Berlin Calling: Beer in the Capital of Germany

Berlin Calling: Beer in the Capital of Germany

It’s late 2008, about a month after I had arrived in Berlin to conduct research on Germany’s recent efforts to commemorate the Second World War. Another leaden gray winter afternoon, mist hanging low enough to obscure the landmark TV Tower on Alexanderplatz, leafless trees shivering 

Will Walk for Beer: Franconian Brews beyond Bamberg

Will Walk for Beer: Franconian Brews beyond Bamberg

Suppose you have finally made your way to Munich to try all of those harmoniously brewed helles lagers, Bocks, and Hefeweizens. Supposing, too, that you ventured further afield to the iconic breweries that ring Munich, such as Kloster Andechs, Weihenstephan, and Ayinger. What’s the next 

In the Land of Flemish Red-Brown Ale

In the Land of Flemish Red-Brown Ale

  ~Oud Bruin? Rood Bruin? Flemish Red? It’s all foeders to me~   Only an hour by train from Brussels, West Flanders is renowned for its picturesque medieval towns replete with belfries and beguinages, sandy North Sea beaches, verdant open fields, and a harrowing First 

Belfries and Beers in Bruges

Belfries and Beers in Bruges

  Cobblestones and Canals   Ethereal cobblestone lanes, canals, medieval Flemish architecture, magnificent squares that recall the wealth and power of the merchant class, secluded parks, and even a few windmills make for an enchanting ambience you won’t find in many other cities. Bruges’ urban 

Reflections and Resolutions

Reflections and Resolutions

  So here we are again. One more turn around this mortal coil, drinking to forget the follies of an old year and toasting the auspiciousness of the new. For me 2017 has been extremely enjoyable, uncanny parallels between the 1930s and the present notwithstanding. 

Cooking with Beer: Aged Gouda and Doppelbock Fondue

Cooking with Beer: Aged Gouda and Doppelbock Fondue

Not long ago I went on one of the more stellar culinary journeys of my life. Mortadella and bowls of tagliatelle di ragù in Bologna. Mounds of culatello and Parmigiano Reggiano in Parma. Vitello tonnato and carne cruda all’Albese in Alba. Every kind of snail 

The Setting Sun: Five of Vienna’s Best Spots for a Late Summer Beer

The Setting Sun: Five of Vienna’s Best Spots for a Late Summer Beer

A colleague of mine at the Wien Museum (Vienna’s city history museum) asked me over lunch today about some of my favourite places to have a beer in Vienna. It was a fitting question. He had recently participated in a learn-to-brew day at Brauwerk and 

The Beer Gallery: Highlights from Belgium, Bavaria, and Bohemia

The Beer Gallery: Highlights from Belgium, Bavaria, and Bohemia

Cologne, Sunday, 11:30 in the morning. The server, called a Köbes in Cologne, brings me my second glass of Kölsch and makes another mark on my beer mat. I’m not the only one here. Around me sit a mix of regulars populating the area around 

How Paulaner’s Salvator Doppelbock Got Its Name

How Paulaner’s Salvator Doppelbock Got Its Name

Paulaner may well have become one of the world’s leading brewers of Weissbier in recent decades, but Paulaner’s Salvator Doppelbock remains inseparable from the history of the brewery’s famous Salvatorkeller beer garden atop Munich’s Nockherberg.     A Church Bell Named Salvator The Süddeutsche Zeitung