“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.
I am happy to report that feedback on the book continues to be very positive! People enjoy the armchair travel aspect of it as they’re transported to the world’s greatest beer destinations.
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 21st 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!
As we gear up for the holiday shopping season, I’m reminded of the importance of supporting small business owners by shopping local. This year, I am happy to report that we have yet another local option when it comes to craft beer: Hollister Hills Taproom and Brewery in nearby Hollister.
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.
The rain of the previous day cleared out overnight and Sunday dawned sunny and warm. With not-so-epic weather scheduled to come back in on Monday, this needed to be the day for our favorite travel activity, hiking in the Alps.
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.
After a couple of days Munich, Merideth and I headed south for the Bavarian Alps. The last phase of our trip, the focus of our time in the mountains would be hiking and the great outdoors. Of course, we also found time to visit a few breweries.
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.
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.
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.
