Beer Haus' of Munich - HofbreauHaus, Weisses, Augstiner, and Pauliner

I am sorry to my fan (possibly fans if I can get JP to look on his own) that is has been so long since I have blogged. The only excuse I have is that I was working – in GERMANY. I wish I could say it was the beer that distracted me, however it was the work. L Thankfully at ALL our evening events we were supplied with FranzisKaner beer. It was fresh on top.

I was able to slip in a little play time. My only free PM in Munich was Tuesday and I was able to make it to 4 brew houses. The is order is favorite to least favorite.
HofbreauHaus - if you go to Munich you have to go there. It was my quintessential vision of a brew house. It is huge, expanding 4-5 rooms, long wooden tables and benches, mass (large – what we refer to as liter) and klien (small- what we refer to as 16oz beers) – but of course they assume you want the liter, oompa band on stage, wait staff in traditional lederhosen and dirndls. It is awesome. The beer itself was good. Nothing personally wild and crazy for me, but good. I know it is cheesy touristy, but I loved it.
Weisses Brew Haus - (home of the Aventis & Schneider Weiss beers)– on the other hand was a less touristy and more typical Munich brew houses. The food was authentic, and the beer was great.
Augustiner Brew Haus – Another tradition brew house with good beer, but more tourists. We headed to one (as they have many locations) that was a little further out of the center, but it was still loaded with tourists. What I loved about the Augustiner Haus was that they held true to the table sharing tradition. If you were not aware, it is traditional that if there are open seats at your table, if someone wants to join you, they ask and you permit them to sit with you. Conversation usually ensues. In our case we did not speak German, so no conversation was had with the folks that joined us at our table.
Pauliner Brew Haus – This location (again they had multiple locations) was the last destination for the PM, we had had a few beers in us already which could have possibly clouded our judgment, but to me felt more upscale than necessary. Smaller rounder and square tables with table cloths and candles. Good beer, atmosphere just ok.
So in conclusion I would have to say that although it is known as a tourist trap, the Hoffbrauhaus ROCKS and is a must see in Munich.

Final words about Prague

As I am running out of time, because I have to hit the Autobahn to Munich, I wanted to give my final assessment, beer wise of course of Prague. Let me start by saying the city is amazing and I had a blast. The beers I did try were very good, nothing I would call amazing or add to my top 10 list, although Budvar dark may receive an alternate position, all in all I would have to say is good country, and good beer. However if you are looking for variety, Prague is not your country. What they do offer they do well, but the offering is small. From this beer lovers point of view definitely go, but don’t go for the beers.

Medvidku maker of Oldgott - awesome bar in Czech Republic

As promised I wanted to tell my readers about the Czech Republic. We arrived yesterday to Munich and immediately drove to Prague. A very short simple trip. We were greeted by friendly people and great beer. For those of you who don’t know, the Czech’s created the original Budweiser – which we have enjoyed many times in the US. This time we had it on tap. We went to a place called Medvidku – an awesome micro brewery – that looks small from the outside, however when you went it there were 3-5 beer hall rooms, plus a brewery on the 2nd floor – that was in use. The smell of fresh hops and grains lingered in the air (only on the 2nd floor) because of the no smoking laws – that it, there are NO smoking laws so you can smoke wherever. We also enjoyed a fresh homebrew called Oldgott which had a great rich flavor. We did not try the X33 – one of the worlds most potent beers – that we are brining home to try with our friends.

Well off I go again to drink more beers.

Keep reading and I will keep posting.
SBG

It is about time for a new post

I have been asked many times what is my favorite bar. Domestically I would have to say hands down, it is a little place in Lovell Maine called Ebenezer’s Pub Check them out - http://ebenezerspub.net

The beer selection is amazing. There is stuff there that you simply can not get in any other New England state. How the owner does it, I don’t know, and I don’t care. It is one of the few places I can walk into and ask the owner Chris, or his wife Jenny to pick something out for me. They know beer and they know me. We typically take 3-5 minutes deciding, but just about every time I am extremely happy with the selection. They will hold 1-2 beers that are hard to find and they think we would like. The owner is also one of the most colorful characters I have ever met in my life. He loves beer more than I, and more than anyone else I know, and that true passion shines through. Of course you have to take everything he says with a grain of salt.

Last night I was given a Kiren Light instead of a Kiren, and I have to say not bad. Not as good as the Bar Harbor Real Ale by Atlantic Brewing Company (Bar Harbor ME) that I had when I got home, but not bad.

Let me know some good beers you have tried.
SBG

Nugget Nectar

I wanted to mention how much good the Nugget Nectar beer by Troegs is awesome. It has a ranking of A on Beer Advocate. I have to agree. If you can get it, try it.
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/694/15881

Traveling outside the US for Work - and beer!

OK, so I know the economy sucks, but you still need to vacation right? Well my company is sending me to Munich Germany for a conference. So what is a girl to do? Here is what I am going to do - invite her husband to go with her and head to the Czech Republic prior to the conference.
Due to the limited funds and the limited time the question now becomes…….
Do we stop by Pilsner (the original home of the most sacred of styles) or the Czechvar brewery? For those of you who don’t know Czechvar (which is called Budvar in all other countries) was originally called Budviser. Sound familiar? Well us patent laws made them (even though they were around for many many years before Budweiser)change their name to Czechvar. However they could not make them change the beer – it is one of the best Pilsners in the world.
So you see our dilemma? Oh wait there is no big dilemma, rather just a choice that has to be made. Either way I will be partaking in some of the world’s best beers.

The Barking Dog, Purple Haze by Abita

So this weekend I went to my favorite local joint, The Barking Dog and was served by one of my favorite bartenders Jeff. Jeff is a sweet young (compared to me) guy who always is right on the money for beer suggestions. So you would imagine my surprise when he was cut early from his shift and sat down to have some dinner and a drink or so. Low and behold what was he drinking, Bud Light. This is the same man who came up with the McConehey. A mixture of Purple Haze and some kind of Porter– a masterpiece!!!!