We saw many familiar and new faces having a good time. The magnificent ​DJ Michael mixed all the Dutch hits and added to the great atmosphere. MC Nancy made sure everything went as planned and we hope the winners of the Dutch gift baskets will enjoy their prizes; Note to the Aussie winners: stroopwafels and appelmoes should not be mixed ;-)

The DutchSA Kingsday event was kindly hosted by the German Club this year and we must say their building never looked better. Orange inside and the red white and blue on the front!

The Dutchies (and a few Flemish) went on a Micro Brewery Tour. As you might have guessed from the name, this tour in the Adelaide hills was all about beer, rather than wine. The first pick up by the minibus at 10.15 was Adelaide Convention Centre, where most of the Dutchies got on. Pickups followed at Toll Gate bus station, Crafers Park & Ride and Mount Barker Cinema parking. 

When everybody was on the bus, it was time to go to the first Brewery in Lobethal which goes by the name “Bierhaus”. Owner Alistair Turbull greeted us and told us about the history of the brewery since it opened for business on 26th May 2007. Alistair told us about the history of town and how the mayor wanted to create work for the (young) people in his village and how the town started to rent out property, fixing up other property with the rental income. Alistair told us how he was a former banker and learned how to brew beer in America. ​After these first introductions in the restaurant, it was time to head into the brewery itself for a tour. Starting in the grain shed, we learned about the different grains used to produce the beer; some local, some German and some from UK. After the grain shed it was the production itself we looked at with the kettles, the fermenting pods and the measurement equipment in use. Being on a tight schedule, there was unfortunately no time to see the bottling process. But there was time to taste a variety of 3 different beers.

Next up was Grumpys Brewhaus in Hahndorf. At Grumpy’s we had no introduction, but we could try all the six different beers that were currently available on tap (5 beers and 1 cider). Grumpy's Brewhaus is the first all-grain boutique microbrewery in the Adelaide Hills. The beers are made on site using imported malts and hops. The water used is spring water from Mount Lofty in the Adelaide Hills and all beers are made by hand in 1200-litre batches. No additives in the way of preservatives are used. Since this brewery is also famous for it's Wood Oven Pizza, this is where we had lunch. An assortment of sliced pizzas was brought out for us to try. Sitting at four different tables pizzas were swapped and people moved seats. It was the perfect way to feed the hungry Dutchies. 

When everybody had finished the variety of pizzas and tried the beers they wanted, we galloped to the third and last brewery of the tour; the Prancing Pony. At the Prancing Pony we started with a sample of three different beers served by our hostess Lisa Liebelt. The Prancing Pony is a small brewery in Mount Barker where the beer is brewed over an open flame. Lisa told us all about the process of the brewing and about the history of the brewery. Owner Frank comes from Germany and started brewing in 1982. Frank started using his own brew shed, a homemade 100L brewery kit and a gas burner to add heat for both mashing and boiling. When Frank’s mate Ken bought a sack of barley in the back of his ute from his Adelaide Hills farm and encouraged Frank to use it, the result surprised both of them and convinced Ken and Frank to partner up and start a commercial brewery. The name comes from the "Prancing Pony Inn” in the Tolkien Hobbit Story. And with the end of the Prancing Pony there was an end to a fun tour. Cheers!

Thursday 9 August 2012 saw another highly successful DutchSA business networking event. Our featured guest speaker this time was Adelaide's leading expert on social media, Michelle Prak. As it so happens, Michelle has Dutch roots, too.

Before an audience of professionals from a wide range of backgrounds at the Hilton Hotel Adelaide, Michelle shared insights into how to get the most out of social media, both in your professional and your personal life. In her presentation Michelle busted some myths and misconceptions around social media, and gave helpful advice on how to make social media a useful tool in customer services strategies, as well as your marketing strategies.

Many organisations have started to use social media as a way to reach their customers and clients - some use social media simply because they feel that it's expected of them, others have put more thought into it, but it is clear that most organisations could benefit from more strategic use of social media.

​After Michelle's insightful and energetic presentation there was a brief opportunity for questions, and many questions showed that attendees were quite knowledgeable and interested in social media, but were eager to learn more.

What a luxury being surrounded by the best wines in the world! Living in South Australia almost comes with the obligation to know our local wines and wineries and enjoy as much is physically possible.

Early November 2010 a group of interested local Dutchies headed off to the Barossa to visit Richmond Grove and Haan Wines. Philip Giesbertz was so kind to organise a special tour around the Richmond Grove processing plant and cellars. Being a large winery, it was quite amazing to experience the size and volume. The tour was concluded by an impressive tasting exercise and run to the order forms.

After a short lunch in Tanunda town, the group visited Haan Wines. Owner Hans Haan is sponsor of DutchSA and runs a unique winery in the Barossa, collecting many prizes and awards for his fine wines for years already. Haan Wines was also awarded Australian Winery of the Year, a tribute by the industry to be proud of. Thanks to Hans' generosity the group was able to taste no less than nine of his wines, each accompanied with a story. Some of Hans' wines like the Wilhelmus (!) have been given an excellent rating by James Halliday of 94 points, a brilliant achievement.