Dry Spell
The virus has really thwarted our plans. We still don’t have a permit for the brewery. As in other countries, the authorities are working under difficult circumstances. Our application was stamped by the responsible office in May and is therefore officially submitted. According to our engineer, there is a new law that says that an application that is not processed after five weeks is considered approved. We would much prefer a proper permit. At the moment we cannot brew anyway because the system is not yet ready for operation. Paul does all the prep work on his own to save money. But we’ll definitely be ready for the tourist season.
The test beer tastes good
Paul’s favourite beer is Weissbier or Hefeweizen, which are extremely popular in Germany, especially in summer. It’s refreshing, fruity and slightly more carbonated than other beers. A slight taste of banana is typical of the Weihenstephan yeast he uses. The Weihenstephan monastery brewery is located in Bavaria and was founded almost 1000 years ago. This makes it the oldest brewery in the world and, among other things, it houses a comprehensive yeast bank. https://www.weihenstephaner.de/en/our-brewery/history/
Paul brews regularly in his test facility. Brewing uses spring water from Korpi. Korpi is a small town near Vonitsa. Unfortunately, Nestlé took over the use of the source a few years ago. The good thing: You can still get water for free at the old spa center. Traditionally, smaller tankers supply the Lefkader with this good water. In contrast to the millions and millions of corpi plastic bottles from Nestlé, this is environmentally friendly.
She bakes
So far, Paul has taken the lead when it comes to baking. I prefer to cook. For The Brewery, however, I planned pizza, pinsa, tarte flambée, etc. from the start. Savoury pastries go very well with beer. Most like it and working with dough is pleasant in the heat. I am practicing with my new pizza oven. It’s great how quickly the base gets crispy. The tarte flambée is already perfect. The base is very thin. Instead of crème fraîche, I use cream cheese and cream. Tastes delicious. Of course there won’t just be pizza. I have been very taken with the Greek meze tradition, but also tapas and “small plates”. I can be creative and the guest gets surprising things every time they visit. We won’t be forgetting good steaks. Paul loves fried and grilled beef and prefers to eat it “en bleu”. On the island, however, beef and lamb are always well cooked. In Greece there is, as far as I know, no tradition of pan-fried beef. Well hung steaks are not available from the butchers in Lefkada. Amazingly, there is wonderful fillet of beef that is very tender even when freshly butchered. We’ll stay tuned.
When will there be beer?
We would like to know that too. We may be able to start at the end of winter, it may take even longer. That depends entirely on Corona and the authorities. The project is tightly budgeted and nobody could have expected such initial difficulties. We want to go on. But we can’t let costs get out of control. Good things take time. Keep your fingers crossed and everything will be fine.
Good health! Υγεία!