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OUTSTANDING BEAUTIFUL HOLIDAY LODGES South Hants Country Club A brand new exclusive development of luxury leisure lodges and holiday homes just five miles away to the beautiful old town of Wickham. It sits nestled in the exquisite countryside of the Meon Valley and provides both an idyllic place to relax and enjoy life at a fantastic location. Set in a small valley in 11 acres of Hampshire's beautiful countryside, the attractively landscaped grounds are south facing with extensive sunbathing lawns sloping down to a small stream beyond which are the games courts and children's play area. There are many mature trees in the boundaries providing a very sheltered location ideal for sunbathing. Our indoor leisure complex complete with swimming pool, sauna, steam room and spa is situated in the centre of the grounds adjoining the bar and restaurant which overlook the outdoor pool. South Hants Country Club Phone: 01329 832919 Fax: 01329 834506 South Hants Country Club North Boarhunt, Fareham Hants PO17 6JS www.southhantscountryclubholidays.co.uk Email info@southhantscountryclubholidays.co.uk
Ale and hearty Sally Place raises a glass to Jody Scheckter’s Laverstoke real ale, a Waitrose exclusive Ale aficionados will be delighted to hear that Waitrose has signed an exclusive deal with Laverstoke Park Farm in Hampshire to stock its recently launched 5% Organic Real Ale. Made using traditional hop varieties and barley grown on the farm based near Overton, the ale was brewed by master brewer Derek Lowe. With 40 years’ brewing experience, including a spell at Theakstons where he was responsible for its famous Old Peculiar, Derek was well-qualified to create a wonderful brew. He chose to make a bottle-conditioned ale using live yeast that continues to ferment in the bottle, enhancing the flavour and producing its bubbles. Since former Formula One World Champion Jody Scheckter acquired the 2,500-acre Laverstoke Park Farm in 1996 and set about producing the healthiest, best-tasting food without compromise, the estate has gone from strength to strength. Despite admitting to a preference for Champagne and whisky, Jody knew that the soils and growing conditions on his farm were ideal for hops and barley, both key ingredients in good beer. ‘I asked Derek to make the best ale he could,’ explains Jody. ‘The finished brew owes its remarkable full flavour to a variety of sources, but the barley and hops have been nourished with our own compost and compost tea, a nourishing, liquid extract of compost, which is sprayed onto the soil.’ Jody’s brewing venture has been an immediate success. Waitrose Beer Buyer Neil Whelpton, who gets paid to sample beer so has a job that many ale drinkers would envy, often receives 40 new beers each month, but acknowledges that Laverstoke’s Organic Ale really stood out from the crowd. ‘It is significantly unusual for a micro-brewery to make such an outstanding product, but this organic ale is up there with the best beers I have sampled. I am impressed,’ he says. ‘So often, beer doesn’t deliver what it promises but this has a fabulous taste and an interesting story behind it because the ingredients are grown on the farm - a winning combination.’ According to Neil, the beer scores highly on many fronts. ‘It is a beautiful amber colour and initially has a sweet, hoppy aroma, full of caramelised malt, offering a clean, refreshing and zesty taste. This is followed by a distinctive fruitiness reminiscent of plums and apricot, which gives the beer a fine balance of flavours. It also benefits from its long finish, with the taste remaining in the mouth a while after drinking.’ Neil’s excitement at this ale’s winning qualities is matched only by Jody’s. His beer will be the first of Laverstoke’s products to be sold nationwide. ‘I have been pleasantly surprised by the positive reaction. Selling our beer through Waitrose is a big step for us. I am pleased to be associated with Waitrose as it is an honourable business with superior principles towards selling quality produce and dealing with its suppliers.’ The high standards applied to growing the hops and barley, and brewing the beer, are the same as those applied to the rest of the farm. Jody insists that his organic farm follows nature strictly, and where appropriate, by carefully combining traditional methods with high technology and up-to-date research. Two principles are rigorously applied - that slow growing plants and animals generally taste better, and biodiversity is the key to a healthy, sustainable environment. The farm rears rare and traditional breeds of cattle, buffalo, wild boar, pigs, sheep and poultry. They graze on a mixed salad of 31 grasses, herbs and clovers, as Jody believes this helps to keep his animals healthy, which in turn produces superiortasting meat. The farm grows over 100 organic fruits, vegetables and herbs from its walled garden and glasshouses near Lymington, which are heated when necessary by an environmentally friendly biomass boiler. Jody’s high-tech laboratory monitors soil fertility and an on-site abattoir minimises stress to his livestock. Beer is a new venture and the only supermarket in which it will be available is Waitrose, retailing at £1.99. Waitrose already sells Laverstoke’s buffalo burgers (which have a high percentage of meat and a rich, almost gamey flavour) and buffalo milk. Creamy tasting, and said to be good for eczema sufferers, it makes excellent custard, smoothies and ice cream. Jody is viewed by locals with a mix of admiration and bemusement but many flock to his Overton farm shop, to buy meat reared on the farm, Laverstoke’s award-winning meat pies, sausages, burgers, dry-cured bacon and biltong (South African speciality dried meat), seasonal fruit and vegetables, milk, cheese, eggs, ice-cream and now beer. Laverstoke also operates a mailorder service and a box scheme delivering fruit and vegetables, eggs and meat to the north Hampshire area, and a wide range of fresh seasonal produce is available at the Lymington Farm shop near Sway. Jody’s produce is attracting a growing following, not only from foodies who prefer an organic diet, but from people who just like fantastic-tasting food. Now they can accompany it with real ale too. Cheers! V Laverstoke Park Farm Shop 01256 771571 www.laverstokepark.co.uk ‘Jody Scheckter’s brewing venture has been an immediate success’ the waitrose page v 29 View
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