Back from Europe and ready to brew!

Thanks to everyone for all the help/suggestions/advice. The two week trip was great from beginning to end. I won't go into full detail right now, but in regards to the beer; there was no shortage of quality brew. In Greece it was Heineken, Mythos, and Amstel (not light), which all tasted fresh and worked in the warm setting. Once we got to Austria, I went from Trumer Pils to Murauer Marzen, Stiegl, Ottakringer, Franziskaner, and Augustiner. Once we hit Germany it was Ayinger, Andechser, Hacker & Pschorr, Spaten, Paulaner, and of course Hofbrau. The attitude towards beer over there was so much better than here. They treat it with much more respect and normalcy than most of us here do. Even on some of the Intercity Trains, they would serve the hefeweizen in the proper glassware with the proper 5 minute procedure. It was great to see and I think we as homebrewers share that similar way of viewing beer. Even the lightest beers they have are much more complex than our light "beer". I really hope their beer culture rubs off on ours more and more. It was great to see and inspiring as some who has actually brewed beer. I can't wait to experience it again...prost!

Andechs Hefeweizen



Biergarten in the English Garden of Munich



Eine Trumer pilsener

 

It's great to have you back! Now....Knuckle down and get a thread with pics started for this trip.

 

Welcome back. I hope your "system" handled all that beer without many negative effects.

 

I wondered about that too. I was hoping that the trip cured him, as he said he was ready to brew again!

 

Welcome back, Ben! So what are you going to try and clone first?

 

Thanks Ed, I was able to pace myself so its all good...

Here are some more pics...

Hop Wreath (they decorated with hops everywhere)



Santorini doesn't have the best beer, but it does have the best views

 

Thanks, the Andechser Weißbier Dunkel will probably be my first clone attempt. Besides the maltiness, it has nice raisin and chocolate notes that I've never tasted in weizen before...

 

They decorate with hops? No wonder there's a shortage.

 

one sconce (60 mins)
Dry hop with a christmas tree.

 

I thought the same thing! Who knows what varieties they were, but yeah they used hops very creatively for decorative purposes. It was nice to see beer being celebrated rather than disdained...

 

Eyes wide opened

 

Yeah, I mean I didn't consider myself conservative to begin with. I just realize now how our collectively conservative attitudes towards many things differ from over there...

 

Welcome back! You didn't catch a cold, did you?

 

How'd you guess? I made it all the way to Munich without getting sick. The second day in Munich I got the sore throat and I'm just coming out of my cold now. I wasn't going to let it slow me down until we were back home...

 

That sucks!

With the incubation period, sounds like you picked it up on the trip over... better than crashing!

 

welcome back, glad you were able to hoist a few over there.

 

Indeed, like die Dunkles Weissbier seen here...

 

I am glad you guys had a great time! Were all your fears/concerns abated? Was it what you were expecting?

 

Thanks man. I had no problems with flying and everyone was nice enough. We spoke enough Greek and German to make our way. Actually several times in Austria and Munich, people thought we were German. The places we went to either met or exceeded my expectations. I enjoyed Austria the most, which surprised me...

 

You were loose. Main key to having a good time!!

 

I used to drive from Augsburg to Andechs on a nice sunny day just to sit in the garden and drink a few...I've been to the Hofbrauhaus at least 100 times... Actually, I've never been to Munich WITHOUT going to the Hofbrauhaus...:rockin:

Glad you had a good time.