New beergeek.TV Episode - Seattle (0)

This post was written by Chris
Posted 6 May, 2008 in Year in Beer, Pacific Northwest, North American Travel

“Seattle Revisted” is the latest Year in Beer episode of One Pint at a Time.

We’ll be the first to admit that we were skeptical of Seattle’s lofty beer reputation. We’ll also admit that it was mainly due to a lack of knowledge about the extent of their beer scene.

We knew we needed to blaze a non-tourist path to really experience Seattle’s beer culture. That’s why we enlisted the help of our friend, Chris Devlin, to show us a local’s perspective.

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For all the episodes of One Pint at a Time go to beergeekTV.

My Top 10 List (0)

This post was written by Merideth
Posted 4 May, 2008 in On the homefront

It seems like everyone has a “Best of” list these days. VH1 has the top 100 celebrity scandals. People magazine has the 25 most beautiful people. And All About Beer recently listed the top 125 beer places to go before you die. To me, these lists invoke fervent disagreement, as well as bewilderment about inclusions on the list, exclusions from the list, and the order in which things are ranked. Chris, however, believes that these lists spur lively discussion and healthy debate. Jumping on the keg wagon, we decided that we should create thebeergeek.com’s Top 10 Beer Experiences. However, that was much easier said than done.

Judging by our own attempt to develop a list, I think we were both right. First, the disagreements. We could not decide on whether the list would involve places, events, or activities. Chris felt that they could not be mixed. To him, it’s like mixing hefeweizens and stouts. I disagreed and cited a black and tan as a way to combine differing things into one great whole.

Disagreement number two, should the list be personal beer experiences or ones that other people could recreate. Chris fell on the side of creating a list of experiences that other people could do themselves. I opted for events that meant something to me in terms of my own growth as a craft beer appreciator.

Our not yet developed list did create lively discussion and healthy debate about our favorite places, our most memorable events, and the beer activities we enjoy most. In the end, however, we could not decide on the criteria for one list, so we decided to each have our own. Look for Chris to post his list soon.

So here are my Top 10 Beer Experiences:

10. Oregon Brewer’s Festival - Each of the 8 times we have attended, something fun has happened. Whether it was going on a Rogue cruise, being part of the kazoo parade, or meeting new friends. It has never disappointed.

9. The Black Rose in Boston on St. Patrick’s Day - There is nothing like getting there early in the day and staying on into the night. It’s festive, you never get bored, and unless you are more of a wallflower than we used to be, you can’t help but meet someone new.

8. Oktoberfest - I know that this is probably blasphemy, since Oktoberfest is #1 for most people. Don’t get me wrong, Oktoberfest is a must see, but it just feels a little touristy to me. Having said that, I will say that walking into our first tent within the first few hours of the festival on the first day of our first ever visit as a guy was being wheeled out on a gurney is pretty darn close to a #1 beer experience.

7. Weisses Brauhaus in Munich - Now this is a true German beer experience. It’s busy and the matronly waitresses are very sassy and somewhat intimidating. I love it! Well, after multiple trips, I now love it. I used to dread ordering a beer, but I get less and less afraid of the waitresses each time I go.

6. The Bergkirchweih - This is the “real” Bavarian beer festival in my book. It has a true neighborhood feel and few tourists. Plus, it is just as festive, but much more manageable than Oktoberfest.

5. Gus O’Connor’s Pub in Doolin, County Clare, Ireland during the Gaelic Athletic Association finals 2002- This was being in the right place at the right time. County Clare was in the finals and the atmosphere was lively. We met cool people, learned about the sport of hurling, and danced a few jigs (me, not Chris).

4. Brauerei Ayinger Aying, Germany- Meeting members of the family really brought the Bavarian brewing tradition home to me. We see several hundred year old breweries frequently and hear about how they have been run by the same family for all that time. But here I got to actually meet the family and hear their history. For the first time, I truly understood the meaning of brewing pride and tradition.

3. La Baladin, Piozzo, Italy - Finding this brewery is one of my favorite tales of beer travel. Winding through the narrow stereotypically Italian streets and coming out onto the town piazza was a very cool experience. When we arrived, there were few people, but in no time it seemed like the whole town was there.

2. Ferme Brasserie la Chapelle in La Chapelle St. Ouen, France- This is another great beer travel experience for me. We weren’t sure we would be able to find it and if we did, would it even be open for tasting. We did find it and we arrived a mere 1/2 hour late for the one day a week that they offer tours and tasting. The tour was in French, a language we don’t understand, and I think we were the butt of some friendly joking about our complete lack of understanding of what was being said. That made it all the more fun.

1. Alpine hiking - This, in my opinion, is the best experience I have ever had in my life. The Alps are flippin’ incredible and I am in complete awe every time I see them. Then to actually hike the mountains is a labor of love in heaven. To top it off, there are huts that serve beer and food. Alpine hiking combines all the best things in life and I highly recommend it to anyone.

So that’s my list and I’m stickin’ to it. It was a difficult list to compile and ranking them was even harder. There are some of you out there who will disagree with my choices, but Chris will be posting his soon and I’m sure that between the two lists, there will be something to satisfy everyone.

The Year in Beer May Preview - Franconia (0)

This post was written by Chris
Posted 1 May, 2008 in Year in Beer, Germany, European Travel

The Year in Beer gets cranked up a notch as we make our first of five trips to Europe this year. The May edition of the YiB visits the Franconia area of Germany, one of the richest beer brewing regions in the world. And to top that off, we will finish up with a YiB side trip with our friends Ute and Wolfgang, catching three Flogging Molly shows on successive nights.

Not having the time to explain the geopolitical history of Franconia, for the sake of this preview just think of it as an area that stretches across several German states including northern Bavaria. Sprinkled throughout the region are some 300 breweries making some of the best beer in the world. And you wonder why we keep going back?

We will get 12-15 new breweries which puts both of us within striking distance of 400 breweries. [For those having nothing to do at the end of July, I anticipate both us reaching the milestone in Portland.]

Our trip begins with a return to the second largest beer festival in Germany, the Bergkirchweih Beer Festival in Erlangen. We had a such a good time last year at “the Berg” we wanted to go back. And with almost a year of video experience behind us now, maybe we will be able to do it a bit more justice.

We will also be returning to Bamberg to hit two of the breweries we missed last year. And maybe we can even find the ’secret brewery’ that eluded us in 2007.

And we finish up the Franconian portion of the trip with a pilgrimage to Rodental, the home of the Hummel figurine factory.

We will also introduce you to one of the greatest inventions known to mankind; the brewery-hotel. While there are a few here and there in North America, there are hundreds of them in Germany.

Usually family-owned, we have stayed at a number of the brewery-hotels and find them to be the nicest, cleanest and least expensive accommodations in Germany. And since they make their own beer there isn’t too far to stumble from the biergarten or braustubl to your room. We will be staying at two of them during the trip.

After our whirlwind tour of Franconia we have another YiB side trip, meeting up with Ute and Wolfgang in Cologne for the first of three Flogging Molly shows on successive nights. Besides being huge FM fans, we are also huge fans of Kolsch, the native beer of Cologne. And Ute says she knows a place where we can get pints. The little glasses are cute but it is only two gulps for me. It gets annoying when you have to reorder every other minute.

The second show is in Munich where we are very excited to show our German friends our favorite haunts in that great city. Merideth is particularly excited to bring Wolfie to Weisses Brauhaus where the matronly waitresses can sometimes get a bit snarkey. I think we are also going to try to go to the brewpub at Munich airport.

Finally, the last show is in Vienna… our first visit to this historic city. No time to sightsee though… there are two brewpubs to hit plus the Flogging Molly show.

All and all, a beer filled trip worthy of the Year in Beer.

On an administrative note, we have made every effort to blog on each day of our YiB trips but this might come to an end. I am just not sure of our Internet access but we will make every effort to keep up our practice of posting daily.