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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
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