He became a good friend after I attended last year’s event and takes care of everything. The race promotor of Gravel Locos.įabian is the most characteristic promoter I ever met. We arrived Wednesday night and went straight to the “car barn” of Fabian. Thomas Dekker is my partner in crime for the whole trip and “Hossel” Dennis Bruin accompanied us the first week. This all culminates in a four week “American roadtrip” while visiting old friends I made last year and making new ones along the way. I am here in the USA for exactly four weeks to race three races.
THESSA NEEF PROFESSIONAL
The professional distillery was our last visit and with our stomachs full, we left homebound.My American road trip started in Texas. Apparently, he and the nice people in Spijk are related so the moonshine thing runs in the family. And so we had to go home, too soon. We took a last little detour to see the distillery of Guus. If it were up to us, we could have gone doing this for days. We had a great night and slept like babies. The tabel was set with white linnen and the contrast could not have been bigger with our smudgy faces.
Not in a barn, but in the comfortable warm guest room. Boiling liquids in glass vases Breaking Bad all over the place. Warmed up after we had a taste of the final result, we started unpacking our bags for the night. The classic copper kettles, the bubbling fruit skins in barrels, waiting for the first brew.
THESSA NEEF FULL
The moonshiner at service gave us a full tour of the distillery. Maybe sleep outside in the drizzling rain, or, if lucky, in a cow barn. We were prepared for the worst case scenario. The meandering route took us to a little village on a dike, next to the Linge. Thanks to Rita, we rode on brand new bikes again, into the fading light. There she was, holding a high pressure cleaner and not afraid to use it. Covered in reed and waterplants, we continued this path, to finally discover a light at the end of the tunnel. Just outside Weesp, already on our way to the next village, we took the off-road section, which soon turned out to be a mudmasters course. The local liquor store was closed unfortunately, which speeded things up. Weesp it is, known for its Weesper Sinnige, served in a traditional stone bottle. Enough fuel to get us going to the next stop. Off course we tried this local moonshine, but we couldn't leave without also having a taste of his Pommeau (calvados with applejuice) and Y Bitter (a liquor made of heavy herbs from Waterland mixed with apple juice).
In an old shed, in a village with no more than 12 inhabitants, the owner proudly shared with us his stories about herb-mixing and the taste of alcohol. The Holystook from Holysloot - we kid you not - was the place where we started our tour. Every now and then, we had a taste ourselves. But also about the love for fruit and the full use of anything nature produces.Īnd yes, we had a taste. We learned about first en second distillery. We rode where we had never ridden, we made new friends and we were welcomed with open arms. A trip that brought us to the moonshine industry of Holland, passing local liquor stores, amateur distilleries and muddy roads that took us to backyards of people's houses. We tried to visit as many (underground) breweries as we could in a couple of days. Something bigger than we expected.Īnd so we packed our bags for a little tour of Holland. It seemed like everybody knew somebody who had a distillery in their shed - every village in Holland seemed to be known for its liquor or special brew. About time we did some research, or better: fieldwork. We asked around and we were amazed. The question is though: what to put in La Bomba except for the traditional recipe? We don't know about you, but an egg yoke can be a bit rough on the stomach.
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