Experimental, hipster, and sustainable. These words describe the atmosphere of Mediamatic, a collection of facilities housing art, food and beer production, and a restaurant. Located in Dijkspark and with funding from by the Dutch government, Mediamatic works at the intersection of art, science, design, and food. One building is a hydroponic greenhouse where the nutrient source for the plants is the ammonia rich waste of aquacultured fish, jointly called, “aquaponics.” Another building consists of small art installations, eco-conscious designs, and a restaurant. In a third building, Mediamatic’s Clean Lab, interns brew beer and use the waste products of coffee and beer production to grow mushrooms and other fungi. Anyone can tour these facilities during the day and talk with the employees—the whole purpose of government funding is to help them share their ideas and improve society.
The shed to Mediamatic is labeled. Directly to its left is the dining area and bar. Behind the boat in the bottom left of the picture is the Clean Lab, where beer is made.
Top left and middle: artworks on display in the gallery. Top right: a device that takes in exhaled air from people as a food source for plants. Bottom: the scheme by which this device is attached to a person's back, with a mask for them to breathe in. These works show the intersection of science, art, and design, as well as the experimental nature of Mediamatic's work.
What ties many of the facets of this complex together is the food. The aquaponics provide fresh vegetables and fish for the restaurant, the Clean Lab provides beer and mushrooms, and the art contributes to the ambience. One wonders what the confluence of all these influences will be on the dining.
I had a long conversation with the brewer at the Cleanlab, a young Spanish woman who had previously only brewed beer for herself at home. Because she was accustomed to making around 25L of beer at a time—and was now making batches of 50L—the scale-up was not too significant. The key difference, according to her, was the need to brew consistently between batches, quite a challenge for someone who has only brewed recreationally before interning at Mediamatic. During my visit the bar had experiments #29, #30, #31, and #32—all brown beers. The brewer had noted that she had yet to create a consistent temperature control for the beers when she made them, and so the different batches had different flavors. Some fermented at warmer temperatures than others, resulting in high ester content in the final product. After a technical and interesting conversation (at least for me), I went to the bar to give the beers a taste. At 5 euros each, they were affordable craft beers for a student. The Clean Lab prints on the beer bottles informational labels detailing the exact hops, grain, yeast, etc. used, but the information does not account for variations in the fermentation. I ordered three beers: two from the Clean Lab, and one from a nearby craft brewery.
Test Batch #30 had a citrus aroma present with a lemon taste on the front. At 7% ABV, it is quite dry, with high acidity. The acidity felt a little unbalanced with the rest of the flavors, but it was certainly not a significant flavor discrepancy. There was an earthiness present in the aftertaste and back of the palate. The beer bubbled extensively with nice, small bubbles. Yeast sat at the bottom of the bottle—typical for an unfiltered beer, this also means that the flavor of this beer might change with time. As for the beer drinking experience, the location is beautiful: inches from the water of Oosterdok with classic jazz from Miles Davis in the background. The room is entirely glass (visible from my first photo), so it feels almost as if one were sitting on a boat as they sip beer.
I also tried a bottle from Test Batch #32 for comparison. Having talked with the beermaker, I expected there to be a significant difference between beers. At the bar, however, the bartender noted that there was little difference in taste in his mind. Much to my delight, an improvement was immediately apparent in the aroma of #32: a sweeter aroma of orange rather than the lemon scent of #30, with hints of red fruit beneath. Color difference between the two beers was indiscernible. As the drink warmed a bit, the smell of strawberry emerged, slightly underripe, but still fresh. Burnt marshmallow came into the scent too, with nearly equal presence to the strawberry. On the whole, these pleasant and unique aromas suggested that the beer should be served warmer than it was. At 5.4% ABV, this was a sweeter beer (perhaps with a stuck fermentation) with lower acidity. The greater aroma, lower acidity, and sweetness balanced this beer more nicely than batch #30, which had fermented at a higher temperature. This was my favorite of the three beers I sampled.
I also tried from Oedipus Brewery a kuitbier, one of the eight from this craft brewery that Mediamatic offers. Kuit beers are rare in the United States, and being unfamiliar with the style, I was not quite sure what to expect. (It doesn't even have an English language wikipedia page!) Made from malted barley, oat, and wheat, the bready aroma was reminiscent of a hefeweizen, but there was also a distinct and intriguing scent of pineapple, as well as a strong aroma of nuts. The nuttiness and pineapple suggest that the beer underwent a sur lie process, with the beer sitting on the yeast for a long time (possibly a few months). Underneath the pineapple aroma was a hint of mushroom when the beer warmed. The color was light, like a hefeweizen,. At 5% ABV, the lowest of the three I tasted, I expected a greater sweetness to the beer. Unfortunately it was overwhelmed by the acidity, rendering the beer almost, but not quite unbearable. The nuttiness came out full force in this beer, which along with the high acidity, made this the least pleasant of the beers I tried. (N.B. I recognize that nuttiness is a pleasant flavor for some consumers, but I strongly dislike it.)
Test Batch #32 and my vegan pizza. Behind the beer, the view of the Oosterdok is clear and tingles my visual senses (or perhaps it is the pleasantness of this beer).
Midway through my second beer, the #30, I ordered a vegan marguerita pizza from the restaurant. There are not a lot of vegan restaurants in Amsterdam, though the number has been growing of late. The bartender prepared the pizza in a brick oven right at the bar; having the oven in sight cave the bar a cozy feel. The relatively thin crust had a nice balance of chewiness and crispiness, with some charred spots adding texture. The dough had an acidic tang that complemented the sauce well. Unfortunately, as a vegan dish, the pizza was prepared with sauce, peas, and basil on top of the dough, without cheese or other toppings to protect it. The result was a thin, dry paste rather than a traditional moist sauce with a liquid mouth-feel; almost like a very thin cracker atop the crust. The use of a substitute cheese like daiya or an assortment of vegetables such as peppers, onions, spinach, etc. (as I have seen on other vegan pizzas) or vegan mayonnaise (as I spread thinly when I make vegan pizzas), would have provided some necessary texture and prevented the sauce from drying up. Any of those options would also have had the added advantage of returning a bit of fattiness to the pizza that is often lost without cheese. Instead, Mediamatic put peas atop the pizza.This was disappointing as it only further heightened the dryness of the crust. Although the attempt at vegan pizza was lackluster, the saving graces were the basil and olive oil. The oil revealed the typical herbal notes one expects from a high quality oil. But the basil wowed me. As Mediamatic grows vegetables on-site using its aquaponics, there was a distinctive "green" flavor due to an abundance of C6 compounds, which indicate freshness. The aroma was enhanced further by the presence of rosemary and black pepper. Unfortunately, there were only two leaves of basil on the pizza; I'd wished there had been eight leaves because it was so good. I ultimately had to rip the basil up and distribute it by hand around the pizza in order to make this pizza just mediocre. The pizza cost nine euros—overpriced considering the quality of the final product.
I found the service to be pleasant, with some tough spots. It was one bartender's first night, so she couldn't help me too much with beer advice, but she was pleasant and gave me recommendations of other craft bar spots across the city. The main bartender disappointed me with his knowledge of the beers on hand. He claimed there was no real difference across any of the four test batches the restaurant offered; but given the clear difference in ABV and aroma between #30 and #32, this suggested a lack of knowledge about his own restaurant's products. He was an agreeable server though, and knew more about the menu.
At just 23.8 euros for three beers and a pizza, it was a good deal for dinner. On top of that, having the ability to see all of their facilities for growing food on site and talking with some of the scientists and brewers made the experience—especially for someone interested in food science—quite enjoyable. I know no other place where farm-to-table literally means the farm is a one-minute walk away. The restaurant's ambience and location are superb, and the menu of vegan food is quite extensive. Though my pizza was disappointing, I imagine a much higher quality for a salad or dish with greater vegetable emphasis. I will certainly return to this restaurant for the beer, the beautiful view, the continually changing gallery, and especially that basil.
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