[HoosierBrew]

Wow, no clout for Matt !  That's pretty rigid !

[ajk]

Yeah, you were on the tour with some folks I know (Sandy and Agatha, you were in some of their facebook posts).

Well, I know I was on the tour. I wasn't that drunk (yet)!

A guy in our club has a picture when he threw a log of Beachwood into the Schlenkerla firebox to smoke the malt. He was on a big tour. Another guy I talked to was in Bamberg last fall and did not get a tour. That guy was Matt Bynildson, he was talking about being there and even asking Herr Trum. I't didn't work. Those Germans like to have things all set up.

True. I'm a little surprised, though, given how brewpub-like the place is.

[hopfenundmalz]

Yeah, you were on the tour with some folks I know (Sandy and Agatha, you were in some of their facebook posts).

Well, I know I was on the tour. I wasn't that drunk (yet)!

A guy in our club has a picture when he threw a log of Beachwood into the Schlenkerla firebox to smoke the malt. He was on a big tour. Another guy I talked to was in Bamberg last fall and did not get a tour. That guy was Matt Bynildson, he was talking about being there and even asking Herr Trum. I't didn't work. Those Germans like to have things all set up.

True. I'm a little surprised, though, given how brewpub-like the place is.

The taproom is one thing, getting into the brewery up the hill is another.

I have been in the Spezial brewery, bkut that was after 3 or 4 nights there, and another American had a tour set up as he had been there for more than a week. We were able to tag along.

[ajk]

Yeah, you were on the tour with some folks I know (Sandy and Agatha, you were in some of their facebook posts).

Well, I know I was on the tour. I wasn't that drunk (yet)!

A guy in our club has a picture when he threw a log of Beachwood into the Schlenkerla firebox to smoke the malt. He was on a big tour. Another guy I talked to was in Bamberg last fall and did not get a tour. That guy was Matt Bynildson, he was talking about being there and even asking Herr Trum. I't didn't work. Those Germans like to have things all set up.

True. I'm a little surprised, though, given how brewpub-like the place is.

The taproom is one thing, getting into the brewery up the hill is another.

Oh, sorry, I had circled back to talking about Ayinger again.  Yes, it was pretty clear the Schlenkerla brewery tour was a very, very special thing.  I don't think Sandy made it on that one, which was a shame.

I have been in the Spezial brewery, bkut that was after 3 or 4 nights there, and another American had a tour set up as he had been there for more than a week. We were able to tag along.

A Spezial tour hadn't been arranged for us, but I would have enjoyed that.  I did like their tap room, and I loved the biergarten.

[hopfenundmalz]

Yeah, you were on the tour with some folks I know (Sandy and Agatha, you were in some of their facebook posts).

Well, I know I was on the tour. I wasn't that drunk (yet)!

A guy in our club has a picture when he threw a log of Beachwood into the Schlenkerla firebox to smoke the malt. He was on a big tour. Another guy I talked to was in Bamberg last fall and did not get a tour. That guy was Matt Bynildson, he was talking about being there and even asking Herr Trum. I't didn't work. Those Germans like to have things all set up.

True. I'm a little surprised, though, given how brewpub-like the place is.

The taproom is one thing, getting into the brewery up the hill is another.

Oh, sorry, I had circled back to talking about Ayinger again.  Yes, it was pretty clear the Schlenkerla brewery tour was a very, very special thing.  I don't think Sandy made it on that one, which was a shame.

I have been in the Spezial brewery, bkut that was after 3 or 4 nights there, and another American had a tour set up as he had been there for more than a week. We were able to tag along.

A Spezial tour hadn't been arranged for us, but I would have enjoyed that.  I did like their tap room, and I loved the biergarten.

As I understand it, the Spezial Keller up the hill is the sister's place. The brewery and tap belong to Herr Merz. When the old man died he left the brewery to the son and the Keller up the hill to the daughter, and it has been somewhat a strained relation since. I have to say that the wife and I love both of them.

[hopfenundmalz]

Wow, no clout for Matt !  That's pretty rigid !

I think it had to do with no reservations. Matt was touring as I understand it. That is the way it is in Germany, you need reservations.

It was a conversation at Eccentric Day at Bells. Matt was the guest brewer this year. I had talked with him a few times before, so had no problems chatting him up again. It was a long rambling talk about Germany, the NHC, the automotive industry (I am a recovering automotive engineer), California, Firestone Walker and Pivo Pils (love it), Kalamazoo, and Bells. It was a good day!

[nateo]

When we went to Hacker-Pschorr, we just stuck our heads in the door to the brewery, and asked if we could look around. The guy working there gave us a brief tour, and then we hung out and talked about brewing for a while. It was pretty rad. Patrick (my friend) said that probably wouldn't have worked if they were busy, but it was around lunchtime and there was hardly anyone there.

The open fermenters were really cool to see, but the rest of the brewhouse was modern.

[nateo]

Went to Augustiner Keller by accident yesterday, by Hackerbrucke street. Watched some people play Eisstockschießen for a while in the biergarten, and they had a hand-made crafts market in the bierhalle. It was pretty cool.

[AmandaK]

Well, looking at the pricing for Munich during Oktoberfest... It would be as much as 7 months of my house payment. Jesus. I think we're staying in America.

I hope to get there someday.

[gmwren]

Oktoberfest is fun, but I've had more fun at the local beer halls. The locals stay away from the Theresienweise with good reason. Lots of Italian young men running around trying to pinch women's butts, drunk English soccer hooligans trying to dance on the tables and Japanese tourist taking pictures of it all. Due to the crowds, you must have a seat to get a beer. It's best to tag team a table for your group so you can get food and drink and still get up to see the sights and most importantly, use the bathroom.

If you have the time, visit the Cannstatter Volksfest just outside of Stuttgart. They consider themselves to be the worlds second largest beer fest and it has a much more local flair.

[nateo]

I don't really want to go to Oktoberfest. I'm not an agoraphobe or anything, but I'd rather have a quiet beer with friends than get black-out drunk with a million people. I mean, if I'm in the area, I might go (once).

It's definitely cheaper to go in the off-season. I found a one-way plane ticket for $600. I've been staying with a friend, which makes it cheap too, but there are cheap-ish hotels in the suburbs if you don't mind the train. The big hostels are actually kind of expensive, if you want a single or double room. There's an OK hotel in Maisach that's 25 euros a night for a single room. Even if you have to spend 8 euros a day for a train pass, it's a better deal than the hostels in the city. Plus I just like taking the train.

I went to Andechs yesterday. There are tour busses that can take you to the monastery, but I suggest taking the walking path (Pilgerweg). It's a really nice walk through the forest. It's maybe 4km, and it's uphill, so going there felt like it took a while, but coming back went fast.

I hung out with a retired Swiss army guy, and this group of older people shared their picnic lunch with me. Apparently Andechs is where all the pensioners hang out. It was really cool to hang out with them. That kind of thing is why knowing German is helpful. The day-to-day stuff you can get by fine with no/limited German, but it's harder to make connections like that if you can't talk to each other.

[mabrungard]

Has anyone been there for Fruhlingsfest? I understand its the spring counterpart of Oktoberfest.

[gmwren]

The spring festival is kind of scaled down, but again the Cannstatter Wasen is a great place to go. Located near Stuttgart in Bad Cannstatt, it is less touristy than the Munich fests and is the largest of the spring fests.

Where I lived in the Rheingau Wine region, the normally closed to the public wineries would open their doors to the public and serve special wine dinners. The goal was to travel to all the ones listed in a passport, get a stamp from each, and submit them for a raffle to win prizes.

[hopfenundmalz]

I know some guys from work that used to go now and then. They had business in Stuttgart and would hit both that gmwren mentioned. They liked the beer better, as it is Starkbierseit, so bigger was better for them.

The Rheingau has fond memories for the wife and I. We lived in Wiesbaden, and that is wine country, not beer country.

[nateo]

Bonus London edition!

So I went to visit a friend in London. I know a week is hardly enough time to make a decision about a place, but here are my initial thoughts: I found a bunch of "craft beer" pubs here, but they were all super trendy, and crazy expensive. Like 6-10 pounds per pint, and quality was pretty middling, compared to "craft" beers in the US. But, maybe of the dozen or so I tried, I just got all the bland ones.

Also, a lot of the pubs are owned by chains now. Nicholson's pubs are decent, as far as selection and price (more like 4-5 pounds per pint), but my favorite were the Samuel Smith pubs. Many of them have the Old Brewery Bitter on cask/hand pump, and they all seem to have the Extra Stout on nitro. Their Dark Mild was good too. The pubs seem to be the stereotypical "British pub" of my imagination: 19th century styling, dark wood, and at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese the front door is on a narrow alley, and you can sit in the basement alcoves.

I have been pretty impressed by the ciders here. I had a handful of them at one of the craft places, and they were really good, although most tend to be pretty sweet.