Be a part of it!

Per Kølster, Aarstiderne’s resident brewery master, is a visionary whom some credit with putting the term ‘organic farming’ into our everyday vocabulary. From a background in science, Per worked both as a researcher and teacher at the Agricultural University of Copenhagen collaborating with other national and international programmes focussing on organic farming in the mid 1980s. The challenge then was to show how organic farming ideas could be made a reality without compromise to health or quality at every stage from the soil to the table (a beautiful phrase in Danish, ‘fra jord til bord’!).

In 1997, Per started his own organic farm and it was the apples in the orchard that first took him down the road to becoming a brewer. His passion for cider making led to his first book, ‘Æbler’ in 2005 and thereafter to a book on beer ‘Alle tiders øl’ in 2007.

Per came to the Aarstiderne farm at Krogerup in January 2012 and opened the brewery with the first brew, Gækkebryg, being launched a couple of weeks ago at the Easter Market. Per says that he is enjoying being a part of the Aarstiderne team and that his own vision to harvest from the land not just food but something to drink is a natural bedfellow to the organic farming work.

There are plans to plant apple trees at Krogerup too, to develop an orchard for cider making and for growing edible and cooking apples. There is so much work to be done this spring to also prepare the ground for the new ‘old fashioned’ vegetable patch, where Jerusalem artichokes, horse radish and lesser known breeds of cabbages will be grown.

Perhaps it is Per’s scientific background and his years spent in research that means he doesn’t shy away from some of the bigger questions that face farmers today. Farming, he says, like any industry, has to grapple with the challenges that the future holds. For him it’s about taking the big issue and distilling it into the things that can be done by individuals on a daily basis.

Per uses the example of the Aarstiderne boxes; customers buy a box and they ‘become part of something’. There are the events too - a wonderful opportunity for people to visit the farm and join in with what’s happening.

Inspired? Come to Krogerup and meet Per and the brewery team at a ‘become a brewer’ event on 26 May 2012. You can try your hand at brewing with a one day course that includes a tour of the brewery, a chance to tap and bottle some beer and then take home your own brewing kit!

(Katherine Ball)

Become a master brewer at Aarstiderne 

Do you have a brewer hidden in your (beer)belly? 

Beer belly or not, be sure not to miss this day out at the brewery where we will be talking beer by the bucketful! We will of course be tasting the delights of the brewery too along the way.

Brewing master Per Kølster will teach you the techniques so you can brew at home and show you how the process works on a bigger scale with a tour of the farm's own brewery.

It won't all just be about drinking though and there will be breakfast and a hearty lunch too.

At the end of the day, participants will work in pairs and tap and bottle a brew and receive a home brewing kit. For an additional 125 DKK guests will also be able to purchase a fermentation bucket.

The farmshop will be open and there will naturally be lots of good beer on the shelves there for sale too

Date: Saturday 26 May 2012
Time: 9-17
Place: Aarstiderne, Krogerupvej 3, 3050 Humlebæk
Price: 1400 DKK.
Tickets can be purchased online here (Danish) or you can all Aarstiderne direct on 70260066