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Beer Gardens in Baden-Württemberg, Germany’s Southwest

Beer Gardens in Baden-Württemberg, Germany’s Southwest

  ~Freiburg, Tübingen, Stuttgart, Ulm~   Baden-Württemberg is a panoply of delightful beer experiences. Just across the Danube from Bavaria, Ulm is one of Germany’s more underrated beer destinations. The university town of Tübingen, where Goethe once studied, makes for an ideal beer stop en 

Cologne and Its Kölsch: A Rough-and-Ready Guide

Cologne and Its Kölsch: A Rough-and-Ready Guide

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 

Dresden, Beer City on the Elbe

Dresden, Beer City on the Elbe

  Florence on the Elbe. A jewel box of baroque and rococo architecture. Onetime capital of Saxon dukes, electors, and kings. A skyline of spires and domes. And the city where Schiller composed his Ode to Joy. With its pleasant location on the Elbe and 

Berchtesgaden and the Königssee: Alpine Breweries and Lakeside Beer Gardens

Berchtesgaden and the Königssee: Alpine Breweries and Lakeside Beer Gardens

  Salt was once white gold in the region spanning southern Bavaria and northern Austria. Like Salzburg and Hallstatt, like Bad Reichenhall and Traunstein, Berchtesgaden was built on a mountain of revenue from the salt trade. Founded in 1102 as an Augustine monastery and raised 

Bad Reichenhall: Beer in an Upper Bavarian Spa Town

Bad Reichenhall: Beer in an Upper Bavarian Spa Town

  Of Salt and Spas The first thing I’ll say about Bad Reichenhall in the southeastern tip of Bavaria is that I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve never been one for spa towns, and have left places like Bad Ischl in Austria and Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) 

A Recipe for Stout Irish Stew

A Recipe for Stout Irish Stew

  It’s Friday afternoon, the day after our homebrew club’s St. Paddy’s Day Potluck. It’s also been a long stretch without a break from translation projects and beer writing projects, a few of which you’ll soon see in print. And it’s been quite some time 

The Brauereienweg, Franconia’s Original Beer Hiking Trail

The Brauereienweg, Franconia’s Original Beer Hiking Trail

  Secluded Forests and Rolling Hills in Franconian Switzerland Bamberg is the epicenter of Franconian beer, but hidden gems await the wanderer willing to plunge into the verdant landscape of Franconian Switzerland, a region that owes its name to its scenic landscape of rolling hills, 

Pubs and Pints in Edinburgh

Pubs and Pints in Edinburgh

  “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 

Of Martyrs and Moby Dick: Weihenstephan’s Vitus Weizenbock

Of Martyrs and Moby Dick: Weihenstephan’s Vitus Weizenbock

  ~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