Culture, Leisure, Travel, posted April 23rd, 2007

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What can you do in Maastricht on the second day of Easter after you’ve been to church (for those who go), eaten all you can, caught up with the family and already travelled all around?

Well, there is still one thing which is really worth investigating further while living in the Netherlands. Why, I’m talking about beer of course! Surely everyone here indulges in more than a glass a week of that refreshing and tasty beverage, as a nice start into the evening…

Luckily for me, it just so happened that the former Steam Brewery De Keyzer in the Wyck district of Maastricht was open on Easter Monday. I decided to treat myself to an instructive and entertaining experience and visit the establishment.

Walking into a malt house built in 1758 was like a travel through time. We started off at the highest floor where we admired the Wyck district through the three little round windows.

But what immediately fascinated me was the wooden floor. Although the building is preserved as an industrial historical monument, time has left its marks.

There were a few holes in the floor and we could just see how thin the wood was. We could even have a clear view of the floor below! It was quite an unusual sensation from the thick floors we are used to. We could almost see the structure of the entire building and it looked like that wood and nails were all we would need to build another one just like it.

Our guide spoke Dutch and he must have thought that it would take too long to provide explanations in English as well just for the two foreigners in his group of visitors. So he gave the tour in Dutch only and I didn’t understand much. But I must acknowledge that I did not regret my visit.

As the tour kept going to lower floors I used my imagination to visualize the beer making process by observing the old machinery dating back to the beginning of the 20th century. The old shovels, the mashing tun, the wort boiler, the barrels and the wagons made the process become very vivid. Those who understood Dutch probably learned why beer can be dark or light, sweet or bitter. Very useful knowledge for beer drinkers!

I would have liked to enjoy some extra time wandering around the malt house on my own. The place was quite empty and the machinery left there was too old and too heavy to be broken or stolen, so there seemed to be little risk of property damage. But the guide preferred us to all stay together and to proceed with the tour.

After the five storied malt house we visited the area where the beer gets closer to the consumer: the bottling plant and the cooperage. The bottling machine looked like a complex cartoon machine: the bottles of beer revolved around it and were connected with tubes and other smaller pieces of machinery. I found it really worth observing for a few minutes but it unfortunately became a bit boring after a while, probably because all the explanations were given in a language I couldn’t understand.

It was interesting however to reflect on the fact that what was now a tourist attraction used to be everyday life only one century ago.

Just when we thought we had reached the end of the tour, we found out that there was more. We moved to another building, where a pleasant surprise awaited us.

We were actually invited to look at the beer while it was being made and to smell it as it was boiling. The beer maker was very passionate about his work and although he spoke in Dutch it was fascinating to follow him as he showed us the barley, the wheat, the yeast, the boiling process and the little bottles to taste the final product. At this point I was reminded of the priest in the “Robin Hood” movie who said while holding wheat in his hands: “God had a more divine purpose for it!”

After smelling the beer, it was time to taste it. Right next door we were invited to enter the picturesque bar room which was especially open for the occasion. Our EUR 7,50 ticket included the tour and two beers! We were presented with a dark one, Double Saison and a blond one, Mestreechs Blont, accompanied with snacks, regional cheese and a special beer cake kindly offered to us by our tour guide. Yes, something actually edible could be made from beer! It was quite thoughtful to have something to accompany the beers, as they actually turned out to be quite strong.

Naturally, those who had really liked the beers could also purchase a few bottles and even the beer glasses.

Good beer, tasty food and pleasant company: the perfect ingredients for a successful evening. Truly a beer lover’s place!

NB: The brewery’s website mentions that the tour can be given in English too. (I would however advise contacting the brewery before going: in the Netherlands, as you may know, if something is not scheduled, it will not happen!)

By Jelina Makrantonaki

Jelina Makrantonaki is a Law graduate from Greece and is currently doing a Master in Media Culture at the University of Maastricht. She recently started an internship at the European Journalism Centre.

 

This entry was posted on Monday, April 23rd, 2007 at 11:24 pm and is filed under Culture, Leisure, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.