Highway 1 Brewing. Aptly named

The first stop on our outing was Highway 1 Brewing Company in Pescadero. The opening of this brewery seemed to come out of nowhere. No buzz beforehand. No waiting with baited anticipation for opening day. Jeff Page, the brewer/owner, later explained it to us. The whole endeavor came together in just six months. With speed like that, there wasn’t any time to get the word out. But make no mistake, this brewery would definitely live up to any hype a PR marketing firm would have built had there been time.

The view from the bar at Highway 1

An hour and a half from our house, the views along Highway 1 north of Santa Cruz are gorgeous. And so is the view from the brewery. Although it’s on the other side of the highway, the views of the Pacific Ocean are unimpeded and the large front windows allow the beautiful scenery to come through. Wherever you sit at Highway 1 Brewing, the bar or restaurant, you’ll be delighted with what you see. Even the cars driving along the road proved to be only slightly distracting.

Beer…

This husband and wife operation (Jeff does the brewing, while Melissa oversees the kitchen) is cozy and inviting. In addition to the great beer, the food and the wooden interior reflect a comforting, welcoming feel. On the day of our visit, Highway 1 Brewing had 3 of their own beers on tap and several guest craft beers. I especially enjoyed the Knuckle Down Brown, with its smooth milk chocolatey flavor. With no IPA on tap, Chris opted for a pint of the Pepper on the Rye, a 6.1% malty rye brewed with peppercorns. The peppercorn flavor was forward without being overbearing, giving it a spicy flare. We also tried the Rock Queen Pale, described on the menu as a “pale ale with an overdosing of Centennial hops.” All of the beers were very well done and very tasty.

Lunch…

A bit too early in the day for a full meal, I chose an appetizer of beer battered green beans with spicy aioli. Wow! Had my mother prepared these when I was a kid, I would have definitely eaten more veggies. Chris enjoyed his chile verde pork street tacos, which also looked very good. I really wish I had been hungrier, though, because one item on the menu stood out like no other: Hop-Fried Chicken, buttermilk marinated chicken infused with whole cone hops. I guess that means another visit is in order. Next time I’ll go on an empty stomach.

Conveniently located right on Highway 1 just north of Año Nuevo and the Pie Ranch, it’s easy to make a whole day of going to this brewery. There’s no tweeting in real time, however, because there’s no service up there.

Discretion Brewing

Making our way back south, our next highly anticipated stop was at Discretion Brewing in Soquel. We had two people on our KRML radio show from the brewery, Dustin and Michael, during our beer hiatus which just built the anticipation more.

All shiny and new

Set back from 41st Avenue, the building just screamed new. And not in a bad way. I especially like their motto (“Wisdom. Wit. Kindness. Beer.”) and the logo of a man with gears crankin’ inside his head. This, is a thinking (wo)man’s brewery!

The exterior is a vibrant red color and the soon-to-be re-opened outside seating area is just to the left of the entrance. A permitting issue misunderstanding caused the closure, but they are busy rectifying it. I look forward to having Porter and Stout join us out there.

Inside, we found a bustling tasting room. Thankfully our friends Sean and Fran from Hollister Hills Taproom & Brewery had arrived earlier and saved us some seats at the bar.

Sample flight at Discretion Brewing. Extra credit for muffin tray

We started out with a flight of 5 beers. While all the beers were very good, I quickly discovered it was a Brown kind of day for me and I ordered a pint of Song in Your Heart, a 4% British-Style Mild Brown Ale. The German-style Pilsner, Shimmer Pils, was also at the top of my list at Discretion. Chris was happy as they had an IPA, Uncle Dave’s Rye IPA to be exact, coming in at 7% ABV.

Beers with friends at Discretion

With multiple people behind the small-ish bar, the service was attentive and friendly. My only complaint is that they were temporarily out of growlers, so I was unable to buy one of the Brown. Last I heard, however, Discretion Brewing is back in the growler business. I think that calls for a return visit.

The happy family at Sante Adirius

Not finished with our beer day, the four of us decided to make a stop at Sante Adairius on our way back to the other side of the Monterey Bay. We’ve written about them before and I could go on for days about my love of Sante Adairius, so I won’t go into it again. But I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed my Bernice Batch #3 and my absolute favorite of theirs, Joe Chavez. It was a dog-filled afternoon, with Porter and Stout joining several other pups in the tasting room as Chris sipped on his 831 IPA.

Easily located along Highway 1, these three breweries made the perfect beer tour route. Whether you’re a tourist or a local, cruzin’ along this coastal beer trail is fun and relaxing, indeed!

View all the images from our day…

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Nice start to our London visit

“800!” is the latest episode of One Pint at a Time.

Getting back to London to explore its fast growing beer scene was always something in the backs of our minds. With another brewery century-mark within reach, it seemed like the perfect time to return to British capital.

With a whole week in the city, Merideth and I had a long list of beer-related and tourist things on our agenda. But with London’s exploding beer scene we hardly found time to play normal tourist. And we only made a dent in our beer list.

So enjoy our latest milestone beer adventure…

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

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Hanging at Brew Wharf on a Friday morning
Photo by Phil Lowry

We started our Friday with an early morning meet up with our friend Phil Lowry at Brew Wharf near Borough Market. Phil asked us to join him and Angelo Scarnera, Brew Wharf’s head brewer, as they brewed up something tasty. In the end, we didn’t help much (except to confirm that using Pioneer hops was a good idea), but we had a lovely morning catching up with Phil, debating American beer politics, and discussing the explosion in the London beer scene.

While hanging out at Brew Wharf, we talked with Phil about our day’s plans which were somewhat in flux. All Chris and I knew was that we wanted to end up at Duke’s Brew & Que, home to Beavertown Brewery. Phil suggested we walk the almost three mile route. Taking up his suggestion, we headed out into the cold. It was a great way to get a bit of exercise and see more parts of the city, especially the up and coming Shoreditch area.

Stumbling upon a beer festival

From a number of friends, we had heard about an inaugural beer festival, Craft Beer Rising, that was happening Friday and Saturday. As luck would have it, our path to Beavertown took us past the festival.

Forty-five minutes after leaving Brew Wharf, we arrived at the historic Old Truman Brewery in East London’s Brick Lane. In the last dozen years, the vacant and derelict buildings on the 10-acre site have been refurbished and transformed into spectacular office, retail, leisure and event spaces. We were initially confused about where to go, but a security doorman pointed us in the right direction. Up a short set of dark stairs, we found ourselves at the entrance of a large white-washed warehouse.

My beer of the Fest… Thornbridge Tzara

Similar of our experience at Great British Beer Festival, we were initially confused by the unfamiliar selection of beers. While there were familiar names like Brains, Brewdog, Fullers and Thornbridge, we were completely at a loss with Two Cocks, Penpont, Offbeat and Dorset. Wanting to try new beers, we ended up randomly guessing based mainly on brewery or beer names catching our eye.

In the end, we sampled over a dozen beers. And despite trying a number of new beers, our stars came from a brewery we were already familiar with. Being a good Californian, Chris’ favorite beer was the keg version Thornbridge Halcyon, a very West Coast Style 7.4% ABV Imperial IPA. With a tagline of “hops, hops & more hops,” Chris also liked the 5.5% ABV Thwaites Thirteen Guns, which was served in the cask room. True to my love for German-styles, my star also came from Thornbridge: Tzara, a wonderfully crisp 4.8% ABV Köln style beer.

A great bar policy

Having had our fill of English craft beer, we strolled down Brick Lane passing Shoreditch’s numerous hipster vintage clothing shops to arrive at the Brewdog Bar. I admit that I would have loved to stop in those shops, but Chris was on a mission and I know better than to interrupt a beergeek on a mission.

Despite not being a big beer-type of girl, I was looking forward to going to the Brewdog Bar. It seemed my best opportunity to try some of their not-so-wild-and-crazy beers that I know they have. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out that way, but it was a great stop nonetheless.

My first Brewdog bar

The bar was spacious and the wall of large windows added to the light feel of the place. I imagine it can get pretty packed, but on this late-Friday afternoon, there were only a handful of people chatting quietly over pints. Being Brewdog, there was the potential for this ultra-hip bar to be pretentious. While the bartenders were very hip looking and could easily fit in at Toronado, they were also surprisingly patient and helpful. With their help, I opted for the Libertine Black Ale. At 7%, it was a dark, rich and roasty beer with a heavy mouth feel. The bite of the Simcoe hops came through with a bitterness that proved too much for me.  Chris helped me finish it after polishing off his Punk IPA.

Our stop at Brewdog was short and sweet and after just one beer, we were on our way to the final stop of our day: Duke’s Brew & Que, home to the Beavertown Brewery. Earlier in the day, Phil had confirmed that it was a great place to go. We hit the pavement to head to De Beauvoir Town.

Pint please…

We arrived around 4:30pm and food (awesome tasting Southern BBQ) didn’t start until 5pm. No worries, though. We sat down at a table near the bar and warmed up a bit over a few beers. Chris started with a beer from their regular line-up: Neck Oil, a 4.3% Black Country Best Bitter on cask. With some of the highest ABV’s we’d seen on the whole trip, I opted for the  6% Saison 34, a recently released experimental beer from the brewery’s Alpha Series. Using the Dupont strain of yeast, this beer was great!

Cheers to Beavertown!

I can’t say enough good things about Duke’s and Beavertown Brewery. With rustic wooden floors and the smoky smell of BBQ, the atmosphere was warm and inviting. The bartender Elle was super friendly and very helpful (even before we broke out the bottle of Pliny the Elder). As 5 o’clock approached and the dinner hour was commencing, the place started to fill up. It is very family friendly without being annoying and it gives you the sense of hanging out at a friend’s party.

Tight quarters in the Duke’s kitchen

We had a chance to chat with owner/brewer Logan Plant. He was very humble and spent probably 30-45 minutes chatting and tasting beers with us.

Among the tasty treats were Black Betty (7.4% black IPA), Smog Rocket (5.4% smoked porter), and 8-Ball Rye IPA, a 50 IBU 6.2% beer described as being a “mash up of sweet Carapils, spicy Rye and zest West Coast hops.” All of the beers were top-notch and the amazing thing is that the 4bbl brewhouse sits in the kitchen across from the BBQ smokers. (Note: The brewery has recently moved to a larger space, but Duke’s will continue to be Beavertown’s official tap.)

Dinner!

For dinner, we chose the BBQ platter called Duke’s Greatest Hits. It included beef rib, pork rib and pulled pork served with coleslaw, pickled red onions, 2 different BBQ sauces & Texas garlic toast. Everything tasted great and although it was very filling, we couldn’t pass up the “Chocolate Salami” dessert. Cheeky sounding, I know, and we really had no idea what to expect. It turned out to be slices of chocolate rolls, one black and one white, both delicious!

It was a wonderfully cozy end to a fun day. Overall, our London trip had felt like one big meet up with friends, whether the people were new friends, acquaintances or longtime mates of ours, we thoroughly enjoyed sharing beers with everyone. Before our trip, I had thought that London was not one of my favorite places to go (primarily because real ale is not my preferred beer), but my opinion has completely changed. With such an explosion in craft breweries, there is something for everyone’s taste. Even mine. Cheers to one and all for the warm hospitality and a jolly good time!

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Lunch at Borough Market

Our lazy 800 milestone day got a late start while Merideth slept in and I finished the first trip travelogue. Finally managing to leave our apartment around noon, Merideth and I headed for London Bridge and Borough Market for some lunch to fuel our day.

By the time we arrived, Borough Market was already mobbed with Londoners and tourists, flocking around the myriad of food stalls looking for lunch. Pies, soup, and oysters were among the many choices that were before us. After much soul searching, I went with the pork sausage with onions and Merideth the pork burger with blue cheese.

Lunch done, we walked a few yards over to the Rake. With a great beer selection and WiFi, The Rake had become our unofficial London headquarters. Like days previous, we popped in to get warm, drink a few halves, check email, social media and most important, plan the afternoon’s activities. With a 5pm tour for our 800th, Camden Town, we still had a whole afternoon. Looking at my list of breweries and pubs, the nearby Dean Swift jumped out as our next stop.

Our on way to the Dean Swift

Joined by our friend Paul, we set out on to the windy and cold streets of Southwark. Leaving London Bridge behind us, our trio walked east along Tooley Street. Paul pointed out various landmarks such as City Hall. More interesting to us, we passed the historic Anchor Brewhouse.

The Anchor Brewhouse began as a small brewery purchased by John Courage in 1787. The current structure, a very impressive, massive, brick building, dated from the late 19th century. While it has long ceased being a brewery, on our big day, it was nice to see some London brewing history.

Located down the street and around the corner from Anchor Brewhouse, the Dean Swift was a brightly lit, airy pub. It’s bistro-like feel made it all the more confusing when Paul said this used to be a rough neighborhood. Mid afternoon, it was very quiet, only a singular customer pecking away on his laptop in the corner.

A pint of the Redemption Big Chief please…

The Dean Swift had an excellent selection of beer, both real ale and keg. Though we were going there next, Merideth was happy to see Camden Town’s 7 Hop Lager on keg. I started with Big Chief from Redemption, a delicious 5.5% ABV Kiwi-hopped IPA.

Hanging with Spizz
Photo by Paul Daly

One of the unexpected highlights of our Dean Swift stop was meeting Spizz for the second time. One of the many entertaining characters in Teachings from the Tap, Spizz, with his punk band Spizzenergi, had a #1 hit on the Indie chart in the late 1970s, “Where’s Captain Kirk?“. Quite a characer, Spizz was just as charming and humorous as we remembered him from 2008.

We also learned a valuable lesson. There is a big difference between our English and English. The term “spastic” apparently has a slightly different meaning in England than here in America. If Merideth writes another book, she won’t make the same mistake again. Thanks for understanding, Spizz!

An impressive row of fermenters at Camden Town

We took an alternate route to our 8ooth, Camden Town Brewery. Occupying a number of railway arches below Kentish Town West Overground station, we ended up on the Tube on our way up from the Dean Swift. Disembarking at Kentish Town, we walked the ten minutes to the brewery. Turning down Wilkin Street Mews, we saw five shiny, huge fermenters sitting outside of the brewery. It was kind of a ‘wow’ moment as I’m not sure we expected such a large setup, especially since all of our other brewery visits had been significantly smaller operations.  Passing the fermenters, we entered the tasting room already buzzing with early evening drinkers.

Brewery tour at Camden Town

We quickly found our guide, Mark Dredge, who was kind enough to give us a private tour for our 800th brewery. As Mark took us from the brew kit to the bottling line, two things stood out for me. First, the large amount of brewing equipment they squeezed into a few railway arches was quite amazing. Second, we saw no casks. Camden Town is part of the keg revolution in England. Merideth couldn’t have been more excited!

Celebrating 800 together in our cool safety glasses

After the short brewery tour, we retired back to to the red light-bathed tasting room. Set up with a six beer flight, we each took a quick sip of the Helles. And 800 was officially in the books. Focusing back on the flight, the other five ranged from a couple of Wheats and Pale Ale on the lighter end of the spectrum to a Stout and Doppelbock on the darker side.

The star was the wonderful crisp 4.6% ABV Helles. Probably Merideth’s favorite beer of the trip, my only disappointment was that I didn’t get to try it next to US Helles, Camden Town’s American-hopped version of the same beer. Also of note was Ink, a roasty 4.4% ABV Stout poured on nitro.

Given that we celebrated 700 this time last year, we were quite proud of reaching 800 breweries. It was extra special that Merideth and I shared the milestone moment together, I think for the first time ever. Thanks to our London friends who helped us: Paul for being a great tour guide, Mark for letting tag along for his visits to Pressure Drop and Brew By Numbers, and Tanya for being fun to have a pint with. It’s now time to focus on 900!

View all the images from our 800th brewery day…

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A nice day along the Thames

Alighting the train at the Richmond tube stop in the town center, Merideth and I got our bearings and followed the signs for the Thames riverfront. Being half-term (a time when kids are out of school), affluent Richmond bustled with families walking its streets. Within just a few minutes, we were walking along the river towards Kew Green.

Breaking the tranquility

As luck would have it, the day we chose for our Thames walk was the nicest of the trip. With temperatures seemingly approaching 50°F, I wondered if I should have worn the one pair of shorts that I had packed. Merideth, however, thought I was a bit daft, as it really wasn’t THAT warm.

Once we left the crowded path around Richmond, we were flanked on the left by the Thames and on the right by Old Deer Park, a huge expanse of green. Meandering through intermittent woods, it was quite tranquil, except for the constant roar of air traffic landing at Heathrow about ten miles away.

One of the many Green Parakeets

Following along the Thames, the path teemed with bird life. Swans, geese, ducks and especially gulls were prevalent in the water and along the shore. Egrets were nesting high in trees or hunting along the water edge. We heard the shrill of a parrot, something very familiar in our household. Apparently, the Richmond area is home to a large population of green parakeets (not our kind of parakeets, these are medium-sized parrots). Our ornithology adventure culminated with seeing a kestrel, a few feet away, unsuccessfully nab a rodent and then sit on a fence long enough for me to snap a photo.

Eventually, we reached an open space with family-filled picnic tables. Signalling our return to civilization, this was the famous Kew Gardens. Off in the distance at the end of a long, narrow green, we could see the iconic Palm House. Soon we passed the large parking lot and a short time later, we arrived at Kew Green. Its large open space and country village-like feel made it hard to remember we were only a few minutes from central London.

The atrium in the Botanist

Directly across Kew Green was our reward, The Botanist, an aptly named brewpub. Arriving a bit past noon, we were the first customers of the day. A glass atrium filled with dried hops dominated the entrance with a bar of hand pumps underneath. All manner of signage filled the room, telling us about being brewer for a day, explaining our three glassware choices, and to keep calm.

We settled at a high table just across from the bar and ordered a five beer flight. The brews ranged from a golden-hued Wheat, Kew Green, to Nemophila, a deep-brown Stout. To remind us we were in England, there was Maximus, a 5.8% ABV “Imperial” Red. All the beers were solid.

Lunch at the Botanist

With my yummy Croque Madame, basically a grilled cheese sandwich with fried egg on top, I paired the Humulus Lupulus. If it had been brewed in the States with a name like Humulus Lupulus, the brew would be a 10% ABV bomb hopped to the hilt with every trendy hop. At The Botanist, it was an easy-drinking, brightly-hopped 3.8% refresher. Merideth, also enjoying the Croque Madame and paired it with “65″, a malty, deep amber-colored English Mild.

Lunch and beers finished, we needed to head back to central London. It was a short walk to the Kew Gardens tube station thus completing our walk. I could easily see us repeating this walk in the future, especially on a nice summer day.

View all the images from our Richmond to Kew Green walk…

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Many of these new breweries have made the London borough of Hackney their home. Consulting with our friend and London beer guide Paul, we decided a six brewery tour of Hackney would be a good first day outing to see what was going on in London.

Tap East at Westfield

With our jet lag, it was admittedly a bit rough to make our late morning meeting at the Westfield Mall in Stratford City. Adding to the jarring experience was that our first stop, Tap East, was all away on the opposite side of a shopping mall from the Tube stop. Bright lights, loud music and sensory overload was compounded by hordes of children clamoring to go into the Lego shop and toy stores.

First beer of the day, Tonic Ale at Tap East

We found Tap East and eventually Paul at the end of the mall’s upscale food court. Tap East, with its muted colors and eclectic decor, was a contrast and refuge from the bright lights of Westfield Mall.

Tap East had a large range of beers in cask, keg and bottle, some 150 choices in all. But we were there for the house-brewed beers. Of the three choices, I went for Tonic Ale, while Merideth had the Jim Wilson Bitter.

One of the joys of being in England is that the beers are so, so different from what we drink at home in California. Big and bold is replaced by sessionable and subtle. Tonic ale was a perfect example of this. At 3% ABV, the soft, light-bodied, hoppy and refreshing brew was a perfect start to a jet-lagged day of beer drinking.

Crate Brewery, on the canal, in the White Building

Catching the overground, we just had to travel one stop down to get to our second destination of the day, Crate Brewery. Forget the gritty industrial park setting on one side of the building. With its canal-side location and outdoor seating, Crate looked like the perfect stop on a nice summer day. Too bad it was February.

Welcome to the Olympics!

Crate’s tranquil setting along the canal contrasted sharply with the electric fence topped with razor wire on the opposite bank. Reminding both Merideth and me of Derry, interspersed security cameras completed the police-state look. Asking Paul, he explained we were on the edge of the Olympic Park. It was  sobering reminder of the world we live in.

All smiles at Crate

We had heard that Crate could be quite busy. But on a Monday in February we were the only customers besides a gentleman drinking tea. We grabbed seats at one of the long tables with a view of the canal.

Crate had a nice menu of artisan-type pizzas and it probably would have been a good idea to get some food to help us through the day. But lacking the hindsight, we stuck with the beer-only route.

Merideth, already tired of real ale after less than a day, sucked it up and ordered the 4.3% Best Bitter. I bucked the real ale trend and went with Crate’s kegged IPA. A number of new breweries in the UK are forgoing cask only and providing their beers in keg as well. Crate’s keg IPA was much more like what I would get at home, both in terms of mouthfeel and its 5.2% ABV.

Our kind of place…

A further two stops down on the Overground was Hackney Central station, maybe soon to be the epicenter of the London brew scene. A few steps from the station was the Cock Tavern, home to the Howling Hops Brewery.

Walking into the dark tavern, made even dimmer by the dark wood interior, we found only one other customer in the pub. It just happened to be John the Ticker sitting at a table along the wall. (John is one of the many interesting, colorful characters Merideth talks about in Teachings from the Tap).

Still going strong at the Cock Tavern

At this point, Merideth had a revelation. She didn’t have to order full pints, she could order half-pints. She went with the bright and refreshing Duchess, a 4.0% ABV Single Hop Ale that came in a cute tiny dimpled mug (The single hop being Duchess, a trial variety). My choice was the 3.3% ABV Mild Ale. While the pump clip proclaimed “Hopped for Export,” I found the brew to be a nice malty one, with lots of caramel and a hint of roast.

Finishing our beers, we felt the jet lag kicking in. Talking with Paul, we decided to cut the tour from six to five. Command decision made, we headed to our next stop.

A short ten minute walk down Mare Street was London Fields Brewery. As I peered into their closed, under construction tap room, I remembered seeing on Twitter a few days previous that they were reopening the upcoming Saturday. Oops. At least we know where it is, in case we make it back over.

Regents Canal

Joining the canal again on the way to our final stop, I envisioned a summertime return to London featuring a canal-based Urban Beer Hike. Bundled up for the February chill, I imagined myself making the same journey in shorts and a t-shirt on a warm summer evening.

Hackney Brewing

Leaving the canal, we found our last stop, Hackney Brewing, in a railway arch. Only trading since last June, we have to thank the busy Jon and Peter for letting us pop in to see their operation. After chit-chatting about being a new brewery in London, we sampled the very nice Golden Ale and American Pale Ale.

Our day ended with a long walk to the Wenlock Arms and a quick pint. We can’t thank Paul enough for helping us with our Hackney brew tour. Giving blood that night, Paul as a real trooper, sipping on tea or water while we enjoyed beer after beer. That is a true friend!

View all the images from our Hackney Ramblings

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The glamour part of brewing (photo by Ivy Villegas Borges)

Decades later, women are becoming increasingly more visible in the craft beer community: girl beer geeks, homebrewers, professional brewsters, journalists, judges, and Cicerones. And it’s about time we celebrate this!

The weekend before last I had the pleasure of joining a group of women at Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing’s Strong Women Brew Day.  Listed as an SF Beer Week event, the goal of the annual gathering is to encourage women to take up homebrewing and carry on the tradition that strong women drink strong beer.

The day started with a tasty continental breakfast with the brewers. Participants connected with friends and perked up with some freshly brewed local coffee as the brewery’s co-owner Emily Thomas welcomed us and told us about the day. While we were all lollygagging around, Maggie, Emily’s sister and one of SCMB’s brewsters, started her brewday. The work must go on after all!

Learning to brew

Out in the beer garden, Nicole Todd, an SCMB brewer who also sits on the board of Seven Bridges, the local homebrew co-op, commenced her home brew demonstration. This was no stand around and stare at the homebrewer demo, though. Women crowded around Nicole asking questions along the way and scribbling furiously in their notebooks. With no plans to become a homebrewer, I occasionally left Nicole’s presentation to watch Maggie brew inside.

Mid-day, we were treated to a healthy (very Santa Cruz-esque) spread of cheese, fruit, hummus, tahini and pita bread. Samples of Santa Cruz Mountain’s brews also started making it through the crowd. In addition to tasting their regular line up (Wheat, Amber, Pale Ale, IPA, Brown, Stout and Porter), we were also treated to a couple of seasonal beers.

Valentine’s Day release Love Potion, is a beautiful ruby-colored ale brewed with rose hips, hibiscus, and raspberries. Weighing in at a very drinkable 5% ABV and with just a hint of sourness, it was my favorite of the day. Another seasonal offering included in our sampler was Singular Sensation, a single hop amber made with the new organic hop Rakau. A tasty brew with a nice hop flavor (and without the bitterness), it was an easy drinking 6% ABV.

We wrapped up the day in the early afternoon with a big round of applause to ourselves. A day hanging out at Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing with a group of intelligent women serious about beer and brewing was a treat indeed. Be sure to put Strong Women Brew Day on your SFBW calendar for next year. I know I will!

A big thank you to Emily, Maggie, and Nicole for hosting a great day!

View all the images from the brew day…

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A gem in Maryland

“Philly and Beyond” is the latest episode of One Pint at a Time.

One of our lost episodes, we visited the Greater Philadelphia area for a long weekend in the Spring of 2012. It was mainly a trip to visit our friend Andie at Victory Brewing, but we took the opportunity to explore beyond the Keystone State. By traveling just a few hours we experienced the beer scenes in Delaware and Maryland, as well.

So enjoy our beer adventures on the East Coast…

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

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A busy day at the Bstro

Merideth and I have always had a brilliant plan for the Double IPA Fest: show up right at the start when everyone else is still hung over from the opening night. We have the run of the festival for a few hours until mid-afternoon. However, as testament to the draw of SF Beer Week, we arrived at the Bistro a little bit before 11am to find the line already out the front door.

Adjusting to the fact that our plan no longer seemed valid, we joined the line. It moved fairly quickly and in no time I had in my taster glass my traditional DIPA Fest first beer, Pliny the Younger.

The cool morning transformed into a warm, sunny afternoon under brilliant blue skies. Hayward’s blocked off Main Street was soon packed with beer geeks, all enjoying the uber-hoppy brews.

Traditional first beer of the day: Pliny the Younger…

Eighty-two hop monsters were available to sample, including 23 Triple IPAs. I managed to drink 15 of them. My highlight brews were:

• Pliny the Younger, Russian River Brewing
• Double Tap IPA, Berryessa Brewing
• Hop JuJu, Fat Heads
• Citra DIPA, Kern River
• The Roustabout, Societe Brewing

As for awards, Societe’s The Roustabout took gold for Double IPA, followed by Firestone Walker Double Jack and Pliny the Elder. Triple IPA was won by Pliny the Younger with Boneyard’s Notorious and Knee Deep’s Simtra coming in place and show. Kern River’s very popular Citra DIPA was the people’s choice winner.

Congratulations to our friends at Hollister Hills Taproom and Brewery for making their Bistro debut!

It was a great day of hoppy brews, sun and friends. Can’t wait for 2014.

View all the images from the Bistro…

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Sunday morning walk at South Carlsbad State Beach

With a few hours to kill before our first brewery stop, we decided a walk on the beach would be a nice way to start my birthday. South Carlsbad State Beach, only a few miles from our hotel, was a hub of activity when we arrived mid-morning. Joggers crowded the trail on the bluff above the beach and surfers filled the water waiting to ride that next wave. With the temperatures already approaching 80° F, we enjoyed a romantic birthday stroll up and down the beach.

View all the beach walk images…

Societe Brewing

With its reputation, I expected Societe Brewing to be busy when we arrived just after opening time. But the spacious, modern tasting room was surprisingly empty. Then, we remembered the NFC Championship game began at noon. Except for a quartet that arrived while we were sampling, we had the TV-free Societe pretty much all to ourselves.

The barrel room at Societe

There was so much detail in the large, open tasting room. The impressive wood, stainless and tiled bar was what we noticed first. Picnic-style tables filled the space and barrel-inspired art adorned the walls. The glass-encased barrel room with impressive stacks overlooked it all.

Before getting down to trying their beers, we settled the most pressing issue. Was the name pronounced “society” or the Cartman-esque “socie-TAY”? Somewhat to our disappointment, our bartender told us it was was the former, not the later.

Merideth enjoying The Harlot at Societe

Having Russian River Brewing in its pedigree, my expectations were higher than at any other stop that weekend. And Societe did not disappoint from the first beer, 10/19 O’Brien’s Anniversary. A  light-bodied. 5.6% ABV, all Chinook brew, Merideth and I, in a rare occurrence, agreed it was the beer of the trip. The next three samples, the Apprentice, the Pupil and the Harlot, two IPAs and a Belgian-style Extra Pale Ale, were also excellent. The two IPAs were boldly hopped with the malt playing second fiddle very well. By the time we reached the two heavy hitters, The Widow, a 9.2% ABV Belgian Dark and The Butcher, a 9.8% ABV Imperial Stout, we were in love. But with a plane to eventually catch, we needed to move along.

Flight at Rough Draft Brewing

Our next stop,  Rough Draft Brewing, was also sparsely populated despite a couple of TVs showing the 49ers-Falcons game. The narrow industrial space was dominated by the bar on one side and the brewery on the other. The couch area looked particularly comfy but Merideth was quite enamored by the succulent rock gardens at each of the large tables. We set up camp at one of those.

Enjoying the Session IPA at Rough Draft Brewing

From almost a dozen beers on tap, we chose a five flight sampler ranging from a Belgian-style Blond to a Belgian-style Vanilla Stout. Since it was my birthday, I chose three IPAs to go between those bookends. Merideth identified the light-bodied Blond, with spicy yeast notes, as her favorite. Frontal Labottleme IPA and Hop Therapy Double IPA, at 90 and 94 IBUs respectively, had the hop presence that I expected from a San Diego brew. But my star was the aptly named Session IPA. At 4.9% ABV and 43 IBUs, the Citra and Simcoe hops gave the brew a wonderful nose and flavor. Since it was my birthday, I treated myself to a pint.

Last brewery of the trip… Hillcrest

On a trip that at times felt like a grand tour of San Diego County industrial parks, it was nice to finish up our trip in San Diego proper. Located in the hip neighborhood of the same name, Hillcrest Brewing was a fabulous way to bring my birthday trip to a conclusion.

The “world’s first out and proud LGBT brewery,” the bright and open brewpub occupied a prime corner location along University Avenue. Sitting in its sunny and warm patio, we watched the people come and go, up and down the bustling thoroughfare.

Flight at Hillcrest Brewing

With suggestive names like Banana Hammock and Crotch Rocket, it was fun to go through the menu and have a good laugh. But there was more to the beers than sexually suggestive names. Though I have to say, Banana Hammock should have been a Hefeweizen not a Scotch Ale. From the flight, Merideth chose the perfect beer for the day, U-Hawl Hefeweizen. I continued my hop centric mood, enjoying Hoppy Endings, a 7.2% ABV IPA hopped with Summit and Columbus.

Enjoying pizza and beer in their beer garden on a warm January afternoon, Hillcrest was one of the highlight stops of the two day trip.

What a great weekend in San Diego. Happy Birthday to me!

View all the images from our second day in San Diego…

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White Labs

On a glorious Saturday, we began our San Diego beer adventure focused on yeast at White Labs. To much fanfare last year, they opened a tasting room, with in-house brews highlighting their different yeast strains. The beers are dispensed from the 32 taps in the very modern, stainless and stone clad tap room.

An IPA and three Pale Ales at White Labs

Available are multiple versions of the same beer style, each using a different type of yeast. Ideally, each of these brews come from the same batch, easily discernible from the batch number on the electronic tap list. Merideth ordered three versions of Hefeweizen, all from the same batch. She complimented her four beer flight with a Brown Ale. I went with an IPA and three Pale Ales.

I’ll admit that tasting beer at White Labs took a bit of adjustment. Our first reaction was “Wow, these beers are kind of plain…” Then we remembered that they were brewed to highlight the yeast, so no big malt or hop flavors. From overhearing other conversations, we quickly learned the proper vocabulary, declaring all our samples “very clean.”

Hess Brewing, San Diego’s original nano-brewery

It was only a short distance to our next stop Hess Brewing. Famous for being San Diego’s first licensed nano-brewery, Hess will soon be graduating to the world of the big boys, opening a 30-bbl production brewery in the San Diego neighborhood of Northpark. But that is the future. We visited Hess at their small industrial space near Miramar.

Get a flight, keep the glass

Setting up at one of the upright barrels, Merideth was very happy to see some German-style beer represented in hop/IPA mad San Diego. The friendly beer-tender started our five beer flight with Claritas, their version of a Kölsh-style brew. It’s clean, light and refreshing body was perfect for a January San Diego day that was already pushing 80° F. The two stars were Helicon, a 5.3% ABV Rye Pale Ale and Deceptio, a 8.5% ABV, 85 IBU Cascadian IPA. More of a brown IPA than black, Deceptio had a huge hop presence. And Helicon, with its spicy rye bite, would be in the running for beer of the day.

Stumblefoot Brewing in San Marcos

From Hess, Merideth and I headed to the northern part of San Diego County. Already home to the likes of Stone and Port/Lost Abbey, much of the growth in the beer scene was happening up that way. First stop was Stumblefoot Brewing in San Marcos. Mid afternoon, we had the small tasting room almost all to ourselves.

From the dozen beers on tap, we chose a flight of five. Easy choices were the San Diego International Beer Festival medal winners Schwarz Be With You, a Black Lager and Vixen Dunkelweizen. Rounding out our quintet was Creekside Pale Lager, GrassYass IPA and Flakey Robin’s Belgian Style Sour

Five beer flight at Stumblefoot

Merideth’s spirits were again buoyed by the Pale and Black lagers. Expecting a day of IPAs and Double IPAs, she was in German-style heaven at each of our stops so far. The Gold medal medal winning Dunkelweizen had a really nice balance between malty and yeasty. It would have been really good had it been a bit more carbonated. My somewhat unexpected star was the sour. Unexpected because I really wasn’t planning on seeing any sours on our days travels. Flakey Robin’s was medium tart and refreshing on the warm day.

One of the newest kids on the block…

Up to this point, it had been a relatively quiet day. The calm ended at our next stop in San Marcos, Rip Current Brewing. We heard, from several people that this a bit over a month old brewery was a must stop. Given the number of people in their tasting room, everyone else had received the same information.

Merideth admiring her beer at Rip Current

With its hop-centric brews, Rip Current was the first stop I really felt we were in San Diego. Paddling Out Pale Ale and Raked Over Red were excellent hop-forward beers. My favorite was the 9.1% ABV Red Flag Double IPA, a  big and bold brew. I would have pegged Merideth liking the chocolate or coffee Milkstache the best. But she found them a bit too roasty for her taste. Instead, it was Barrier Reef Nut Brown that tickled her fancy.

On familiar ground at Latitude 33

The craft beer movement is known for being very green. And that eco-consciousness includes recycling brewery locations. Latitude 33 Brewing in Vista was the old Green Flash facility which we visited in November 2008 (chronicled in Teachings from the Tap). Walking into the crowded tasting room, we immediately noticed some major upgrades including an actual bar with taps.

Flight at Latitude 33

Squeezing in amongst the two beer tour groups at the bar, Merideth ordered us a flight of their brews. Of the six beers we sampled, Merideth proclaimed the spicy The Pasha’s Rye Brown as her beer of the flight. Given my penchant lately for light-bodied, boldly hopped brews, GB’s Pale Ale was my favorite from Latitude 33. It paired very well with the street tacos from the vendor out front.

Busy Saturday evening at Iron Fist

Saturday night was in full swing when we arrived at Iron Fist Brewing, just up the road from Latitude 33 in Vista. Two more beer two groups boisterously intermingled with other beer geeks, filling every table in the industrial space. Luckily, a couple stepped away from the bar and we quickly filled the void.

Flight at Iron Fist

The four beer flight included three Belgian-style brews. Merideth and I both agreed that Hired Hand, a dry, spicy Saison, was the best of the bunch. With its big citrus flavors, the Gauntlet, a 9.5% ABV Double IPA, was also very tasty. Jumping as it was, Iron Fist looked like a fun place to hang out, grab some food from the truck out front  and enjoy a pint. But we were pretty exhausted from our long day of beer travel and sample flights. We left the revelry to others.

Collapsing into our hotel bed early that evening, we remarked that it felt like we had visited EVERY industrial park in San Diego. But we had accomplished what we had set out to do… experience as much as what was new in San Diego as possible. One day down and one more to go.

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Alta Lake at Whistler

“British Columbia Eh” is the latest episode of One Pint at a Time.

Though we had visited British Columbia a number of times, we took the opportunity of a niece’s wedding to explore the province’s growing beer culture. During our trip, we traveled from Vancouver Island, up to Whistler, finishing in Vancouver. We experienced as much of the beer scene as possible in a quick week.

So enjoy our beer adventures north of the border…

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

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December rolled around and we were at 96. A planned trip to Los Angeles, where we would reach 100, fell through. We resigned ourselves to coming up just short. In telling friends our tale of woe, they disagreed with us giving up so we decided to give it one more try. Doing some research, we chose Sacramento, home to a number of new breweries, to accomplish our goal.

Black Dragon in Woodland

Piling Porter, Stout and their favorite blankie into the car on Saturday morning, we began the three hour drive to the State Capitol. Our first stop, Black Dragon Brewing, wasn’t in Sacramento but just to the west in historic Woodland.

Black Dragon was in the not-so-historic section of town set off the street behind a pizza parlor. Its nondescript exterior didn’t do justice to its roomy, bright interior. The bar and dining area were flanked on each side by the brewery  and the homebrew shop.

Merideth at Black Dragon in Woodland

Joining a few other customers, we sat down to sample the four beer flight. Merideth really enjoyed the light and refreshing Gypsy Blonde, done with what we assumed was a Belgian yeast. The Araya IPA was solid example of the West Coast style. The star for me was Dragon’s Eye Porter, a 6.5% ABV roasty dark brew with nice notes of chocolate. It was the perfect beer for a chilly December day.

Sample flight at Roseville Brewing

After the first long stretch in the car from our house, it seemed like a short drive to our second stop, Roseville Brewing, in a town of the same name. Located in the last business park in a stretch of business parks, we made a slightly-embarrassing mistake that did not do justice to our reputations as seasoned beer travelers.

Merideth at Roseville Brewing

Walking in the front door, we stood in the tiny front room waiting for someone to help us. Not seeing any taps or beer, I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to taste beer at Roseville. After what seemed like a minute, a man came out front and asked if we needed help. Somewhat meekly I inquired was it possible to try the beers. Surprised by the question, he led us down a very short hallway into the tasting room.

We had seven beers to sample at Roseville ranging from two American-style wheats to a seasonal Stout. Another solid lineup of the beers with the two hoppy offerings, Iron Mule IPA and Spike Driver Double IPA, being the two shining lights for me. Merideth’s favorite was the seasonal Cinnamon Coffee Stout. At 8% ABV, this brew was big on chocolate flavor with a hint of the spice on the finish.

Loomis Basin Brewing in Loomis

One of the benefits of beer travel is that the journey brings us to places we probably would have never visited. Despite having driven the I-80 corridor northeast of Sacramento on a number of occasions, we had never stopped or probably even noticed the city of Loomis. But this tiny town on the way to the Sierras now had a brewery, Loomis Basin Brewing.

Arriving a few minutes before opening time, the industrial park lot was full of cars, occupants still inside. We thought that this was somewhat odd given it was Saturday afternoon. Turns out all those people were waiting for the tasting room to open. We must have stumbled on to something good.

Sample flight at Loomis Basin is on its way…

The small tasting room bustled as Merideth and I went through the six beer sampler. The seasonal 8.4% ABV Recession Ale, a robust Porter, was a big on the coffee and chocolate notes. If there was a beer that I would take home, it would have been the Vindicator IPA, a fine example of the West Coast style. Unfortunately, it was being bottled a few days later. Merideth liked the Swetzer Pale Ale, a light-bodied, easy-drinking brew.

The offerings at Track 7 Brewing

The fourth stop of the day finally brought us to our capitol city. Track 7 Brewing, in an rough-looking industrial part of Sacramento, was very Portland with its large roll up doors and picnic table-filled, dog-friendly tasting room. It was quite crowded on a chilly Sacramento evening attesting to Track 7′s popularity in the community.

Celebrating the 100th brewery with Stout

Ordering a five beer sample flight, Merideth and I joined a few friends who were already there. Focusing on chatting with them, I have to admit I don’t remember too much about the beers. The presence of another wiener dog didn’t help either with our beer concentration. However, I do recall really enjoying their Panic IPA.

That was it! We both hit 100 breweries for the year. Actually, Merideth hit 101, as she went to an extra brewery in Portland in order to catch up on the List count. Congratulations to us!

 View all the images from our day…

Thanks to all our friends who not only met up with us in the Sacramento area but those of you who made beer travel in 2012 a special year. We finished 2012 with 773 breweries… on to 800!

Here are the 101 breweries we added to the List in 2012…

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Prost! at Kloster Andechs

“Our Happy Place” is the latest episode of One Pint at a Time.

After a busy and stressful summer selling Teachings From The Tap, we badly needed a vacation. And we could think of no better place than our happy place: Germany. Starting in Franconia, we explored the countryside, as well as completed the Bamberg breweries. After a relaxing few days in Munich, we traveled south to the Bavarian Alps to drink beer, hike and go to the top of Germany.

So enjoy our latest beer adventures in Germany…

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

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Click the book cover to purchase
Teachings from the Tap

One suggestion I received was to offer beer-chapter pairings. It’s an awesome idea and I wish I had thought of it! In response, I have put together a list of suggested beers to enjoy with each chapter. Happy reading and happy drinking!

January: For our very first trip of the Year in Beer, Chris and I traveled to Alaska for the Great Alaska Beer and Barleywine Festival. I suggest pairing this chapter with your favorite Barleywine. With a glass of this style in your hand, you can do as the Alaskans do to weather the cold winter months. As an alternate, Panty Peeler, a Belgian triple, from Anchorage’s own Midnight Sun Brewing is a great choice.

Hop Crisis at 21A

February: This month, we went to San Francisco for Beerapalooza, the precursor to SF Beer Week. Cracking open one of 21^st Amendment’s canned beers will help transport you to the City by the Bay. My favorite is Bitter American Extra Pale Ale, but the Brew Free or Die IPA and Hop Crisis Imperial IPA do not disappoint.

March: In March everyone becomes Irish, at least on March 17th. We celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in arguably the country’s most Irish city: Boston. By drinking a Harpoon IPA you’ll feel like you’re right there in Beantown with us. Heck, you may even want to treat yourself to a lobster roll or lobster bisque while you’re at it.  Better still, if you’re lucky enough to be in Boston, read the book at your favorite Beer Works location and have a Curley’s Dry Irish Stout. Sláinte!

April: We learned two things during our April visit to Seattle: 1) everything deserves a second chance and 2) it can get darn cold in the Emerald City. So first, I suggest giving a beer you haven’t had in a long while, a second chance. Who knows? It may surprise you! Or second, if you’re lucky enough to live in a state that distributes Elysian, I suggest getting cozy with their Dragonstooth Stout, an Imperial Oatmeal Stout that warms the soul with its rich flavor of coffee and dark chocolate.

Kölsch in Köln

May: This month took us to Franconia for Germany’s second largest beer festival. Along the way we made stops in Bamberg and Cologne. One beer that will put you in the spirit of this chapter’s adventure is Schenkerla’s world famous Rauchbier. If smoked beers don’t tickle your fancy, go lighter and pour yourself a Kölsch, Cologne’s namesake beer style.

June: In June we went to Ireland. Here I would suggest anything other than Guinness and preferably an Irish craft beer. One of my favorite Irish craft beers is Galway Hooker Irish Pale Ale. However, unless you’re in Ireland, you won’t be able to drink this beer as you read about our adventures on the Emerald Isle. Several beers from Porterhouse Brewing Co. and Carlow Brewing Co. are available in the U.S. and are great choices to get you in the spirit of the chapter.

Hopworks Urban Brewery

July: In July, we went to the Oregon Brewers Festival, an event that brings back many memories for us. For this chapter I suggest going nostalgic and have a Full Sail beer of your choice. One of the classic Oregon breweries, their beers remain solid and refreshing.

August: August was about finally making a proper beer visit to England. Of course the beer to drink there is real ale, so ditch any thought of a lager or kegged ale. Go to your favorite pub serving beer on cask or grab yourself a Fuller’s London Pride. Then crack open the book and join us as we celebrate the great English brewing tradition.

Ein Maß of Festbier

September: This month was an easy trip to plan for the Year in Beer. We went to Oktoberfest, the penultimate adventure for any beer geek. Of course the pairing of choice is to fill yourself up a Maß of fest beer from any one of  Munich’s six breweries. Put on your lederhosen or dirndl and you’ll be hearing Oompah music in no time. Prost!

October: October took us to Denver and the GABF, a place where any beer geek can feel right at home. While there, we learned that Denver’s weather can be a bit finicky. It can be cold one day and warm the next. So, this pairing depends on the weather; a refreshing Great Divide Titan IPA when it’s warm or Great Divide’s Yeti Imperial Stout if it’s not.

November: November’s trip took us to San Diego, one of the beer world’s most celebrated meccas. It would be easy to pair this chapter with one of San Diego’s big name breweries, but that would be buying into the hype. There is so much more to San Diego’s beer scene and Alpine Beer Company is a perfect example. One of the area’s more understated breweries, they let the beer speak for itself. I suggest the Alpine Ale, while Chris prefers Pure Hoppiness.

Finish the book up with a Westy…

December: We went all out for our final trip of the year. We traveled to Belgium for the Kirstbierfest and aimed to visit all 7 Trappist breweries. The perfect way to celebrate the end of the Year in Beer is to pair this chapter with a Trappist beer. A Westvleteren, if you can get your hands on one, embodies the great accomplishment of reaching the end of our yearlong endeavor. While not my personal favorite, drinking this beer while enjoying the tale of our Belgium adventure will help you feel the same sense of accomplishment that we did when reached our goal. A more accessible alternate is Orval. Always a great beer, drinking one while reading about our visit there will have you packing for Belgium!

Buy a copy of Teachings from the Tap…

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Merideth with Sean and Fran Fitzharris

Joann Kim and Chuck Frowein, proprietors of Grillin & Chillin, teamed up with friends and homebrewers Sean and Fran Fitzharris to open a small taphouse and brewery with a cozy neighborhood feel. Hollister Hills is definitely compact, something the owners hope to change in the near future, but what they do with the small space is amazing!

Plenty of beer choices at Hollister Hills

There are 37 guest taps plus housemade beers and sodas. Over several visits to “H2B” (as Sean and Fran refer to it), Chris and I have tried Sean’s Hillside IPA (6.5% ABV, 65 IBUs), Red Beard Amber (5.5% ABV), and  Easy…Like Sunday Morning Blonde. We even got a sneak peek taste of a wheat beer made with chamomile and agave. H2B is breaking new ground, as rumor has it that an IPA has never been brewed in Hollister before now.

For only having been open for a month and a half, the beers are solid. Just like any new beer establishment, it often takes time to adjust to the brewing system and iron out the kinks. I’m confident that the brews at Hollister Hills will get better and better as they settle in.

Simple, delicious, beer-friendly food

The food is great, which is always a plus in my book. No fried pub food here, the H2B menu includes carving boards (meat, cheese, deli, and Mediterranean), pressed sandwiches (my favorite is the Turkey Cranberry), a variety of salads, and daily soups. Pizzas and chili dogs were recently added to the menu, as well. They also have snack items like a soft pretzel and nachos. I especially like the flavored popcorns, both savory and sweet are available. The lemon pepper popcorn is the perfect beer snack!

The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Beer geeks and beer novices alike are  welcomed with open arms and even non-locals will feel included, especially when seated at the bar. Hollister Hills Taproom and Brewery embodies the spirit of “Drink Local” and it’s sure to become the community’s gathering spot.

View all the images from Hollister Hills…

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Olympic Ski Stadium

The hike I had picked out for us was to the Schachenhaus, a hütte (hut) at 1,866 meters (5,598 feet) in the mountains above Garmisch-Partenkirchen. A retreat built by King Ludwig II between 1869 and 1872, the Schachenhaus, like all hüttes, now serves as a rest stop for weary hikers. And we planned being quite weary after the three and a half hour journey.

The kickoff point for the hike was Garmisch’s Olympic Ski Stadium, home of the 1936 Winter Games. When we arrived, the gravel parking lot was already bustling with people getting all their gear together for a day in the mountains. After admiring the ski jumps, which we had never seen before in person, and checking out the stadium, we set off up the paved road.

Merideth about to enter the Partnach Gorge…

After a short walk along the road, we reached a crossroads in our hike. We could take the upper or lower trail. The highlight of the lower trail was the Partnachklamm, a walking path carved into a narrow gorge. We chose the scenic route, paid the €6 admission and donned our rain gear.

Entering the narrow gorge, the 800 meter walk was quite stunning with the sun streaming through the narrow slit at the top of the 80 meter high walls. Water streamed down the walls, falling like rain. Numerous waterfalls emptied into the Partnach River that cascaded with a large force through the narrow channel.

Nice view

Exiting the gorge and back into the bright sunlight, this was where our hike kind of went awry. Following signs for the Schachenhaus, we didn’t go the wrong way, rather the long way. The VERY LONG way.

It was a very pleasant walk up a not-too-steep grade with incredible views of the nearby peaks.  At some point, the time on the signs jumped from three hours to four and a half hours. Consulting a map, it was at this point we realized that we had taken the long trail that wrapped all the way around the mountain.

Heading back down…

It was decision time. Unfortunately, we surmised it was too late to continue on the trail we were on and make it to the Schachenhaus. It was also too late to backtrack and get on the correct trail. We decided to head back down and visit the Hintergraseck hütte. We had seen the trail to it on the way up.

Lunch!

Admittedly, I was pretty mopey on the way down. We set a lofty goal of having lunch at almost 6,000 feet in the Bavarian Alps but never made it out of the tree line. Instead, I worried, we were going to mingle with tourists dressed for a Sunday outing in town.

My mood changed when we settled into our seats on the edge of the Hintergraseck’s patio. We were amongst our fellow hikers all enjoying beers and the beautiful weather. With Paulaner Hefeweizen in hand, Merideth and I marveled at the panoramic view of the Alpine peaks. And lunch was very Bavarian. Merideth ordered Leberkäse while I went with the Landjäger, semi-dried sausage. We even had time to make a friend, the hütte’s sheep dog who split time between playing with us and watching over his sheep.

Dessert!

With a few beers in me, I was in a better mood on the final descent. Even encountering scores of normal tourists along this part of the trail couldn’t ruin my contented feeling. Almost back in civilization, we stopped at another hütte, where we each enjoyed more Hefeweizens and split a yummy Apfelstrudel. Continuing on after dessert, we were back at our car in a few minutes.

The silver lining to not accomplishing our goal, besides spending a great day together, is that we will need to return some day to try again. And now I know exactly what trail we need to go up.

View all the images from our day…

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Mühlfeldbräu in Bad Tölz

Leaving Munich mid-morning, we arrived at our first destination, Bad Tölz, in no time. A town along the Isar River with a rich history, we were there to visit  its brewery, Mühlfeldbräu. Located along the main thoroughfare, Merideth and I were the first customers of the day.

First beer of the day…

An anomaly of German breweries we have visited, Mühlfeldbräu was café-like: bright and airy with a very modern decor. I don’t say that in a bad way. Just that in a beer culture built on tradition, different stands out.

Sitting at one of the high tables in front of the counter, Merideth and I each enjoyed one of the pleasant house-brewed Helles. The decor might have non-traditional, but the beer was very Bavarian.

Oberammergau

Bad Tölz was only a quick stop and Merideth and I were soon headed south again on our journey to the Alps. Hopping onto the Deutsche Alpenstraße, we were on familiar ground having driven the scenic road on several occasions.

Despite its charm and idyllic Bavarian setting, we avoided Oberammergau on our previous visits to the area. Famous for the town’s production of the Passion Play, Oberammergau is a very, very popular tourist destination. But now we had a reason to visit Oberammergau, there was a brewery in town.

Ammergauer Maxbräu in the Hotel Maximillian

Ammergauer Maxbräu was located in the Hotel Maximillian. Luckily for us, it was on the periphery of the tourist-laden center of the village. An amazing, glorious day with bright blue skies, there was no question we were going to enjoy their beers and some lunch, in the beer garden.

Merideth enjoying a gorgeous day in Bavaria

When I woke up in the morning, I never thought we would be part of a wedding party that day. I chose our particular table because it was right next to a really cool fountain. Moments after sitting down, a waitress started setting up the table a few feet from us with champagne flutes. Sure enough, a few minutes later, a small wedding party arrived and mingled around the table. Admittedly, we felt a bit odd, wondering whether we should move. The wedding party didn’t seem to mind, so we stayed put. Merideth and I cheered the happy couple.

The beers were nice and it was a wonderful lunch. Merideth enjoyed the Klassik Flammkuchen. Being a bit porked out (blasphemy), I was very un-Bavarian and went with the Junger Blattsalat, a big salad.

Kloster Ettal

After a quick walk through the center of Oberammergau, it was time for us to head back down the Deutsche Alpenstraße towards our final destination of the day, Garmisch-Partenkirchen. A few miles down the road, Kloster Ettal, with its massive dome, dominates the landscape. Though it was already on The List, we could not pass right by without stopping.

Merideth drinking a Etaller Helles

We set up at the cafe in front of the monastery mainly because the beer gardens across the street were already in the shade. While watching multitudes our fellow tourists, bikers, elderly, families pass by, we finished the day’s alpine ramblings enjoying the Kloster’s Helles and Benediktiner Weizen.

View all the images from the day…

Rainy and overcast in the Alps…

The following day could not have been more different. Clouds and rain came in overnight shrouding the craggy Alpine peaks in mist. Being a veteran beer traveler, I already had a Plan B for such an occasion. Scrapping our planned hike in the hills above Garmisch-Parternkirchen, we headed towards the nearby Austrian border.

Hotel Thaneller, home of Stadl-bräu, the highest-altitude brewery in Austria.

In less than an hour, we were in the Austrian village of Berwang. A thriving ski area, the village was eerily deserted in the September rain. Parking across the street from Hotel Thaneller, we surmised it wasn’t a total ghost town as there was another car also in the gravel lot. Merideth and I wandered into the equally deserted lobby in search of their Hausbrauerei, Stadl-bräu.

A rainy day beer…

We finally located the brewpub on the second floor and even found people (staff). Oddly, there seemed to be a multitude of them, given that it was only the two of us in the whole restaurant. We grabbed an out of the way table in the front room.

With nothing much planned for the day, we  enjoyed a few beers and leisurely lunch, splitting an order of the Jägerschnitzel.

View all the Berwang images…

Merideth in rainy Eisenberg

Looping back into Germany, we were on our way to the village of Eisenberg and its brewery, the Maria Hilfer Sudhaus. Finding the brewery on the Interwebs, what intrigued me was their Allgäuer Bier–Käse Wanderung, a five stop beer and cheese walk in the village.

One the one hand, the rainy weather was the reason we had time to visit Maria Hilfer Sudhaus. The downside was, when we arrived, the rain was the heaviest of the day, preventing any sort of walk except a quick dash to the brewpub’s front door.

A busy day at Maria Hilfer Sudhaus

Walking in, we immediately faced a couple that seemingly were waiting for a table. Proceeding to the main dining area, we were confronted with a packed room, everyone enjoying a hearty lunch on the rainy afternoon. All the tables were full, except for one, a large pie-shaped table that was completely empty. Merideth and I immediately thought it was the Stammtisch, but the sassy waitress gestured to us that we could sit there. Admittedly, we didn’t feel comfortable until more people joined us at this huge table (Later, I spotted the real Stammtisch nearby).

A couple of Vollbiers at Maria Hilfer Sudhaus

Soon, we had two Vollbiers and a basket of pretzels sitting in front of us. The food looked really good, especially the Schweinebraten. We really should have split a plate but munched on some pretzels instead.

We thought about playing scrabble. But people continued to stream in and we felt bad about taking up a table to play a board game. Finished with our beers and satisfied with adding two breweries to The List, we returned to Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

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Scenic Bamberg

On that first visit, a whirlwind one-day stop in 2007, we managed drink beer at most of Bamberg’s breweries. We picked up one more brewery passing through during our May Year in Beer visit (of course chronicled in Merideth’s book, Teachings from the Tap). This time around we stayed three days, plenty of time to complete Bamberg.

Where the malt is made…

One of the Bamberg breweries missing from the List, Brauerei Spezial opened at 9am, a beer traveler’s dream. Thus, we were on the move early, heading from our vacation apartment towards the city center. With a leisurely pace, we took a circuitous route from our apartment so we could marvel at the nearby Weyermann Malzerei.

Brauerei Spezial

Beer gardens are not always packed with maß clinking revelers. Passing through Spezial’s huge doors into their interior courtyard beer garden, we saw only one other customer, an older gentleman sitting in the corner. It WAS only 10am after all. Since it was a warm, beautiful morning, Merideth and I chose one of the empty tables in the sun.

A Rauchbier to start the day…

Much to Merideth’s chagrin, Spezial did not have their one non-smoked beer, the Ungespundetes. The only beer available was their Märzen Rauchbier. To her credit, Merideth did give it a try.

A brilliant copper color, the smoke was prominent on top of a somewhat surprising light-bodied brew.

Merideth was a real trooper because I insisted on going straight from Spezial to Schlenkerla so we could compare Bamberg’s two Rauchbier breweries. Crossing the Main-Donau canal at the Luitpoldbrücke, we headed into the heart of the tourist zone. Resisting the desire to join a tour group, we were seated in the almost equally deserted Schlenkerla beer garden within minutes.

The perfect pairing…

We ordered one of their Rauchbiers and and an order of the Schweinebraten, roast pork. Rauchbier might be an acquired taste, but that taste could be acquired by pairing it with succulent roast pork.

The Schlenkerla Rauchbier had a much deeper body, with more notes of smoked ham than it’s lighter Spezial counterpart. Just like I remembered and enjoyed it in 2007.

Wilde Rose Keller

Early in the evening, we returned to the City Center on our way to the the top of one of the numerous hills in Bamberg. Walking up Oberer Stepansburg, we were on our way to the Wilde Rose Keller. Through social media, we were told that we HAD to visit the hilltop beer garden.

There was only a smattering of people when we arrived. I had visions of sitting at a table overlooking the city but a multitude trees blocked any view. We chose a table in the middle under the trees and settled in.

Dinner at the Wilde Rose Keller

Wilde Rose Keller had house beers, but I will admit I’m not sure who brews them. Needing a refreshing beer after the walk up the hill, I ordered us two Hefeweizens to start. Once we settled in, we moved on to the Kellerbier. Both were quite delicious, perfect for the setting.

For dinner, Merideth ordered us a variety of our Bavarian favorites: cheese, Obatzda, bread, pickles and pretzels.

A wonderful evening…

As Merideth and I enjoyed our beers and food and played scrabble (I won 281-246, my only triumph of the trip), the beer garden steadily filled up with families, groups, friends, and couples. Some brought picnics and set up camp. Everyone was enjoying the beer and an absolutely beautiful Bavarian evening.

Bamberg in the evening…

Our favorite stop in Bamberg

The following morning we had blocked off for doing laundry. Much to our delight, we found a inexpensive, fast-service laundromat that would do the work for us (Bamberger Waschsalon…they speak English too). That meant instead of sitting in a laundromat on a beautiful day, we had the morning to explore Bamberg while our clothes were being washed. We decided to traipse back up the hill to Greifenklau, our favorite beer garden in Bamberg.

More enjoyable than doing laundry

The chestnut tree shaded beer garden has a panoramic view of the nearby countryside including the Altenburg, the 12th century castle a few kilometers distant. The first customers of the day, we found a somewhat sunny seat in the morning chill. While drinking a couple of krugs of their lager, we watched a red squirrel play amongst the apple trees in the grove below. What a great way to kill time.

Farm to table at Brauerei Kundmüller

Laundry sorted, we could now think about lunch. Driving a dozen kilometers west of Bamberg into the Steigerwald, Merideth and I found ourselves in the tiny village of Weiher at Brauerei Kundmüller. The restaurant and brewery were located next to their farm which included a Streichelzoo, or petting zoo, for the wee ones.

Lunch!

Walking into beer garden, we felt the stares of the locals at the Stammtisch who I assume don’t see too many American beer travelers. Leaving Merideth at a table under the big tree under the watchful eyes of the locals, I went inside to order our lunch, house-made sausages and their European Beer Star award-winning Kellerbier.

While enjoying our meal on another warm and sunny Franconian day, we watched some of the animals in the Streichelzoo, guinea pigs, rabbits, pigs and goats. We did wonder when the two pigs were going to be Schweinehaxe, Schweinebraten and hausgemacht Bratwurst.

Our last Bamberg brewery…

On the way back into the city, we stopped at the last Bamberg brewery that we needed to add, Kaiserdom. We stopped at Kaiserdom during our 2008 visit only to find it oddly closed. Pulling into the almost empty restaurant parking lot, I did get a bit worried that we were going to miss out again. It was with a great relief that the front door opened.

Merideth and I were the only customers besides a largish tour group of Russians. Ordering a Zwickelbier and Pilsner, Merideth and I basked in our accomplishment, we had completed Bamberg.

Last beer in Bamberg… for this trip

We finished our third Bamberg visit where we began our first one, at Mahrs Bräu. We were off to Munich the following morning, the next phase of our trip. Such transitions often get us in a reflective mood. Finally spending an extended amount of time in the city gave us the opportunity to experience more of Bamberg’s many charms. Though we had now added all the breweries, we saw ourselves visiting again. There is still the Weyermann tour to do… And we need to add our padlock to the bridge…

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The kloster in Weißenohe

Searching for breweries to visit during our time in Bamberg, I noticed a cluster of five breweries to the southeast around the village of Gräfenberg in the Fränkische Schweiz. Intrigued, I researched a bit further and learned about the Fünf Seidla Steig (‘five beer mug hike’), a 10km hiking trail (15km round trip) that connects the breweries. Hiking and beer? What a brilliant idea!

Leaving Ute and Wolfie in Mannheim on Sunday morning, we sped east on the autobahn towards our first destination, the village of Weißenohe. Home to Klosterbrauerei Weißenohe, this was supposed to be our kickoff point for the hike.

Under the trees at Klosterbrauerei Weissenohe

Our plan somewhat hit a hitch when we reached Weißenohe. Besides the small lot at the monastery, we couldn’t really find parking in the tiny village’s winding narrow streets. Hungry and thirsty after the three hour drive, we decided park there rather than continuing to search around for a place to leave our rental car for the day.

A small lane into the monastery split the restaurant from an apple tree shaded beer garden across the street. With the day bordering on absolutely beautiful, we opted for a table in the beer garden.

A proper lunch to start a hike

There was one beer available on tap in the beer garden, their Altfränkisches Klosterbier. Two beers and two orders of bratwurst with bread and potato salad were quickly ordered. The copper-colored brew was reminiscent of a Märzen, with a slight malty sweetness.

Enjoying the brats and beer under the shade of apple trees was perfect start to the day. Even the annoying little girl on the slide couldn’t ruin the moment. Though she did make filming difficult. It was a picture postcard moment of what it means to beer travel in Germany.

Brauerei Friedmann in Gräfenberg

The ability to adapt to changes in plans is key to successful beer travel. After lunch, we decided to drive the few kilometers to Gräfenberg to find parking and start our hike. Just before the village gate, we found the parking we were looking for. And better yet, our second stop, Brauerei Friedmann, was across the street.

Merideth and a couple of Helles…

Grabbing a seat in their street side beer garden, Merideth and I each ordered a Helles. From our vantage point, we watched groups of hikers enter the village and join the crowd in Friedmann’s beer garden.

We recognized a few people from our first stop. Actually, it was the dogs that we recognized first. A trend that would continue the whole day, Merideth and I realized that we were part of a whole community doing the same thing: hiking and drinking beer. The thought gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Well-marked trails make for an easy beer hike

With the car safely in a long-term parking spot, we could now plan our hike. Not knowing the distance of the hike, we decided Friedmann was a ‘one and done’ stop (well, two and done for me). Once our beers were finished, we walked into the village center where we assumed there would be hiking information.

In the Gräfenberg village center, we found what we were seeking, a big map of the local hiking trails. From this, we ascertained we needed to work our way to the far side of the village. There we would find the trail to Hohenschwärz and the next brewery. Brauerei Hoffman was five kilometers away.

A beautiful day for a beer hike…

Easily finding the trail, Merideth and I left Gräfenberg. From the edge of the village, we walked into a forest. We emerged from the woods into the open, surrounded by fields of corn. The terrain was fairly level and made for pleasant, not strenuous, hiking. We passed couples, families, groups of friends, and people of all ages. Everyone out walking on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Well-deserved after a five kilometer walk

Reaching Hohenschwärz, we would have found Brauerei Hoffman right along the trail if we hadn’t mistakenly taken a round about route through the tiny village. The Hoffman beer garden was quite packed with hikers and bicyclists when we finally located it. Spying two seats at an otherwise full table, Merideth asked the people “Frei?”  Getting a positive response, we squeezed in at the end of the table.

Pork and beer…

Looking around while waiting for our waitress, I noticed that everyone had a dark beer. Sure enough, from my request for “Zwei Bier, bitte,” our waitress delivered two deep brown, almost black half liters. Despite the dark color, the brew had a light, refreshing body.

Having just walked five kilometers, we treated ourselves by sharing a plate of the delicious Schweinebraten. From pigs I believe they raised themselves, the pork roast paired exceptionally well with the house brew. It’s great when the farm to table distance can be measured in a few meters.

Lindenbräu in Gräfenberg

Two kilometers further up the trail, there was another brewery, Thuisbrunner Eichbräu. But given advancing afternoon, we decided retrace our steps back to Gräfenberg. There was a bounce in our step as we passed through the same fields and forests on our way to Lindenbräu.

Beers to celebrate a hike well done…

Located on a side street in the village, Lindenbräu was our fourth and last brewery stop of the day. Joining an older couple at one of the outside tables, we ordered a couple of beers. Merideth chose the refreshing, light on the banana and clove, Hefeweizen, while I went with the copper-colored, malty but not too sweet, Vollbier.

Our mood was quite jovial as we drank our beers. In a trip full of great days, our day of hiking and beer on the Fünf Seidla Steig very well may have been my favorite. Though we only visited four of the five breweries on the trail, that gives us the perfect excuse to return someday to do the full 15 kilometer loop.

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