Among Giants: Beer Hiking in Saxon Switzerland

Among Giants: Beer Hiking in Saxon Switzerland

  Prelude I was up at daybreak and on the trail early for this, one of the most fascinating and challenging beer hikes I’ve ever done. I’d arrived in Bad Schandau from Dresden the previous afternoon, spending the rest of that short but sunny November 

Ales and Windswept Ambles along the Fife Path near Edinburgh

Ales and Windswept Ambles along the Fife Path near Edinburgh

  Walking, ideally, is a state in which the mind, the body, and the world are aligned, as though they were three characters finally in conversation together, three notes suddenly making a chord. ~Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust     Scotland is a walker’s paradise of wild 

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 

Pictures at a Czech Beer Exhibition: Pilsen, Budweis, Český Krumlov

Pictures at a Czech Beer Exhibition: Pilsen, Budweis, Český Krumlov

Wooded hillsides, a hundred lakes mirroring the fleeting afternoon sunlight, emerald green pastures with the occasional dusting of snow. Stately Renaissance facades watching over magnificent squares and Gothic spires reaching skyward. Dimly lit train stations redolent of times past. Castle towns that drew artists like 

In the Cool Shade of the Beer Garden

In the Cool Shade of the Beer Garden

It was one of those August days when the sun-baked cobblestones seem to transcend themselves in mirage-like fashion. Since arriving in Salzburg earlier that day, we had been exploring a baroque palace here, a castle overlooking the city there, and churches everywhere. Definitely time for 

Bourbon in Michigan: Barrel-Aged Beer along the Great Lakes

Bourbon in Michigan: Barrel-Aged Beer along the Great Lakes

With its rich aromas and flavours, bourbon barrel-aged beer evokes late fall hues and heralds the coming of winter. In this, the first of what I intend be an occasional series of posts tracking barrel-aged and sour beers across North America, I sample some of