If you drive from a certain direction and look really closely, you can glimpse an hectare of large and distinctive agriculture among a lot of beets in Bollerup.
26-year-old Alexander Verweij Svensson, described by some as a "hipster farmer", grows hops on land that has been inherited for three generations.
- A cocktail bartender who goes and becomes a farmer can well be classified as a hipster farmer, even if I would not say so myself.
I am interested in plants and stuck to hops, says Alexander Verweij Svensson.
Lack of locally produced
Hops are used in beer, partly as a preservative and partly for taste.
Over 100 years ago, it was mandatory for Swedish farmers to grow hops, but today there is considerably less supply in the country.
In addition, demand has increased as microbreweries have increased.
- We are becoming more and more environmentally conscious.
The brewers demand local, and sometimes organic ingredients so you do not have to import.
Requires time and money
But it is not a given to grow hops.
The plants can sometimes grow 30 centimeters in a day, and become 9 meters at the longest.
Therefore, Alexander Verweij Svensson has built special scaffolding to make it possible for the vines to become long.
- There is a high return on this type of cultivation, but you should think carefully before embarking on this because it is expensive and time-consuming to establish.
So far, hop cultivation is not a full-time occupation, but his ambitions are high.
- If everything goes as it should, maybe one day you will have your own brewery.
Then you get to make your own malt, and eventually everything is here except the glass bottle - if I do not open my own glassworks.
But ... I had not thought so.
See Alexander's hop cultivation in the clip above.