Intellectual Ferment of a Different Kind
Through a glass darkly
A Tectonic Shift At first blush, the Munich Baker-Brewer Dispute might look like a curious footnote in the annals of medieval history.[1] But it’s much more than that. Flaring up sporadically between 1481 and 1517, this inter-guild dispute is not only a colourful …
Cologne is famous for its majestic Gothic cathedral known locally as the Dom, a massive edifice that took over six centuries to complete. It’s the symbol of Cologne and the most-visited landmark in Germany. There’s even a beer named after it: Dom Kölsch. You know …
Beer before hops, Or, What Is Gruit? Gruit conjures up images of medieval goblets and mysterious mixtures of herbs and spice. Gruit is also a reminder that the ale Europeans drank right up to the dawn of the early modern era was worlds …
“Edinburgh, where have you been all of my life?” That was my very first thought when I stepped off the train at Haymarket Station on that sunny autumn day. The stone buildings, bustling thoroughfares, and convivial pub terraces overflowing with people reminded me of …
~Or, what do Melville’s white whale, a cathedral in Prague, and Weihenstephan’s Vitus have in common?~ I’ve been drinking Weihenstephan’s lush and expansive Vitus for years now, especially when the weather turns cool. I can’t get enough of that subtly spiced honey and …
If you happen to have read some of the beer buzz coming out of Europe about a half-decade back, you might recall a Belgian brewery that made international headlines with its beer pipeline. That brewery is De Halve Maan, a centuries’ old brewery set amid …
Stuttgart’s Cannstatter Volksfest is the largest beer festival you’ve never heard of. It’s similar to Oktoberfest but unique enough to merit a visit in its own right, especially if you find the crowds at Oktoberfest to be a bit much. For starters, the Cannstatter …
~In Search of Belgium’s “Best” Beer Cafes~ Belgium is home to countless beer cafes ranging from hole-in-the-wall locales in the working-class districts of Brussels to beer pilgrimage destinations like In de Vrede, Westvleteren’s beer café in West Flanders. Many lovers of Belgian beer …
The Horns of a Bock-Like Dilemma Duke Wilhelm V found himself caught between a rock and a hard place in matters of beer. Despite the promulgation of what we now call the “Reinheitsgebot” by his forebears in 1516, and despite subsequent attempts to regulate …
1838 in the Old Town: Düsseldorfer Altbier Düsseldorf is the informal capital of German fashion and home to some of Germany’s most cutting-edge contemporary architecture. Forward-looking as the Düsseldorfers are, the very name of their beloved beer points in the direction of times past: …