European Turtle Dove: Beer with a story

A few weeks ago, we received an email from Alex Wieland asking if we'd like to include his beer in our selection. And it turns out it's no ordinary beer. You can read more about it below.

I need to begin this story with some background information about the foundation Alex belongs to: Historische Gewassen Natuur(lijk) Zeeuws (Historical Grains of Nature Zeeuws). This foundation consists of dedicated and hardworking volunteers who are wholeheartedly committed to preserving heritage grains and crops. It's an enthusiastic team of experts in sustainable agriculture, cultural history, and nature. The foundation's mission is to cultivate and preserve heritage and alternative crops. Through regularly organized excursions and the creation of beautiful products from these plants, they make them accessible to the public. Cultivation is carried out on a large scale, taking sustainability and biodiversity into account. The oldest variety is einkorn, which was the first grain cultivated over 14,000 years ago. The youngest variety is Wilhelmina wheat, which was only widely available in the fields of Zeeland about 100 years ago.

For example, herb-rich field margins, native wildflower mixes, hedges, and beetle ridges serve as habitats for insects. These insects contribute to pest control. Such biotopes also provide habitat for farmland birds such as the skylark, partridge, and turtle dove.

And they do all this in our beautiful Zeeland.

And what does that have to do with (non-alcoholic) beer, I hear you ask.

To finance the foundation's activities, the idea arose to produce goods from the harvested crops. For example, there are noodles made from Risweit (wheat) and noodles made from Johannis rye. Another obvious product is, of course, beer. After brewing two alcoholic beers, the idea also emerged to brew non-alcoholic beer (under 0.5%).

De Zomertortel (European Turtledove) is no ordinary non-alcoholic beer. It is brewed entirely from the Foundation's unmalted grain and thus falls under the innovative MaltLess concept. This unique concept originated from the MaltLess research project at Ghent University, where an innovative process was developed to produce a Belgian low-alcohol alternative based on unmalted grain. This process was applied to the same traditional grain blend as in the Foundation's existing Saison, Leeuwerik, resulting in De Zomertortel Alcoholarm.

De Zomertortel is brewed at Jopens Waarderpolder Brewery : a modern, highly flexible brewery where technology and quality are paramount. It's the ideal place to develop new techniques and recipes on a small scale and then scale them up .

For pasteurization, they collaborated with their partner, Brouwerij Gulpener , known for its sustainable and environmentally friendly approach. Gulpener handled the pasteurization process and are also involved in the MaltLess project.

Finally, a word about the name of the European Turtle Dove: This bird was once a familiar sight in the Dutch countryside, especially in Zeeland-Flanders. However, since the 1980s, its population in the Netherlands has declined by more than 97%. This makes it the fastest-disappearing breeding bird in our country. Thanks in part to the foundation's initiative, we hope to preserve this species. You can listen to the call of the European turtle dove here .

And for true beer connoisseurs, a few more details about the ingredients: Zomertortel is brewed with a selection of heritage grains: March barley, white emmer, Zeeland brown emmer, and St. John's rye. Each of these grains contributes to the full, complex character of this summery beverage, which is deeply rooted in Zeeland's agricultural history.

The bitterness is based on Magnum hops. This robust hop variety gives the beer its solid body without disrupting the balance. Cascade hops were added later for extra flavor and a more intense aroma. This aromatic hop contributes fresh citrus and floral notes, giving the beer a lively and inviting character.