The Abbey is in the town of Mol. Yes, named for moles.
This was to pick up some bread and cheese (not to bring to the US of course),
as well as try the Abbey beer. Note in the past Molse Triple (tripel from Mol)
has been sampled, but that is from Scheldebrouwerij, not here. There were deer at the Abbey, but no venison nor Bavarian-style deer cheese.
The Abbey is famous for its herb
garden, as well as the "neutraceuticals" they sell, such as ginseng
extract and others.
There was even a pharma-like blending and bottling area
where you could watch the formulations.
We did stop in and try a Postel beer [#3,273] at Gasthof de
Belaard, however it was with a sad note that we discovered the Abbey has
"outsourced" their brewing.
Also picked up were some mole-shaped
chocolates (remember, we're in Mol).
The Abbey was not the ultimate destination; we had received
confirmation from the brewer that we could visit the new pico-brewery DijkWaert. We had also received a rather cryptic reply - relating to their
whisky-barrel aged Mc Thals - "...don't use any barrels nor have I added any
Whisky or essences..." I love a mystery!
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| photo by Danny Van Tricht |
Arriving at the brewery we were welcomed by the brewer/owner
Hans as well as his family. They began brewing about 1-1/2 years ago, and have
a very nice tidy operation. The first order of business - after everyone
introduced themselves - was what's this with the Mc Thals? You do not use old
whisky or scotch barrels to age it?
Hans replied wryly that is it was all a brewing formulation
secret, and that the natural herbs and spices used in the brewing gave the beer
it's near-perfect taste. I mean really, a peaty phenol smoky taste with a hint
of salt; barrels from Speyside distillery? Nope!
Has said we would try all the beers currently on hand, and
brought out an impressive spread of 8 different beers. And these were all
different styles, from a gruit to lambic to Wheat beet. The first one sampled
was Thals 1886 [#3,274].
We also had a tour of the brewery; scrupulously clean with
different bottles stored and aging. An older son was currently labeling
bottles. He may be attending school to be a brewer, and we all wish him well.
After the tour, we continued sampling the beers. Each beer
was very different, and each seemed to be better than the last. Han's wife Carine
brought over an appetizer plate of cheese and other snacks; the proper way to
taste beer. We learned that the brewery's history came about as some hobby
"kooks" (their words!) came together in early 2010 to start the
brewery, and get married! The brewery name is a combination of Hans and
Carine's last names (Dyck, a Dutch twist and you get "Dijk") and
Hans' (Wierts, with a German root of "innkeeper", Belgianize it and
you have Waert) - Dijk Waert.
The brewery prides itself on 100% natural ingredients, no
added chemicals, flavorants, adulterants, etc. They only use all-natural
ingredients. For example, if the beer (e.g. Fruity Bierreke) says it contains
sour cherries, it is real, honest-to-goodness mashed sour cherries, not syrup.
The beers tried in order were
Vurig Bierreke (fiery beer) [#3,275]
Goud Vuur (golden fire) [#3,276]
unnamed Wedding Beer [#3,277]
Fruity Bierreke (fruity beer) [#3,278]
Eeuwige Liefde (eternal love) [#3,279]
Mc Thals [#3,280]
We learned about the brewery's other fine points. There is
the ability to accommodate up to 20 people on a pre-arranged tour, with a full
dinner if necessary. And that the brewing plans include the ability to make
custom beer. As with the wedding beer - brewed for a wedding for 2012/10/13 -
Dijk Waert can make a small batch of beer for whatever event/taste you want. Note
the wedding beer was actually named trouw brouw (wedding beer) for Karen and
Steven - we wish you well.
At this point we also learned a dark secret behind some of
the other nano-breweries we have visited in the past. Although they do brew
beer, to accommodate their market demand, they have larger batches
contract-brewed at several larger Belgian breweries who do this. That sort of
explained a conundrum from the past, one nano- (pico- really) visited in 2011
couldn't possibly supply the US market to the extent it has, based on the size
of said pico-brewery.
A further surprise hit us when it was announced we would be
having dinner at the brewery. We broke bread (actually fish, vegetables, stofles
and chicken) with the family, including their adopted son from the Philippines,
and Hans' spry octogenarian father.
During dinner, it was explained how some of the beer
flavours and brewing recipes were arrived at. Some by trial and error, some by
the knowledge of what the final product would taste like. An example was also given
was how to "age" something like a whisky or cognac. By age I mean artificially
take a younger, more "raw" spirit and improve it. The "secret
recipe" would be to take a bottle of new cognac, and heat it slowly in the
open bottle, in a double boiler, until the water bath reached 60 C (that's 140
F in the 'real' scale).
At this temperature the impurities (such as allyl alcohol,
miscellaneous aldehydes and others) are driven off; one blows away the vapor
that collects near the top of the bottle, lets the bottle cool to room temperature,
caps it and puts it away. It has not been attempted yet, but Hans swears it can
turn something like a Johnnie Walker Red into something resembling a Green.
After dessert, we purchased a little over a case of beer, and promised to
look into how beer could be shipped to the US for personal consumption. I did
leave a copy of one of my book for the family to enjoy. All in all, an
absolutely grand day out.
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