BEER TREK 2010

2010 A Beer Odyssey

2010-11-10T08:18:00.005-07:00

I flew into Belgium on Sept. 2nd, 2010, to attend the annual Brussels Beer Weekend, a fantastic festival featuring more than 50 Belgian Breweries and an astonishing array of beer. This is where it all began. The next two months were somewhat frantic, as I traveled over 7000 kilometers in the course of 65 days, tasting more than 400 beers while visiting breweries, brewpubs, bars, restaurants, beer tents, biezels and corner stores across 6 beer-centric European countries. The story of who I met, how I got there and what beers impressed me along the way is contained in the 42 blog postings listed below, along with many photographs and a few videos as well.
I hope you enjoy reading this travelogue as much as I did living it!

Michael 'fezz' Nazarec
November 2010

Thanks Yous, Shout Outs, Credits and References

2010-11-09T07:38:00.007-07:00

This is not over. I will be grooming and updating this site with regularity. I hope to upload more pictures and sort out the problems with the video links. I will also create a new Tasting Notes section, where all reviews can be cross-referenced.

I would like to thank everyone who signed on to this beer odyssey with me, thanks for coming along for the ride and reading about my adventures. Stay tuned, there is more to come!

Also, thank you to everyone I met or was with on the road and who helped make this journey a very memorable one:

Paul Geneau
Nicole and Neil Crawford
The Beers & Jesus Angels of Oktoberfest:
Jessica Zimny, Leslie Wells, Jennifer D'Amico and Kathy Johnson
Marc Rich and Claudia Putzker-Rich, Benedict and Nicolas
Ulli and Eddi Dirksen and family
Anthony Venetz
Lukáš Provaznik and Zuzanna Provaznik
Dana and Mark Whatmore, Taz and Rosa
Todd Trethowan, the Vicar of Cheese
Nasik Kiriakovsky and Martin Vrba at Tambor Brewery (Dvur Kralove nad Labem)
Armand & Lydia at 3 Fonteinen Brewery (Beersel)
Brett at Bristol Beer Factory
Paul at the Seven Stars (Bristol)
Hardy at Sophien'Eck (Berlin)
Jean at Moeder Lambic (Brussels)
Mikela at Prael Brewery (Amsterdam)
Gisele from Stella's (Vancouver)
Cheri from Beerbistro (Toronto)
Jessica DeMello at CBC Radio 1 (Calgary)
David Gray @ CBC Radio 1 (Calgary)
Ron Gaskin at Rough Idea (International)
plus
Charlie Papazian, Anouk, Christian, Sandra, Cody, Fei Xu, Fang Han, Yuliang Huang, Ulrich, Ilya, Josh, Michael and everyone else who let me talk about beer these past 9 weeks!

Music Credits:

Special Thanks to Ted Scarf, Wally Jericho, Us Not Them and Sonic Boom
who supplied music tracks for the videos.

Reference Books:

100 Belgian Beers To Try Before You Die by Tim Webb & Joris Pattyn 2008
The Rough Guide to Brussels 2009
The Rough Guide to Europe 2010
Around Amsterdam in 80 Beers by Tim Skelton 2010
Good Beer Guide 2011 the Campaign For Real Ale

Reference Websites:

www.europeanbeerguide.net
www.camra.org.uk
www.beeradvocate.com
www.beertutor.com
www.bottledbeer.co.uk

Last Beers, Cheers and Next Year

2010-11-05T08:03:00.004-06:00

I started the day at Blanche ou Tonneau au Brasseur, a little corner pub with an amazing beer list that Paul and I found when we first arrived, just a short block off of the Grand Place. Their chairs were the only ones on the street, they were opened early for business, so instead of coffee I grabbed a Barbãr Honey Ale (8%) au fut, and took it outside to contemplate my strategy for the day. It was a beautiful warm morning and this was a bright gold coloured brew, with a white foamy head, a sweet nose and a honey laced palate, but balanced and malty, with no evidence of hops, but enough there to keep this beer from being too cloying. I knew where I needed to start.
My favourite spot to buy bottled Belgian beers is Beer Planet on Rue de Fourche, coincidentally on the same street as my hotel. The owner is friendly, knowledgeable, has an amazing selection and also seems to have better prices than any of the shops on the main streets. So, I headed there with '100 Belgian Beers To Try Before You Die' in hand and a virtual list prepared in my head. I was like a kid in a candy shop, looking at bottles, studying labels, cross referencing to my book. The owner has seen it all before, but was very helpful. They have over 600 types of beer in the store, but also do a mail-order online business at www.BeerPlanet.eu. I did well there.
So, shopping done, back in my room, ready to pack. I always bring back the allowable limit, if I am able. I filled two suitcases, all bottles wrapped in clothing and carefully distributed, weight wise, between the two pieces of luggage. I haven't lost a beer yet traveling the world. I then made the preemptive move of dragging the bigger one up to a train station locker, just to make my short 4:30 am clickity-clack, cobble-stoned walk up to catch the first train of the morning a little less strenuous and noisy.
So, now there was time for a beer! Back to Cafe Delirium, which was literally only 50 steps away from hotel door, excellent stumbling distance. The place was starting to fill up, so I saddled up to the bar and and ordered a Witkap Stimulo, a 6% pale yellow Blonde Ale from Slaghmuylder. It displays a very fresh herbal nose, a thick moussy head that fades quickly and an interestingly balanced palate, tropical fruitiness and dry spiciness both hinted at. By this time I was engaged in conversation with a young former long-distance runner turned home brewer from Chicago. He seemed to be very much enjoying the vibe of the Delirium, as was I, as the late afternoon crowd spilled in and brought up the energy level. Josh was just getting to know Belgian styles, so I recommended he try one of my all time favourites, the Duchesse de Bourgogne. I went for an Abbaye des Rocs Bruin, a 9% double-fermented, bottled-conditioned treat. Deep, dark brown and ruby hued, this is a big beer, heavy sweet malt and dried fruit aroma, off white thick head, full bodied malt accented palate, molasses tones with big dollops of coffee, wood, dark fruit, drying out a little in the long lingering fining, smooth and way too easy to drink for its strength. We both enjoyed our afternoon pick-me-ups and headed off to other activities.
I was meeting another gentleman I had met the day before at Delirium, Michael from California, who was embarking on a similar European odyssey as the one I was just completing, minus the beer-focus and with less than two months to spend on the road. I offered him a mini tour of Belgian beers, so we met and first visited the Poechenellekelder, across from the Manneken Pis. We were in luck, as they had just released their Christmas list of beers, so we started with St. Bernardus Christmas Ale fresh on tap. This is a 10% dark garnet brown holiday release from the Brouwerij St. Bernardus in Watou. It has a big off-white head, intoxicating aroma of sweet malt and a flavour profile that is well balanced and complex, with a fruity spiciness and an old world charm. Warming hints of coffee and chocolate keep you coming back for more. I next ordered the Hopus, to give us something more diametrical opposed to the abbey/Christmas style. This is a Belgian IPA with a strength of 8.5% abv and huge hop values. It comes served in the most beautiful tall flared tulip-like glass, allowing plenty of room for the big foaming head to form when poured properly from the swing-top bottle. It pours clear, clean and pale yellow, but also comes with a side shot glass that the yeast remnants and remaining beer are swirled into. Big floral hop nose, and a great initial bite of bitterness that eases you into this fresh palate of citrisy and yeasty goodness. Some toasted malt shines through, as does the well balanced layers of astringent hop, and it finishes lovely long and dry.
I planned on our last stop of the night to be at Moeder Lambic, boasting 40 taps and 800 beers in stock. So, we headed there next for a few final delicacies, starting with the classic Cantillon Gueuze, the flagship brew of Brussels own lambic producer. I think Michael was a little surprised at the initial sourness of this beautiful pale straw coloured beer, but appreciated its subtleties and balances, offering hints of Belgian farmhouse brewing history with every sip. At this point, Jean, one of the owners, recognized me and popped over to say hello. He told us about the excitement of the first brewday of the new season at Cantillon the very next day, an event he usually attends, and suggested we drop by. Oh the fates of timing! 'If only...' was all I could think of and 'maybe next year!' Quelle dommage!
To juxtaposed the sourness of gueuze, I ordered Bink Bloesem next, a 7% high quality brew buzzing with fruitiness. From the Kerkom Brewery, it has been described as 'a celebration of the harvest, made with locally grown pears and honey'. It is very fruity and has a slightly slick mouthfeel, reminiscent of mead, with definite honey tones, sweet biscuit malt and some subtle spiciness rounding out the flavour profile. Quite delicious.
I finished this night (and my tour) with a Cantillon Faro (see Beer of the Day, Nov. 3) and for Michael suggested the Metisse from du Lion a Plume. Jean had brought in this lovely special Saison in for the festival two months ago, it was evidently pretty popular and is still available.
After these wonderful night caps, we walked back through the Grand Place and said our goodbyes to Brussels, both vowing to be back some day. I can certainly see making this an annual event, a kind of beer enthusiast's pilgrimage, as it were, to pray at the 'altar of biere', in the centre of the beeriverse, and to be born again, each time, refreshed and renewed.
Cheers!

Final Days in Brussels

2010-11-03T02:12:00.002-06:00

So, this is about it Beer Readers, my final days in Brussels. It has all come full circle, this is where my journey began. Two months ago Paul and I enjoyed the Brussels Beer Weekend and then the whirlwind traveling began. It's hard to believe all of the places I've been, all of the great people I've met and, of course, all of the amazing beers I have tasted. It is quite the list at this point! There are some that did not make the Master Beer List, as I tend to not report on brews I felt were not worthy, or that I did not really enjoy. Of course, it is a life long journey to try EVERYTHING, and I would wonder if any mere mortal could do that. I have had comments from followers recommending beers I have not posted about, some of which I have tried on previous, albeit, much shorter forays into the European beer landscape. That said, I will be back! A couple of things though...
British beer is a world onto itself. I guess that could be said of each of the countries I have visited, but with 850 breweries operating in the UK, any proper beer tour should concentrate on this wide variety alone, rather than trying to combine it with hopping back and forth across the English Channel as I have done. I met a lovely women in a pub in Bristol who has a friend that owns some double-decker buses. I was told they occasionally tour to different towns and perhaps festivals on one of these buses. Now wouldn't that be a great beer tour? This is something I will have to look into.
Belgium too is a 'beeriverse' onto itself, being truly the Mecca of beer geeks the world over. So many amazing beers, so many great pubs, such a collection of brewing knowledge in one small country! The Brussels Beer Weekend is, of course, a great place to start any extensive beer tour of Belgium, or the continent. There is also an event in the Springtime that would work equally as well. The Toer de Geuze happens every April and has as many as 24 participating breweries involved. This is a weekend in which most of the breweries in Payottenland, the area south west of Brussels where traditional lambic is made, open their doors to the public to come and taste and see just how the process works. I might have to return for this one day as well.
A few other things to report...
The wonderful and very beautiful The Ultimate Hallucination has been unfortunately permanently closed. This fabulous restaurant not only featured great Belgian beers and cuisine, but was an historical landmark in terms of its architecture, being a marvelous example of Art Nouveau style and design. It is a great loss not only to the city of Brussels, but to historians, fans of Art Deco and beer lovers alike. One can only hope that someone with money, interest and taste will step forward to reopen this wonderful place at some point in the future.
That said, at the other end of the spectrum, the Delirium Cafe is alive and well and still going strong. This is the best place to find and taste Belgian beers anywhere, bar none, I would say. They have 15 taps of wonderful ambrosia and have on hand over 2000 beers! This is the alter at which any self respecting Belgian beer geek must pray! The bar staff are very knowledgeable, well schooled in their art, friendly and ultimately entertaining too! I could not believe some of the beers I found here. The Delirium Cafe is notoriously hard to find, located as it is on a dead end alley or 'impasse' off of a small street of crowded cafes. The impasse itself first appears to be the rear delivery entrance to one of the restaurants, but at night, when the pink elephant sign is lit, it is a little easier to spot. This is also the alley where you can find the famous Manneken Pis' not-so-famous little sister, the Jeanneke Pis. The little girl squats at the very end of the impasse on the right hand side, not well lit and locked up behind a cage. I managed to tick off a few more boxes on my list of hard to find Belgian specialties at the Delirium Cafe, and will likely drop by again before my time is up.
The museums of Brussels are amazing too, whether you are looking for Brueghels, Bosch, Magritte or something totally modern or avant garde. The architecture of this famous city is also varied, from the mediaeval to the post modern, with sculpture and fountains everywhere to be found. The nightlife is sublime, musical adventures for every taste and the most amazing restaurants to choose from, any cuisine in the world can be found here and in any price range. It is no wonder this is the European Union's premier capital in this modern age of ours.
Of course, I spent my last couple of days wandering around to some of my favourite spots. I dropped by Moeder Lambic more than once. Always a great and varied selection. On the days I was there they had on a few beers on tap from a new Italian Brewery, Toccalmatto, who began brewing only in October of 2008, and already have a fine reputation for quality ingredients and excellently crafted brews. Their motto 'Birra Viva Artigianale' refers to the fact that their beers are 'alive and artisanal'. Of course, this goes hand in hand with Moeder Lambic's motto 'Beer is the answer!', and anyone reading this blog would know that to be true. What was the question?
So today I can finally shop. Being on the road for two months does have it's limitations. I decided to travel as light as possible this trip, having been embarrassed in the past, always recognized as a North American carrying too much baggage. I traveled with only two pieces of smallish luggage, but have now bought a third larger one which I intend to fill with my allowable limit of beer to bring back home. And there are many places to shop here in Brussels my friends! Beer Planet, De Biertemple, Beer Mania and many more, large and small.
Not much time left, so I'd better get going...

So Long Britain, Brussels Calling

2010-11-02T07:16:00.002-06:00

My last day in Manchester was just a partial one, as my flight back to the continent was leaving late in the afternoon. My plan had been to ditch my bags at the train station (it is a short train ride to the airport from there) and find a few more CAMRA recommended pubs and do lunch before heading out. I must admit though, I found the CAMRA listings for the city a little confusing. Greater Manchester is divided up into neighbourhoods, as are the listings, but without a very detailed map, it can be a bit daunting to find any of these places. My usual other route was to look up the local CAMRA chapter's website and find out which local spots won Pub of the Year. I struck out with this too, as they did not seem to be as organized as some of the other regional websites I'd visited, and there were no listings as such. So, I just had to follow my nose.
Aware of the nation wide Real Ale & Cider Festival going on at the Wetherspoons chain, I decided on their Picadilly Square location for lunch. From Oct. 27th to Nov. 14th, they were presenting 50 real ales and 10 ciders, all for the astonishing price of 1.85 pound per pint. Of course, these were to be spread out over the course of the festival, 6 beers and 2 ciders available on any given day. The place was humming, as it was after all, a good time for Sunday Brunch, and many patrons were there doing just that, not even interested in the beer and cider on offer. But my, if you were there for a pint, you even could get three 1/3 pint taster glasses of 3 different real ales or cider for the price of one. Needless to say, I was in.
As with most British pubs, you order everything at the bar. So, I went for a spicy Thai Noodle Salad (there's that Asian thing again) and 3 tasters. The first was Woodforde's Once Bitten (4.1%) a lovely copper coloured best bitter, rich in fruity aroma, presenting a palate of sweet malt, warm spice with some citrus notes, before drying out into a very pleasing finish. Number 2 was an international brew, from the Lion Brewery in Sri Lanka, the head brewer traveling to Marston's to make this beer fresh for the festival. Lion Stout (5%), was a very smooth and very dark beer, with a complex aroma of coffee and chocolate, leading to a rich, fully flavoured palate, with a silky mouthfeel, hinting of roasted malt and liquorice in the long finish. This went especially well with my spicy Thai lunch. Next came Shepherd Neame's Cinque Ale (4.1%), a new best bitter that is deep chestnut in colour, with an appropriately hoppy character balanced against a nice fruity palate resulting in a pleasantly dry finish.
My next round brought me to Brewdog's Edge (3.2%) (see Beer of the Day, Oct. 31) a fine and exceptional rarely made mild. The next one was interesting, Batemans Wheat Dreams (4.6%), a new and unique, British wheat beer, brewed exclusively for this festival. Clear gold in colour, with a very floral aroma, refreshingly light with notes of lemon and grapefruit bitterness on the palate. Last but not least was Everards Coppernob (4.5%), another rarely made best bitter, copper coloured with a spicy floral nose, a smooth fruity character balanced against some malty notes and a long, dry finish. With a little time left, I also tried the two still ciders on offer. Westons Marcle Hill (5%), is a gold coloured medium cider with well balanced, smooth and fruity flavours and a crisp, bittersweet apple finish. Broadoak Perry (7.5%) was the other, rather pale coloured with a true pear aroma, medium sweet and followed by a dry finish. This was CAMRAs 2009 winner in its Cider & Perry Competition. Very drinkable.
Next, I made my way to the one CAMRA listing that was easy to find, the Picadilly, right on the Square and close to the train station. I got sidetracked along the way (another interesting CD shop) but managed to have enough coins left in my pocket for one last pint. And that is all that was on offer anyway. The Picadilly is a large rambling bar, with many rooms and was very busy with the day-after MAN U crowd, many also waiting for trains and the like. Of the 3 real taps, only one had any beer left. It was Brains Dark (3.5%), a tasty classic dark brown mild. Smooth creamy mouthfeel, with a thick tan head that coated the glass all the way down, sweet malt tones with a subtle hoppy bitterness submerged beneath a mix of roasted malt and caramel, hints of bitter dark chocolate, with a dry, smooth and well balanced finish.
And finished I was! I retrieved my luggage, made the 20 minute trip to the airport with plenty of time to negotiate my way through the very large and busy terminals, to catch my Brussels bound flight, where I will spend the next three days wrapping up this marvelous adventure before finally heading home to Canada!

Manchester - Centre of the Universe

2010-11-02T02:46:00.000-06:00

I have to admit that Manchester has always held a special place for me in my heart and soul. It is one of the UK's largest cities, though the city itself has a population of only about 1/2 million, the larger municipality of Greater Manchester is over 2 1/2 million people. It is also a centre for the arts, music, sport, education and business. First settled by the Romans around 79 AD between the Rivers Irwell and Medlock, it was a slow growing, quiet place through the Middle Ages, until the beginning of the 19th century, when the Industrial Revolution took hold during the Victorian era. This shot Manchester to the forefront of growth and commerce, truly becoming the world's first leading industrialized city. A major centre for textiles, factory building ran rampant; the steam engine and railways were developed here, expanding trade; and Manchester grew from a township to a mill town to a city in a very short period of time.
As well as boasting one of the best football teams, Manchester United, this city has been at the forefront of British music for decades. If I were to sort my own not-small music collection into where the bands I like come from, the majority would be from Manchester. The Buzzcocks, Joy Division, The Fall, New Order, The Smiths, Oasis, The Hollies, Herman's Hermits, The Chemical Brothers to name but a few, covering all genres and eras of modern music, and they have had major a influence on styles worldwide. As such, the live music scene is still a very vibrant one, and as many places in the world turn towards buying music digitally online, Manchester is still a city where one can spend days combing through CD and record shops, looking for and finding rare and unique morsels of great music. That said, it was one of the main reasons I had come to Manchester, and I was not disappointed.
After spending way too much time and money on this other addiction of mine, it was time to chase down some more beer. Back in Bristol, I had run into a couple of fellows (at the Seven Stars no less) who told me about a trio of pubs on Portland Street in the downtown core of the city. The Grey Horse Inn, The Circus Tavern and The Old Monkey are all basically next door to each other, and so I started there.
The Grey Horse is a Hydes Brewery pub, a family owned regional brewer since 1863. They have 70 of their own pubs, supply 300 free houses and contract brew as well. Two small open adjacent rooms surround the bar and the tiny place was packed. I soon came to realize that Man U was playing in the afternoon and many fans were in town in preparation for the big game against Tottenham. The bar featured 4 real ales, and as this was Saturday, October 30th, I went for the Hubble Bubble (4.4%), with a black and orange ghoulish looking label, an obvious seasonal for Halloween (see Beer of the Day, Oct. 30). This is an old traditional English pub that has survived in the centre of the downtown shopping district, and many patrons were sporting their teams' jersey and talking up a good game in anticipation of the big match later in the day. It looked to me that some early starters might not even make it to game time.
I soon went next door to The Circus Tavern, another anachronistic little traditional pub, even more focused on football, if that is even possible. Every possible space in its two small rooms and the crowded tiny bar, walls and ceilings alike, were covered in photographs of footballers and funny or odd visitors of one sort or another. This bar was full as well, and bartender Alysha told me that the party was just getting started, as she poured me a Tetley's Bitter (3.8%), the only real ale available. Tetley's is a large brewery in Leeds, now owned by the Carlsberg Group, the beer being a classic Yorkshire bitter with a smooth hop character, truly a session ale. I was soon shouldered out of the bar and I found my way to the corner, where the larger and more comfortable Old Monkey is located. Though starting to fill up with football fans as well, I had the opportunity to actually sit down and enjoy the October seasonal of this Holt tied house. Touchwood (4.3%), is a gold hued bitter with a fruit inspired nose, a creamy clinging head and evenly balanced palate displaying some sweet malt notes, and featuring traditional English barley but using US hops for a bit of finishing tang. This pub had been recently renovated and was the more modern of the three, actually serving food, should anyone want any. Three real ales were available, plus 8 others on regular taps and a large selection of bottled products as well. Being close to China Town, I indulged my cravings for Asian once again (this time a delicious Sushi lunch) and carried on with more shopping.
Later on I found Corbiere's, a funky little basement bar on the dead end Half Moon Alley, with a really cool jukebox offering Presley to Marley and everything in between. They had Bazens Brewery's Pacific (3.8%), a pale gold, off white head, some fruitiness up front, but with a gentle bitterness through out, well balanced and fine celestial lacing and a long, lip-smacking finish.
It was dark by then, Man U had defeated the Spurs 2 - 0, and the streets were now filling up with costumed revelers ready to party the night away. I found my way back to the Old Wellington, too late for another new, the real ale bar had been practically drunk dry, but managed a pint of Jennings Cumberland (4%) as a final beer of the day.
Jennings is a large national brewery, using traditional Maris Otter barley malt, as well as Fuggles and Goldings hops. This real ale is gold hued with a creamy white head, starting with some subtle fruitiness soon giving way to a smooth almost imperceptible bitterness. There were hints of understated toffee-like sweetness hidden in the dryish finish. The evening was still warm enough to sit outside, but the place was starting to empty out as people moved on with their Saturday night. And so did I.
Another great day at the centre of the universe!

United Manchester

2010-11-01T03:16:00.002-06:00

It was an overcast and damp Scottish morning as I left my hotel to walk to the train station for my journey to Manchester. I have been very lucky with the weather, knock on wood, just about everywhere in my travels this fall, but today the rain was a sign that it was time to move on. The train was on time, I had a reserved seat facing the right direction and it wasn’t long before the overcast skies lifted and gave way to the beautiful green British countryside. Three and a half hours later I found myself at Manchester Picadilly Station, a very busy hub, and the street maps just outside the station’s entrance indicated to me that I did not have far to walk to find my hotel. I wandered through China Town, some high end shopping areas, a couple of crowded city centre squares and then crossed a bridge over the River Irwell into Salford. How odd, I thought, the thriving economy of the town centre giving way to boarded up buildings and closed businesses just like that. I would have started to get worried had I not been able to spot my hotel sign shining in the near distance, only a couple of blocks away. The hotel was fine and in fact, just far enough away from the noise, hustle and bustle of the very busy downtown to guarantee me a couple of good night’s sleep, which I was indeed in need of.
The night was warm and I had passed what appeared to be a very popular downtown hangout with a sign out front offering a number of real ales on cask, so I made my way to the Old Wellington Inn, another pub in the country wide Nicholson’s chain. Large, historical and right in the centre of town, the building that is now the Old Wellington was built in 1552 next to Manchester's market square. In 1996 an IRA bomb exploded nearby, injuring 200 people and badly damaging many of the surrounding buildings, including the Inn. The area had to be totally redeveloped and the pub buildings were dismantled and carefully rebuilt about 300 meters to the north, at their present location. One of their bars (and there were several) offered 5 daily rotating and 3 regular real ales on tap. Always on, but already gone on this very busy Friday evening were Timothy Taylors Landlord, Jenning’s Cumberland and Lancaster Bomber. No problem, I should start with something I don’t know, I thought, and blindly picked an absolute stunner, Copper Dragon’s Golden Pippin (see Beer of the Day, Oct. 29). I could have gone outside and joined the throng on the large patio enjoying the beautiful warm night air, but that would have meant drinking my delicious real ale out of a plastic glass. Instead, I stayed in, wandering through the cavernous buildings and checking out the two rambling floors of other rooms. On the far side of the adjacent building was a ‘ lager and cider’ bar, with perhaps a dozen or so sparkling and fizzy beverages on offer there. I liked the fact that they kept them separate. Upstairs was yet another smaller bar, with a smaller selection, but pouring Samuel Smiths from Yorkshire and a few other things too. Impressive!
I made my way back to the real ale bar for a second selection. This time it was J.W. Lees Dark Ale (3.5%). This independent brewery has been making beer in Greater Manchester since 1828. In fact, this cask brew turned out to be a very delicious garnet hued, beautiful dark brown mild with a moussy tan head, light body and a lovely balanced palate featuring hints of dried fruit, chocolate and perhaps a tiny tinge of orange peel that sits on your lips through the long lingering finish. Yummy! I could have stayed longer, but the place was packed and I had my heart set on a curry or something spicy and not the pub grub that seemed to be mostly on offer here. So, I found my way back to China Town and settled on a lovely little Schezuan place, where I was not disappointed. For a night cap I visited a Joseph Holt tied house on the way back to my hotel. Joseph Holt is something of a Manchester institution, a family-run brewery dating back to 1849. They supply about 100 pubs in the area, as well as run 126 tied houses of their own. They make real cask ales, as well as a line of regular tap beers. They had a very nice Bitter (4%) on, when I dropped by their Cathedral Gates location. It was deep gold/copper coloured with a creamy even head and a fresh fruity nose. Some initial sweetness on the palate is quickly overtaken by a lovely drying bitterness in the middle, balancing towards a small bittersweet finish. It has a silky mouthfeel and beautiful halo like lacing that follows the beer right to the bottom of the glass. Holt had a few other brews available, and also offers a seasonal for every month of the year. But it had been a long enough day already, so I thought I’d save something for Saturday and stumbled back to my hotel.

A Few More Things About Edinburgh

2010-10-31T03:00:00.000-06:00

It was in the Dark Ages that the name of Edinburgh, Din Eidyn or Fort of Eidyn, first appeared in historical records. Castle Rock, the strategic fort built on top one of the area's extinct craggy volcanoes, served as the new nation's frontier. King Malcolm II in 1018 established the River Tweed as the permanent southernmost border and in the reign of Malcolm Canmore (1058 - 1093), the castle became the main centre of power. The surrounding town, which was given privileged status as a royal burgh, began to grow up around it. So began the history of Edinburgh and Scotland.
Of course, no visit to this great land would be complete without a taste of one of her more famous exports, Innis & Gunn, the oak-aged beer, brewed in Dunbar, about 50 kilometers east of Edinburgh by Belhaven, now owned by national giant Greene King. I found no fewer than 6 types available widely. Blonde (6%), delicate and fruity, with gentle aromas of citrus, apricot and vanilla, Triple Matured (7.2%), a darker variety aged for a total of 99 days, brewed using Optic & Chocolate malt, Canadian Whiskey Cask (7.1%), matured for 71 days in Canadian rye whiskey barrels, Rum Cask (7.4%), matured in rum barrels, producing a lively, spicy character, matured for 107 days, IPA (7.7%), matured with large quantities of fresh hops for 55 days, the Original (6.6%) that we all know and love and a new one out for Christmas 2010, Winter Beer (8.5%) aged in bourbon barrels. All of these beers are aged in oak, are filtered and packaged in distinctive clear bottles and are not available on tap. Innis and Gunn also happens to be Canada's number one UK import.
There was so much to see and do in the core of the city, that I really did not wander too far afield, all of the pubs I visited were within view of Edinburgh Castle, towering over the old town, with its tiny cobblestoned streets and closes, and new town, with its magnificent Georgian splendor.
Another one of those, just off of the Royal Mile towards its bottom end on Jeffery Street was The Tass. This large old room represents a more traditional working glass pub, with a wooden floored bar, a small dining room, but still with tall ceilings and lots of light. They serve real ale, malt whiskeys and wine to a mix of locals and tourists alike and is a regular venue for live traditional music. Here I sampled Tass 80/ (4.6%) made by Broughton Ales in Biggar. A dark auburn coloured brew, dried fruit nose, mousy head that thickly laces and slowly falls with the creamy head right to the bottom of the glass, with a malt accented palate and a malt balanced against a hidden hop support structure.
Just up from the main high street on the New Town side of the castle is the Oxford Bar, a small basic historical pub recommended by Clare for its literary connections, unchanged since the 19th century. It is renowned for being the favourite bar of Inspector Rebus and his creator, famed novelist Ian Rankin, and a haunt of many others over the years as well. It has a tiny front bar with high ceilings, 2 or 3 snug rooms up some short stairs, one featuring a warm fireplace for those cold evenings, and features 5 real ale taps, of the old Scottish tall fount variety. So, in honour of Ms. Stanfield and Mr. Rankin, I raised a pint of Cairngorm Tradewinds (4.3%), a spectacular multi-award winning ale. Massive nose of citrus fruit, elderflower and hop leading to hints of grapefruit and apricot on the palate. An exceptional bitter sweetness lasts through to a long lingering finish.
On my way back through town I came across a giant pub, the Standing Order, part of the Wetherspoons chain, on George Street. Situated in a marvelous old Georgian hotel building, it is truly a wonder to walk through the enormous bar and witness the literally dozens of tapped beers, many real ales and many not. However, they were featuring some sort of festival of international brews that day and the place was packed, and with such a din, one would have had trouble placing an order with a barman without shouting. I passed and went to the quiet local nearest my hotel in the Old Town instead.
The Bow Bar is a late 20th century pastiche of a classic one roomed Scottish ale house, featuring a constantly changing 5 real ale taps (using the traditional tall founts dispensing system) and 200 malt whiskeys. There is a lot of room in front of the bar for perpendicular drinking, a number of small fixed, narrow tables and benches surrounding, and of course, a fireplace. Once again I had just missed tasting the now infamous Bitter and Twisted, but had instead Broughton's Autumn Ale (3.5%). Gold coloured with a fresh nose, this hop accented brew has great balance of bitterness over biscuity malt, a smooth palate, a creamy mouthfeel and long lovingly dry finish. My goodness, all of these great Scottish brews are just way too easy to drink! No wonder I never see anyone drinking 1/2 pints, what's the hurry?
I finished the evening with a Bottlewreck Porter (4.7%) from the Hammerpot Brewery. Deep, dark and delicious! Malty nosed and full bodied with big flavour, this is a smooth and well balanced porter featuring roasted, toasted and bitter dry elements, a fantastic after dinner slow sipping brew, with hints of coffee, bitter black malt and a hidden hop drying out the finish fabulously! What a great way to end my stay in Edinburgh!

Derbyshire Beer Festival at the Guildford Arms

2010-10-30T00:36:00.004-06:00

I have never seen such beautiful pubs as I've seen in Edinburgh. Many of these historical turn of the century bars (and I mean turn from the 19th to the 20th century that is) are so lovingly restored or recreated that many are breathtaking and awe inspiring, such is the quality and detail on display. The Guildford Arms is one of these places and was first mentioned to me by the gentlemen at the Halfway House, but I didn't get there until my second day. It is an absolutely stunning room, superb high ceiling, tall ensconced windows, gorgeous wood bar, lots of open floor space, comfortable seating and even a restaurant area above overlooking this magnificence. As luck would have it, I walked into the first day of a full blown real ale festival! As if there was not enough great Scottish micros to try, the Guildford Arms was hosting an 11 day event featuring 50 beers from Derbyshire, in the English Midlands. Oh my god! Where to start?
Well, they only have 10 real ale taps (!), so the festival beers would be rotating daily. That limited the field right away, as this would be my only visit. Next, I thought I'd better be prudent and go for the smallest tasters as possible, which turned out to be 1/2 pint glasses only. Okay, now I would need some sustenance to get me through the afternoon, and they had available a 'Scottish Cheese Platter', featuring 4 different local curds, a fresh crisp, coarse chutney with oatcakes, plus some fruit and veggies too. I was all set then, as I walked up to the busy bar and placed my order.
I started with Brunswick's Triple Hop (4%) from Derby, a pale gold coloured and citrus hop bouqueted bitter, featuring some malt sweetness and delivering a firm, dry aftertaste. It seemed to go quite well with the first cheese, something called Blue Monday. Incidentally, this wonderful fermented curd is made by Alex James, the former bass player from Blur, now an award winning cheese maker in his own right. My next beer choice came from Ashbourne and the Leather Britches Brewery, Doctor Johnson (4%), a mild brown ale, auburn in colour, fully flavoured malt accented brew, with some underlying hop and hints of caramel. This was delectable with the Applewood Smoked Cheddar! Number 3 took me to Stavely and the Spire Brewery. It was their 80 Shilling Ale (4.3%), a darker and maltier brew, made from a traditional Scottish recipe, medium bodied and very smooth. This was yummy with the second blue, a more traditional Stilton.
I then noticed that my beers where getting darker with each pour, only coincidentally it seemed, since I was choosing strictly by name and tap label only. Interesting. I also realized that the cheeses were not necessarily really Scottish, and the staff were really no help in this regard, as they were knowledgeable in the beers they were serving, but not the cheeses. The Full Mash Brewery from Stapleford looked good, something called Steve Ashby's Locoil (4.6%) with a picture of the brewer himself, I'm guessing, on the label. This seemed to be an almost black stout, but with a rounded body and a slightly bitter edge. I tried the unidentified Brie with this one, good, but went back to the Blue Monday, as they seemed to complement each other so well. From the beginning I had my eye on the Smoked Porter (5.6%) from the Bottlebrook Brewery in Belper. The label looked hand drawn, which somehow appealed to me, inspiring images of a brewer more interested in his art than the art of marketing, so it was next. Absolutely black, malty and smokey, a true English porter with bitter undertones, but with the presence of a fresh hoppy character. This was one of my favourites, and yes, it went down extremely well with the Stilton.
It was all tasting so good, but by now 3 of the 10 taps were emptied as the clientele came and went, and my stamina was starting to wane just a little bit. Not to mention I had eaten just about everything on my platter, so I allowed myself one more indulgence. It was Divebomber (3.8%) from the Funfair Brewery in Ilkeston. Straw coloured and extremely aromatic, really nice hop content, a very refreshing pale ale with hints of citrus and a wonderfully dry finish. And finished I was, counting myself fortunate to get through 6 marvelous brews and still be able to walk out the door!
The afternoon was fading, but it still was a gorgeous, warm fall day as I walked about the busy streets, knowing the air would do me good. I decided to do some music shopping, as I had glimpsed a great looking CD shop earlier in the day. Maybe not the smartest thing to do after an afternoon of beer tasting, I found way too many things I wanted to buy! But what the hey, I'm not in Scotland everyday! Ach Edinburgh, what a marvelous city you are!

Incredible Edinburgh

2010-10-29T11:26:00.002-06:00

What can you say about a city that has it all: architecture, whiskey, music, art, history, a stunning, rocky landscape, world class restaurants of every flavour, real ale pubs, fabulous museums and a population that is fashionable, well educated and absolutely friendly and helpful? Incredible! That is Edinburgh!
It was a beautiful sunny morning as I arrived at the airport on my early flight. The bus to the city centre was right outside and took about 30 minutes. I dropped my bags at the hotel and was out and about before the pubs were open, so I did the touristy things: a big Scottish breakfast, the Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile walk and then found the Scottish Whiskey Experience, a multi-media tour through the history and process of malt whiskey making. It was actually very interesting. More so for the 3,500 bottles of whiskey on display (largest in captivity) and the amazing malts available at the bar at the end of the tour. I tried an 18 year old Smokehead from Islay (from an undisclosed distillery) that was absolutely fabulous – peaty, malty, with large hints of salt sea spray. Wow!
The CAMRA Good Beer Guide lists many great pubs in or near the city centre, but it does not take much to find some great spots, just a bit of an adventurous spirit, no fear of wandering up or down the many staired ‘closes’ running off the main streets and a willingness to engage the locals.
My first stop was the Halfway House on Fleshmarket Close, a tiny little pub on a tiny little side alley. I was immediately engaged by a couple of regulars, after I ordered a good local brew, Pentlands IPA (3.9%) from Stewart Brewing, a white foamed perfectly balanced golden coloured session ale, thick, slow falling lace, light on the palate, with a subtle bitterness tickling the tongue, fresh malt all the way through to a wonderfully dry finish. We talked about the Scottish micro scene and landlord Steve joined in describing some of the difficulties to overcome in running a free house in this day and age. He must be doing something right - the Halfway House was CAMRA's Pub of the Year for Edinburgh for 2009. I next tried Kelburn Red Smiddy (4.1%), SIBA's (Society of Independent Brewers) 2010 Best Regional Beer Gold Medal Winner, beautiful copper/red bitter, fruity malt aroma, citrus tones balanced against a good malt base, smooth mouthfeel, lovely, loose staying lace, malt accented finish, with enough hops to dry it out properly. I also met Robert Knops of the very new Knops Beer Co., only 6 months old. He was delivering casks that would not be ready to serve until the weekend, unfortunately for me. He said he did have some bottled versions of his beer in a couple of bottle shops around town, so i vowed to see if I could find them. Everyone recommended a few other places, so I wished them well and wandered on my way.
My next stop was the classic Abbotsford Bar & Restaurant on Rose Street, famous since 1902 for it's beautiful central dark mahogany bar, surrounded by long, sharing tables against the outside walls, a very historical pub. It has a intricately detailed high art deco-ish ceiling and is a popular lunch time spot. I ordered the 'Haggis, Neeps and Tatties' and Hurricane Jack (4.4%) from Fyne, a blond ale with a slightly fruity nose, well balanced hop versus malt ratio, very smooth palate and a nice dry finish. One of the very knowledgeable bartenders, Asten, noticed my note taking and we starting talking about beer. She explained the 'tall founts' system, where the beer is served by pushing it up with air pressure and a 'water engine' (hydraulics) as opposed to the English method of suction by pump. Once common, now only rarely used, the Abbotsford serves 6 real ales, all but one using the traditional Scottish ‘tall founts’ taps. Next up was Trappledouser (4.7%), a gold/amber, hop infused bitter, well balanced and smooth with a long and evenly dry finish. The Atlas Nimbus Strong Pale Ale (5%) displayed a fruity nose, a pale gold colour, a wonderfully malty backbone, with some sweet maltiness running through an evenly bitter palate, hints of apple, and light abstract lacing follows the beer to the bottom of the glass. Before she left, Asten recommended a new pub not far away, the Conan Doyle.
The Conan Doyle is a just refurbished upscale pub, part of the Nicholson's chain of historic pubs, specializing in Scottish food, cask ales and malt whiskey. They have 7 real ales on, I went for Brew Dog's Punk IPA. Pale gold in colour, hoppier and stronger than any other IPA I've tried, definitive floral nose, hop bitter palate held up by a solid malt base, the thick head leaves lovely, light rings of lace after each sip, high hop values, with an astringent, dry finish. I had been wanting to try Harvieston's Bitter and Twisted, recommended by everyone I talked to, but once again I was told that they had just run out. So, I went for the cask version of Brains SA instead. Interestingly, I was not as impressed with this beer as a cask real ale, as I was with the bottled version I tried in Wales. Then it dawned on me, something Lukas had told me in the Czech Republic. Different beers are designed for different purposes, and a beer destined to be bottled may not be the same when presented unfiltered in a cask. Very true in this case. Also, Wales was a long way for a real ale to travel.
After a spicy chipotle infused Mexican dinner (my palate needed a break), I finished the evening at the Blue Blazer, not far from my hotel. The ubiquitous Deuchar’s IPA (3.8%) is a gold hued, mildly hopped pale ale, creamy white head that leaves multiple ‘rings of Saturn’ lacing, smooth, well balanced malt-hop relationship and silky mouthfeel, with the bitterness ascending for a deliciously dry finish. My night cap was Old Mortality 80/ (4.2%) from Strathaven, a lovely garnet brown traditional Scottish ale. It starts with a dried fruit laden nose, has a toasted malt palate with hints of molasses, roasted malt, brown sugar and chocolate. It finishes long and even, smooth and caramelly.
It was a great first day in the Scotland's capital city.

Final Thoughts on Bristol

2010-10-28T04:04:00.001-06:00

Built on a succession of hills just inland from the mouth of the river Avon, with a population of about half a million, Bristol prospered during the days of empire building, transatlantic commerce, and on the slave trade in particular in the 1700s. It features an area of waterways and a harbour at the city’s heart and a sprawling commercial centre that spreads up its many hills to Clifton, a more open and airy green terraced area of Georgian architecture, upmarket shops and the Downs, that overlooks a dramatic gorge over the river below. Bristol has a thriving music and art scene, a major university and is home to a very diverse population, from all over Great Britain and around the world.
As I continued my exploration of the city, I found the Hope and Anchor, half way up the hill between the Floating Harbour and the Clifton Downs, right near the university and not far from the city’s 19th century Cathedral. No TV, no pool tables, no VLTs, just a real traditional British pub, with a rotating selection of 6 interesting real ale. It has a nice bright room in front, a hop vine decorated bar, and the room swings around to the right making a L shaped with more tables in the back. Also, out back is a beautiful terraced area with a rocky flower garden for when the weather is nice. I have enjoyed the Hopback Brewery beers I have found in the city’s pubs, so started with Hopfest (4.6%) a pale gold/yellow best bitter, fresh bready/hop nose, light low head that clings to the glass for a thin, fading lacing, and features a wonderful balance, a pervasive subtle bitterness that floats across a toasted malt palate, with hints of tangerine and an astringent dry finish, easy to drink.
They have daily lunch specials and an extensive menu featuring an amazing looking Ploughman’s Lunch (choice of more than a dozen items in two or three lists including some luscious looking English cheeses). No quite that hungry, I went for the tasty lamb burger and listening to the soundtrack of my youth playing appropriately low on the speakers in the pub: Sixiousie & the Banshees, The Fall, David Bowie, Wire and a lot of other great new bands that I don’t even know. I just LOVE British music! Small taster glasses of anything on tap were freely offered by the friendly and knowledgeable bar staff.
Butcombe Brunel IPA (5%) is a gold brew with amber tones, biscuit nose followed up by a bitter fresh hop palate, well balanced with a fruity malt base and a malt-accented, yet dry finish. Wickwar Autumnal (4%) is more amber in colour, the balance swinging in the dark malt direction, but underpinned by a fresh bitterness with notes of toasted malt and hints of dried fruit. Palmers Tally Ho Strong Dark Ale (5.5%) is darker and sweeter still, it’s stronger palate giving way to some roastiness but with enough hops to smooth out the middle and dry the finish nicely.
There are a number of good bottle shops to find real bottle-conditioned and other ales around Bristol. Staying away from the large supermarket chains is a good idea, as their selections, as you can imagine, run the gamut of cheap international lagers and mass market national British beers. But Cotham Wines, in the heart of Clifton, is a decent little shop, with an amazing selection of British real ales, high end imports (Dogfish Head, for example, and a few other award winners from the States) as well as an impressive collection of wines.
Moor JJJ IPA (see Beer of the Day, Oct. 26), was a fabulous beer that I found here. Also, Cheddar Ales Totty Pot Porter (4.7%) Very good dark porter (there really seemed to be so few porters available) featuring tones of coffee and chocolate, with hints of tobacco and a big roasted malt quotient. Kelham Island has become one of my favourite breweries, on tap or in the bottle. Easy Rider (4.3%) is a session bitter, pale straw, good fruity aroma, with full hop flavour and bitterness.
Box Steam Brewery from Wiltshire boasts a steam fired copper kettle, hence the name. Dark & Handsome (5%) is a traditional style old ale, smooth and creamy, citrus notes floating seductively over liquorice undertones, exhibiting a certain malty sweetness throughout.
Another great pub, just around the corner from Cothams Wines on Whiteladies Road is the Vittoria, a beautiful restored traditional British pub. The building dates back to perhaps the mid-1850’s, with a façade added in 1911. The new landlord Les converted it back from a rowdy sports bar about 2 years ago to it's original retro splendor. Nice long wood bar, one long, narrow smallish room, maybe 8 tables with a booth in the front window and a couple of tables out on the street for people watching on the high street in good weather . The coal burning fireplace takes the chill off on rainy days, they have free Wifi, a nice selection of 7 real ales and a varied menu, including daily specials, as in some wonderful meat pies, 6 to choose from the day I was there. Les is very knowledgeable and gave me a short history of the place, of Bristol itself and the pubs namesake too, a pre-WWI British war ship sunk off the coast of Finland while siding with the Whites during the Russian Revolution. As all of the shops on the high were getting ready for Halloween, I continued that theme with my beer selection. Marston’s Wicked Witch (4.2%) is a dark ruby red/brown ale, with a fruity nose and a delicious malt laden body, held up by a generous amount of fresh, juicy hops. Greene King’s Ghastly Ghoul was darker, a brown ale with shades of garnet, a full malt nose with fruity tones, a fully body with hints of treacle/molasses, but enough hop bitterness to suppress too much sweetness. It had a creamy mouthfeel and a long, smooth drying finish.
Bristol is a wonderful city to visit, varied and historically intriguing, full of friendly and interesting people, a hodge podge of architectural types and styles, with many great pubs and exquisite restaurants. I would like to give many thanks to my great friends Dana and Mark, and their kids Taz and Rosa, for their generous hospitality and friendship, and for showing me the city in a way that a simple tourist just wouldn’t see, and for getting me out of the city for hikes in the country and up into Wales. Cheers!

Bristol Beer Factory, The Seven Stars and Beyond

2010-10-26T04:13:00.000-06:00

This day started on a crisp, clear morning with a long bike ride down the hill from Clifton, over the river and into Southville where the Bristol Beer Factory is located. Assistant brewer Brett was working on a mash when I arrived, and head brewer Chris was in the kettle, cleaning and preparing it for the day's brew. Brett was able to take the time to give me a quick tour around this tiny brewery that produces so much beer. An independent award winning brewery since 2005, BBF produces some 11 different brews on their 10 UK barrel (16 hectolitre) system, and then some seasonals as well. They source British malt and hops and use a traditional single step infusion mash and open fermentation tanks to create their tasty beers. Once fermented, yeast is skimmed off for reuse, the beer is cooled for 2 days, then transferred to conditioning tanks where finings are added. They spend a minimum of 7 days here before being transferred to casks and delivered to pubs. All of their products are unpasteurized, unfiltered and naturally carbonated, though they do send out a small percentage of their best selling beers to a contractor to bottle for specialty liquor stores. They are also working on bottle conditioning some of their beers at their own facility, though up to 90% of their production ends up in casks for real ale pubs around town and beyond. They have two locations in Bristol of their own as well, The Barley Mow and the Grain Barge, where you can find a full range of their beers. Brett also told me about the first home brew competition BBF sponsored earlier in the year. Some 40 local home brewers stepped up to the plate and entered their British style ales for judging. The winner was honoured with a full batch of his brew being produced at the brewery and was available as a hand-pumped real ale. Pretty special, I'd say. I thanked the busy brewers for their time and continued on with my own day's busy schedule.
My next stop was the historical Seven Stars, one of Bristol's premier real ale pubs since changing hands in 2009, and one of the oldest, dating back to the late 1600s. Landlord Paul Wratten has worked hard this previous year and had just won the prestigious local CAMRA chapter's Best Pub in Bristol award for 2010. Rightly so, with 8 ever changing taps, it is absolutely incredible the variety of real ales that passes through this premises. Paul even has a list in front of the bar where patrons can mark down beers they'd like to see at the bar. I made it back here a number of times during my stay and was always astonished to find a totally different line up on each occasion. This day, however, found me meeting cheese guru Todd Trethowan for a pint. This is his local you see, as his office is right next door in the bell tower of the old congregationless St. Thomas Church. We talked of beer, cheese, the history of the pub, the church and Bristol itself, and had a pint of Boogie Woogie (4.2%) from Blackwater Brewery in the West Midlands. This was a lovely fresh hop nosed pale yellow brew, with hints of grapefruit on the palate spread over an even bready malt base. Todd took me on a brief tour of his 'cheese church' (as I've jokingly started calling it) and then I was back at the Seven Stars for something I had my eye on earlier, a tasty pint of Old Slug Porter from RCH in Somerset. Smooth, dark, roasty and full bodied, with hints of coffee and dark dried fruit, beautifully balanced, creamy mouthfeel, rich and complex. The pub was filling up by now, as on Wednesdays, all of the ales are discounted, a real deal indeed. I finished up with the delightful Kelham Island Are You Lonesome Tonite (see Beer of the Day, Oct. 21) then carried on to a few other great little pubs in the area.
The Cornubia, barely two blocks away, had been recommended to me by several beer lovers, and indeed, was another great traditional pub. They have 7 real ale taps, and also featured 3 casks of fresh rough cider that day. I opted for Quantock Brewery's Sunracker (4.2%) a beautiful light clear gold coloured bitter, presenting a floral hop aroma leading to a well balanced malt based palate with clean, dry finish. Northumberland's Hoof Harted (3.8%) was next, bright and gold coloured, deep hop nose, good malty backbone, smooth clean mouthfeel and a wonderfully dry finish. Yummy! Around the corner and over the canal is The Bridge Inn, basically a Bath Ales pub, where I tried a cask conditioned SPA (3.7%). This light bodied dry bitter has a fruity aroma and palate, is hop accented with citrus notes and delivers a long malty and dry finish.
My last stop was the classic King's Head, dating from pre-1660, and listed in CAMRAs Historical Pub Interiors Index. A narrow long bar leads to a tramcar-like snug in the rear. Pictures of old Bristol decorate the walls and an earlier landlady is said to haunt these premises. The bar seemed to be populated by a few eccentrics this day, but 4 real ales are always on offer, and between bits of intriguing conversation I enjoyed the Sharp's Cornish Coaster (3.6%), a smooth, easy drinking bitter, golden hued with a fresh hop bite and dry malt on the tongue, finishing smooth and full. One more for the road, Butcombe's Gold (4.4%) a decent bitter with a fruity pale malt nose featuring citrus hops and a good bitterness on the palate, slightly sweet, but finishing nicely dry.
All of these great pubs were within easy walking distance of each other, but now I had a long uphill bike ride back up to Clifton on the west side of town. No matter, as it had turned into a beautiful warm autumn day and life was good.

The Big Cheese Taste Off at the King's Arms

2010-10-23T10:49:00.003-06:00

It's not everyday one gets a chance to pair delicious Welsh cheeses with tasty British beers, so when I told Mark about the sign I saw in the window of the King's Arms, we decided to give it a go. And it wasn't just beer they were pairing the cheese with, but British cider and British wine as well. The wonderful and whacky Todd Trethowan from Trethowan's Dairy, a family owned business of cheese makers & mongers from Gorwydd Farm, Llanddewi Brefi, Wales was on hand to give colourful descriptions of each cheese that was presented. Also on hand were representatives of the three beverage providers, who described their products ahead of each pairing. Everyone was provided with a voting form and were asked to rate the three different drinks that we thought went best with the cheeses in each flight. Of course, beer readers, Britain is not known for it's wines, and alas, I have nothing good to say about the wines that were presented at this evening of pairings, I placed the wines at number 3 each time, so I will leave it at that. The ciders were good, but of the sparkling, commercial variety, very similar to each other and not the zesty and fresh rough, cask ciders I've been enjoying around town, so, of course, my focus was on the beer. The Bristol Beer Factory was the featured brewery, in business since 2005, making an interesting array of beers, using all British sourced ingredients and winning awards for them as well.
The first delectable curd up was Gorwydd Caerphilly, an award winning mature cheese made by hand to a traditional recipe using raw unpasteurized cows milk and aged for two months on the farm. It exhibits a fresh lemony taste with a creamy texture right through to the outer mushroomy rind (known as the “breakdown”) and a firmer but moist inner. It was paired with BBF's Acer, a 3.8% ale with a fruity nose, a big hop presence (they use Soracchi Ace hops), with hints of tangy citrus over a bready malt base. Quite a wonderful combination.
Next up was Dorstone Goats Cheese, presented by Todd, but actually from Neal's Yard Creamery, a traditional, unpasteurized ashed goats cheese with a delicate, wrinkled rind, fluffy yet creamy texture and a lovely zesty tang. This went quite well with BBF's Bristol Hefe, a German style wheat (unusual for a British beer maker), refreshing, tart and light bodied with the traditional banana and clove notes, but also small hints of bubblegum and grapefruit. Delicious!
The last pairing featured a Collingthwaite Farm product, Stichelton, a classic blue cheese from unpasteurized cows milk that is cool and buttery, with an underlying nuttiness and a spicy element. BBF brought out their award winning Milk Stout for this one. This 4.5% brew is black, full-bodied and a touch sweet. They use unfermentable lactose sugar in the boil that accentuates the chocolate sweetness and black malt roastiness. I think this pairing won over the crowd to beer being the best thing to taste with cheese.
On hand from BBF was Brett, one of the brewers, who had a couple of extra beers for those interested. He happens to be an Californian living in Bristol, so was likely responsible for the next brew he poured for me, Southville Hop, a 6.5% American style IPA, made with Columbus and Centennial hops. This is a big beer, amber in colour, huge hoppy nose of grapefruit over a strong malt base, wonderfully complex palate, hinting of tropical fruit, definitely a US West coast inspiration. I had the unique opportunity of tasting this brew cask conditioned on a hand pump, and was suitably impressed again. As a real ale, the hops are somewhat subdued and more evenly balanced, though still running juicily through the huge maltiness quite impressively. He also shared their Exhibition Ale (see Beer of the Day, Oct. 20), perhaps my favourite of the evening. We chatted some more and he invited me to visit the brewery, located in one of the remaining buildings of the old Ashton Gate, once a brewery for almost 200 years.
Todd came over and spent some time at our table as well, talking to us about apprenticing as a cheese-maker, the labourious process of making cheese by hand, his love of beer paired with cheese and beer in general. Turns out we have a lot in common. We agreed to meet the next day at his local, which just so happened to be The Seven Stars, the CAMRA Bristol chapter's Pub of the Year for 2010.

A Day in Bath

2010-10-23T06:27:00.000-06:00

Bath is a short train ride from Bristol and home to many traditional pubs and six microbreweries of their own. I decided the best approach to finding good real ale was to seek out the local CAMRA pub of the year. In Bath's case, that meant The Raven. They have 7 local real ales on the hand pump, featuring 3 of their own, made by local micro Blindmans, plus a cider and 4 other taps. The Ravens Dark is a deep, garnet brown with a tan head, light nutty nose, floral hops, creamy malty palate with a rich underpinning of bitterness, though nicely balanced, lovely finish. I ordered the Ravens Pie for lunch, made with their own ale, and my next beer, Sommerset & Dorset Ale (4.4%), beautiful reddish gold, fruit-hop nose, definite hop accented palate, a mild bitterness running through its whole malty profile, lovely dry finish. I ended my session with Otter Bright (4.3%). All these beers are so smooth! This one pale gold, classic hop/malt nose, white head creates a hanging lace, great balance with a tinge of citrus, good malt base and a 'more-ish' finish.
Not far away is the Old Green Tree, a tiny bar with two small adjacent rooms. Their best seller here is RCH Pitchfork (4.3%), gold coloured, fruity nose, sharp hops with hints of citrus on a bright palate, fully flavoured, ending nice and dry. I read they always have a porter on, though this day it was Hopback Brewery's Entire Stout (4.5%). A smooth, light bodied and easy drinking stout, jet black featuring some roasted coffee tones, great balance and dryish finish. Blindmans makes the house brew Old Green Tree Ale for this pub, a light, pale gold, well balanced session beer that is popular as well.
I made my way next to The Bell, a larger more rambling pub a short distance away. Hop vines hanging everywhere, there are 7 real ales available, with 2 rotating guest taps and a very knowledgeable and friendly bar staff. They had a local favourite from Abbey Ales, Bellringer (4.2%). Gold coloured, fresh, floral hop nose, beautiful malt balanced nicely against a nice even bitterness, toasty and dry, lovely and long finish. They had free Wifi, so as I studied my Good Beer Guide and worked on catching up on my blog posting, I went for a Danish Dynamite (5%) from Stonehenge Ales. Full on deep gold ale, big fruity aroma, with a complex palate, fully flavoured, medium bodied, malt accented balanced against a wonderful bitterness. It was all so wonderful, I didn't want to leave! But, it was if the barkeep saved the best for last as he offered me a Weymouth Durdle Door (5%) from Dorset Brewing (see Beer of the Day, Oct. 19). Then it really was time to get to the train and find my way back to Bristol.

The Golden Age of British Ale

2010-10-23T05:11:00.001-06:00

Back in the early 1970s, the British beer scene was ruled by the 'Big Six'. Like in many countries, big industrial brewers closed regional breweries to promote national and international brands. This was when CAMRA was born. Now 40 years young, CAMRA is not resting on its laurels, but is continuing the fight against regressive tax laws and promoting traditional, small batch real ale. In fact, due to the hard work and dedication of this great organization, there are now twice as many small, craft breweries operating in Britain than when they began. The real ale revival is reflected in CAMRAs membership, now some 115,000 strong. I've also heard quotes of up to 850 breweries now operating, a impressive number. This is truly a Golden Age for British Ale. As mass market beers stagnate, and many pubs face closure, real ale continues to grow and prosper, and at such a rate that even the annual Good Beer Guide cannot keep their listings totally current.
That said, I had my work cut out for me. Staggering are the numbers of pubs listed in the Good Beer Guide 2011 I picked up upon my arrival, but also just the sheer number of pubs everywhere. There are literally dozens within walking distance of where I was staying. Dana made me o short list of a few places she knew, and book in hand, I set out. My first stop was the Port of Call in Clifton, claiming to be the oldest pub on Clifton hill, dating back to 1760. It has a small L shaped room featuring 4 real ales on the hand pump, and like any British pub I've been in, people are friendly and well informed. This is where I met John and Dave, two regulars, and Dave the barkeep, who schooled me on the local and national scene. I started the day with Cotleigh New Harvest (4%), a golden bitter. Subtle hop aroma leads to citric elements on first sip, but slowly fresh hops come to fore on the palate, balancing the good malt base. It also has a creamy mouthfeel and a long, smooth finish. They also had Sharp's Doom Bar (4%), a bitter from Cornwall presents a malty nose, with a good balance featuring citric notes, fruity palate that dries out nicely in the finish. Some small traditional pubs still close for part of the afternoon, so John and Dave took me down some stairs on a tiny side street to the Beaufort Arms, as Dave the barkeep closed up the Port of Call. This pub did have national real ale casks on: Fuller's London Pride (4.1%, dark gold, malt nose, classic beautiful balance between hop and malt, dry finish) and Young's Bitter (3.7%, pale gold, slight hop aroma, every sip lacing the glass, hop accented built on a good malt base, hints of citrus, dry finish), but I had been brought here to taste some fresh 'rough' cider. Bristol and environs are famous for their orchards and therefore is a centre for cider making, and fall just happens to be the time one can find wonderfully fresh, real still ciders served from casks. Thatcher's Dry Cider is still and a cloudy orange colour with an apple-fruity nose, definite sour apple palate, balanced towards a a drier finish. Tauton Cider is pale yellow, not as cloudy, but slightly hazy with a touch more carbonation, warm apple palate, nice even finish. Cider was the traditional drink of the working man, John told me, and is therefore about 2/3 the price of ale. The place to go in Bristol to taste all the marvelously fresh ciders in the area is The Apple, aka the Cider Barge, down on the city's harbour front. This could be a whole other tour! I thanked my mentors and wandered on my way. Next, to the Coach and Horses, a more modern pub, for a pint of Butcombe Bitter (4%). A lovely, classic dark bitter, malty nose with hints of hop, an even balance with bitterness ascending on the palate, some light peppery notes with a dry, clean bitter finish. I then finished the afternoon at the Jersey Lily, a lovely modern, wood accented room right on the high street, featuring 6 real ales in casks. I went for the award winning St. Austell Tribute (4.2%) medium bodied, copper coloured premium ale, slight citric hop sitting nicely on the malty architecture underneath, with a smooth and light mouthfeel, beautiful stalactite lacing on the glass, and a dry, hoppy finish.
On my walk back up the hill I noticed a small poster in the window of the King's Arms, advertising a cheese tasting with British beer, cider and wine. Sounded like something I should check out.

Across the Channel to the Land of Real Ale

2010-10-22T05:42:00.001-06:00

It's a quick flight from Amsterdam to Bristol, where I would be visiting and staying with good friends Dana and Mark. In fact, Mark picked me up at the airport on a lovely warm and sunny day, and as we whisked through the beautiful English countryside on our way into town, I could not help but notice, pub after pub, everywhere along the drive advertising 'Real Ales on the Hand-Pump'. It made my mouth water just thinking about it! I've tasted a lot of different styles of beers in a lot of different places during this adventure, but I do have a real affinity for cask conditioned real British ale, and this is one reason I left Britain for the end of my journey. One of the first places Mark took me to was the Portcullis, not far from his house. This just happens to be CAMRA's runner up for Best Pub in Bristol 2010. CAMRA, for those who don't know, CAMRA is the Campaign for Real Ale, the quintessential organization that promotes and endeavours to protect British real ales. They publish their Good Beer Guide annually, and it is the holy bible one absolutely needs to navigate the many pubs to find the best beers anywhere in the U.K. The Portcullis has been a pub since 1821, but was recently saved from closure by the Dawkins chain, and is therefore a 'tied house', offering 9 real ales on tap, three from Dawkins and 6 guest taps. We ordered the Dawkins Bob Wall Best Bitter (see Beer of the Day, Oct. 17) and Dawkins TTT Best Bitter, both measuring in at 4.2% ABV. The TTT is a golden/amber, smooth and easy-drinking ale, displaying some citrus and marmalade tones, very well balanced with a gentle bitter finish. A very nice start, but we had to go, Dana was waiting! Also waiting in their fridge were three beers from the local Bath Ales Brewery: Gem (4.8%) an amber best bitter with a rich aroma of hops, malt and a long, deep, bitter-sweet finish; Barnstormer (4.5%) featuring Brambling Cross hops, a fruity palate with hints of chocolate, complex and malty, a full-bodied dark bitter; and Golden Hare (4.4%) a light ale, well conditioned, smooth yet dry, wonderfully fresh, made with Maris Otter barley and Golding hops exhibiting a delightfully zesty finish.
What a great start to the British leg of my tour!

A Tale of Three Brewpubs in Amsterdam, and then some more bock beers!

2010-10-21T08:52:00.003-06:00

Of course, like most places in the civilized world, the Netherlands beer industry is dominated by major players: Heineken is the largest (who also control Brand), Bavaria is number two, operating on the cheaper end of the market (though they also run La Trappe) and Grolsch being number three of the homegrown large industrials. There are internationals here as well, Inbev being one who operates Dutch breweries Dommelsch and Hertog Jan, and there are 5 independents: Alfa, Budels, Gulpener, Lindeboom, and Leeuw, which is owned by the Belgian brewery Haacht. There are far more microbreweries in Holland (more than 30) than brewpubs (more than 12), but that too is changing, as it is in many places. There is also a trend that seems to work, contract brewing, where Dutch companies engage other brewers to make their beers for them. The Dutch brew a wide range of beers, both top and bottom fermenting varieties, ranging from Euro-lagers, British and Belgian style ales, as well as some traditional Nederlander beers (multigrain, sour browns and some hoppy types).
There are many great pubs and cafes in Amsterdam, some 1200 for the population of almost 3/4 of a million. My focus on this journey has been to always search out the most local and freshest brews that I can on tap, and in the case of Amsterdam, that boils down to three brewery/brewpubs, all located within the city itself.
The first is Brouwerij de Prael, built on the site of a former 17th century coach house, right in the centre of the Red Light District at the city's heart. The brewery itself is located behind their retail shop, and they currently run a tasting room one block away on Warmoesstraat, but are in the process of building a new taproom within the existing premises on Oudezijds Armsteeg canal. They also have a unique philosophy, employing as many as 70 people, some who might be otherwise unemployable, giving many a fresh start and the dignity of working in a thriving business. As mentioned in a previous posting, they have about 8 brews on tap at any given time, plus a guest beer. I just so happened to drop in for a tour of their facility and found that they not only had a bock beer, but in fact, 3 bock beers! The Nelis Herbstbock (7.7%) is the autumn bock brew, with a sweet malt nose, hazy golden brown colour, tones of chocolate malt giving way to a very balanced middle, with a velvety mouthfeel, nice long lacing and a well rounded and somewhat fruity flavour profile. They also had another version of this same brew, but made with a portion of smoked malt and whiskey malt (see Beer of the Day, Oct.15) named Nelis 'Pyp' or 'Pipe'. The guest beer that day was Polder Bock, a doppel bock I'd say, clocking in at a hefty 8%. Dark brown, tan head, full complex malt palate with some varied bitterness, hints of coffee, chocolate, brown sugar, fairly well balanced finishing with a drying bittersweet maltiness.
Perhaps the oldest micro in town is Brouwerij 't IJ, now celebrating 25 years in the business of brewing. Their brewery and tasting room is located on Funenkade, not far from the city centre. They make an impressive array of beers, from pilsner to Trappist, amber to dark beer and wheat beer to bock, plus many seasonal and specialties released at various times of the year or for special occasions. Their bock beer I commented on in yesterday's blog, along with the lovely bock from Schelde Brouwerij Wilde Bok (see Beer of the Day, Oct. 13) that I enjoyed at Cafe Demmers.
Yet another great Dutch bock I found was at Amsterdam's smallest brewpub on Klovenierburgwal De Bekeerde Zuster, or The Reformed Sister. This pub is part of De Beiaard Group, who run two other pubs in Amsterdam, and a few more around Holland. The small brewhouse is on display at the back of the pub, but there are many rambling rooms of various sizes in this unique bar. They had 4 beers of their own on tap, as well as 6 other guest beers. The golden brown Bock Ros (6.5%) was superb, starting with a sweetish nose, creamy head, malt palate hinting of dried fruit and toffee, medium bodied, with some alcohol warming the tongue. They do a cheese fondue with this brew that is to die for! Also good was their Tripel Ros (7.2%) pale straw coloured, candi sugared treat, sweet malt pervades, hidden spikes of alcohol and fruity notes, nice balance, lovely, long finish.
And I still found more great bocks made in this lovely country! Gulpener Jaarling Bokbier (see Beer of the Day, Oct. 14) was an excellent brew, as was Jopen Bokbier, a ruby red 6.5% treat from Haarlem, made with oats, wheat, barley and rye. Unfiltered haziness with tarty hints of orange, this beer displays a certain smoky roastiness and perhaps a touch of licorice.
Such great bock beers in the Netherlands! Who'd have thought?
The beers of Holland are like hidden gems waiting to be found. This city should be a must on any beer hunters list of places to go.
I would also very much like to thank Ulli and Edzer for their generous hospitality during my stay in Bussum, and for showing me a side of Holland I would have never got to see! Cheers!

Running Back to Amsterdam for Bock Season

2010-10-20T14:18:00.002-06:00

So, back to one of my favourite cities for some well deserved rest and relaxation. Also, to meet up with a couple of the 'Jesus and Beers' girls (Les & Jess) for their final days in Europe before flying home to Calgary. Our time was well spent doing some fun touristy things: renting and riding bicycles along the canals and the many bike paths this wonderful city has to offer. We also relaxed on a canal tour boat, getting a glimpse of some of the beautiful areas we missed first time around. In between we even managed to tour the Heineken Brewery, a rather fun experience actually, getting there early enough to beat the crowds. Of course, we fit in a few pubs for a few beers and that is when I discovered it was bock season. I was too early during the first part of my journey to catch any German bock beers while traveling there, so I was quite surprised and exited to find a few here. One of the first ones I came across was the guest tap at the Old Nickel, the wonderfully deep, dark, delicious and strong Weihenstephaner Korbinian Bock (see Beer of the Day, Oct. 11). This was a nice prelude to our last meal together, as it were, at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen restaurant, a short walk from the old town centre. It was a lovely night and even though we had reservations, the restaurant was not full. It was nice to kick back and enjoy some pre-dinner cocktails that were not beers for a change, and then to have a bottle of beautiful deep, red Italian wine with the excellently prepared and well served meal. We took our time and then sauntered slowly back into town, reminiscing about our collective and separate journeys. The girls had been in Europe for a month, me for 6 weeks. They would leave the next day, I had two weeks to go.
The next morning we crossed paths again at the central train station, Les and Jess on their way to the airport, and I was heading out to Bussum, to visit the friends I'd made on our hike in the Austrian Alps, Ulli and Edzer, only about 30 minutes out of town. It was a beautiful afternoon (what luck I've been having with the weather) so Ulli decided to show me this small town by bike and lovely it was indeed. We were to meet Edzer at the Demmers Biercafe in the adjacent town of Naarden, not far from the Vesting wall, the ancient fortifications overlooking the canal, that once was the high ground citizens retreated to during times of war. Here I was pleased to find, not only a traditional Dutch beer cafe, but they had an excellent Dutch beer selection too. Ulli and Edzer knew I would like this place.
On tap was one of their own brews, the Vestingguilde Blonde, a lovely light, pale yellow brew, well balanced and refreshing. Also on tap though, were a couple of excellent seasonal Dutch bock beers, Wilde Bok from Schelde Bruowerij and Brouwerij 't IJ Bok. The first has been voted one of the best beers in the 'heavy bock beer' category in the Netherlands, a dark brown brew with reddish highlights, full malt body with notes of caramel and some nuttiness, but well balanced with a smooth long finish. The second was no slouch either, coming from one of Amsterdam's finest inner city breweries, being 100% organic and unpasteurized. This brew too was big and bold, perhaps a touch darker, perhaps a touch maltier, but strong flavoured with hints of chocolate and a long, smooth finish. Demmers is a wonderful place to while away the late afternoon.

Berlin, Day Two

2010-10-19T07:55:00.004-06:00

First of all, two days in Berlin is not nearly enough. My wonderful stay in the Czech Republic threw my schedule a little out of skew, but I narrowed my focus and strived on ahead. Berliner Weisse found, I now felt I had time for some touristy things: sections of the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie and the big Sunday market not far from my hotel on Bernauer Strasse. It was a beautiful, warm and sunny Sunday, and though the Berlin underground and above-ground Metro is probably the best in Europe, it is also an easy place to walk. Kolin, who is a graduate of the Versuchs und Lehranstalt fur Brauerei school here, recommended a unique spot, situated under a railway arch near Alexanderplatz, Bräuhaus Lemke, and so that was my first stop, for lunch and to taste their beers. As luck would have it, they had four beers on tap and even offered a tasting ‘probe’. It was a lovely modern brewpub, two large rooms in fact, the bar area featuring smaller, higher tables and the main room more traditional with long shared tables. They also had a lovely patio, surrounded by large trees and much greenery. I went from dark to light, munching on the toasted grains provided in between, as I waited for my Bavarian-Oktoberfest inspired weisse-wurst and fresh, steaming pretzel meal. Their mustard was good too! The Original was a malty nosed dunkel, caramel and lightly roasted grain palate, a good balance that finishes a little sweet with a tiny hint of rauchbier-style smokiness. The Oktoberfest was, of course, the seasonal offering, a little lighter in colour, a brighter mouthfeel, clear and clean, some hop bitterness underpinning the malt base. The Weizen was a typical cloudy pale gold-amber, fruity nose, but a bit drier than expected, the traditional banana/clove elements missing, but it was well balanced with some citric and a background of hops, finishing quite dry. The Pils ended up being my favourite, big, hoppy aroma, pale yellow, nice bitter first sip, a bright mouthfeel that leads to an even bitter palate, but smooth, ending dry with more hops than other German pils I’d tasted. I ordered another glass of this one, despite the AOR classic rock soundtrack too loud in the empty room. This excellent brewpub now has two locations in Berlin, and I can see why. The beers are quite good and so is the food. More folks poured in for Sunday brunch, as I made my way out and on to other more touristy things.
I then went for Hardy’s recommendation from the night before, the Stangdige Vertretung, or Stäv, as its affectionately called (translated as The Permanent Embassy). This is an historical place, having not only survived the Cold War, but actually became a place for intellectuals of all stripes to discuss current events, the main room being filled with photographs of a divided and united Germany over the years. A lovely location with a terrace across the road, right on the water’s edge, and as the restaurant was full and the early evening warm, that is what I opted for. They served Gaffel Kolsch in the standard tall 200 ml. thin glasses. This tap beer was delicious, pale yellow with a light head leaving great lacing, a somewhat fruity nose, but a lovely even and smooth malt character, good carbonation and enough hops to even out the palate and dry the fine finish. After the lovely lentil soup of the day, and a few more kolsch, I asked if they had any Berliner Weisse. This, of course, led to a discussion with the not-so-busy waitresses. They did have the Berliner Kindl Weisse in bottles, but were surprised I would order it out of season, but also without the usual, sweet syrups. Again I found myself the centre of attention, as all three wanted to know who was drinking such an odd, sour beer. Traveling and writing about beer is a great conversation stater.
I had wanted to hit the Zur Letzten Instanz, but, alas, it was closed on Sundays, and although I had been by the Brauerei Mitte earlier in the day when it was not opened, I got a little lost and ended up not finding it again. But, all in all, I had had a great day, so opted for a Metro ride back to my hotel, where I finished the evening with a couple of glasses of a regional Berlin beer on tap, Wittinger Pils (a 4.9% classic German pilsner brewed with Hallertau hops and local malts, characterized by a smooth bitterness that lingers lovingly on the palate) discussing Berlin life and beer with the beautiful bartender and night desk person Janine. I didn’t nearly spend the time or discover what I had originally intended in Berlin, but I had a very nice slice and was not disappointed in the least. I promised myself that I would be back!

Drinking Berliner Weisse in Berlin

2010-10-17T14:49:00.000-06:00

Forgive me beer readers, I have been just a little preoccupied this past week, and perhaps a touch negligent. It has been a long six weeks and I think the continuing travel has been finally catching up to me. That said, though, it is time to talk about Berlin...
I have spent a lot of time in Germany on this trip, very much enjoying the great variety of beers on offer: pils, weizens, dunkel weizens, maerzens, bock beers, rauchbiers, kellerbiers, lagers of various sorts (pale, helle, dunkel, oktoberfest, etc). In coming to Berlin, however, I was after one thing in particular: Berliner Weisse, a beer hard, if not impossible, to find outside of the capital, and one I consider a distant cousin of the sour beers of Belgium. First though, a little background...
History has not been kind to the brewers of Berlin, divided as they were for many years after the Second World War. For a time, some breweries with the same names continued parallel existences on each side of the wall, sometimes producing different beers. Reinheitsgebot was not an issue, being really a long time Bavarian law, and only coming into effect in the rest of Germany at the end of the 19th century. Still, it was largely ignored during the two world wars and not really a concern for East German brewers during the Communist era. Berliner Weisse has had its ups and downs too, one brewery in the east who made it, closing its facility not long after the wall came down. Happy to say, it is being brewed again. This unique style was generally unfiltered, unpasteurized, uncompromising in its flavour profile and, near as I can tell, was made more often in the east side of the city. So, I centred my search around Alexanderplatz, once the heart of East Berlin, and still the centre of the larger modern capital. My first stop was for dinner at the lovely Alt-Berliner Weissbierstuben. A very traditional, if not, upscale room (classic black and white photographs on wood paneled walls, oak bar, brass lamps and mirrored shelving) but the service was unpretentious and efficient. I was lucky to get a small table inside near the bar, as the evenings were getting colder and despite the heating lamps on the terrace, everyone was inside. My server spoke English well, but my request for one of their unique Berliner Weisse beers seemed to miss the mark. She came back with a tall glass of Schofferhofer Weizen. She saw the surprise on my face, of course, because without even tasting it, I knew to be weizen and not Berliner weisse. Then it dawned on her, but no problem, I would have likely ordered one later on any way. This weizen had a fruity nose, huge head, a lovely cloudy pale yellow colour with some citric overtones. Though not big in the banana and clove department, it was a good, tart example of the style and very refreshingly easy to drink. Dinner was a very tasty pork steak smothered in a rich mushroom gravy, surrounded with potatoes and served a fresh green salad. Half way through dinner, I ordered a Schultheiss Original Berliner Weisse. I noticed in the menu that they serve it with sweet syrups (raspberry or woodruff, but also with Brandy or Cognac and even sparkling wine and lemon juice. These concoctions are served in a large bowl-shaped glasses, often with a straw, more like a cocktail, as opposed to a real beer.
I had asked for one straight up, no syrups, and got a funny look from my server. "Are you sure?" she asked. "Oh yes please," I replied. She poured me one from the taps and delivered it to my table with a straw. I jettisoned the straw. It had a frothy white head that disappeared quite quickly, leaving a mild fruity nose and a light, see-through pale straw colour. The first sip told the tale however, a nice, even sourness creating a tart palate that opens the senses on your tongue. Light in body, easy to drink and very thirst quenching, this was not over-the-top for a lambic-loving beer geek like me, but I could appreciate that the average drinker might want to mix this with something sweet. Tiny, sour bubbles danced in my mouth, leaving a long, deliciously tart finish. What a unique and lovely beer.
I left the restaurant quite sated and satisfied, thinking about the rest of the evening. I had heard of a place not far away that served kolsch and altbiers, two other German specialty brews I had not yet found in my travels. So, it was off to Sophie'n Eck, a lovely corner pub filled with the local after dinner crowd.
I found a space at the bar and asked for a kolsch, which I noticed on their menu board. "No kolsch!" came the reply from the very busy bartender, so I settled for the Schlosser Alt. Beautiful copper colour, with reddish highlights, with a crisp fruity nose that extends right through to the malt accented palate, smooth mouthfeel, some nuttiness, clean light biscuit tones, hidden hops carrying the balance through to a nice round finish. A very pleasant and drinkable brew. At this point, the fellow seated next to me at the bar struck up a conversation, as he too was enjoying the altbier and turned out to be a very interesting gentleman. Once a commercial airline pilot, but now a free-lance ferry pilot (shuttling many kinds of aircraft from one place in the world to another) Hardy had also spent time in Canada. We chatted about the free-lance life, his travels, my travels and then, of course, beer. I explained to him my search for Berliner weisse and he pointed out that they did have that beer in the bar. It was then I noticed the bartender flip open a short, stubby, almost Trappist style bottle and pour it completely upside down into one of the bowl glasses I'd seen early. The beer was red and it was served with a straw to a woman nearby. Well, I ordered one too, but no syrup. The bartender looked at me. Hardy looked at me too. "I've never tasted one like that", he said. "I've never ever served one like that!", the bartender added. Still, I insisted and was treated to a Berliner Kindl Weisse, with the same unique pour. This pour is to create a head, of course, which dissipates quickly. Again, it was delicious, bright and effervescent, same tart, sour palate, pale straw colour with some strong lacing left by the quickly falling head. Very enjoyable, I thought, finishing my big, bowl glass and ordering another. By now I was a curiosity at the bar. Who was this crazy Canadian guy drinking not one, but two straight Berliner weisse beers? Hardy and I continued our conversation and he treated me to a shot of some bright orange drink, distilled from a local sour berry, whose name I cannot remember, somewhat sweet and full of vitamin C. Then the evening really got going. It turns out they did have kolsch bier (the bartender thought I'd said 'grolsch', my language skills not being what they were at the beginning of the day), Sion Kolsch to be exact, and the bartender kept pouring them for me in the standard tall 200 ml glasses. Light and malty, crisp, clean and clear pale gold, malt accented, no hop presence detectable, but balanced and easy to drink. Also too easy to drink were those little orange shots that kept landing in front of Hardy and I. I finished the night with a Landmaan Schwarzbier, from the region just outside of Berlin. A Burgundy-cognac brown brew with ruby highlights, a smooth, surprisingly bright mouthfeel, no bitter malt aspects, nice balance and some hidden hop to dry out the finish. Very tasty indeed. By now I was feeling the effects of the wonderful drinks I'd been enjoying, but before I left Hardy suggested I needed to visit the Stangdige Vertretung for their kolsch bier. Good idea,I thought, but that would be tomorrow. Thank you Hardy and good night!

An Evening in Plzen

2010-10-13T01:55:00.001-06:00

So, I arrived in the town of Plzen by bus, fresh from my beer spa. As luck would have it, a huge billboard pointed the way to my hotel on the main central square, Náměstí Republiky. As I left the bus depot to walk the short distance, I became aware that someone was brewing, as that tell-tale sweet malt aroma filled the street. It was strongest outside of a little door with a sign above called U Sládka. Unbeknownst to me at that moment, I had wandered into Plzen's smallest and newest brewpub. The young brewer was shoveling out his 200 little mash tun as I entered the premises, one of the smallest I've seen on this trip. The friendly barkeep had spent some time in Canada and was fascinated by the story of my adventures, as she poured my a stein of their Pašák Světlý (See Beer of the Day, Oct. 8). They also had Pašák Speciál, a 12° golden amber hued and hazy brew, but with a flowery hop nose and a full head that slowly drops to nice lacing. A sweetish malt palate is immediately pulled down by the underlying hops giving good balance, a pleasant creamy mouthfeel and a somewhat dry finish. There was a darker guest beer available on tap, Polotmavý 12°, from a little brewery about 20 kilometers outside of Prague. This was a reddish amber coloured offering, well balanced with a lovely dry finish. The food on offer was great, I had ordered a cheese and meat plate, that came with generous amounts of both, plus some veggies and and good, fresh bread. Love this place! The brewer even gave me a taste of the sweet wort he was turning into Pašák Světlý in his kettle. By then it was time to go, so I continued on, to find and check into my hotel, after this great little lunch break.
Located right on the centre square, it was easy walking distance to anywhere in the city centre. Of course, top of my list was the famaous Senk na Parkanu pub, one of the very last places you can find Pilsner Urquell unfiltered and unpasteurized on tap. The Nefiltrovaný Ležák had an herbal hop aroma, big white, thick head and a hazy pale gold colour. A biscuit maltiness first appears on the palate followed closely by the hoppy architecture, creating a balanced and smooth mouthfeel, with the hops winning out in the end creating a nice and dry, bitter finish. The temperature is perfect, the lacing looks good with a light covering of head remaining on the surface of the beer to the bottom of the glass, it has excellent carbonation and is very fresh and tasty. This is the best they can do these days, Pislner Urquell being owned and marketed world-wide by giant SABMiller. I've a had a few glasses of this famous beer in my travels in the Czech Republic, and it was not always good. I was unable to finish one or two due to dirty taps, old beer or just generally poor handling. It is a shame that such a well known beer is now just another international product geared for mainstream tastes and treated just like any ordinary mass market beer.
I found my way to Bernard-In, a tied house for the Bernard line of beers, one of the last regional brewers in the Czech Republic, now owned by .... The only one of the 7 taps available served an unfiltered version of Bernard 12°. It had a fresh nose, with some hop present, a pale gold colour, initial maltiness fades to an even hop bitterness, somewhat understated and drying in the middle, lightly hazy and medium bodied with an OK finish. It was a bit cloying and something in the aftertaste just screamed mass-market lager.
I decided to close out my visit to Plzen at Zack's Pub, a funky and favourite little hip bar of the local arts scene, because they are one of the only places to find Pernštejn Porter on tap. A big brew clocking in at 9%, this is the 'originální tmavé pivo' from Pernštejn Pivovar Pardubice. This is an intoxicating, heady brew, a big Baltic-style porter, not for the light hearted. It is a philosopher's beer, one you take time to sip and contemplate. Deep, dark and almost black, with a warming alcohol effect, creamy mouthfeel, tones of raisins, dried plums, coffee and dark, bitter chocolate. Dark tan head, full bodied and lacing its unique glass, this was my fair well to the Czech Republic. It also put my over the edge that night, an amazing night cap indeed! I slept like the dead after this one!

Soaking in the Suds in Chodová Planá

2010-10-11T17:19:00.001-06:00

When Leslie first told me about a ‘beer spa’ somewhere outside of Prague, I was intrigued. After all, in Central Europe there are many ‘wellness’ spas of one sort or another. Mineral springs and therapeutic centres for improving your health, visited by many tourists and locals alike, have been operating for hundreds of years, but I had never heard of a ‘beer spa’. So I went online and found the Pravé Pivní Lázně, part of the Chodovar Brewery in Chodová Planá. This facility has been in operation since 1992, run by the Plevka family, who started brewing in 1962, but claim to be part of a local brewing heritage that dates back to 1573. The brewery has its own well and soft, mineral rich water springs from the granite massif below that runs through the entire area. They also bottle and market this ‘ferrous acidulous’ water under the name Il Sano. The brewery is part of a complex in the centre of town that includes the Hotel U Sládku, The Old Malt House Restaurant and The Beerarium, a brewing museum. They make 8 different products under the Chodovar label and below the site ancient carved-out granite cellars are still in use today to age their beers. Their spa packages include beer baths, massage, hot stone treatments and various other therapeutic ‘wellness’ cures. It all sounds (and is) very impressive, but had I known how hard it was to get there, I might have reconsidered, or at least rented a car.
The Czech train system is the antithesis of its German neighbors. It’s like going back in time, nothing seems to run on time, and no one is in any hurry to help you or move forward into the future. The trains themselves are, for the most part, decrepit beasts of burden that have seen better days. In my rural wanderings I have also seen many rusted out cars left at old railway sidings to the ravages of time and nature. So, I guess I should not have been too surprised when, partway through my journey from Prague to Chodová Planá, it was announced that there were problems on the tracks ahead and we all had to disembark to be transported by bus for the next part of the journey. Finally arriving in Mariánské Lázně well past dusk, I realized I had missed my connection and would have to wait a full hour and a half in order to go the final 5 kilometers. I went to speak to the station agent on duty in order to find a taxi, but he spoke no English, and it became obvious that there were no taxis. Speaking no Czech myself, I must have looked rather lost and dejected at this point, but as luck would have it, an off duty employee offered to take me in her own car, a trip of about 10 minutes. The hotel was locked up tight and as dark as the surrounding countryside, but I did notice a door bell and rang it. Five minutes later, the night manager (who also spoke no English), opened the door, checked me in and I retired to my room, exhausted and ready for a beer. Oddly, the whole place was quiet as a mouse, the restaurant was closed (it was 9:30) and I could not find the bar, if there was one. My beer spa was scheduled for the next morning, so until then, I’d have to be happy with the small supply of Chodovar beers in the mini bar in my room. I enjoyed a bottle of their Prezident Premium and a Svetly Cerné and went to bed.
Next morning I was excited for my spa. I descended the brick stairwell into the ancient arched chamber and found the spa room behind a heavy, carved wooden door. Ah, and someone spoken English! Enough anyway. I ditched my clothes, wrapped myself up in a toga-like big white sheet and was led to a long room, where 6 or 8 huge tubs, separated by pull curtains, awaited. Dropping the sheet, I slide into the warm beer bath and looked around. There was a giggling couple in a larger tub one curtain over, and three Russian fellows were having an animated conversation punctuated with laughter across the floor. There was low, relaxing music playing, though the atmosphere seemed more upbeat than chill. Still, it was relaxing. The literature says the bath is a mixture of mineral waters, unique dark ‘bath’ beer, including hops, curative herbs and beer yeast. The procedures’ purpose is to ‘harmonize organic functions, provide mental rest, reconditioning and muscle relaxation’. It is also supposed to have a curative effect on complexion and hair. Of course, a cold glass of Chodovar beer is provided on the side table. A bit of tan foam floated about the tub and though the temperature was not hot, it was warm enough to be comfortable. I closed my eyes and thought about my Czech adventure and decided this was worth the journey. When else would I ever get a chance to soak in a big tub of beer? The laughter subsided and I sank into my own thoughts.
It did not seem long before my 20 minutes was up. I was helped out of the tub, wrapped once again in the white sheet and led into long dark room. This was the 20 minute resting period after the spa. With another glass of beer waiting, I was wrapped in a second layer, in a huge warm towel and laid down on a comfortable cot. The lights were a low glowing orange and the music even softer, the other bodies in the room seemed to be asleep. It wasn’t long before I drifted off too. Soon I was gently awakened and told not to shower for 4 hours. That wouldn’t be a problem, as I dressed. I had to check out and figure out how to get to Plzen, the last stop on my Czech adventure. “No problem”, I was told at the front desk. “There is a bus station right across the street.” I stepped out into the warming sun of midday, dragged my bags over to the bus stop, could make no sense of the posted schedule, but at check out I was given a route and told the bus would be along in 15 minutes.
It took 3 buses, two transfers and 3 hours to reach Plzen. But it was a beautiful day, I was relaxed, I met some helpful people along the way and as I disembarked at the main bus terminal, there was a huge billboard pointing the way to my hotel. Life was good.

Trains, Trams and Automobiles Part 3: The Continuing Search for the Elusive Czech Pilsner in Hradec Kralove & Dvur Kralove nad Labem

2010-10-09T09:46:00.003-06:00

We stayed in the lovely village of Libcany, not very far from Hradec Kralove. This is where Lukáš’ family now lives, and his mother Zuzana was a most gracious and generous host, not to mention a great cook. She kept my belly full the entire time I was there. There were excellent cheeses, tasty dark Czech bread and she even made her version of carbonara, with tagliatelli noodles and Hungarian bacon, followed by a wonderful dumpling and vegetable soup. Then, when I thought I could eat no more, out came the absolutely lovely sweet plum dumplings for dessert! Delicious! This is where the real Czech cuisine can be found, in the homes of people who love to cook. Our tour of the local Tambor Brewery had to be put off for one day, so we made the best of it, me catching up on my notes and Lukáš catching up on sleep.
Late in the day, Lukáš’ sister Zuzanka joined us and we went into Hradec Kralove for the evening to visit three beer bars and see a bit of this old world town. At Danup, our first stop, we had to send back the Herold Dark Lager as it was served totally warm, and was therefore quite undrinkable. It was warm, because the waitress forgot to turn on the cooling device, but it eventually came back at a proper temperature. This 13° Plato dark lager is almost black in colour with a profound roastiness and notes of black malt and coffee.
We headed next to a Ferdinand Brewery pub, where we tried 3 of the 4 beers they had on tap. The 10° Plato Pale Lager (a nice, lightly balanced brew), the 12° Pale Lager (hoppier, some middle malt and a dry finish) and the 11° Plato Dark Lager (smoother than the Herold, with more reddish hues, creamier mouthfeel and drier finish).
We finished the night at a much more modern, well light and stylish pub that served the beers of the brewery Primator. I was intrigued by the English Pale Ale they had on tap, but it tasted a bit odd since it seemed to be made with pilsner malt and not a lot of hop. The Oatmeal Stout, however, was excellent, full bodied, deep black and very much in style. The Weizen was an excellent version too, pale yellow, cloudy, fruity with hints of banana and clove. The 12° Lager was crisp and clean, light gold and very drinkable. My evening ended though, when I ordered a bottle of what they called a Double in the menu, but on the back of the bottle it was described as a Dunkels Doppel Bockbier. It was neither, being more a sweet, strong Baltic porter. Very dark burgundy brown and malt dominated, the warming alcohol effect was almost immediate, and it was a heavy beer (24° Plato) with a full body and a long sweet malt finish that just kept lingering. I nursed this one until we went to catch the bus.
Next morning we were off to one of the best breweries in the Czech Republic, Tambor. We were picked up at the train station in Dvur Kralove nad Labem by the owner, Nasik Kiriakovsky and after a quick 5 minute drive (it’s a small village) were at the brewery and met by Head Brewer Martin Vrba, who gave us a personal tour of the facility.
Tambor means ‘drummer’, as in the marching drummers who used to drum armies into battle in the 19th century. As they story goes, the Austrians and the Prussians had a great battle in this town in 1866, and when the victorious Prussians marched into town, lead by their tambors, they drank the old brewery dry and then burnt it to the ground. The brewery was rebuilt, but eventually closed in 1979. Exactly 30 years after its closing, Tambor opened.
Situated a little above the town, they have their own mineral rich, pure water source, and besides the beers they produce, hope to soon market their water in bottles too. Tambor currently brews about 4,500 hectoliters a year, but are already in the process to step up their brewing capacity to 30,000 to meet the every growing demand. They do not only market their products in the Czech Republic, but also in Moscow, Stockholm and will be sending their beers to Tel’Aviv and New York City soon. In fact, they are a certified ‘kosher’ brewery and therefore are favourites of Jewish communities in all of these places. More recently, one was brewed especially for the Pope’s tour of the country. Martin has even brewed a very light in alcohol beer using cardamom in Syria. Truly international indeed. Their facilities are very modern and they use a 2 step decoction mash method and only brew in small batches, their mash tun and brew kettle holding only 25 barrels, while their fermentation tanks hold 50. This will not change when the new building expansion is complete, as small batch brewing ensures the maintenance of the high standards Tambor is known for. In fact, brewer Martin Vrba is a very busy man. Outside of his duties at Tambor, he is the co-owner of an Italian brewery and also runs a business building breweries all over Europe. He said he is about to complete his 40th installation.
Also, proudly, all of Tambor’s ingredients and equipment are Czech made and I would say they are the vanguard of a renaissance in Czech brewing. After the Velvet Revolution, open markets were not kind to the Czech brewing industry. Large regional breweries bought up the smaller ones, and they in turn were swallowed up by the giant multi-nationals and this, of course, made the famous Czech pilsner an endangered species. Tambor is trying to change all of that, by maintaining small batch, high quality brewing, they are returning the prominence of the true Czech pilsner to the world.
Now, the beers… Tambor makes 3 pilsners: a 10° Plato (4.3%), an 11° (4.6%) and a 12° (5.1%). Only the 11° is both filtered and unfiltered (which makes 4, I guess), all the others are filtered, which is important to the flavour profile. They also make a 13° Dark Lager (5%) and a special 14° Amber Lager (5.8%) at Christmas time. All of the Pilsners are crisp, clean and clear, with a thick, white mousy head, good carbonation and lovely lacing. They all have excellent hop aroma and are very well balanced, with a lovely hop bitterness sitting on top of a most pleasing maltiness, giving way to an exceptional, dry finish. They use only Saaz hops and the Saaz offshoots Sladek (and Premiant only in the 11° Pilsner), , for bitterness, flavouring and aroma. The Dark Lager is a deep and dark reddish brown, featuring garnet hues, with a rich, tan head, a gorgeous full flavoured, creamy mouthfeel and a very good balance of hop and black malt bitterness against some malt sweetness that is nicely subdued resulting in smooth, medium body and a delicious, long finish.
Martin left us in the tasting room and after a few more of their delicious pilsners I came to the realization that my quest was complete, at long last, I had finally found the true, great Czech pilsner I had been looking for. I want to thank Lukáš for all of his efforts and all of his time, he truly made my trip to the Czech Republic a memorable one. We left each other at the train station in Hradec Kralove, he headed home to Brno, and I continued on to Chodova Plana for a much needed day at the spa.

Trains, Trams and Automobiles Part 2: Beer Hunting in Prague

2010-10-08T08:49:00.003-06:00

Crammed into the front bench seat of a small delivery van, three of us left Brno in the dark and rain, rolling into a warmer and dry Prague about two hours later. It was a bit of a bumpy ride, as Czech highways don’t seem to be the most well kept. I was left at Libeň Novoměstský Pivovar as Lukáš headed to school for the day and Cipis went to drop off and pick up kegs. Novoměstský is known as a traditional restaurant for authentic Czech cuisine, with the brewhouse front and centre in the main room and at 10 am, they were packed! They make two beers of their own, a light and a dark lager and both are unfiltered. The light was deliciously refreshing, hazy pale gold, smooth and balanced with enough hops to support the malty architecture. The dark was amber brown in colour and had more malt sweetness, but again, hazy and balanced, smooth and creamier, but the hops were buried in the finish. I surveyed the list Lukáš had left me and decided to concentrate on the brewpubs in town, of which there are at least 8 or 9. His list also included 6 or 8 beer bars, so I was going to have to be selective with the time I had.
U Medvídků Minipivovar is billed as the smallest brewpub in Prague, and perhaps one of the more expensive as well. They make three beers fermented in open wooden barrels. The brewery itself is located way at the back of the large and rambling traditional beer hall and up some stairs. Only here in this smaller room can you try all three beers on tap. Ležák Oldgott Barique (13° Plato, 5.2%) is a red brown colour with a big white head, smooth malt flavour is what first hits the tongue, but it is well balanced with a good underpinning of hops, goes down easy and exhibits hints of wood and a hop dryness in the finish. The Rouge Lager (5%) is slightly more red in colour than the Oldgott, with pinkish hues in the head and a sweet honey aroma. The palate is mildly sweet with overtones of honey (the brew master uses a blend of herbs, but no real honey) but it has a smooth mouthfeel all the way through. It is a nicely balance brew and kind of grows on you, the sweetness falling off towards the end. Almost the same colour as its sister brews, X33 could be the strongest beer made in the Czech republic (33° Plato). Surprisingly light malt nose, moussy head and somewhat hazy, there is a smooth creamy mouthfeel, full body and a malt accented palate, but it is really well balanced with tones of honey, caramel and a sweetish malt finish.
U Fleků is the oldest brewery pub in town, dating back to 1499, is a typical Czech beer hall with long tables, now perhaps serving more tourists than locals, accordion player entertaining the diners, with a small army of wait staff continually cruising the room with trays of their one brew, Flekovský ležak, a deep black lager, registering in at 13° Plato. Delicious and roasty, full bodied with a beautiful flavour profile, offering tones of toasted and black malt, creamy mouthfeel, excellent balance with a small malt sweetness edging out the underlying hoppy structure, but the finish is a nicely dry one. It went very well with the excellent house goulash I ordered for lunch served in a thick, dark gravy with onions including potato and bread dumplings.
I did some touristy things too, like walk across the Charles Bridge and exploring the Old Quarter with its quirky side streets and incredibly crafted architecture. Not far from the bridge I found Pražský Most U Valšů, a small bar off the street and the brewhouse situated in a bigger room down a set of stairs. They make two brews, a light (nice gold colour, big rocky head, initial hoppiness gives way to a more balanced middle, with both malt and hop notes, dry finish) and a dark lager, both unfiltered.
I do understand what Lukáš had been telling me the night before. There are many beer bars in the city centre serving the many beers from the large industrial breweries, some tied houses, some independents offering more interesting local favourites, and though I found the quality of these beers generally high, more so with the unfiltered varieties I found at the brewpubs, there was a certain sameness to many of the selections. Where was that elusive crisp Czech pilsner I had been longing to try? Most beers seemed to be light, pale lagers geared toward mass market consumption or the many tourists, for whom beer is, generally, just beer.
I was to meet Lukáš at Zly Casy late in the afternoon, and he had obviously saved the best for last. There were no less than 22 beers on tap, most good Czech beers from all over the Republic, but some German as well and even Trashy Blond from Brew Dog in Scotland. Keeping track was hard to do. I tried Chotebor Premium, a 5.1% Bohemian Pilsner, full bodied, pale amber colour, hop accented, well balanced, wonderfully bright mouthfeel. Rambousek Kaštanomedový, a Styrian Goldings hoppy brew with Slovenian honey, a darker shade of amber, froth head, a good balance met between bitterness and sweetness, the hop rescuing the finish from being too cloy. Rychtar Natur (12° Plato) was smooth, hazy gold hued, fresh aroma, well balance and naturally carbonated (as I am told most Czech beers are). Tambor 11° unfiltered lager, nutty maltiness, fresh hoppiness, bright on the tongue, crisp, clean and delicious, considered by Lukas to be one of the best beers in the country, a classic Czech Pilsner. I also tried a couple of Franconian beers I had not gotten around to in Bamberg: Mahr’s Ungespundet, a 13° Plato, an unfiltered kellerbier, smooth, full bodied, gold hued, hints of honey, malt, understated hop, dry finish and St. Georgen Bräu Kellerbier, a 4.9% dark amber, fully flavoured malt accented but dry palate, well balanced brew. This was one of the best of the evening. I also met Petr Burianek, considered one of the best home brewers in Prague. Lukáš has tried his American IPA, Porter, Witbier, Weizenbock and even Barley Wine and says he is really, very good. He had a beer on tap that a local brewery allowed him to make on their 10 hectoliter system, it was a Rosemary Hefeweizen. 12° Plato, beautiful pale yellow and very aromatic with flowery rosemary (of course), big head, good carbonation. A great balance was met here with wheaty fruitiness on the palate and rosemary that never quits, creating a smooth, creamy mouthfeel and a big herbal finish. He said he had made a rabbit stew with this brew, I would have liked to have tried that!
Time had kind of gotten away on us and we had to rush to get the bus after all these great beers, , for Lukáš was now taking me out to his hometown of Hradec Kralove, where we were to stay at his family’s home in the small village of Libcany.

Trains, Trams and Automobiles: Pub Crawling in Brno, Moravia

2010-10-08T01:13:00.002-06:00

Back at the beginning of this trip, Paul and I met a young man in Beersel at the 3 Fonteinen Brewery, Lukáš Provaznik. Like us, he was in town for the Brussels Beer Weekend and was now hunting down beers in the lambic towns just outside of the city. He is a beer geek like me, but with a depth of knowledge about the industry, ingredients and beer styles that was surprising. He is from Brno, the Czech Republic’s second largest city. During the afternoon at the 3 Fonteinen open house, I told him about my tour and that I was eventually on my way to Prague. He said he would be happy to provide me with a list of brewpubs and good beer bars to check out. We exchanged emails and went our own separate ways. About two weeks later he sent me a note, saying he had some time off, would be happy to be my personal beer guide in Brno and that he would be studying at a brewing school in Prague, and would be happy to show me the best beers and beer bars there as well. So, I added Brno to my list of places to visit and went to visit him there.

I took the train out of Vienna and into the Czech Republic on a Monday morning, not really knowing what to expect, other than I thought this to be the land of the original crisp and clean pilsner. On route, while studying my own list of Czech Breweries, I met Jessica and Johann, a Canadian couple on their honeymoon in Europe, and they just happened to be from Calgary too. Wow, it really is a small world, isn’t it? We exchanged stories of our travels and then I hopped off the train in Brno, while they carried on to Prague. Brno is home to one large brewery, Starobrno, and two brewpubs. So, I made my way to one of the brewpubs, the Pegas Hostinsky Pivovar, attached to the Hotel Pegas in the downtown area.
This brewpub was established in 1991, not long after the Velvet Revolution. They have a traditional style beer hall with the brew house on display in the middle and serve four unfiltered beers. The waiter seemed to speak no English, so I pointed to one of the beers on the beer menu card to start. He brought me Psenicne pivo (12° Plato), some sort of wheat beer served with a slice of lemon floating on top of the beer, but hidden by the big, frothy head. I was a bit surprised, but it was refreshing enough after my walk there and light in body, with an obviously citric dominance, but not really what I expected for my first beer in the Czech Republic. I next pointed to the bottom of the list, at a beer called Pegas Gold (16° Plato), the house special. It certainly was a gold coloured and malty brew, with a nice head that falls quickly, some hop aroma, but the palate is one of malt and alcohol. It is rather thin for a beer of this strength and finishes sweetly. As I waited for Lukas to arrive, I ordered the 12° Plato Tmavy Lezak (dark lager). It had a creamy tan head, full body, smooth mouthfeel with some roasty-toasty hints of black malt, chocolate and caramel with a hop bitterness that balanced the finish. I soon realized I was having my own private Oktoberfest as the waiter kept bringing me ½ liter steins (I didn’t know how to order anything smaller) and was half gunned by the time Lukáš arrived and dragged me out of there.

Next we had an 11 degree Plato unfiltered lager at Zelena kocka, a tied house for Akciovy pivovar Dalesice. It had fresh, almost citric overtones, slight haze, gold colour and a beautiful white head that left some lacing. The 13 P Dark Lager was very brown with a tan head, slightly sweet malt nose with a smooth mouthfeel and pleasant palate. We got these served, by the way, in smaller glasses. Lukas tuned me in: a stein is a krygl (500 ml), a glass is a stuc (300 ml), ½ liter is called pullitr and a tuplák is a full liter (Krýgl is Mug or Stein or Seidel, štuc is glass without handle - similar to Stange. It could be in variety size, usually 500 ml or 300 ml.).

By way of comparison, we went to U Richarda, not one of Lukáš’ favourite places, and quite frankly the beers were unremarkable. They had a bottom fermented pale wheat beer (11° Plato, no real fruitiness, cold, cloudy) and some sort of fruity pale lager (12° Plato, some malt present, some hop in the finish). Lukáš has understandably high standards and does not have too many good things to say about some of the beers one finds in Brno bars. I laughed sometimes at his descriptions, but he is studying to become a brew master and says (with a wry smile) that this situation is no laughing matter. Too many beers are boring mainstream industrial clones of each other, too many bartenders never clean their taps, too many servers have no idea, nor do they care, what they are serving. Sound familiar Canada?

So, we ended the night at the bar where he works, Na Bozence, named after the famous Czech writer, Božena Němcová. It was Monday night, but the place was packed. They have three taps. Only one tap is for guest beers, other two are reserved for extra hoppy Poutník and unfiltered Poutník. That night they were serving a beer from the Malostransky pivovar Velke Mezirici. Harrach Vidensky lezak is a 13.8° Plato (6.2%) sort of Vienna style lager. The Czech pale lager from Poutnik from Pelhrimov, 12° Plato, filtered and extra hoppy. They did have a Mahr’s Undespundet-hefetrüb (kellerbier) from Bamberg, but, alas, it ran out earlier in the evening. There were a couple of other kegs waiting in the beer fridge for the days to come. This is a typical neighbourhood pub, a small hole-in-the-wall kind of place, with no food available, except some local cheeses and sausage, and very popular with the locals. We had great conversations, of course, all about beer. The origin of Maerzen, the near extinction of the Vienna style lager, how important balance is in a beer versus the over-the-top styles so much the fad right now, North American beers versus European, North German lagers versus South German lagers, Slovak versus Czech and Bohemian versus Moravian beers. Lukáš is a great conversationalist when it comes to beer.

It was a good day and a great night, for my first 12 hours in the Czech Republic and I would especially like to thank Lukáš, since the reason he wasn’t working was because he had broken a finger the week before, had his left hand in a cast and was wrapped in bandages up to his elbow. He informed me that he had classes at the brewing institute in Prague the next day and we could get a ride with a friend of his, Cipis, who was going there on a beer run to pick up new beers for his pub. Sounded good to me!

Last thoughts on Vienna and Austrian Beer

2010-10-03T14:26:00.005-06:00

Austrians are a no nonsense people. When you sit down in a pub, the staff want to take your whole order right away - none of this getting your drinks first while you take your time to peruse the menu for food. Or at least this seemed to be the case in most places I visited. That said, their efficiency is second to none. In many places, especially smaller towns and traditional pubs, there is only one size of beer you can order, the 1/2 liter glass or stein. Fortunately for those of us who like to try a number of brews on offer, many of the places I visited in Vienna did have a range. There certainly was the 500 ml 'krugerl' or 'grosses', and even the occasional brew could be ordered in a 1 liter stein. But a more conventional 300 ml glass 'siedel' or 'kleinesbier' I found in a lot of places and even better for us beer geeks was the 200 ml 'pfiff', which leaves a lot more room for variety at any given seating.
Ottakringer is Vienna's largest brewer, and as such has deep penetration in the market place and a good loyal following. Many pubs are 'tied' houses serving only their products, and most of their beers are of high quality and eminently very palatable. We visited one such tied house Bieramt one evening, and while most folks seemed to be out in the biergarten smoking - yes, smoking is still very prevalent in Austria's (and Germany's) pubs and restaurants - we sat at the bar and chatted with the friendly and knowledgeable barkeep. They had 10 taps, all but one Ottakringer products (and that lone brew was the original Budvar). We tried two new ones that had just come on the market recently, an organic filtered beer called Ottakringer Pur, and a new wheat beer named Innstadt Weizen. The Pur had a surprising earthy nose, a fruity palate and was very well carbonated with great legs and good lacing. It was clear and clean, light body, pale gold in colour and was easy to drink with a nutty and fruity maltiness right through to the end. The Weizen was also rather easy to drink, but unfiltered, and fuller bodied, cloudy pale yellow, fruity and aromatic with citric notes permeating the palate. Now Vienna is an historical city, original divided up into districts, and addresses of any building still use the old system, adding the district after the street address. The old and famous Ottakringer brewery is located in the 16th district, and people in that area have their own slang and fun with the language. Our bartender explained to us how to order a beer, a sausage and a slice of bread in that part of Vienna - still a traditional lunch for many. "Ein sechozehner blech, a eitige und a bug latte". Literally translated this means 'a 16 can, one with puss and a humpback'. What you get is a can of Ottakringer beer, a sausage filled with cheese and a heel of bread. Kind of funny really, though the some of the play on words does get lost in the translation to English I think.
I was looking for a good meal when I visited the last brewpub on my list, as I had wandered the streets all day, went and saw the Danube River, hit some museums and never stopped for lunch. This was the Wieden Brau, a lovely, but not-so-little neighbourhood pub. Many of these kinds of pubs seem deceivingly small when you first arrive, but you soon realize they have many rooms running to the back of the building or into hidden alcoves. This was no exception, with the brewhouse sitting right in the middle. All 3 of their beers are unfiltered and bottom fermented. They also had a specialty on, which was a Pils, and it was excellent! This was the hoppiest beer I tried whilst in the city. Fresh hop nose, clean straw colour, thick white head, good carbonation, great initial hop bite, light body with hop bitterness dancing on your tongue and present right through the dry finish. I ordered the Dunkles next, to go with the platter of ribs that arrived with roasted potatoes and a lovely side of spicy salsa and pickled hot peppers. Yum! It was a dark, reddish brown with a big hit of malt on the first sip that settles into a smooth and roast malt dominated palate, but balanced with tones of chocolate and toasted grain, the somewhat hidden sweetness fading to bitterness in the long finish. The Maerzen too was surprisingly good. I must be developing a taste for this style - it is THE style of Austria, and though there are many mainstream and tasteless versions, this one was an exception. Flowery nose with spicy herbal notes, well balanced with nice dryness over the mellow malt character, some fruitiness and buried spice mid way through that falls away in the finish. Like all Weiden Brau's beers, this too was well carbonated. They also make a Helles, and blend it with the Dunkles to make what they call their Mixbier, a kind of black and tan. As well, they offer a Radler. This is a popular mix of beer and lemonade that you can get almost anywhere beer is found in Austria. All of the Wieden Brau beers are also available to take home in 500 ml bottles for 2 Euros a pop. What a deal!
One last thing, the Austrians, like the Germans, love their schnapps. Many little brewpubs do distill their own from the beer they make, but drinkers beware. These are not the candy sweet varieties we see in North America. They are strong and can sometimes be rather medicinal, an acquired taste for sure.

Hallo Wien! The beer capital of Austria

2010-10-03T13:15:00.002-06:00

Vienna is the beer capital of Austria, and for a city of about 1.5 million people, they have their fare share of breweries, brewpubs, bars and beer restaurants. They have 2 major breweries and 11 smaller ones, not counting the many brewpubs strewn about the city, and this is a city whose surrounding countryside is solid with vineyards, going out for about 200 kilometers. There are many 'tied houses' serving the beers of one particular brewery or another, but also many 'beizls' or small hole-in-the-wall neighbourhood pubs that serve local favourites, as well as many pubs that brew their own. The first of the latter we visited was Siebenstern Brau (or 7 Stars). They always have 6 beers on tap, plus a rotating Bock specialty, depending on the time of year. They were serving their fall version or Herbstbock when we dropped in. It was a strong tasting 6.3% brew, gold in colour, malty, full bodied with an edgy alcoholic hit in the middle, that carried you right through to the sweetish long, lingering finish. Wouldn't want to have more than one of these at any given session. The Bamberger Rauchbier (5.1%) was right up my alley (since I'd just come from Bamberg). Obligatory smoky aroma, light reddish brown, with a whitish head. Smoke and dark malt dominate the palate, but smooths out in the middle and dries nicely in the finish. Went well with a rather spicy chili I ordered for lunch. The Prager Dunkles was my friend Marc's favourite brew (See Beer of the Day, Oct. 2). They also had an interesting Hanfbier (4.7%) or hemp beer. Herbal aromas led to some hop bitterness in this pale straw coloured medium bodied entry. It was actually nicely balanced with a round and creamy mouthfeel, some malt sweetness present in the aftertaste along with hints of the hemp leaves they use in the brew. Their Maerzen (5.1%) was surprisingly good. A red hued dark amber, moussy white head, fresh fruity nose, medium body, well balanced with good hop presence and a very dry mouthfeel with understated hints of nuts & spice. They also had the house favourite, a blond unfiltered Helles (4.7%) developed by Slovak head brewer Vlado Sedmak and made with Saaz hops. Slightly hazy, pale yellow, nice fresh aroma, good middle hop bitterness, well balanced, hints of malt, lovely lacing, light to medium body with an appropriate dry finish. They bottle fresh 1 liter swing-tops for take away as well, or they have another special feature. If the brewpub is closed, at the front door is their very own unique beer dispensing machine. For up to 3 Euros you can take home any of their products in 500 ml bottles.
Vienna is a very hip and happening place, and day or night, you can always find something interesting to do. We spent some time down at one end of the Nachtmarkt, trolling through the tables of the many vendors selling nik-naks, bric-a-brac, clothing, antiques and just about anything you can think of. The other end is full of colourful produce stalls where the world's fields are at your fingertips food-wise, plus many cheeses, breads and meats as well. It's early fall, so we were able to taste the fresh and wonderful Sturm wine, lovely fruit flavoured new wines that are as delicious as they are disarming. Right across the street from here is the ultra cool Cafe Drechsler, where the hip and the curious gather 23 hours a day (they are only closed from 2 am to 3 am) to enjoy excellent coffee, a bite to eat or to listen to the latest in jazz and world music, offered by ever present DJs. They also have the beers of Vienna's largest brewery, Ottakringer on tap.
Next up for us, after an afternoon siesta, was The Kloster Brauerei Gastsatte Salm Brau. Built in 1994 on the grounds of the former servants quarters of a convent founded by the Empress Wilhelmina in the heady days of empire, this is a wonderful spot. Inside is an always busy traditional room, featuring long tables and benches meant to get you to know your dinner companions. There is also a cozy little bar situated around the brewhouse in the back and a large patio out in what was once the courtyard. They serve 5 of their own brews. Using a 3 step mash, they make an excellent Pils, fresh nose, nice hop bite, easy to drink, with a slight haze, pale straw hues, white fluffy head, good lacing, strong legs, good balance and a dry finish. The Helles was plesant, but light was the descriptor all the way around in terms of colour, flavour, nose, body and palate.
The Weizen had a big, fruity aroma with evidence of citrus, banana and cloves in small amounts, it was cloudy pale yellow with a frothy head that fell to excellent lacing and continuous legs in the tall wheat beer glass. The palate comes on strong at first but not heavy and smooths out to a pleasant fruity character, then ends light and peachy. The one we like best though was the 'double mashed' Bohemian Mix, an old Austrian specialty. Dark amber, almost brown, it starts with a sweetish malty palate but balanced with a good amount of hops, is medium bodied and easy to drink with hints of carmel and a long, lingering finish. They serve great food here, traditional huge platters of spare ribs and large legs of roasted pork to share.
We ended each night at the local Stehbeisl, a tiny place near our hotel, playing cool music and serving a few Austrian and Czech brews on tap and in the bottle. The favourite for both of us was the excellent Velkopopovicky Kozel Dark (see Beer of the Day, Oct. 1).

Bamberg: Tag Zwei!

2010-09-30T08:11:00.003-06:00

So, let’s back up a moment… I left Zum Sternla the night before and went for a walk about before returning to the hotel. I forgot to mention that the service was excellent, and I even passed myself off as being able to speak German – if ordering beer and food off a menu counts as such. Fortunately, no one challenged me, or asked me any questions. I also met three charming young people from China, who were on their own trip through Germany – Fei Xu, Fang Han and Yuliang Huang, who spoke no German, but one of whose English was good. We struck up a conversation about world travel, beer (of course) and other things, then wished each good travels and went our own separate ways. As I wandered through the empty streets, I started to pick up the faint smell of smoke that seemed to grow stronger each block I walked. Ah! Someone was either smoking malt or mashing rauchbier! Same thing happened the next morning. I walked through different neigbourhoods and along different streets, but every now and then it was the mashing of malt that I smelt, sometimes smoky, sometimes not. This is the quintessential aroma of Bamberg! And what a lovely smell it is! So, with this in mind I made my way to the Schenklanker tied house in the middle of the old town, Restaurant Alt-Ringlein. It was 10 am and the place was packed. I found myself a seat at the end of one long table and was almost immediately joined by Ulrich, a world traveler himself and a very good conversationalist. He was just killing time before an appointment and came in for the same thing I did – the Aecht Schenklanker Rauchbier poured fresh from a wooden barrel. Oh my, I thought it was good yesterday, this was heaven in a glass! We covered the gamut of pub topics – travel, kids, divorce, collecting beer paraphernalia and then settled on the beers of Bamberg. We talked about the places I’d already been and then he told me about Greifenkläu, up on Kaulberg Hill. Bamberg is built on 7 hills you see, and I had only spent my time in the old town centre. So, up I marched past many old, beautiful churches, school children waiting at bus stops and in no time found myself at the very traditional Brauerei Gaststätte Biergarten Greifenkläu. The day was beautiful, warm sun shining and clear blue skies, so I had definitely worked up a thirst. And Ulrich was right, the Greifenklaubier was worth the walk (See Beer of the Day, Sept. 29). I wanted to stay and try the Weizen, but the clock was ticking. I had planned on visiting Fässla for a meal before my train, which everyone told me was the local favourite brewery/pub. These traditional pubs are cozy and warm, but I wanted to sit outside on such a nice day, so I wondered into the back patio and who do I run into but my Chinese friends from the night before! So, we lunched together and talked more about beer and travel. The Fässla Gold-Pils on tap was fabulous by the way. Beautiful clear, gold colour with both hop and malt prevalent in the nose, light, crisp, clean palate with good hop presence, bright white head that falls to some interesting lacing, smooth mouthfeel and a lovely dry finish. The curry-wurst wasn’t the best choice, but the Zwergla, a 6% bottled dunkel, was a good follow up. This was a malty brew, deep golden brown, with a head that faded quickly and left no lacing (dirty glass?), but some bitterness danced on the tongue and played with the maltiness, dissolving into a smooth palate, with a hint of malt sweetness before drying out. Xu, Han and Huang dashed off to catch their own train and then I was approached by Ilya from a neighbouring table, who heard us talking about beer. He was with a group of Baltic ex-pats, now living in New York, who were also on a German holiday, somewhat concentrating on beer too. I shared my two day experience with them, giving them my Bamberg beer map and a few hints on my favourite spots. It is always good to meet fellow beer geeks on the road. They wandered off and so did I, after picking up a few bottle for my hosts in Innsbruck. But Brauerei Spezial was right across the street, and I wanted one last beer there before hitting the road. Ilya was actually sitting there when I arrived. The pub has 6 beers on tap and 3 specials in the bottle, the brewery is in the back. I had already tried the local favourite Rauchbier, so opted for the Ungespundetes, an unfiltered, naturally carbonated Kellerbier. I was not disappointed. Pale gold, falling head, fully flavoured, poured from a wood barrel, lace following to the bottom of the glass – oh yes, a very good pint! Ilya and I wished each other well (again), I grabbed some bottles of Rauchbier for my Innsbruck-bound stash and raced up to the train station. But trains were running late that day, if you can believe it. So, half lit, I found myself doing something I thought I’d never do – I bought a beer at the station store – a Bavarian Mönchshof Kellerbier Dunkel (5.4%) and sat on the platform with a bag of chips and waited for the train. At least it was a swing-top, so I was able to nurse it all the way to Nürnberg .

Bamberg - Germany's Beer Paradise

2010-09-28T15:54:00.003-06:00

Oh my god! This town has it all! It is a designated UNESCO Heritage Site and probably one of the most beautiful old cities in Germany, if not Europe. It also has the most traditional and varied beer in terms of styles available. Bamberg brewers are not afraid to push the envelope, and as this is the home of bottom fermentation, so the standards are high. For a population of 70,000, they are served by 11 breweries, making as many as 50 different brews. The old town is situated between two legs of the River Regnitz and was first established as a fort around 902. It really started to come into its own under the patronage of Emperor Henry II in 1007, at which time trade grew and many churches, monasteries and a cathedral were built. Many of the brewery/brewpubs have long and storied histories. I started my exploration of the town and its beers at the Klosterbräu Brauerei Gaststätte, established in 1533. They have 4 beers always on tap and 3 rotating seasonal bocks. Their Klosterbräu Braunbier (5.7%) is a gorgeous clear, golden brown colour with a tight white head that leaves no real lacing, but slowly slides down with each sip, fully hugging the sides of the glass. There is some fresh malt sweetness in the nose and on the tongue that falls away into a perfect balance with a light and even mouthfeel and a clean, dry finish. I believe they are famous for their Bamberger Klosterbräu Pils (4.9%). A fresh herbal aroma leads the drinker to a subtle hop bite that melts into a balanced bitterness that sits wonderfully on the malt base. It is clear pale gold in colour, has a light, white, tight head and seems a medium bodied brew, but is lighter on the palate, the hop freshness dancing on the tongue with every sip. Again the lace follows the beer to the bottom of the glass, ending in a simple but wonderfully dry finish.
I moved on down the street and around a few corners - nothing is very far from each other here - to the Zum Kachelofen Franiscles Gasthaus, where they boast 5 beers on tap and 3 specialties in the bottle. Here, with a traditional Frankish meal of crusted smoked pork belly and potato dumplings swimming in 'au jus', I went for the Bräuerei Heller famous Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier on tap (see Beer of the Day, Sept. 28). Simply divine! What could follow better than the Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Weizen (5.2%). This one was in the bottle, unfiltered with some haze, it is light amber, has a subtler smokiness than it's brother brew, aroma wise and presents notes of citrus and wheat that sneaks through the smoke, has a nice head that falls to lacing well, has a smooth palate and an excellent balance, some malty sweetness drying out a the nice long finish. Across the street was the Ambräusianum brewpub, and though a beautiful room, featuring their copper tanks right in the middle, I had the feeling they were the new kid on the block. I tried the 'Bier Probe' taster tray of their 3 products: Hell - pale straw, hazy, light, good balance; Weizen - cloudy amber, some spiciness, wheaty palate, heavy lacing and Dunkel - dark amber, burnt malt nose, hints of smoke. Overall OK beers.
One does not have to go far, around every corner there seemed to be a cafe, restaurant or bar, all serving some beers of the region. After a well needed rest, I went out for dinner at Zum Sternla, a traditional cozy little neighbourhood pub offering simple but tasty and very reasonably priced traditional fare. They had 8 taps, serving various Bamberg brews. I started with the Huppendorferbier, a dark, amber/gold malty lager, flowery hop nose, smooth balance palate with a light malt accent, bright on the tongue and a long, slight, malty finish. I finished up the evening with the other smoked beer in town, Spezial Rauchbier. Light hint of smoke in the nose, thick moussy head, a delicate smokiness that mellows onto the palate, hinting of wood, but nicely balanced, not overpowering, golden auburn colour, some lacing, smooth velvety mouthfeel. An excellent accompaniment to my 'wurst' dinner special. So many beers, so little time.

Stuttgart, Baden-Wuttemberg, Germany

2010-09-27T23:44:00.001-06:00

Stuttgart is the home to Bosch, Porsche and Daimler and therefore very modern by European standards. Founded in 950 as a stud farm for the local nobility, it only became an actual town in the 11th century. It is not a pretty city, history over the years having ravaging its charm, but someone should have asked the city planners in the modern era, what the hell were thinking. It is a hodge-podge of baffling streets, a confusing subway system and a general population that is not helpful. Street numbers bare no relation to those on the opposite side, and some even have the same name, though they go off in perpendicular directions. The countryside surrounding the city is actually beautifully manicured into terraced vineyards, for this is a famous wine growing region. It is also home to Germany's second largest 'Volkfest' and beer festival, but after my experience in Munich, I decline to visit the fair grounds and instead searched out pubs and restaurants in the city in order to get a real taste of Stuutgart. Dinkelacker–Schwaben AG and Stuttgarter Hofbrau are the major players here, but there are also a few pubs that brew their own.
My first stop was the Hacienda Tu 8, a very dark, large basement bar/restaurant below an ice cream store, featuring a Mexican menu and three beers from the Stuttgarter Hofbrau. They had a Helles and a Schwarzebier, but I opted for the Keller Pils. Just so happened I was there at happy hour, so two glasses arrived in front of me, which was a good thing, as I was thirty from my walkabout finding a hotel for the night. It was tasty with a fresh nose, moussy white head, that produced great lacing and was a slightly hazy straw colour. It was nicely balanced with a few citric notes, light in body, sparkling on the palate with a refreshing finish. I would have stayed for another, but I had my heart (and stomach) set on the Brauerei Gaststatte Dinkelacker. They had 6 beers on tap, plus their special ‘Volksfestbier’, as well as 9 bottles. I started with the Cluss Keller Pils. I'm really getting to like these naturally carbonated and aged cellar brews, and I was not disappointed. It exhibited an herbal nose with some buried fruitiness, hazy pale yellow colour and loose lacing from the porous white head. A velvety mouthfeel lead to a good balanced palate with a slightly sweet malt presence and a light finish. This went very well with the three course Volksfest meal I ordered, starting with a delicious mushroom soup and the odd bacon and peppercorn laced expresso cup of grease (presumably to spread on the bread provided). Next came the Schawben Brau das Schwarze. It was almost black with some burgundy hues and served in a beautiful tall stemmed glass, with a tan coloured head, fresh aroma and a surprisingly light flavour for such a deep, dark brew. It has a well balanced, malt accented palate, with some roastiness prevalent, tones of black malt bitterness in the finish, but not overpowering. This went very well with the onion and gravy smothered ‘wurst’ course, served with a lovely vinegar tinged side of cold potatoes and cucumbers. Yummy! By now I was hoping for some hops, so finished my meal there with what might be considered their flagship beer, Dinkelacker CD – Pils. Big, rocky, frothy head with some hop notes (at last!), clear pale gold colour with an initial crisp bite that mellows into an understated bitterness balanced against a smooth malty character finishing pleasantly dry. I do recommend this place, and it just so happened to be the tap room for the giant brewery in behind. As I left the restaurant, the wonderful aroma of the brewers art filled the air. The musty smell of malt mashing was everywhere in the city centre. Losing my way back to the hotel, I stumbled upon Sophie’s Brauhaus, and followed the art deco themed art work up a set of stairs to this second floor brewpub. There I found a large, rambling room with a number of small copper tanks in one corner. OK, time for a night cap. I choose their Schwarzbier, very black with a creamy tan head, with not much in the way of aroma, but with a brightness on the tongue that trickles down to a very smooth palate, notes of black malt with enough hop to dry out the finish nicely.
Thank goodness the places I visited were not full of drunken tourists. That experience was for those who wandered out to the fair grounds and into the big beer tents. I enjoyed walking through the quiet of the after-hours city centre, with its pedestrian walkways surrounded by modern glass and steel shopping malls and tall office buildings. It was a nice change, but I think I’m ready for more cobblestone and tiny, winding alleys.

The Real Munich

2010-09-27T02:23:00.001-06:00

Munich was founded in 1158 on the banks of the Isar river, in what is now Bavaria. By 1487, it had established its own Beer Purity Law almost 30 years ahead of King Ludwig's Reinheitsgebot. Such was the start of a grand brewing tradition. The styles most popular and prevalent in Munich are Pils, Helles, Weizen and Export, with a few specialties and seasonals thrown in here and there for good measure. By 1860 there were 18 breweries in Munich producing 800,000 hectoliters a year. By 2001, 9 bigger players produced more than 5,500,000 hectoliters, though there still are approximately 18 breweries in the general vicinity of the city. Like anywhere these days, bigger fish gobble up the small fish, but the beer still flows.
There are some tasty beers to be found in Munich's many large and small beerhalls and brewpubs. One just needs to seek out these places outside of the time frame of Oktoberfest in order to appreciate them properly, or at least start earlier in the day, before the crowds descend. One such place is Ayingers Speis und Trank, a much more civilized pub than its neighbour, the Hofbräuhaus, just across the square. They boast six beers on tap, plus their special Oktoberfest, all made in Aying, in the north part of the city. Their Pils is excellent - light, clean and refreshing, with a nice hop nose, pale gold colour, a balanced hop bitter palate, very effervescant, strong legs and a crisp, dry finish. Also excellent is the Kellerbier, an unfiltered, naturally carbonated and cellar-aged treat. A hazy, pale yellow colour, with a malt accented nose and palate, fully flavourful and well balanced, with some hints of hop and fruitiness. Their Altbier Dunkel is also very tasty. It has creamy head that leaves good lacing. It is full bodied with a malty aroma, velvety smooth mouthfeel, well rounded fruity palate with notes of roasted malt and is clear, but auburn brown in colour. We lunched on the local sausages and sauerkraut, watching a team of dray horses pull a wagon of wooden beer barrels through the square.
The other great pub we visited was Der Pschorr, a lovely and large wood floored room near the Viktualien Markt. Here they served Hacker-Pschorr Edelhell, a special lager aged and served in oak barrels on ice. Beautifully clean and clear straw yellow in colour, brilliant white head and loose lacing with a bright mouthfeel, especially on the tip of your tongue. Well balanced with subtle hints of apple and wood and a long, lovingly dry finish. The Export Dunkel offered up some tinges of sourness in its aroma, that translated into a malty palate hinting of dried fruit with some caramel and roasted malt tones that spread over your entire tongue. Deep, clear brown with ruby hues and a white head that leaves little to no lacing, but remains on the beers surface to the bottom of the glass. This medium bodied brew has some sweetness in its long,lingering finish. I do wish there was more time (and less crowds) to visit many of the other fine establishments in this great beer city. Next time...

Down from the mountains and into the fray - Oktoberfest in Munich

2010-09-27T01:23:00.002-06:00

The train out of Innsbruck was, of course, on time as I shuttled through the mountains in the pouring rain and fog towards Bavaria. It was quiet, only myself and one older gentlemen with his feet up gently snoring a few rows back. But as soon as we crossed into Germany, stop by stop, the train filled up with liederhosen and dirndl wearing party-goers, each with a beer or two in hand, the sound of caps popping and bottles clinking 'prost'! By the time we hit Munich’s main train station, there was a sea of slightly inebriated, happy Oktoberfesters splilling out and onto the streets. I would like to thank my Four Canadian Sirens of Oktoberfest - Jess, Jenn, Leslie and KJ for convincing me to come, for meeting me at the Metro station and then whisking me off directly to the fair grounds. The rain was a light sprinkle by then, but the grounds were easy to find, just follow the throngs of traditionally dressed party goers! The first thing we saw was some poor young woman, barefoot and very drunk, puking her guts out at the front entrance gate. It was 11 am! Welcome to Oktoberfest! Much like any fall fair, there are rides, fast food, souvenir trinkets and an atmosphere of celebration, but most people are here for the beer. Six giant breweries of Munich dominate this festival: Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbrau, Spaten, Augustiner, Lowenbrau, Paulaner - and each has several huge tents situated around the fair grounds, where one can wait for hours in order to gain admission. Once inside, however, the party begins. Beers are served only in one liter ceramic or glass steins at 9 Euros a pop, with the wait staff generally tipping themselves a Euro if you hand them a ten without asking. The beer tends to be the special Oktoberfest varieties made for the event. After one of these it is not hard to join right in with the singing, dancing, music, eating and generally merriment of the exuberant and tipsy participants. After two or three though, well, you are on your own! In reality, Oktoberfest is a beer soaked spectacle of surreal proportions. The crowds on the grounds are thick and drunk - this is especially true on the weekends. I understand the weekdays are a little more civilized. Still, for a festival of this magnitude, there were surprisingly few garbage cans on the grounds, never mind recycling bins. Many people bring their own bought beers too, so along with the puke and debris strewn everywhere, there are broken beer bottles and shards of glass from attempted stolen steins. The party spills out into the city centre when the tents close at 10 pm. Last Saturday there was a near riot, as police stormed the grounds to break up fights, cart off passed out revelers on stretchers and clear the grounds. Meanwhile, if you did not have reservations or tickets to the many events at the many beerhalls, then you were on the streets drinking or in the metro with the singing, inebriated throngs of foreigners and locals who carried on partying regardless. Unable to gain entrance to any of the popular places, Leslie, Jenn and I, with two other Calgarians in tow, Sandra and Cody, managed to slip down a side alley and up a few flights of stairs to find a local haunt virtually unknown to tourists. Though busy, the service was friendly, the food great, the music cool and the Austrian Blau Zweigelt red wine was just the thing to top off our night.

Austrian Beers and Innsbruck Bars

2010-09-24T06:25:00.002-06:00

Despite the overwhelming dominance of the big breweries in the Austrian market place, and a slew of German products also available, one can still find some unique beers in Innsbruck’s supermarkets.
One of the more interesting finds is MacQueen’s Nessie, subtitled ‘Whisky Malt Red Beer’ (see Beer of the Day, Sept. 15). From the Schlossbrauerei Eggenberg, this beer is packaged in a tall 330 ml long-neck bottle to showcase its difference. Though only 5%, it is big in flavour, but not actually whiskey- flavoured like some beers aged in whiskey casks, but more like a Trois Pistoles (Unibruoue), whose character is derived from the special malts used in the grain bill. They use Scottish highland whiskey malt and age the brew for two full months before bottling. This brewery also makes the legendary Samichaus, once considered one of the strongest beers in the world. Another high end beer Schlossbrauerei Eggenberg makes is the very malty and fantastic Urbock 23°, as in 23 degress plato or 9.6% alc/vol (see Beer of the day, Sept. 22). This beer will knock your socks off, so well balanced and deceivingly delicious that it hides its strength very well. It is aged for 9 months in their ancient cellars turning this ‘cognac of beers’ a deeply amber tinted ambrosia. Schremer Brauerei from Schrems, Austria makes a rye beer known as Roggen Bio Beer. Very dry with an intense earthy quality and a hazy-dusky amber hue, this is a top-fermented specialty, full bodied with some initial fruitiness, but underpinned by enough hops to produce a long, lingering aftertaste.
The flagship brew of the Kostritzer Schwarzbier Brauerei is the very dark and drinkable Kostritzer Schwarzbier. At 4.8%, this beer is a deep brown-burgundy colour, with a big-bubbled tan head that produces loose lacing on the glass. It has a pretty neutral nose, but with some subtle fruitiness detectable in the palate, a smooth and almost creamy mouthfeel with some hoppiness producing a nice dry finish.
Another interesting and tasty beer available throughout Innsbruck (though from Hauzenberg in Germany) is Apostelbrau’s Dinkel (naturtrub) Bier, a bottle-conditioned specialty using the ancient variety of wheat known as ‘spelt’ to enhance its delectable flavour profile. This is a delicious brew, very wheaty in aroma and hazy, pale straw in colour. It exhibits some citric fruitiness, but is overall very well balanced and fully flavourful, with hints of wheat malt, herb and some hidden hop. Malt sweetness on the palate, dries out to a lovely, long finish.
All of the above beers come in small 330 ml bottles, as opposed to almost ubiquitous ½ liter bottles used by all the major players. The big breweries often sell their products in large, returnable hard-plastic cases for ease of stacking and transport.

There are two decent beer bars in downtown Innsbruck whether you are a draft-slayer or a bottle-stalker. The first is the Restaurant Krahvogel (Raven), a great place to stop for lunch, with a fine secluded patio in the back, and just a few hundred meters from the centre of town. They have 10 beers on draft and about 8 bottled varieties. I started with the Mohren Bräu, a light, pale yellow thirst quencher on tap, featuring a frothy head, a fruity nose, some hop presence on the palate with an effervescent and pleasantly dry finish. I ordered the vegetarian curry lunch special, so went for a hoppy pils next. Grieskirchner Pils, winner of the Goldenen DLG Preis 2008, comes in a beautiful tall 500 ml glass, with the name embossed vertically. (See Beer of the Day, Sept. 22) This beer was the perfect accompaniment to the curry, which was served with homemade chipatis and a deliciously warm, sweet chutney that had more than a hint of heat to it. I finished up with a taste of Zwickl, an unfiltered spezial. Very pale, almost straw coloured, with a cloudy haze, thick mousse head that sits on top of the beer and follows it right to the bottom of the stein. An initial citric bite eases into a medium bodied maltiness, creamy mouthfeel and a slight lemony finish.
Their bottle list went from the mundane (Heineken, Corona, Becks) to a little more adventurous (Aventinus Schneider Weisse, real Czech Budvar, Fransizkaner Dunkel Weisse) and a couple of oddities, including the ‘joke’ beer Duff, that I’ve seen in a few places, plus some non-alcoholic brews. This restaurant enjoys a good reputation, plays cool music and serves a hip downtown lunch crowd.
The other decent beer bar right in the centre of the old quarter is called Elferhaus (Eleventh House) where the focus is bottled beer. They have a fine selection of bottled Austrian brews that include Eggenberger Urbock, Murauer Maerzen, Mohren Pfiff, Starenberger Schlossbrau and three from Hirterl, to name a few. The Hirter Morchl is a fine dunkel from Karnten. (See Beer of the Day, Sept. 21)
Their international selections were about 20, ranging from Lindeman’s Kriek, Framboise and Peche, Chimay Grand Reserve, EKU 28, Lapin Kulta (the golden beer of Lapland) and Aventinous Schneider Weisse to the more ordinary, which included Duff once again and Desparadoes (a tequila infused beer I keep running into everywhere I go). Their drafts list is not long, but includes Weiselburger, Gösser Zwickl, Francizkaner Weiss and Kaiser Doppel Malz, plus an Oktoberfest special from Spaten. They also pour an Austrian version of a black and tan, mixing Weiselburger and the Doppel Malz, something they call Diesel.
This is a long and deep wood-paneled room, displaying many old metal stamped plates from breweries of old and beers gone by. This funky old town hangout probably gets going when the tourists go to bed.

There is one privately-owned craft brewer in Innsbruck, Tiroler Bier. Brewmaster Harald Buamgartner has an unusual set-up out on the edge of the city. This one man operation not only produces a fine naturally carbonated brew in returnable swing-top bottles, but he is also a distiller of some local renown, making and selling his 4 year old, French oak-aged single malt whiskey in unique, square ½ liter bottles. His products are only available at his production facility and at a few selected locations on tap in Innsbruck and in 1 liter swing-top bottles and 2 liter growlers.

In the Austrian Alps

2010-09-21T06:20:00.018-06:00

Please excuse my absence these last few days, beer readers, your humble `Beerspondent` has been high in the Austrian Alps on the alpine trails, participating in what is part of every Austrian`s life - mountain hiking. I would like to thank my hosts in Innsbruck, Claudia and Marc, not only for their generous hospitality, but for inviting me on this amazing experience. Joined by friends from Amsterdam, Ulli and Eddi, the five of us jumped on a local train for a 35 minute ride to the border town of Scharnitz (964 m), near Germany. This is where the Alpenpark Karwendel begins. Our destination on Day One was a guest house some 20 kilometers into the park, via a gently rising trail, perched high on a rocky outcropping. There are many trails in this park, some to perilous peaks for hikers, some around stunning valley vistas for mountain bikers, always past free flowing clear mountain springs and up incredible rocky landscapes. Situated throughout this large national park are `hütten´ and `almen´, traditional huts and farmhouses, once used for shelter and farmer´s summer residences, now places of refreshment and overnight stays for the backpacking crowds. The Karwendelhaus is located at 1771 meters above sea level, and provides a cozy resting place for day trips or overnight stays. The cuisine is traditional Austrian fare and the beer is refreshing. After our 5 hour hike, the last 2 kilometers being quite steep, it was an absolute pleasure to sit down to a tall glass of Franziskaner Weissbier on tap (see Beer of the Day, Sept. 17). It was the best beer ever! That day... They also have a very tasty Gösser Dunkel on tap, a dark, reddish brown beer with a big, malty nose and a smooth mouthfeel, a well balanced palate, somewhat nutty with hints of roasted malt and a dry, chocolately finish. I don`t know about the others, but after a few of these beers, I slept like the dead!
The next day saw us scrambling through a variety of every changing and challenging landscapes - down into lush, green valleys, up winding mountain goat paths, over enormous scree fields, through hillsides thick with Larchen trees, past working farmer´s alms (now closed for the winter) and over vast alpine meadows where mountain goats graze. The rugged majesty of this beautiful landscape was not lost even in the ever shifting cloud and fog that seemed to shadow our journey. We lunched at our midway point, the quaint mountaintop Falkenhütte (1848 m), where we enjoyed a traditional knödel soup and a delicious, tall cold glass of Kaiser Märzen, fresh on tap. Made by Hofbräu Kaltenhausen, a subsidiary of Bräu Union, this standard märzen has some hop aroma, a sweetish palate, with subtle notes of butter and a drying hoppiness in the finish. It is pale gold in colour, with a light, quickly dissolving head. The best beer ever! Well, at that moment anyway... We then traversed across another rock strewn valley and started our descent into Eng (1227 m), a touristy, yet traditional Tyrolian village featuring their own cow herd, a cheese maker and a couple of 4 star hotels. Our stop for the night was actually still up hill another hour at the small, but unique Binsalm at 1502 meters. What greeted us there was a packed house of German hikers, complete with accordian player and full sing-a-long tables. The food was great, especially the house spatz´ln made with the local Eng cheese. Also good was the Holzkirchner Oberbräu Weisse Dunkel (see Beer of the Day, Sept. 18). This was an even longer day for our intrepid beerspondent, so after sampling the Weisse Helles and the Pils from the same German brewery, it was time for bed.
Awake the next morning after an ice cold shower and with aching muscles, we marched almost straight up a trail that looked like the craggy slopes of Mordor, shrouded in fog, slippery wet from the night´s rain and no wider than a goats two hooves. This was the hardest and scariest hour of climbing we did all weekend. But just as faith and confidence were about to fail, we reached the peak and broke out into a sun-drenched alpine meadow at the Gramai Sattel (1903 m)- "Shangra-la!" I cried, and it was all down hill from there. We descended through lush landscape and cascading waterfalls into Gramai (1263 m), our final destination, where hikers and bus-transported day-trippers packed the terraces drinking Zipfer (see Beer of the Day, Sept. 19) and munching on local sausage, cheese and bread. It was only an hour back to Innsbruck by car, but after 15 hours of hiking, 3635 meters up and down and 50 kilometers as the crow flies, it was a journey I´ll remember for a long time to come.

Innsbruck, Austria

2010-09-16T06:05:00.003-06:00

Time to catch up...
A few days back my fellow beer hunter and Tripel tippler Paul headed home to Canada and I jumped on an Innsbruck-bound train - via Cologne and Munich. I was kind of hoping to taste a fresh glass of kolsch whilst transferring trains in Cologne and perhaps something unique in Munich as well, but it was not to be. The train systems here are so efficient and on time, that I had only about 15 minutes in each station to find the next platform and board.
So, something about the Austrian beer scene...
There are more than 180 breweries operating in Austria, though Brau Union AG dominates the market with a 56% share, and together with four other large players control 83% of the market and have national distribution. There are many other local, well established breweries that provide their products only to their own regions, but in the last decade many new microbreweries have popped up and many brewpubs as well. There are no Reinheitsgebot laws like Germany, though many older traditional breweries do adhere to it.
Not far from Innsbruck is Tyrol's oldest privately owned brewery Zillertal, which was established in 1500 in the market town of Zell am Ziller. They produce the wonderfully aromatic Weissebier Dunkel (5.0%). Starting with a floral and slightly citric nose and dense head, this beer is dark amber/light brown, with an unfiltered cloudiness, well balanced palate and a somewhat chocolately sweet finish. Their Maerzen (5.1%) is a popular beer in Innsbruck, light, crisp and clean, a clear pale gold colour, some definite hop character, effervescent, easy on the palate with a nice dry finish. The Schwarzes is excellent (see Beer of the Day, Sept. 12) and the 2010 vintage Gouder Bock is exceptional (see Beer of the Day, Sept. 16), brewed only once a year.

Beers in Maastrict

2010-09-12T13:31:00.001-06:00

Maastrict has a rich and storied history, this corner of Europe where Belgium, Germany and Holland meet. It’s also a great fusion pot of mixing cultures, cuisines and beer. Not long out of the Gare and just over the walking bridge on the left up Stationstraat and you find Café ‘t Potuiske. Our beer GPS seems to be working quite well this trip, just our luck, we’ve stumbled into one of the better beer bars in town. They have twelve taps and many special bottles plus seasonals. We went for the beer of the month for September, Schelde Golden Raand, a 7.5% blonde special. Beautiful gold colour, pure white head, very light on the palate, well balanced, some hop nose, mildly bitter with a long dry finish. Very tasty! The local cheese and meat plate that we ordered went extremely well. The house beer of the month was Budelse Goudblond at 6.5%. Tight white head, fresh nose, clean, light and dry on the tongue, light gold colour, well balanced, dry finish.
The Brand brewery is quite prominent in Maastrict and their beers are available everywhere. In den Ouden Vogelstruys serves up the whole line, where we tried Brand Imperator. A heads up malt nose prepares the palate - golden copper, tight head, smooth middle, big dollops of malt sweetness lingers leisurely into the finish. Brand Oud Bruin was not sour at all, but instead a full bodied, chocolate/black malt accented sipper. Fruity aromas, tight auburn head with enough hop to dry out the finish. Another local favourite, especially in the summer, would be Wieckse Witte, 5%. Light, pleasant white beer, originally locally made by Ridder, easy to drink, very clean, big head with some citric notes.
Trying the local cuisine is a must in Maastrict, so we supped on schnitzel and salmon on the excellent terrace of the Hotel de la Bourse on the Markt Square. This café carries an amazing array of wonderful brews too, 10 taps and many specialty bottles. Extra special instead of dessert was Straffe Hendrik Tripel and Kasteel Bruin. The tripel is from De Halve Maan in Brugges [see Beer of the Day, Sept 9]. What a wonderful beer, but so too Kasteel Bruin, though not so subtle at 11% as opposed to Straffe Hendrik’s hidden 9%. Brewed by Van Honsebrauck, this is a big, full-bodied bruin, dark malt aroma swirls around a caramel coloured head, fruity malt palate, notes of toffee and chocolate, very smooth for a beer of this strength, sweet malt finish.
We managed to visit Falstaff on our way out of town. This lovely little modern café has a large terrace on a small square and some nice beers on tap with a large Trappist/Abbey section in the fridge. So, for breakfast then, it was a bottle of Holland’s Gulpener Dort. Lovely light-brown hued brew, some fruity fresh aroma, thick white head, malty middle and a drying finish.

Pub Crawl in Amsterdam (Tues/Wed)

2010-09-09T16:10:00.001-06:00

The trip from Brussels to Amsterdam is pretty quick, especially if you take the hi-speed train. So it was early afternoon by the time we found ourselves on the Leidersplein. Like Brussels, there are pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants everywhere you turn, especially in the city centre and its environs. The square was full of people coming and going or just relaxing. We settled into a terrace and ordered a Hertog Jan Weizener and Saison 1900 from the taps at 3 Sisters. The wheat beer had a lovely, rocky head, was appropriately cloudy, but dark amber in colour with subdued tones of banana and cloves and a pleasant tart finish. Very drinkable. The saison exhibited a fresh nose, nice mousse head, clear amber hue, fruity palate, well balanced with a base of hop and a very dry finish.
After getting our bearings, we found ourselves at Café Brecht. A casual, yet comfortable little room with an eclectic décor and cool music, they also cater to beer lovers, sporting a regular menu of at least 24 selected bottles, plus 4 taps and 8 specialties. The Augustiner Munchen Dunkel seemed particularly appealing as one of their special bottles, as did the Budvar on tap. The Budvar was as expected – crisp, clean and fresh, floral nose, hop infused and well balanced palate, nice dry finish – the perfect thirst quencher after our long walk to get there. The Dunkel was a lovely mahogany colour with a light head and sweet malt aroma that led to a malt accented but well balance palate. There was some chocolate notes and sweetness in the long smooth finish. We also tried the Reissdorf Kolsch - a crisp, clean, refreshing beer, bright gold colour, white head, sparkling mouthfeel with light hoppy palate and a buried fruitiness under a well balanced and dry finish.
Next stop was The Old Nickel. We just literally went in to get out of the rain and found 6 beers on tap and over 60 available by bottle. This is also a popular and funky little hotel, with rooms upstairs accessed through the bar. Promising ourselves to come back, we had a night cap of La Trappe White [see Beer of the Day, Sept. 7] and stumbled on our way.
We resumed our mission the next day after a quick tour of the Van Gough Museum. Searching for the famous Café Gollem brought us to the Gekroate Ketel (cracked kettle), an amazing bottle shop, stacked floor to ceiling with an outstanding selection of Dutch, Belgian and international brands. Alas, right across the street, Café Gollem was closed ‘due to circumstance’. Sensing our disappointment, the knowledgeable young man in the bottle shop sent us to the In de Wildeman, not far away. They had about 24 beers marked on their main chalk board, with specialty lambic and Trappist vintages listed elsewhere. Here we found the sublime and only 3.5% De Molen Melk en Mild on tap [see Beer of the Day, Sept. 8]. I followed that up with Schelde Brouwerij Oester Stoute, a richer offering with a sweet malt nose, deep black colour, a tight head resulting in thick lacing with notes of toffee, coffee and roasted malt. Medium bodied with malt sweetness balanced against some hoppy that also disguises its potent 8.5% strength. We also tried a bottle conditioned De Molen’s Vuur & Vlam (fire & flame) IPA. Huge flowery hop aroma, big rocky head and an initial hop bite that really gets your attention. They use Galena, Chinook, Cascade, Simcoe and Amarillo hops, so you know this is a potent double IPA, even at 6.2%. Deep amber in colour with a long dry finish, this would not be out of place back home.
The bartender at de Wildeman, well versed as he was in beer, convinced us to visit the Brouwerij de Prael, just a few blocks away, to taste their locally made and served products. Prael both bottle and keg, serving their products on tap in their taproom. 8 varieties were available while we were there, ranging from bocks and barley wine to wit, kolsch and abbey style. Paul started with Willeke, their blond tripel, while I opted for the ‘lentebok’ Andre. At 7.5% the tripel was a medium bodied version, straw in colour, a little cloudy with a head that faded to lace quickly, but full marks for flavour – subtle spiciness, well balanced, dries out at the finish well. The ‘spring bock’ had a malty nose, sweet malt first impression on the palate, some underpinning of hop, dark amber in colour, medium body and a sweetish finish. Johnny was next, the 5.7% Kolsch with a big, thick white head, straw colour, light nose and body, neutral palate yet nice dry finish. Their guest tap that day was Felen Zeebonck, a 6.5% alternative to a traditional bock. Fresh malty nose, white head, amber tinged, sweetish palate, smooth mouthfeel, some hidden hop, but long sweet finish.
After a very late and deliciously spicy Chinese meal, we found our way to the absolutely fabulous Het Elfde Gebod (the eleventh commandment). Dimly lit and elegant, it has a dark wood paneled bar, soft furnishings and a down tempo jazzy soundtrack that lends itself to a very comfortable, warm atmosphere. There are over 50 beers listed on their chalk board, with 5 taps and some special bottles. The fresh Corsendonk Angus (7.5%) on tap hit the spot. Dark blond colouring and a big malt bite are the initial impressions, dark malty tones, candy sugar notes, caramel and a smooth palate leads to a finish that dries out pleasantly.

3 Fonteinen in Beersel

2010-09-08T02:58:00.000-06:00

Sept. 6. Monday morning found us checking out of our hotel in Brussels, stashing our luggage in lockers at the Gare Midi and taking a train the short distance into Payootenland, the heart of the lambic producing region. With really no particular destination in mind, we found ourselves in the village of Beersel, home to the Beersel Castle and the 3 Fonteinen Brewery. A short walk up the hill from brought us to the village centre and the 3 Fonteinen Restaurant. Here we lunched on gueuze infused cheese and salad on their lovely terrace while sampling the draft beers.
We started with the Oude Kriek on tap. Deep, dark red in colour with a thick pink mousse head, a slight Brettanomyces aroma and an initial gentle sourness that grows into the distinctive flavour balanced against sour cherries and the velvety mouthfeel and tiny sweetness in the finish. Next, the Lambiek, also on tap, was simply delightful. Still and deep amber in colour, with some haze and a slight sour nose. An intense bite on first sip that mellows then fills the palate, notes of tart green apple with a bone dry finish.
As we paid our bill, we were informed that the brewery was around back and open that day, and had been all weekend, celebrating the release of a new beer. So, around the corner went. Here found Armand Debelder, the owner, brewer and blender, with his wife Lydia. Armand learned the craft from his father and now brews and blends his own lambics. Or should I say, did… A sad story unfolded as Armand told us of the unfortunate series of events that ruined many, many bottles of gueuze last spring. A malfunctioning thermostat at his bottle aging facility shot up the temperature and ruined everything in storage. For a gueuze brewer/blender, this was not only his stock, but bank account and future. Armand’s standards are high, traditional and unyielding. Unpresentable to the public, he still hoped something might be salvaged. So he decided to distill the entire batch. Over the course of one weekend, many good friends and supporters of the brewer came and helped uncork and dump 60,000 bottles into the distiller. What was created is called Armand’s Spirit, a 40% Eau de Vie, marketed in a unique square bottle. A small taste revealed an uncompromising product of quality, with a noticeable gueuze undertone, that will only get better with age. Despite his challenges ahead, Armand is a gracious host and presented us with a tour of his cellar, where we tasted his sublime Lambiek straight out f the cask. Our discussions continued as we returned to the tiny terrace and sampled a few more delights with some newcomers.
HORAL is the organization of Lambic producers in Belgium, and last year they pulled together eight brewers to contribute to a bottle conditioned Oude Geuze Mega Blend [see Beer of the Day, Sept. 6] to celebrate the Toer de Geuze – one weekend each spring when many lambic breweries are open to the public . Armand opened a bottle for tasting - amazing! Also presented was the Faro on tap, a lambic blended with candy sugar at bottling. This produces a more balanced product in terms of sourness verses sweetness. Both elements are present on the palate at the same time, enhancing each other nicely. It pours with a rather porous head and finishes with a subdued sour sweetness.Quite surprisingly good, not as sweet as expected. Last, but certainly not least was the Straffe Winter 8%, not strictly a traditional product, since it is brewed with some non-traditional ingredients. This is a stunning beer, with all the qualities of traditional gueuze, but strong and with the complexity of the brewer’s art on display. Big frothy head, deep amber colour, it had all of the qualities of an excellent gueuze, but it is a bigger, more complex brew, that hides it’s strength well. Truly a special treat.
Since most of the cafes and breweries in the area are closed on Mondays (little did we know) we spent all our time at 3 Fonteinen. We wish Armand and his wife all the best. Even though he has sold his brewing equipment and Boon in neighbouring Lambeek is producing his lambics at this point, there is hope that he may resurrect this famous little brewery. It would be a great loss to the world of brewing to lose the name 3 Fonteinen.

Sunday, Last Day of Beer Fest

2010-09-07T06:08:00.003-06:00

So, some details about the Brussels Beer Weekend 2010…
They have quite an intriguing, though initially confusing system of tickets for dealing with glassware at the festival. Glass tokens are bought for 2 Euros. Beer tickets are straight forward, they are 1 Euro each, some beers being 2 tickets, some being as much as 4 or 5 for the higher end brands. However, being in Belgium, each beer, of course, is served in its own glass, so you must submit your token in order to get a glass for the beer you are drinking at each booth and you must return your glass to the same booth you got it from. This sounds very civilized at first, until you realize that most people would then hang out at that booth until they finished their beer, in order to return the glass, retrieve their token and move on.
Friday night showed us how chaotic the festival can be. First off, it appeared security was a bit overwhelmed. Way too many people were allowed into the fenced off area on the Grand Place, and people were literally shoulder to shoulder. Getting a beer and returning the glass was a challenge, never mind going against the flow to try and make it to a booth you wanted to visit. It wasn’t long before the grounds were packed and the gates were closed, and anyone leaving the area to use the WC were not allowed back in. Saturday seemed to have security more on the ball, but by the time we got there in the mid-afternoon, there were huge line-ups waiting to get in as others left. Needless to say, we did not get in. We returned on Sunday however, at the 11 am opening, and spent a pleasant number of hours freely floating from booth to booth, meeting wonderful people from all over the world, before the crowds started to thicken once again. Especially friendly and interesting were a couple we met from the Netherlands and a group of Icelanders, who seemed quite pleased and intrigued to run into two beer geeks from Canada who traveled all this way to attend the festival. All in all, it was a fantastic festival, and an absolute must for anyone wanting to experience the world of Belgian beer. There were of course blond, amber, dark and white beers, Trappists and lambics, Flanders reds and oud bruins, pilsners and stouts and many beers that defied categorization. Rare and special beers seemed to go in the first hour every day (everyone wanted to try the limited quantities of Westvleteren, for example). In total, there were over 50 breweries represented serving more than 350 beers. We concentrated on beers we’d never had or never heard of, or on fresh drafts versions of brews we only get as bottled varieties in Canada. Still, there was little time to try them all, but we were valiant in our efforts and did not come away disappointed.

Saturday Beer Bar Crawl

2010-09-05T15:22:00.005-06:00

Saturday turned into an amazing day. It started out with a short walk to one of the last traditional gueuze makers in Belgium - Cantillon, family owned since its inception in 1900. They offer a self guided tour of their unique facility, from mash tun to barrels to bottles, at the end of which guests are offered two tastes of their amazing products. Here we met two more Canadians, both in town for the beer festival - Cheri from Beerbistro in Toronto and Gisele from Stella's in Vancouver, both well informed enthusiasts and excellent companions as we sampled the house Gueuze and the puckering Framboise.
Neil then mentioned that one of the best beer bars in town, Moeder Lambic Fontainas was somewhere close by. In fact, Paul figured out it was just a few steps away from our hotel. How convenient! 46 beers on tap and 6 hand pumped casks, many of them lambics, plus a special list of brews brought in just for the Brussels Beer Weekend. We were in heaven!
We ordered Cantillon's Fou' Foune 2008 (sour, sour and more sour!), St. Lamvinus 2009 (made with merlot grapes), Cantillon Mamouche and Dri Fonteinen Lambic 2009 (both delicious!) to start. One of the owners, Jean, brought over our beers himself, after hearing us talk enthusiasticly about the sour beers on his menu, then sat down and joined us, telling us many tales of the Belgian brewing scene and his special connection to the lambic brewers. A very knowledgeable friendly and well spoken man, he treated us to a bottle of Beer Bera 2009 from Italy, a wonderful brew that none of us had ever heard of. But the beer that really caught our palates was the cask conditioned La Mummia 2008 (from Montegioco in Italy), also from Italy. Rather still, but complex, displaying many lambic qualities, musty aroma and with undertones of wine and wood. Wow, what a first visit to this exceptional bar.
Paul and I then went on what became a night of pub crawling. Next stop was the Poechenellekelder, a famous little cafe with a large terrace right across from the Manneken Pis. Paul enjoyed a Vieil Orval (aged a minimum of six months in a cave) while I tried the rather hoppy Hopus, poured tall in a beautiful glass with a side shot glass of the yeasty sediment from the bottom of the bottle. Yummy! A large bottle of IV Saison from the Brasserie de Jandrain helped us finish the afternoon, and as night began to fall, we continued on our way. Next stop was a traditional little Flemish cafe tucked away down a short dark alley, A La Becasse. Here we sampled a selection of rather sweetish Timmerman products, a Lambic Doux, a Kriek and, our favourite, the quite lovely and well balance Bourgogne de Flanders. We then made our way to the dark and sweltering cellar known as the Port Noire. Crowded and smoky, we managed to taste a few beers before the heat and the noise drove us out. I enjoyed a raspberry infused Grisette Fruit de Bois and the extra hoppy Taras Boulba, while Paul went for St. Feullieu Tripel and a Barbar Blonde Honey Ale. If that wasn't enough, we just had to stop in at Moeder Lambic for a night cap. The Saison de Dottiguies and Adelardus Brune made sure we slept like babes that night,

Opening Day of Brussels Beer Weekend

2010-09-04T00:43:00.000-06:00

First thing this morning we ran into a lovely couple, Neil & Nicole from Toronto, who, fresh from their honeymoon in Paris, were now in Brussels to attend the Beer Festival. We decided to have lunch together, and after comparing notes we all hiked to the Upper Town in search of the Ultimate Hallucination - a wonderful Art Deco restaurant that specializes in Belgian beers. Alas, we found the address, but they were not open for lunch. Instead, we opted for another local spot called Le Bier Circus, not far away. Good choice! Neil had a beer he'd been waiting to try Mariage Parfait, a marvelous bottle conditioned Oud Gueuze from Boon, while Nicole went for the fruity Kriek. Paul and I went for the fresh draft. His a lovely hoppy glass of La Chouffe's Houblon Double IPA, me a rather still, but stunning Girardin Kriek Lambic direct from a cask. Hmmm, heavenly! Paul also tried the 10% La Rulles Grand Dix, as close to a Tripel as you can get, without calling it one. From here we wondered back into the winding streets of the city centre to prepare for the opening festivities of the first evening of the Beer Festival. And what an opening night it was, as patrons jostling elbow to elbow, in a very friendly way, like fish swimming upstream, trying for the beers they love most. After a while it did seem like no one was keeping a count of how many were in the crowd, and alas to anyone if they had to find the WC, as security was not letting anyone back in, realizing at last that there were perhaps too many people inside the gate. The Trappist booth seemed to be one of the most popular, but it was crowded whatever you went for, whether the Duchesse de Bourgogne fresh on tap, or the mysterious Black Hole lager from the Roman brewery. We met people from all over the world, who I'm sure, like us, will be back Saturday afternoon for more.

First Day in Bruxelles

2010-09-03T09:51:00.000-06:00

We arrived in Brussels on a lovely warm Fall morning, sunny with blue skies. After making our way from the airport to our hotel via train, we decided the best place to start of tour of 'the city of beer' would be the famous Mort Subite. Located a short walk from the Grand Place, we sat down in the mirrored lined and somewhat dimly lit room and enjoyed a bottled conditioned Mort Subite Gueuze. While sipping and marveling over this uniquely Belgian delight, I noticed a gentleman at the next table who seemed vaguely familiar to me. Sure enough, when I approached his table, it was, Charlie Papazian - long time publisher, beer writer and brew guru to a generation of home brewers and beer enthusiasts. He said he was one of a number of invited guests attending the 12th annual Brussels Beer Weekend. Wishing him well, we went on way, through the tiny, winding cobblestone streets of the city centre. Everywhere you turn is a pub, a cafe or a restaurant, beers and daily specials posted on chalk boards or in windows. It is very difficult in this city NOT to find a good place to have a great beer. So, we visited quite a few.
Les Brasseurs de la Grand Place was our next stop - the only actual brewpub in Brussels. They serve four of their own wonderful beers: a crisp and light bodied Blonde, a well balance Amber, a malt accented Dark and a mysteriously spiced Tripel (our favourite). My traveling and beer hunting companion Paul Geneau and I then decided it was time for food, and so we found ourselves at Cafe Leon, one of many small resto-cafes in the heart of the old city, enjoyed their house beer, Biere Leon, and some much needed sustenance. The rest of the evening was spent at various cafes, sampling some of our favourite Belgian brews and people watching, as the streets filled with club goers, tourists and locals looking to relax. It was 2 am before we knew it. Not so jet lagged as we thought!