One of the best things about being in
Europe is the beer. I've always had a love affair with beer and it has only
gotten stronger as I tour around this great continent and discover new styles
and brands.
Now, when I say "Beer", I'm
not talking about that watered down American swill that passes as beer, such as
Budweiser, Michelob, Miller, and the lot. I'm talking about real beer .
The kind you appreciate for the taste and unique blending of different
ingredients. Belgium remains my favorite country for beer based on the variety
and quality. And the UK & Ireland ales are just phenomenal. We won't even
get started on Germany...
So here is a short pictorial recounting
of how beer has played a significant part of my European experience:
Shortly after arriving in Europe, I met
my friend Randy in Rome. Here we are at the Trinity College Pub in Rome
enjoying a pint. |
This is the Sports Bar in Kitzingen, Germany. It
was my second home during my time there. Here's me and my Turkish friend.
I'm drinking a Dunkelweizen. |
Me and my friend Steve Lester, also in Germany.
His neighbors invited us to their party and we drank some good German pils.
We also gave them some Sam Adams and they loved it. |
Here I am in Strasbourg, France, enjoying a cold
Hoegaarden. Truly paradise. |
Hoegaarden, from Belgium. One of my favorites.
Notice the glass. Whenever possible, Hoegaarden should be drunk out of
this type of glass. |
Learning how to do a correct pour of a Guinness
at the Irish House in Kaiserslautern. The bartender was from Ireland and
gave me thorough instructions. |
This is Steve and Tammi Lentz. For about a year,
Steve was my beer buddy in Germany. We took a lot of pride in discovering
good beer. We even tried to brew our own once, with disastrous results.
|
This is the Beer Man, who we met in Luxembourg
City. He was studying near Munich to be a "Meisterbrau" (Brewmaster).
We spent a very enjoyable evening discussing beer with him. He even said
he was impressed by our knowledge. |
Got Steve hooked on Sam Adams. I'm drinking a
Winter Lager, Steve is enjoying a robust Boston Ale. |
One great about Germany are the fests. They
always have fresh local beer on tap. Here I am in Kaiserslautern enjoying
myself at their yearly fest.
|
My first New Year's Eve was spent in London at a
6 story Irish Pub called Waxy O'Connor's. The Guinness was perfect. The
next night we went to a comedy club and drank draught Boddington's all
night. Paradise, truly.
|
Salzburg, Austria: There is a beerhall &
garden called the Augustiner Brewery. The beer is brewed by monks. It's
cold, delicious, and flows like water in 1 litre mugs called a "mas".
|
This was taken at a great Irish Pub in Nurnberg
called The Irish Castle. Drinking Guinness with Irish people is a great
European beer tradition
|
Me and Mike Rayfield at his house near Vicenza.
I'm drinking the ubiquitous Sam Adams, Mike a generic German pils.
|
On the occasions when I went home on leave, I
would usually suffer from lack of real beer. Luckily I could always count
on Sam Adams.
|
| |
You may
have heard me say it a million times, but for my money, Belgium is the
best beer country in Europe. The sheer variety of styles and high quality
of the beer is second to none. Be warned, however, that Stella Artois is
not a real Belgian beer. It's more like a Belgian Budweiser. My favorite
is Hoegaarden (see above). Here are a few Belgian beer memories... |
|
Two fantastic Belgian brews.
|
This is a Trappist Rochefort 10. It features
plenty of sediment and clocks in at a hefty 11% abv. Tremendous sipping
beer.
|
Another favorite, Brugse Tripel (Brewed in the
medieval city of Brugge). A very strong
beer and full of flavor. Definitely not for the average American beer
drinker. Hard to find outside of Belgium, although I enjoyed this pint in
Amsterdam.
|
| |
In
2000, I relocated to Italy where I currently find myself. While Italy is
certainly not a beer country, there is still much to satisfy any beer
drinker here. Since many Germans vacation here, German beer is everywhere.
And Italy has fully embraced the Irish Pub concept so it's easy to get a
pint in pretty much any city, big or small. |
|
Enjoying a German pils and Italian snacks on a
hot day in Bologna |
Yes, even in Bologna, you can get a nice cold
Tenants Scotch Ale. |
With Bob, a Brit I met in one of the pubs in
Bologna, enjoying our pints of Tenants |
Go to Bassano dal Grappa and you'll find Tetley's
Pub overlooking the old town. What a gorgeous view to enjoy while
drinking a pint of Tetley's Ale.
|
Here's another shot of me enjoying a pint of
Tetley's in Bassano. No trip to Bassano is complete without a visit to
Tetley's.
|
About to enjoy a pint in one of Venice's Irish
Pubs |
| Venice
is a city that is near and dear to my heart. And a big reason why is
because of the pubs. There 3 great pubs there - The Devil's Forest, the
Fiddler's Elbow, and the Inishark. They make for a unique pub crawl
experience, something we've done several times. Here are some pics from
Venice's pubs: |
The Devil's Forest. Small, but always a good
atmosphere. |
Steve Lester and I enjoying a pint of Kilkenny
Cream Ale at the DF |
Xavier drinks his bottle while daddy drinks his
pint |
This one is from one of our Venice Pub Crawls, it
was taken at the Inishark
|
And this one, from the Fiddler's Elbow |
| |
The Fiddler's
Elbow is an Italian institution. There
are actually 3 of them in Italy - one in Rome, one in Florence, and one in
Venice. I'm proud to say that I've drank in all of them: |
|
Rome |
Florence
|
Venice
|
Here's me and Steve at Flanagan's Pub in Geneva,
Switzerland. I was so thrilled to find out that they had Boddingtons, one
of my favorites.
|
Me, my friend Avisha, and a nice cold pint at
Flanagans in Geneva
|
June, 2004, European Soccer Championships in
Porto, Portugal. We got lubricated on SuperBock before the match
|
Another surprisingly good beer city is Amsterdam.
And NOT because of the Heineken, although it actually tastes good there.
Because of its location, the city is overflowing with English &
Belgian beer. |
One of the many pubs on the Rembrandt Plein |
This one is right next to the Hard Rock Cafe and
casino in Amsterdam. Great location and great draught beer. |
| |
|
|
This is one of my all-time favorite
photos. It was taken in Innsbruck, Austria in July 2004. As you can see, my son
Xavier is a real chip off the old block:
Beer Quotes:
"Beer is proof that God loves us
and wants us to be happy". - Benjamin Franklin
"People who drink light 'beer'
don't like the taste of beer; they just like to pee a lot."
-Capital Brewery, Middleton, WI
"The easiest way to spot a
wanker in a pub is to look around and find who's drinking a Corona with a slice
of lemon in the neck."
-Warwick Franks
"I am a firm believer in the
people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national
crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer."
-Abraham Lincoln
"Why is American beer served
cold? So you can tell it from urine."
-David Moulton
"I would kill everyone in this
room for a drop of sweet beer."
-Homer Simpson
"Give me a woman who loves beer
and I will conquer the world."
-Kaiser Welhelm
"24 hours in a day, 24 beers in
a case. Coincidence?"
- Stephen Wright
Beer Links: Suggested reading for
any beer enthusiast
