxed silence in the air and we saw no-one except a couple enthusiastically trying to say goodbye to each other and repeatedly failing. It was soon apparently the Bruges is a beautiful experience and I would be able to relax here without any problems. The hotel Ter Reien is situateed directly next the canal on Langestraat. Once we'd registered our presence at reception we were show past a medieval map of Bruges, down some stairs through a pair of doors with stained glass windows and then into a small courtyard. One of the doors on the courtyard's perimeter opened directly on the canal and you'd be able to step directly into a boat or plunge into the water. The rooms were situated in an adjoining house on two floors. These were clean and suited our needs perfectly. We all agreed to meet up in the brasserie opposite (Punta Est) and once I'd had a quick shower I strolled down and met up with the others.

My first beer in Bruges was a Rodenbach, a sour flanders red ale which is both tart and refreshing. Once we'd all assembled we discussed a plan of action. I'd done some research regarding the places we should go for good beer and had a small list of 6 places that were supposed to be good and this tallied somewhat with the lists and experiences of other members of our beer-drinking taskforce. On leaving the Punta Est brasseries we walked back into central Bruges to visit Cambrinus, a renowned beer haunt boasting a list of over 400 beers. Unfortunately for us it was full so I had a look on my list and suggested another venue. With a bit of exploration we found T'poatersgat - a cellar bar with a vaulted ceiling and hops on the walls and columns. This had a seriously impressive range of beers and we sampled beers such as L'abbayes des rocs and Viven imperial IPA. There was no table service here but the barman was really friendly and was able to decode our stumbling english pleas for quality Belgium ale. On the way back we had another stab at Cambrinus and this time there was a table free. The choice of beer here was staggering and amazingly they had all three Westvleteren beers. These ales are made by a silent order of monks and is notoriously hard to come by. We agreed that at some point this weekend we should try all three bottles and at around 10€ for each bottle it wouldn't break the bank. 

We left Cambrinus in search of food and decided to try t'Brugs Pitahaus. Sitting down at the tables and looking at the menus we quickly discovered that none of us knew any Flemish. Luckily I'd installed a Dutch-English dictionary on my phone and we had help from the waitress who was very friendly. We all ordered chicken or lamb kebabs with chips and pints of t'Brugs Zot blond ( which it turns out is made by the local brewery in Bruges. The meal came with a number of enigmatic sauces which were all tasty and interesting. There was an excellent green sauce which reminded us of Korma and a white cheese sauce. There was also a form of onion and tomato relish that was absolutely delicious. 

We left with our stomachs recharged and visited t'Brugs Beertje. This is another place that beer enthusiasts rave about in Bruges. The building itself is very small and seemed to be frequented by a couple of tables of students. We were only able to sample one beer here as we arrived for last orders at around 1am, but I was pleased with my choice of the De Dolle extra export stout. We moved onto De Kuppe next. This had a good selection of beers but seemed to be having some sort of trance and house night. We stayed for one and made our way back to T'poatersgat. A previous conversation with the barman had suggested that he may be closing at around 3-4am depending on the number of customers. On arriving we found that the bar was closed so ducked into a jazz and blues bar directly opposite. The beer menu in here was also very interesting and a chilled out blues bar is one of my favourite places to spend the early hours of the morning with a high quality 9% belgium ale. A few beers in here and we all decided to call it a night.

My first night in Bruges has been very rewarding and I think I will enjoy my stay here. So far the beer tally is up to 54 different beers tried by our six-man group. I'm hoping to find some of the beers from my 300 beers challenge tomorrow. Let's hope the hangover is manageable.

What a fantastic Easter!

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Published on Wednesday, 04 May 2011 20:22

Written by Alex Vokes

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The Easter holiday this year was rather special. I, along with most of the country had noticed that Easter Bank Holiday was followed by the Royal Wedding on the subsequent weekend, and by using 3 days of holiday it was possible to spend 11 days in a row without going to work. This suited me very well and I had a fantastic time. The holiday itself started on Good Friday, so naturally Thursday night was spent down the pub sampling some of the fine ales available in the Jug & Jester and the Lounge. I then retired to my accommodation (which was empty at the time) for some much needed sleep. The next day I was invited to my first BBQ of the year, and the weather was excellent. This gave me the excuse to use up some of that Decemberfest meat that I've had in my freezer. 

The Day after we decided to venture forth for a PieQuest. We decided that since we'd been neglecting the South-West direction we should head in that direction. It was a blazing hot day as we set off just outside of Warwick. It soon became apparent that the weather was far too hot, and we walked six miles without a pub in sight. There we plenty of fields of rape and some great trees to photograph, and before long we found ourselves in Statford. The decision was made to abandon the quest and search for food in the car as it was just too hot.

The majority of the rest of the week I spent enjoying long lie-ins. I don't think I was up much before 10am most days. My days consisted of breakfast, a spot of coding on my homebrew projects, lunch, a spot of guitar practise, more coding and then the cooking of dinner. I'd then retire to the lounge to watch some films that everyone else has seen. I managed to watch Blood Diamond, Lucky Number Slevin, The Ramen Girl, The Fall and Resident Evil Afterlife.

On the day of the Royal Wedding my mates from university turned up and we decided to boycott the whole sitting in front of the TV watching the crowds and instead head off to the Long Itchington Beer festival. This festival has been a long standing favourite of mine. You generally start the day by wandering down the canal for almost two hours. Once you get to Long Itchington you are sorely in need of a pint. Luckily there are loads of pubs in walking distance and all of them are partaking in the festival. A thoroughly excellent time was had by one and all and we tried a great number of new ales. The festival itself was very busy and we sometimes had trouble even seeing the bar, let alone being served. Unfortunately some of the bar staff were a little bit rude and I heard a couple of stories of other people being treated with anything less than courtesy. Still I'm guessing a festival that has 4-5x more customers standing at your bar demanding drinks had got to be stressful for anyone. Unfortunately for my liver the drinking didn't stop there. A quick taxi ride back into Leamington and we were still 'researching' beer until 2am.

In the next couple of days we visited the Wild Boar and the Zetland Arms in Warwick, had a massive BBQ and finally finished off the Decemberfest meat, and all got thoroughly burned in the scorching sun. Sadly it was time for everyone to return home, and it was with a shock that I remember that i'd bought tickets to go and see Delain in the Leamington Assembly. I'd never been to the Assembly before but was tired and liversore from my long weekend. I can report however that Delain and their support bands were thoroughly excellent and the evening was a great success. I'd like to return to the Assembly to see some more live music in the future.

I am very thankful for the Royal Wedding. Not only did it give me a nice long holiday, I also got the chance to spend it with lots of great friends. If anyone else from the Royal family wants to get married that will be fine by me, but could they please give me a couple of weeks for my liver to recover!