Hospitable Heukelum 2016

Label of the 2016 forumbeer

Label of the 2016 forumbeer

I really hate autumn. There, I said it. Yeah I know, lots of people like it, the falling leaves, the smells, the colours etc. Well, for me autumn is made out of dark, grey, rainy and cold days which suck the joy out of my life.. Blagh… I prefer summer with the warmth and comfort of the sun. Luckily not all is bad in these dark days, there is even some light. Light coming from a small brewery located in the tiny Dutch village of Heukelum. There one of the annual meetings of the Dutch/Belgian pipe-smokers forum is held. People from all layers of society sitting together, chatting away, drinking, eating, in general just having a good time. As it is supposed to be. Like the previous years stone-cutting tamper-maker extraordinaire Martin organised it. The price remained the same as last year so we all got excellent value for money. I mean, you get two drinks, there is a big BBQ with all kinds of tasty fresh meat, sauces, salads and baguettes, the rent of the brewery is included and last but not least you get one bottle of special forum-beer with a label made by myself!

Dre and some of his wares

Dre and some of his wares

Like always I picked up Mark at the Deventer train station and together we drove to the carpool place where Johnny and Ed would be waiting or us. When we got there it turned out to be quite busy with cars so I had to park mine beside the road. Suddenly a pissed-off guy approached me that I had to park my car elsewhere. It turned out to be the owner of the ice-cream van who stood there, he was afraid his clients did not have space to manoeuvre with my car there. Bullshit of course but since the guy is a total nut-case (he was in the news because he conned customers) I opted to park elsewhere. To my amazement and joy the weather actually was nice when we arrived at ‘T Kuipertje. A bit of sunshine, hardly any wind and a decent temperature made it feel like a very late summers day. One of the first things I did was fetch my ordered PRF shirts and sweaters. Peter did an excellent job ordering, handling and packing all the fine quality PRF textiles. Thanks mate, now I have some decent clothes to wear this winter and coming summer. Second I approached Dre, who refurbishes estate pipes as a hobby. I mailed him earlier that week with a request.

The father of a good friend of mine

The father of a good friend of mine

As I told in my Humble Beginnings part 1 blogpost one of my influences to start pipe-smoking is the father of a long time friend of mine. Well, he is in The Netherlands right now because of his bad health. Ok, bad health is a bit too exaggerated, he has some physical issues which are better addressed here (better hospitals) than in Brazil, where he lives. He brought some pipes with him and when I took a good look at them tears welled up in my eyes.. He is an old fashioned smoker, and by that I mean he likes to smoke the same blend over and over again (he took a liking to my Phoenix Graveyard Mixture (basically all my natural tobacco leftovers mixed together) in just a couple of pipes which are hardly cleaned. One of his pipes has the mouthpiece of some other pipe which is duct-taped more or less to the shank and the underside of another one bubbles up because it is almost burned through. Time for some “new” pipes I thought, so I approached Dre and asked him if he had any straight pipes (preferably billiards) for sale. “Just wait, I will bring some pipes with me”, he mailed back. And indeed, Dre showed me a billiard and some canadians which looked just fine. “I’ll take them all!” I happily said. Dre asked a very friendly price and even threw in another pipe for free! Thanks very much Dre! The father of my friend is a happy man now.

Me, Robbin and Ed

Me, Robbin and Ed

Time for a drink! The previous years the beers of ‘T Kuipertje were good although sometimes a bit on the watery side. However, this year I was surprised by full, round tasting brew! With a smile I walked to Robbin, some weeks before the meeting I bought a straight Dunhill patent era prince from him for a very good price. He once bought the pipe from a man who turned out to be a swindler and that turned him off so much that he never smoked it. I have no such problem with that pipe so Robbin brought it with him. Happily I filled my new acquisition with some tobacco and went outside. I put the pipe in my mouth, brought the flame from the lighter to the bowl and *crack!* bit through the mouthpiece.. While silently cursing I took the pipe out of my mouth and inspected the damage, a piece of the lip had broken off. The mouthpiece was already very thin by decades of buffing and my strong teeth did the rest. Just bad luck, not any one’s fault. Frisian pipe maker Meindert saw me inspecting the damage and carefully took the pipe from my hands. “Just give it to me, I will make a new mouthpiece for it, everything will be ok.” So to be continued..

Jeujjjj!!!

Jeujjjj!!!

Then it was time for me to ask for everyone’s attention. For some time I am busy with a new PRF forum tobacco called “Flatlander Flake” made by Samuel Gawith and imported by (Elbert) Gubbels. Just a couple of days before the meeting I received 2 sample tins from Elbert so the forum members could try the blend. I wanted to give a longer speech in which I explained and told about the new forum tobacco journey but sadly my throat (I still was having a nasty cold..) protested heavily. So I decided to give a shorter version and let the tobacco speak for itself. During the rest of the day I (luckily) got nothing but positive response about Flatlander Flake, mission accomplished!

Finger tapping the sh*t out of that ukelele like Van Halen. NOT!

Finger tapping the sh*t out of that ukelele Van Halen style. NOT!

Suddenly when I was talking to some folks I heard a strange monotone noise coming from outside. It turned out to be Sander who was gearing up his hurdy-gurdy. Such a strange instrument but Sander proved to be surprisingly skilful in playing it. The folk melodies coming from it brought me visions of merry drinking and eating people. Hmm, pretty much the group I was looking at! Rob (one of the many Robs on the forum) also brought instruments with him; his self made (from used cigar- and pipe tobacco boxes) ukeleles. They look really great! He also brought a regular ukelele which I could not resist playing. I painfully discovered that having experience in playing guitar and bass does not mean one can play an ukelele..

Yummie meat!

Yummie meat!

I was saved by the announcement of brewery-owner Henk that the BBQ’s were ready. Time to eat! Henk gets his meat from a local butcher and you really can taste that, premium quality! Normally I would not notice that so much, but because I am more or less on a diet I took no (fat and sugar-rich) sauces with my meat. Some weeks ago I had a BBQ with my brother-in-law and he had meat from the supermarket. Well, it was not nearly as good as what Henk had to offer. So I sinned and filled up my plate 3 times before I contently sat down with a full belly. Needless to say the gym awaited me the next day..

Sander

Sander

The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent chatting away with all the present folks. Because of the heat coming from the BBQ’s we could sit outside for a long time. Talking about heat, on a table stood a small bottle with some red sauce in it. It belonged to hurdy-gurdy player Sander and on the label was an ominous name that indicated the contents were very hot. But according to Sander that was not really the case, he used large amounts of it on his meat. Curiosity got the better of me, I put some sauce on the top of my finger and licked it off. At first nothing happened. I proclaimed “Hah, this stuff is not as ho….” when suddenly my mouth started to burn, my eyes began to water and I got hiccups. Holy damned sh*t, this stuff is HOT! The whole table laughed at my attempts to control the effects of the hellish sauce. In the end I fled inside and asked Henk for a glass of milk, the best liquid you can get if you have eaten something hot. Unfortunately he did not have that but the glass of water he offered disappeared in my mouth within the blink of an eye.

Poor Mark...

Poor Mark…

Around 8 o’clock it was time to go home. We said goodbye to each other and stepped in the car. The ride home was pretty quiet, obviously everyone still had the fantastic day in their minds. Until Mark asked if Ed could stop the car, he needed to take a shit badly. Not so funny because he suffers from IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrom). So we halted at a gas-station where Mark quickly went to the toilet. Which took him quite a while. At one point some men where waiting in front of the toilet. Funny were the faces of disgust they pulled at the sounds and smells so to say. But I felt pity for poor Mark, luckily he was feeling pretty relieved when he joined us again in the car.

I want to thank Henk and Martin for organizing yet another great meeting and all who attended for the interesting conversations, the laughter and camaraderie. All pictures were made by Jan(neman), Klaas, Nick and Roelof.

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Hospitable Heukelum 2014

October 12th it was time for the annual “mother” of all the Dutch/Belgian Pipe Smokers forum meetings. The one in a town in the Dutch province of Gelderland called Heukelum, inside brewery “‘t Kuipertje” and organized by Martin: the Heukelum meeting! For weeks the forum was buzzing with anticipation and whole check-lists of what to take with you were made so nobody would forget anything. Meanwhile Martin was busy collecting the entrance money: €26.50 (± $33). A bargain if you ask me because for that sum you not only gain access, you also get two drinks, there is a big BBQ with all kinds of tasty fresh meat, sauces, salads and baguettes and last but not least you get one bottle of special forum-beer with a label designed by myself! Whoehoe!

Johnny

Johnny

Unfortunately for some the entrance money still was too much. Recently forum-moderator and respected member Johnny went through some tough times (private stuff) which left a hole in his finances. My good friend Ed, Mark and I said that he could drive together with us to Heukelum but Johnny was not sure if he was able to manage it money-wise. We were all bummed out because after a tough time there is nothing better for a pipe-smoker than a cosy, relaxing pipe-smoking meeting. Suddenly we got a mail from a happy Johhny, he was going! Apparently he got a message from Martin which said that all his expenses already were paid for. And that is the true heart-warming spirit of the forum.

Shrewd judge Jos

Shrewd judge Jos

So on the day itself Ed first picked me up, then we went to the Deventer train station to get Mark and somewhere along the way Johnny joined us. When we arrived in Heukelum we clearly were not the first. Lines of cars we neatly parked beside each other under which the gracious Volvo Amazon owned by Jos. He was one of the first I looked up because I had something for him and he had something for me. In my “Zestful Zutphen 2014” blogpost I wrote that Jos had bought a “smoking area” sign for me on a Amsterdam market. He had brought it with him and as a “thank you” I had not one but two presents for Jos. For a living he does something with laws so every time I smoke Orlik Golden Sliced and see the “shrewd judge” illustration on the tin I have to think of him. Jos often comes across like a person with some loose screws but beware, he is very, very “shrewd”. So I gave him a tin of Orlik Golden Sliced and a wrapped package. Jos had to laugh hard when he saw the contents of the package: a judge wig. He immediately put it on his head and looked amazingly shrewd to my delight. This week I mounted the sign on the door of my tobacco closet in my working-room.

Paul

Paul

Paul also had something for me. As some of you perhaps know he does whisky nosing & tastings under the name of Whisky Info Plus. On the latest Inter Tabac in Dortmund he had met a company who could print tables. “Hmm, precisely what I need for my nosing & tasting” Paul thought. “A nice bistro table with a picture of whisky-barrels and my logo”. Only, he once made his logo in Word and it was not suited for printing. So he asked me if I could re-make the logo as a proper illustration file. Of course I could, but for a price. “Some tobacco or whisky?” Paul asked. Since I was making it for a nosing & tasting of whisky I choose that. Paul gave me a round box with on it “Ardmore Traditional“. He explained a bit about it and it really sounded yummie in my ears. And it also tastes yummie, actually, I am having a glass of it right now while I am typing this. Thanks Paul!

Martin

Martin

I also had to see Martin, but not for anything smoking related. A week before the meeting I got a mail from him asking if I wanted buy a Dragon-clock from him. At first I said no, it had no room for it but then I looked to my pipe-cabinet. Hmm.. That clock would look nice on top of it.. So I asked Martin what he wanted for it. According to him it was pretty expensive new but perhaps some tobacco would suffice? As it happened I just had laid my hands on a bag of Esoterica Stonehaven, perhaps that was ok as a payment? Eagerly (I know he loves the stuff) Martin said yes so now the clock graces my pipe-cabinet.

Robert-Jan checking out the wares

Robert-Jan checking out the wares

A while ago forum member Robert-Jan visited me but he forgot to take with him a tin of Hajenius My Own Blend. I kept it for him until I had the chance to give it back. I also smoked some of it (I was allowed to) but mwah.. I did not like it, I was a bit under the impression that cheap tobaccos were used. So I was glad I could give back the tin at the meeting. Oh!! I silently cursed.. Robert-Jan had asked if I could bring a sample of Esoterica Penzance with me for him. And I had totally forgotten about it.. Of course I made up for it later.

Dre unveiling the new forum year-pipe

Dre unveiling the new forum year-pipe

Some time later we were all asked to gather around. The time had come for the unveiling of the 2015 PRF forum year-pipe! Normally Shaun arranges the whole project but sadly he had been very ill this year (luckily he feels a lot better now).. Despite his sickness he managed to reach out for help and Dre answered his call. Dre (Andre) has very good connections with the Gubbels family from the Big Ben pipe factory and regularly visits the place. So he asked if they could mean anything for the PRF pipe project. Unfortunately Big Ben only fire up their machines for a minimum of 500 pipes and the forum can never reach that number. BUT they had an alternative solution. Throughout the years Gubbels kept Barbados shape pipe-bowls behind with an exceptional grain and we could have those! Plus they added a metal ring on top of the bowl which makes the pipe look even better. When Shaun and Dre told this and showed the pipe they got a very well deserved applause.

On the left me and Franz

On the left me and Franz

After some chatting with a lot of forum members it was time to eat! As I told last year the meat provided is of excellent quality and comes from a nearby biological butcher. Just as I expected the beef was gone first, I also have to thank myself for that.. After dinner I sat down beside Franz. I am a bit of a Dunhill collector (if I can get them cheap) but he collects all kinds of English non-Dunhill pipes like Sasieni and Charatan. He has a stunning Sasieni prince and.. Wait, just a moment.. Sorry, every time I think of that pipe I have to wipe off my drool. I can’t stop admiring that one. Franz also had brought with him some Germain Rich Dark Flake which I never had smoked and was very curious about. Luckily I was allowed to take a sample with me so now I can finally compare it to its famous brother: Esoterica Stonehaven.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAGradually darkness fell all around us, the lights went on and I just had to think of the atmosphere Dutch painter and graphical artist Anton Pieck summons in his creations. Slowly one by one people were going home until just a few were left. I bought some more bottles of the tasty forum-beer (which was a bock-beer this year!) and we all helped owner Henk a bit with putting back some tables and chairs. Then we said goodbye to each other and thanked Martin and Henk for the wonderful day. Johnny was a bit quiet. Apparently upon entering the brewery he had received a stash of consumption-coins from Martin so he had free drinks all day long. But he also had gotten a small bag, a gift from our forum-Sint, Rob. I opened it and literally my jaw dropped, eyes went a bit wet and I immediately understood why Johhny was so quiet. The contents were a Winslow and two Dunhills under which a gorgeous gold-band shell briar. And that is also the true heart-warming spirit of the forum and I am proud to be a member of it.

Heukelum 2014 group

Heukelum 2014 group

Henk and Martin, thank you for the organization of the meeting! Ed, Johnny and Mark, thank you for the pleasant rides! The rest of the members, thank you for a great day! All pictures were made by Klaas, Janneman and myself.

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A tobacconist and a wedding in Breda

Breda harbour

On a surprisingly warm October day Ellen and I headed towards to one of the major cities in the province of North-Brabant: Breda. The reason being that my long time colleague Loes was getting married! She and I go back quite some years, she started in the German department of our company and later moved to my department; marketing and communication. Privately I semi-jokingly called her the “iron maiden” because at 31 years old she had not even kissed a guy.. “Try internet-dating!” I said “Perhaps you meet someone, who knows?” Nonono, not her style, blahblahblah.. Until I heard she had a couple of dates with a man and things seemed to go well. “How did you meet him?” I asked. Loes replied with a red face: “Ehmm, through internet..” After that the fresh couple made haste, in just 2 years time both of their houses were sold, a new one was bought, they started living together and got engaged. So the announcement of a marriage in Breda did not surprise me. Good, I thought, an excellent reason to take a day off, stroll through the city and pay a visit to one of the better tobacco shops of The Netherlands: De Compagnie.

We arrived in Breda at the end of the morning and easily found a parking garage near the old city centre. It was still quiet in the streets until we encountered the weekly market. We did not feel like walking past all the stands so we decided to look for a place to get some coffee. In the heart of the market was a terrace in the shades where we sat down. While Ellen ordered cappuccino for her and a coffee for me I filled up my Dunhill cherrywood with some new Bulldog Roper’s Roundels. Aaahh.. I just love to sit on a terrace on a sunny day with pleasant company, a good drink and a good pipe.

Proost!

After we finished our drinks we went for a stroll through the city. Ellen had to shop for some clothes (women…) but that was the price I had to pay for our later visit to De Compagnie. Luckily she soon found a nice pink ensemble in which she looked dashing. When we came out of the store our bellies were grumbling, time to have some lunch. We walked towards the Grote Kerk (Big Church), the most important monument and landmark of Breda. Alongside the big building we found a café with big wooden benches in front of it where we sat down. I looked at the menu and yummie, they had some bock-beers! So I ordered a Texels bock, for Ellen a glass of rosé and for the both of us something to eat. By the way, my pipe with the Bulldog Roper’s Roundels was still going strong! It still amazes me how long this kind of tobacco lasts.

De Compagnie

Also beside the church tobacco shop De Compagnie, run by John Bodar and his wife, is located in a stately building. Well, tobacco shop.. They have more than that. De Compagnie sells the (for me) classic trinity: tobacco, (home roasted) coffee and tea. Which was the reason that Ellen came along with me. Normally she prefers to go somewhere else when I visit a tobacconist because it is just not her thing. When you enter the large store the coffee and tea products are on the left. To the right you see all kinds of cigars, cigarettes, pipe tobacco, pipes and water-pipes. In the back of the shop is a cigar climate-room with a bit alongside it a small but classy smokers lounge.

IMG_2165As far as pipes go De Compagnie has a vast assortment, one of the larger I have seen so far in The Netherlands. From cheap to expensive, lots of brands and what I really liked were the many meerschaum and clay pipes. Normally one does not see many of those pipes in tobacco stores here in The Netherlands. But De Compagnie even still has some clay pipes from no longer made brands like Zenith. I knew that before because at the beginning of this year I bought a stunning Zenith Sultan clay-pipe at their online shop. Owner John Bodar even send a lighter and a nice postcard of Breda with it!

John Bodar

John Bodar

Talking about owner John Bodar, when I was looking at the pipes assortment he came to me. An elderly, calm and thoughtful man. We shook hands and started talking about his business, tobaccos and pipes and he showed me some of his wares. To my relief it soon became clear that he knew what he was talking about, a man who knows the products he is selling. This because I’ve encountered several tobacconists in The Netherlands who barely knew what they were talking about.. After we chatted for a while I looked over my shoulder and saw Ellen patiently sitting on a chair. She had bought some (surprisingly) tasty Twinings green tea and Ethiopian coffee and was waiting for me to stop talking with Mr Bodar. So I rounded off the conversation and bought a tin of Planta Danish Black Vanilla (ignore the bad reviews, it is good stuff) and a bottle of liquid for my Lampe Berger. I asked Mr Bodar if I could send him some more questions per mail. Of course that was possible and below are those questions and his answers.

2groot1. Can you tell me something about the history of the store?
In 1935 my grandparents started a shop in comestibles with coffee, tea and tobacco in the Nieuwe Haagdijk in Breda. The shop ran well and was moved to the Karrestraat. Obviously my mother assisted them in the store. In 1900 my great-grandparents had a cigar-factory in Den Bosch. There their son (my grandfather) began a cigar-store on the market. Unfortunately in the 1930’s the factory was closed because it could not compete with the grand-scale manufacturing of larger companies. After WWII my father started a pipe-wholesale with amongst others the brands Hilson and Speedway. The parents of my mother were regular customers and this way he met my mother. After that my father settled in our current building, Torenstraat 15 in Breda. My grandparents decided to sell their store at the Karrestraat in 1955. Their stock and customers were taken over by my parents who converted the Torenstraat building to a shop. In 1989 my wife and I took over the store, expanded the assortment with coffee and tea and changed the name from “Het Pijpenhuis” to “De Compagnie”. The following years the store was expanded and we started with roasting our own coffee in 2003.

IMG_21782. What are your most sold pipe-tobaccos?
The most sold pipe-tobaccos here are the Havezaethe series.

IMG_21683. What are your most sold pipes?
Brands that are mostly sold here are Chacom, Peterson and Big Ben.

IMG_21754. Do a lot of tourists/casual visitors visit your store or do you have a lot of regular customers?
About one third are regular customers who pay a visit about once a month. One third are also regular customers but they come here a few times a year. The last third are tourists, mostly from The Netherlands, who pay a day-visit to Breda and come to take a look what we have got here in the store.

IMG_21675. Do you notice anything of the anti-smoking feelings/laws? Does it harm your sales?
The laws have a big impact on smoking in general. Especially the prohibition of smoking in ones workplace makes it for many pipe smokers no longer possible to enjoy their pipe during their work. However, it is a trend that people are more aware of what they smoke, less but better.

IMG_21706. What are your favourite pipes and tobacco when you smoke yourself?
I regularly smoke from 5 pipes. My favourites are a straight Davidoff and a bend Chacom. I like to try out different tobaccos and rotate them. In the earlier days I was a lover of English blends with latakia, my current favourite is the John Aylesbury Premium Blend.

IMG_21667. Any last words to readers?
Smoke consciously and enjoy it, do not smoke out of habit. Rather buy one good pipe than 2 lesser and regularly take care of it.

IMG_2186The time had come to go to the wedding of Loes when we walked away from De Compagnie. It was held in the old city-hall at the market place which was cleared at that time. Well, only the smell of fish remained.. Loes and her soon to be husband Martijn arrived in a beautiful white old-timer which stopped just before the old city-hall. As they stepped out of the car I could see that she looked amazing and was positively beaming. Once inside the wedding-ceremony started and I would not have missed it for the world. Nice and warm speeches from the civil servant and friends, of course lots of (happy) tears and the most important: they both said “yes”. As a wedding present for the new couple I was thinking of giving them a pipe. Not a normal one, but a wedding-pipe.

bruidegomspijp1For a long time the tobacco pipe had a special meaning about making love, betrothal and marriage. For example, it was a good sign if the lover with his first visit to a girl got offered a pipe and a coal. If he the next time got offered the same pipe it meant he was accepted as a lover. In the 19th century up until WWII in The Netherlands, and especially the provinces of Groningen, Drenthe, Friesland and Overijssel, it was a tradition that the groom was offered a Gouda pipe, the wedding-pipe. Per region the name was different: Bruidegomspijp, bruigomspijp, bruidspijp, bruiloftspijp, breugmanspiep and bruurmanspiepe. This is old-fashioned, but the symbolism of the smoking of the wedding-pipe stands for the subservience of the woman to the man. She has to keep the coals in the fire burning so that man can lit the pipe at any given moment. Besides that the pipe is also a symbol of conjugal fidelity. If the pipe breaks then there surely will be a break-up in marriage..

Wooden cabinet with wedding-pipe inside

Wooden cabinet with wedding-pipe inside

The wedding pipe had a head decorated with an altar of fire, hearts or the image of a married couple. The rest of the pipe was decorated with paper ribbons, garlands and flowers. This creative work was done by the bride and/or her relatives or friends. At the end of the tradition this job often was outsourced to the wife of the local carpenter. Her husband made a beautiful decorated wooden cabinet with a glass window in which the pipe could rest after the wedding.

bruidegomspijp5

Picture of an old wedding

The customs around the wedding pipe were not a fixed thing, there were variations from region to region. At the evening of the wedding the pipe was presented by a sister of the bride (or the wife of the local carpenter) to the bride. Nervously this rhyme was uttered by her: “Gelijk naar ’s lands gebruik, reik ik u deze pijp. Versierd met lint en rozen, tabak door u gekozen.” (According to the country’s traditions, I offer you this pipe. Decorated with ribbon and roses, tobacco chosen by you). The bride filled the pipe with tobacco, lighted it up and blew some smoke in the face of her husband. Then she gave the pipe to him and he kept smoking out of it for the rest of the evening. During the next weeks he only smoked the pipe six more times after which it was put in the wooden cabinet in the living room. It also occurred that the offering of the pipe did not happen on the wedding day, but on the Sunday preceding it during the period of betrothal. After the announcement in church the family of the bride ate at the family of the groom. On the next Sunday the meal was enjoyed at the family of the bride which consisted of rice with raisins and prunes. That day the wedding-pipe was also offered to the groom.

Klaas, Ellen and myself eating

Sadly Loes and her husband are fanatical non-smokers so I soon abandoned the idea of giving a wedding pipe. After the ceremony Ellen and I walked to the car. Dinner would not be served in Breda but in Sliedrecht, where pipe-smoking friend Klaas and his lovely wife Yvonne live. Klaas wanted to meet Ellen for quite some time so this was the perfect opportunity. We already agreed that dinner would exist of Chinese take-out which is almost a tradition now because of my earlier visits to Klaas. Needless to say we all had a great evening, the Chinese dishes tasted great and the after-dinner pipe even better. Klaas (and of course Yvonne), thank you once again very much for the food and the special gift!

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Hospitable Heukelum 2013

Brewery 't Kuipertje

Brewery ‘t Kuipertje

Like I told in my Zestful Zutphen post the Dutch/Belgian Pipe Smokers Forum currently roughly has two big annual meetings. Well, three with the meeting in Wuustwezel, Belgium. But the “mother” of all our meetings is the one in a town in the Dutch province of Gelderland called Heukelum. Well, this is not entirely true.. First Martin organized the meetings in his nearby home-town of Leerdam on the upper floor of a restaurant housed in an old train-station building. Unfortunately after 2 cosy meetings the owners did not want us there any more plus the group got too big. So Martin had to look out for another location which he luckily found in brewery “‘t Kuipertje“.

Henk Kuiper

Henk Kuiper © K.H. van der Linde

In 1987 brewery ‘t Kuipertje first started when Frits Kuiper, after a reorganisation at his day-job, could work for half days only. The first beer was brewed on February first 1988. Frits, an amateur-brewer, soon decided to completely leave his (half) day-job and go full-time with the brewing. After being an apprentice at several breweries he made his own brewing-installation and started his business under the name “Gelderse Bierbrouwerij ‘t Kuipertje”. In 1990 he moved into the former coach-house of an old stone-factory at the border of Heukelum where the brewery is still located today. At January 1th 2002 Frits left the brewery, his son Henk took over business.

The big nightmare of the Dutch railways: leaves on the tracks..

The big nightmare of the Dutch railways: leaves on the rail-tracks..

So on October 27th at the end of the morning Ed arrived to pick me up. Also in the car was Maurice, the more the merrier! Together we drove to the train station of Deventer to pick up another forum-member, Mark. But after some waiting there was no sign of our big friend. Suddenly I got a text message from Mark, the train which he was supposed to be on was delayed.. Grumble, bloody Dutch railways.. If you are ever in The Netherlands, do not go by train unless you don’t mind delays. In wintertime there is snow, in autumn there are leaves on the rail-tracks, in summer maintenance is going on.. Grrrr.. Anyway, Ed, Maurice and I had enough to talk about and before we knew it Mark arrived, his train finally had come.

Rob from Brabant

Rob from Brabant © K.H. van der Linde

Because of the delay we were a bit late in Heukelum. Normally we are amongst the first ones to arrive so you can greet everyone more easy as they come in. Now we immediately were immersed in a cloud of friendly pipe-smokers who all wanted to say hello. While shaking hands I first began with some “business”. When I visited the big Heinrichs store I bought a tin of Heinrichs Golden Sliced and Dunhill Deluxe Navy Rolls for forum-member Klaas. He was curious about the famous Escudo and Deluxe Navy Rolls come very close in taste to that one. And he also had something for me. The week before the meeting he and his wife went to Prague where he bought some Stanislaw (made by Samuel Gawith) tobaccos. This were the ones I saw at the Inter Tabac fair at the Samuel Gawith stand! Wonderful! Apparently they are only obtainable in the Czech Republic. After we exchanged tins I tapped Rob on his shoulder. I had a bag of rare Penzance for him. Really a treat because Rob loves to smoke latakia blends. Well, you can’t go wrong with Penzance then! When I turned around I saw another Rob (many folks called “Rob” on the forum). He lives in a place near the town I grew up in the province of Brabant and has that typical joviality and accent of most people there. Rob has a passion for Ireland and I happen to have some authentic Irish Murray plugs (Erinmore Plug, Warrior Plug) which were gathering dust in my tobacco-closet. “Aah!! Fantastic! What do you want for them?” he asked. “Absolutely nothing, smoke them with much pleasure” I answered. I always like to see tobaccos I don’t smoke get a good home. Last but not least I walked over to like-minded Robbin. We both love old English blends and prince-shaped pipes. I had an opened tin of the German version of Presbyterian for him which he was curious about. I also presented him a sample bag of a nameless mixture I once made which I knew he liked.

La Trappe bockbeer

La Trappe bockbeer

Then I finally could relax a little bit and order a beer. I asked Henk, who also was the bartender, if he had a dark beer, for which I have a fondness. He offered me his self brewed Bokbier which is a special kind of dark beer that in The Netherlands is brewed only in autumn and often has a bit of a dark sweet caramel taste. After I gulped down the tasty liquid my nerves went down a bit. Nerves because I had to introduce the brand new forum tobaccos!

Get that hand out of the pocket boy!

Get that hand out of the pocket boy! © K.H. van der Linde

For those of you who read this blog regularly, last year and this year I have been busy organizing 3 specially made tobaccos for the forum-members. This because this year the Dutch/Belgian Pipe Smokers Forum exist 5 years. If you read the last comment on that post you can see my “quest” continued because master-blender Hans Wiedemann from HU Tobacco took me under his wings. What happened after that is a story in itself which I shall tell in a future blogpost. I introduced the three tobaccos, told what my inspirations were, said what the tobaccos roughly were made of and encouraged everyone to try some. Of course I brought sample tins. After my speech Paul walked towards me and presented a gift to me from the forum members for all my work on the forum tobaccos: a bottle of peated whisky! Yummie! And not just a regular bottle, no, a very special one! A 23 years old Jura ‘Signatory’! So to all the forum-members who contributed to this great gift, a big thank you!!! And because this was the 5th meeting organised by Martin he also got a well deserved bottle of whisky.

The meat gets grilled

The meat gets grilled © K.H. van der Linde

It is always remarkable how fast time goes when you are having a good time. You chat with someone for a bit, walk around, somebody starts talking to you, you go outside for a fresh nose while continue having conversations etc. So many nice folks and so little time.. In the mean time Henk had ignited the 2 BBQ’s and soon the coals were hot enough to begin with dinner. Like always the provided meat was of excellent quality. We could choose  from beef, bacon, cutlets, hamburgers, meat skewers, all kinds of sauces, baguettes and salads. Aahh.. Grilled meat, tasty beer, a good pipe-smoke and great people. What more can a man wish for?

Group-picture of the 2013 Heukelum meeting

Group-picture of the 2013 Heukelum meeting © AJ Verstraten

After dinner we sat down for a couple of more drinks and conversations and too soon it became time to go. We said our goodbyes to the remaining people, picked up a bottle of the specially brewed 2013 forum beer and went to the car. Once home I thanked Ed for the ride, said farewell to Maurice (we already brought Mark home) and went inside the house. I kissed my girlfriend Ellen, put away my bag full of tobaccos and went to bed where I had some nice smoke-filled dreams.

Here are some more pictures because they tell more than a lot of words!

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