Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo! The annual clatter of hooves on cobbled streets
The hills are alive. We know that. Rodgers and Hammerstein told us. There’s a lonely goatherd high on a hill who is heard by the men drinking beer with the foam afloat. Whilst the sound of music may be resonating through the hills, it is in the annual clatter of hooves on cobbled streets that welcomes Carnivale Brettanomyces. The goatherd’s mind is no longer high on a hill; the highs of Amsterdam and several days of farmyard funkiness entice goatherds from across the world.
Bright copper kettles and goats in their warm woollen mittens; Brettanomyces delights in brown paper packages tied up with strings; these are a few of my favourite things!
Whilst a mature, aged goat is certainly a delight, it is the young upstarts that attract most attention. The frolicking kids. The next generation to join the flock.
Championing the undergoat. Enjoying the best Brettanomyces beers the world has to offer. And yet, keeping a firm goatherder’s eye on the future. That is one of the joys of Carnivale Brettanomyces.
The annual gathering of Brettanomyces homebrewers, semi-professionals, breakthrough brewers and a handful of willing experts happily sharing their knowledge and experience happens this year on Friday, 21st June between 12pm and 4pm at Hotel de Goudfazant in Amsterdam North. The Home Brewers Market — Brettanomyces entrepreneurship at its finest.
Returning once again this year from Oakland, California, is the ever-impressive AltBrau — always a much-anticipated highlight. Also bringing funky delights across the Atlantic is fellow Californians, Fox Tale Fermentation Project, from San Jose. But to be commended on making it this far with the taste of a distant terroir are New Zealand Friends Northside Beer.
One name to watch-out for is Fermenterij VanDam, a Dutch home brewery from North Brabant that focuses on wild beers and fermentation. And a somewhat familiar name on the local home brewery and yeast scene is SciBrew. And then there is Dønekes, Elixer and Fabian Kovacs.
From Aachen, Germany, is Humble Beer. And bringing the Lambic and blending techniques from Belgium is Brugge’s Pellicle Vergistingen. Expectations are high for Matt Kent from Sheffield, knowing that Yorkshire is a currently a hotbed of craft beer brewing talent.
Also present is Lucas Blasty. And the presence of Wilder Wald adds a touch of class to the event.
The more established names this year include such heavyweights of the style as Germany’s Brauerei Kemker and Schneeeule, and Belgium’s Antidoot. Elsewhere we see Bretty Fingers from Sweden and Canada’s Escarpment Laboratories, Mainiacal Yeast from the USA and a welcome return for Ireland’s Wide Street Brewing Company.
Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo!