hops to DIRK HAS BEEN
GROWING HOPS
AT HIS HOP FARM
IN WEST FLANDERS / TOE TOEZNT In West Flanders, we speak a dialect that is very different from standard Dutch. Furthermore it is extremely difficult to understand for people from neighbouring areas. To this end, we’d like to prepare everyone for meeting an inhabitant of West Flanders. Make sure you read our previous language labs as well at www.extremis.be
Grammar: conjugation of yes (ja): jaok (ja ik = “Yes, I do”, “Yes, I have”, “Yes, I am”, etc. in English) jaog (ja gij = “Yes, you do”... - singular) jaoj / jaos / jaot (ja hij/zij/het = “Yes, he/she/it does”...) jaow (ja wij = “Yes, we do”...) jaog (ja gij = “Yes, you do”... - plural) jaos (ja zij = “Yes, they do”...)
Vocabulary: form meaningful sentences with: - meuzel (backpack or bag) e.g.: “smeirt je stutjes en stik z’i je meuzel” “prepare your sandwiches and put them in your bag” - ‘n plok (harvesting of the hops) e.g.: “Mohowzeh, begun oeste i’ noh veel te vroeh vo ‘n plok!” “oh my God, August is way too early for picking the hops!” - ommelof (hop garden) e.g.: “jawadde, Dirk oalt inspiraosje ut zin ommelof” “Well well, Dirk draws inspiration from his hop garden” - ljere (stepladder) e.g.: “ti nie ol gi freezn trekn met e ljere” “not everything is that simple” (lit.: it’s not always picking strawberries with a stepladder)
Poperinge is known as the ‘Hop Capital’ of Belgium. 180 hectares of the surrounding countryside are planted with hop plants. The main varieties grown are Wye Target, Northern Brewer, Challenger, and Hallertau. Hop fields have typified the landscape since the middle ages after the decline of the cloth trade because of quarrels with neighbouring Ypres. Poperinge still produces 75 % of the Belgian national hop harvest, which is important for a beer-producing country like Belgium. As hop gives flavour to some of Belgium’s most powerful ales, including the legendary 12-degree dark tripel from the neighbouring Saint-Sixtus monastery. In June 2005, Westvleteren 12 was again highlighted as “Best Beer in the World” in a biannual competition on RateBeer.com. Hop (botanically also known as humulus lupulus) belongs to the hemp family. The plant is also used in pharmaceuticals (to make sleepinducing pills and to counter side effects of the menopause). Hop shoots are served in the finest restaurants from January to mid April. Because of the short period of availability and the labour-intensive culture, hop shoots are considered to be the most expensive vegetable in the world. The first kilos are generally sold by auction for as much as 999 Euros per kilo! Some years ago, Dirk Wynants bought himself a farm in Poperinge, the Hop Capital, which is less than 20km from the Design Capital Gijverinkhove, where extremis’ headquarters are based. He immediately decided to establish a entirely new hop garden which is extremely rare, and now he’s harvested his own hops, for the second time in a row. The total hop garden area in Poperinge had been decreasing for many years, but now this seems to be changing! Hop werkt medicinaal: het is rustgevend en slaapverwekkend en wordt dus ook met dit doel in thee verwerkt. Hop bevat bovendien fenolen, die sterk lijken op het vrouwelijk hormoon oestrogeen, en daardoor ongemakken bij vrouwen in de menopauze bestrijden. Er wordt zelfs beweerd dat het bloed van bierdrinkende oudere mannen hierdoor meer vrouwelijke hormonen bevat dan hun vrouwelijke leeftijdsgenoten.
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