Crypt-ic Brewing and Other Peculiarities…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

You are browsing though a post I have made using my achieve photos of a trip Family Kiwidutch made with the family of one of my cousins, visiting us from New Zealand a few years ago.

In yesterdays post I mentioned that in centuries gone by, the bad state of many roads meant that canals were a faster and easier mode of travel and that the haulage of goods, ingredients and livestock were usually done on the waterways.

For ease of transport  most breweries in the Netherlands were located on canalside and here is no exception, although we did also learn on our boat tour of Utrecht that the beer from the brewery shown in the first photograph supposedly had a rather “ peculiar” taste because they also used the canal water in the beer.

Since the waterways were also the dumping ground for anything and everything (mentionable and unmentionable) I hope that the alcohol in that beer was strong enough to kill off the certain nasties it must surely have contained.

Since this brewery managed to stay in business for hundreds of years, they obviously didn’t kill their customers with the beer… or maybe they did but it happened so slowly that people didn’t suspect the cause? … or is it simply that people  back then had cast iron constitutions?

We pass one spot of the “lower street” with not just a large wooden sculpture out the front but also a rather strange looking angel suspended from the tree…  This we are told is a sign that tells people that the crypts of wealthy people are located in the spaces behind.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

A little further along we branch away from the smaller inner canals  where the “lower street”  idea is no longer present  but the warehouses and cellars still are, this time with doors directly on the canal front.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

These little canals in turn branch into the broader ones that were effectively the early motorways of the city. A large wall and a gate  mark the ancient toll entrance  into Utrecht.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

We also pass a sturdy looking jetty that is the docking point for  boats taking visitors to the nationally known Railway Museum a short distance away…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

We boat  and  people watch: other tourists passing by in a similar tour boat to ours, to locals messing around with their craft and pets on the water’s edge.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

There is a large building  that dates from the 1700′s,  it started life as an orphanage then became a  home for the elderly and has now been converted into apartments.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Some photos just take my fancy: bridges, squeezing under bridges, houses and views from the water…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

You’ll Only Find a Brownie Like this Once in A Brew Moon…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

We’ve come for lunch to the Brew Moon café and brewery just outside Amberly,  north of Christchurch New Zealand.

There’s a cabinet of food on display … it all looks delicious but I can’t eat it all so I choose a slice of  bacon and egg pie .

(I see a definite  theme in my menu choices this holiday LOL!) but to be honest it looks too good to resist and all of the previous examples have been fabulously tasty.

This piece of bacon and egg pie  turns out to be no exception and I’m delighted with my meal. The kids didn’t end up having lunch because they weren’t hungry having eaten a late and substantial breakfast/brunch of toast and sandwiches, so they enjoyed a simple ice-cream later for “dessert”.

For dessert I choose the chocolate brownie with ice-cream (actually as is our habit, Himself polished off the ice-cream because it makes my asthma worse). I’m supposed to have a low dairy and egg diet,  but am willing to suffer some wheeziness for  a treat like the bacon and egg pie on occasion but I know better than to add an extra dairy item during these days as I don’t want things to get out of control.

The brownie has to be without doubt the best I have ever eaten. It was super chocolatey without being too terribly sweet which is no mean feat.

I of course  cheekily asked if the recipe might be available and my request was not surprisingly declined with a smile, but I’d go so far to say that I’d happily make a future trip back out here just for the chocolate brownie, it’s that  good.

We will be stopping here on future trips!  Dining here is really relaxed, the weather is perfect, we are sitting in the shade, the kids are playing on the machinery out the front and are posing for silly photos that I am taking of them from the table.

The icing on the cake is that we buy a few bottles of  Brew Moon beer to take home and share with beer-loving friends in the Netherlands. Perfect  lunch all round.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Lunch For the First Time in A Brew Moon…

Last time we were at Brew Moon it was either closed or we were on our way to a family appointment and didn’t have time to stop: http://kiwidutch.wordpress.com/2010/05/24/new-post-83/. This time is different, we are heading out to Amberly for the express purpose of going there for lunch.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

The weather, in contrast to the high winds and rain still lingering in the North Island, is bight and sunny, clear and exceedingly warm.

We go inside and find that there are three sitting areas, first in the main part of the building, by the café and bar area: cool and in deep shade the regular sitting area, which would also be cosy in winter because there’s a long burner in the corner.

Secondly, inside and to the right of the cafe is a partly covered sitting area… today it’s filling up fast with customers looking for a quiet place to have a coffee or dine and Himself and I judge that neither of our kids are doing particularly well in the “best behaviour” department  today so we decide to take ourselves as far away from the other patrons as possible, and sit in the third sitting area:  tables outside under the verrandar at the front of the building.

It’s one thing for the kids to inflict their ill humour on us, it’s a completely different thing if  complete strangers have to endure it too.

It turns out that our self imposed exile probably ends up being the best seat in the house…the kids wander off in an unrestrained moment and walk though the semi covered area… they return saying that it’s really hot there because there’s no breeze, where as we have the shade, a nice view of the coming and goings, stuff of the kids to play on out the front and a few puffs of wind on occasion to take the edge of the shimmering heat.

The food in the cabinet looks great so after we order lunch, we  take a look around and then head for a leisurely sit at our table in the shade.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Mike’s Beer…. Organic, Whisky,Coffee, Imperial or Pale Ale Brew?

Beer, glorious beer! Of course we are looking at the main product of Mike’s Brewery… There are Porters, Pale Ales, specialist beers like Whisky, Coffee  or Imperial Porters, which are limited editions in individually numbered bottled and all organic! I’m no beer drinker but we bought some to take with us for Himself to enjoy and review later and Himself said he was very pleased with his selection because everything he bought tasted very good.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Beer, Pies, Coffee and the Longest Chip We’ve Ever Seen…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

We are just north of Urenui, on the east coast of  New Zealand’s North Island and visiting the White Cliff Estate organic brewery, a.k.a. Brewery Mike’s.

Lunch has just arrived and whilst fries are not healthy, they and the pies are welcome on a hot day after our car journey.

Himself washes his food down with a beer and pronounces it very favourable indeed but the one for the road is definitely a coffee.

Kiwi Daughter scores the longest French fry we have ever seen, she holds it up to her face and it reaches from her forehead to just past her chin.

I then get a series of photographs where she tips her head back and tries to swallow it whole like she’s eating a Dutch pickled herring. I’ve deleted her face from one of the photos to give you and idea of  how long it was, the top is by her forehead and the bottom reaches past her chin. That must have been one massive potato!

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

A Comfortable Look Inside…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

It was a hot Taranaki day when we stopped in at Brewery Mike’s for lunch.

I can’t remember now if the old hall used to be a schoolhouse or if it was an RSA  (Returned Serviceman’s Association) Hall but either way it’s been well decorated for it’s present use, there are relaxing seating areas inside as well as out.

There  is a small display of local art (Kiwi Daughter spent some pocket money buying one of the paintings  in the photo) and some interesting old photos of local brewing, but since our food was arriving at the table outside I forget to check if  these were photos taken of this brewing family or not.

The place is cool in the summer heat and by the looks of the log burner in the corner surrounded by sofas, it’s probably pretty comfortable  in the winter too.

I like that not only is the beer organic but they stock a few organic snacks too, for example organic chocolate. Let’s take a look around.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Stopping in at Mike’s for a Brew….

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

An easy drive down the coast near the small town of  Urenui,  Himself suddenly spies a large sign on the roof of a building that says “brewery” and as the beer drinker in the family he’s suddenly finding himself very interested in a break from the road, a hearty lunch accompanied… possibly, very strangely coincidently…. by a beer.

We have stumbled upon Brewery Mike’s White Cliff Estate organic brewery…

We pull in to find an old hall that”s been converted into a  beer shop and café, a massive deck has been built out the front and it’s been covered with a sail-like canopy so there is ample shade, excellent for a scorching day like today.

The kids want to run round on the large lawn at the front but after a few circuits and a quick investigation of the outer edges they decide it’s just too hot and come and flop at the table with a cold drink and waiting for the food to arrive.

We place our orders and take a look around…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Going to Jail in your Wooden Shoes is Thirsty Work…

We continue our adventures with the St Nicolaas  Boat Club of Amsterdam. (http://amsterdamboatclub.com/index.html)

The Dutch have always been imaginative when it comes to using space. This is not the first place in The Netherlands where I have seen this arrangement of “building” incorporated into and under a bridge,  and in all the other cases, these were the local prisons!

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

The Dutch can’t be accused of being unimaginative when it comes to finding ways to  feature the nation’s icons.

Not only did everyone who saw this “klompen” (wooden shoe) have a giggle, but afterwards the thought occurred to me:   Is it a single lost soul sole or might it be one of a pair?

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Lastly there are the buildings that you see regularly along canal sides in all old cities in the Netherlands… they have a  building style and windows that are particular to them all.. and all of them will be sporting the traditional “hijsbalk” or lifting beam , as featured in this post http://kiwidutch.wordpress.com/2011/03/13/new-327/.

So did you know that all these buildings started off life as breweries? Yep… and there are lots and lot of them too. Why so many?

Well, sad to say, In Europe drinking water of centuries past simply wasn’t fit to drink. Contamination with sewerage and other waste materials made it the least healthy beverage of all, so the populous drank  beer instead. Even children drank weak beer. That’s the reason that little breweries were everywhere,  and they mostly had this “standardised” style.

The hijsbalk was naturally in service to lift the barrels of beer, and the central windows designed in this shape  for easiest transferral  of the barrels and ingredients.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

We only got Here On Time, once in a Brew Moon…

Quick post today because we have a massive family Party going on…. and I’m doing the buffet for it.. the kitchen calls. I’ll share recipes later, things so far are tasting goooood….

If you head out of Christchurch, The biggest city on New Zealand’s South Island and travel north for just over half an hour, you will come to the small town of Amberly.  Just outside of Amberly (one maybe two km’s) you’ll find a local  independent  beer brewery.

It’s called “Brew Moon” .. if they brew only once in a Blue Moon I have no idea… but Himself wanted to stop in and grab a few bottles to try.

Now I have a confession: I adore the smell of beer, I could inhale the smell all day long, but the taste is wasted on me completely. Honestly I have tried hard to like it, but to no avail.

That’s probably why I now discover that I completely forgot to take a photo of the bottles,  (Beer lovers amongst you please don’t get your hops in twist, I know I’m just a Pineau de Charantes drinking philistine LOL). We  intended to go to the cafe, but family appointments were so much fun that we always stayed later than we intended and thus have always managed to pass by here very late in the evening or on Public Holidays, ie. only at times when the place  is closed.

On this occasion we have luck, it’s open, we turn into the carpark in time to see them putting stuff away, it’s early evening and they are about to close, Himself races inside to buy a few bottles before they close up the till whilst I wait  by the car with two tired kids, and take a few photos.

Himself finally has success in obtaining some brew to try, I have less success with the photos, probably due I think,  (ok, I know), to the not so small distraction of two tired kids beginning what sounds like World War Three in the back  of the van.

Note to Self:  Next trip we need to come back here, Himself says the dark beer is very favourably comparable to Guinness and if the beer is good then I’m hoping the the food in the cafe is too.

It’s on my Wish List of places to look further into next trip…

Meantime, If you like a Guinness style brew and are passing by Amberly, then stop in at Brew Moon, pick up  a few to take home  and you won’t be disappointed.