Trip to Wonderland!
Europe 2005 - Saturday may the 28, 2005.
Click on pictures for a larger view (800X600). If you are on
a picture and want the original version (2592X1944) or you want me to remove it, feel free to contact
me by cliking on
Comments.
No usage of the content of this website can be made without autorisation.
Also, I have done the translation to english myself, feel free to point any mistake.
Texts and photos : Sylvain "Altaïr" Dupuis.
Saturday may the 28, 2005.
Main impression:
Brasserie à vapeur, Pipaix.
Odor:
The boiling mash letting hops aroma fill your nose.
Color:
The reddish brown of the mash running out of the mash tun.
Flavor:
The "Saison de Pipaix" and the "Vapeur cochonne"!
Sound:
The ols steam engine that make everything works, a bit like and old railroad steam engine.
Texture/sentation:
A handfull of hot and humid grain husk.
Day summary:
I missed the train for "Leuze en Haineault" by two minutes, I took the next one hour later and called the
brewery arriving at the Leuze station. As agreed with the brewer's wife during the Charleroi show, she
came to pick me up less than ten minutes later. Arriving at the brewery, I promptly go to watch the
operations, they are adding hot water to the mash tun.
During diner I met a quebequer who was there with "Monsieur Bière", they left few minutes later so I
didn't got time to talk. After, I met an american couple and two norvegians or finish and spent the rest
of the day with them.
Intéresting discussion with the assistant brewer and my new friends, I served as translator. The
americans brought me back to Brussels and the have invited me to join them in the morning for a visit to
Wesvleteren Cafe. After I whent to eat and see the
Judy Niemack show at
The Nusic Village.
The "Brasserie à vapeur", on one side of the street there is the brewery and on the other the office,
kitchen and dining room and also a small wharehouse/sale counter.
The mash tun, we can see on the ceiling a web of belts and pulleys. You pull on a rope and the mixer
start to turn, on an other one and the crushed grains are dumped in the tun (I didn't see that step
because I missed my train but I understoud the principle).
The steam engine and the main pulley that make everthing works.
The grain crusher.
After infusion, we watch the mash flow.
Already a nice head.
Stop for a bite while the mash is recirculating.
The last rinsing of the spent grains.
Even if the brewery have an old look, everything that need to be done under stricts sanitary
conditions is done rigorously. Thes fermentation vats are in stainless steal whit double wall and we had
to content ourselves to look at it thrue a misted window.
Brewer, cook et history teacher, the master of the place give us some indication on the spices that
goes in the receipe.
My friends from nordic lands, saddly I don't remember from what country precisely.
The less interesting part of brewing, shoveling all the grain husk from the mash tun and clean
everything for the next time.
visits on this page
since 12-09-2005
Last update of this page: 12-18-2005
