A Wondrous Valley

The farms and fields typical of the valley where the city lies may be spotted from the entrance to El Bolsón. It is famous for being the only place in all South America with the best conditions to grow hop, a key element in the brewing of beer.

The history of the origin of this town is closely related to the producers that went up the Puelo River and settled down in Nuevo Valley to work the land.

Going past the large flour mills up to the lands sown with vegetables, production continues growing all round the region despite the booming tourist activities. With a new profile that rescues handmade products on a small scale and the new parameters about organic production, the undertakings at El Bolsón open their gates to visitors to show them the new guidelines. We wished to tour around some of them to learn more about the fruit and the benefits of this soil.

Around the Farms

Only 300 meters East of the main square, lies Cabañas Micó, one of the most important jam makers in the shire. We walked around the strawberry and raspberry fields as the guide explained to us everything about the process, from the harvest to the bottling of jam. Afterwards, we had a look at the production area and finally at the selling and tasting space, where we could enjoy all the delicacies made with fine fruit from the region.

We left Micó and headed towards the venue next door, Otto Tipp Beer. We were welcomed by its owner, José, who told us how this family undertaking had begun 6 years before. He is in charge of brewing beer and at present 6 varieties are made, including pale, dark, red and raspberry beer. Even though we could not observe the brewing process because they were not brewing at the time, we indulged ourselves with the delicious taste of draught beer at the brand new Otto Tipp restaurant, where, in addition to this beverage, customers may taste good hot smoked trout with oven-roasted potatoes, amongst other dishes.

We continued our tour, this time towards Humus Farm, which lies in the outskirts. This venue is devoted to the organic production of jam, frozen yogurt and cheese, mainly. We passed by the fields and arrived in a small shed where we were welcomed by Pablo and Carolina, who have managed this dairy business for 20 years.

Pablo told us how they managed to certify the quality of their organic products, guaranteed from the production of milk to the product that reaches the customer. We visited the area where cheese is produced and aged. At present, 12 varieties of cheese are made in the venue. When we rejoined Carolina, we tasted all kinds of cheese, soft, semi-soft and hard, as well as the jam. The flavor of handmade products was perfectly distinguished.

At the end of the tour, we realized why El Bolsón stands out for its production activities. These products may also be acquired at the stands in the Feria Franca, the street market located behind the Post Office Building, which summons the main producers in the shire.