The Wirtshaus: Beer, Taverns, and Everyday Life

The Wirtshaus: Beer, Taverns, and Everyday Life

  The rain caught us unawares. A veil of mist rapidly descended, shrouding the hills in the distance. The first few drops announced themselves with a rattle through the leaves. Soon the path was a series of tiny rivulets. Leaves in autumn hues swirled around 

Lommerzheim: Kölsch Beyond Cologne’s Altstadt

Lommerzheim: Kölsch Beyond Cologne’s Altstadt

  Kölsch Across the Rhine Spend any time in Cologne or among beer-drinking types who visit often and it won’t be long before you hear about Lommerzheim. Affectionately known as “Lommi,” this Kölsch pub on the other side of the Rhine is a cult classic. 

Heidelberg: Beer and a Kind of Homecoming

Heidelberg: Beer and a Kind of Homecoming

  Where There’s Students, There’s Beer Heidelberg is both a charmed and charming city. Its vibrant old town of picturesque squares, orange-red sandstone buildings, Gothic spires, and Baroque bridges was largely spared during the Second World War. The intactness of it all lends the cobblestone 

Beer Travel Vignettes: Päffgen, Cologne’s Neighbourhood Kölsch Pub

Beer Travel Vignettes: Päffgen, Cologne’s Neighbourhood Kölsch Pub

  When Päffgen opened its doors in 1883, it was just one of over a hundred small breweries in Cologne. Wars and consolidation exacted their toll on the other small breweries, but Päffgen soldiered on. Today, it one of the last small Hausbrauereien (“inhouse breweries”) 

Belgian Beer Café Vignettes: Poechenellekelder, Brussels

Belgian Beer Café Vignettes: Poechenellekelder, Brussels

  Cantillon with its cobwebbed rafters sheltering rows of barrels. The cheerfully riotous Delirium Café. Moeder Lambic with its rare beers. The Morte Subite, elegantly attired in art nouveau. You could spend days or even weeks in Brussels without coming close to exhausting your possibilities 

Talkin’ About a (Beer Garden) Revolution: Munich’s Waldwirtschaft

Talkin’ About a (Beer Garden) Revolution: Munich’s Waldwirtschaft

  That sweeping vista across the valley below! It’s the first thing you notice when you find a seat in the Waldwirtschaft’s expansive beer garden. Known locally as the “WaWi,” the Waldwirtschaft in southwestern Munich is nestled in the woods just beyond a residential neighbourhood 

German Beer Vignettes: Memories of Franconia, Mönchsambach Edition

German Beer Vignettes: Memories of Franconia, Mönchsambach Edition

  A Visit Long Overdue The stars finally aligned with bus schedules, opening times, weather, and my schedule for a trip out to the illustrious Brauerei Zehendner, brewers of the highly regarded Mönchsambacher Lagerbier. I arrived an hour early, so I turned the outing into