Beers of Düsseldorf & Lower Rhine/Maastricht Beer Festival

Next weeks Maastricht Beer Festival kicks off at 1900/7pm on Friday 07 March and ends at 0030 (1230am) on Saturday 08 March 2008.

The Beers of Düsseldorf and Lower Rhine
All 10 litre barrels

1. Füchschen Alt
2. Schumacher Alt
3. Bolten Ur-Alt (unfiltered Alt)
4. Bolten Landbier (unfiltered Kölsch)
5. Bolten Lecker Bierchen (Pils)
6. Gleumes Hell (Kölsch)
7. Gleumes Lager (Alt)
8. Gleumes Hefe Weizen
   
9. Schmitz-Mönk Alt
10. Schmitz-Mönk Hefe Weizen

Beer Menu page 1
Beer Menu page 2

Opening times
Friday 1900-0030 (7pm-1230am)
Saturday 1400-0030 (2pm-1230am)
Cost
Festival tasting glass 15cl €5.00 (includes entrance fee)
Beer token €1.80
Food Various
Where Approximately:
Just north of Maastricht centre on the west bank of the Maas/Meuse river.
Address of Festival:
Boschstraat 30a, Maastricht.
See Map.

See you all there. For a beer or 2!
Cheers for now!
Andy

Bohemia & Franconia Special (April)

We have the last 2 places available on April's beer tour to the Czech region of Bohemia with the German regions of the Oberpfalz and Franconia.

ONLY 2 PLACES LEFT

Dates
The 10-day Bohemia and Franconia Special Beer Tour TM is from Friday 11-Sunday 20 April 2008.
Pick-up/drop-off is Frankfurt Airport.

Itinerary
The copyrighted itinerary for the tour can be found be clicking on Proposed Itinerary. (Email for password). Enjoy!

Highlights

• Regensburg Altstadt on the Danube.
• Discover Damfpbier at Zwiesel!
• Brewery guest house (over-night) and distillery in the Bavarian Forest in Germany.
• The Šumava (Bohemian Forest) area of Czech Republic.
• České Krumlov (UNESCO World Heritage Centre)
• České Budĕjovice/Budweis (over-night)
• Budweis Pivovar/Brewery visit and tour
  
• Country breweries of Bohemia (we know where they are!)
  
• Prague (UNESCO World Heritage Centre)
• Plzeň/Pilsen Pivovar/Brewery visit and tour.
• Zoigl beers, 15 pubs with over-night in the Oberpfalz, Bavaria.
• Forchheim's 4 breweries, and the beer-cellars of the Kellerwald !
• Fränkische Schweiz and Pottenstein.
  
• Maisels Steam Brewery Museum, Bayreuth.
  
• Historic Bamberg (UNESCO World Heritage Centre).
• Bamberg's Smoked Beers and10 breweries.
  
• And much much more.......

All enquiries and further details contact Andy by email andy@bier-mania.com or phone us here in Germany.
Dobre Den or Prost!

Düsseldorf Classic (NC-080225)

Another excellent day in Düsseldorf, great weather, 4 brewery pubs and great food! Oh, and of course, must mention the beer!
Piccie on the right is the mash and boil kettle at Schumacher. Smelt good!
Tips of the Day
First thing though, quick bit of history for that next trivial pursuits night. Any mistakes don't blame me.

• Our mates the Neandertals came from just east of Düsseldorf. Nice looking bunch.
• Düss was first settled around 700AD where the river Düssel joined the Rhine. They called it Düssel-dorf or Düssel village.
• The oldest brewery in Düss is Schumacher-1836.
• The oldest Altbier brewery in the world is Bolten just 20km west of Düss-1266.
  
• Before the early 1800s the beer was called bier. Funny that.
• The beer started to be called Alt later on in the 1800s, in fact it was called Alt Lagerbier.
• Alt's cousin, Kölsch came about due to new kilning techniques in the UK in the mid 1800s-lighter coloured malt. Simple.

So there we go, something to tell your mates down the pub. If you have any.
Some food for thought though for the smarty-pants. How can a brewery be the oldest Altbier brewery from 1266 if it wasn't called Alt then? Replies on a postcard. Or email!

Warning-before you open up the Schumacher link, pour a cool Altbier (any 5% ABV dark beer if you aren't lucky enough to have the real thing!), crank up the volume to maximum and wait.....

Can we continue? Okay then.
So the day started with an awesome look around Schumacher brewery (thanks Josef the Brauer) followed by a few glasses of wets, delicious, always tastes better after watching and smelling it being brewed!
A short walk across Düsseldorf and next stop Füchschen, some more beer and some serious meat dishes!
A quick beer in Schlüssel and then our final brewery pub, Uerige great attitude, 'no coca cola, no lemonade' just beer! Love it.
I know it's quite sad but has anyone been to Düsseldorf Altstadt (or Bamberg or Munich) and ever waited for a wooden barrel to be tapped? No? Anyway, it's just like being a kid waiting for a geyser to erupt! Well, maybe.

Tour Photos. (Please note that copyright applies unless you're in them!).

See you all again soon!
Cheers!

Not quite sure what Eric Clapton and Düss have in common but they have now!

Ardennes Special Video!

La Petite Fontaine, Achouffe!

This has got to be the most dangerous place to be on a Saturday night in the Ardennes, maybe even in Belgium! A place where the phrase to be 'Chouffed' was invented. Even the gnomes stay away.
The band kicks off at 2300/11pm every Saturday night in the village of Achouffe deep in the Ardennes, the rest is history!
Cheers!

Ardennes Special AS-080215

Well, what a great weekend! Some people managed to get well and truly 'Chouffed' Saturday night at La Petite Fontaine in Achouffe, dangerous place, band was seriously kicking!
Quote of the weekend, 'what's there to do in the Ardennes?'. Not much really I suppose, just a few breweries, a couple of monasteries and a kicking band in Achouffe!

Tour Photos. (Please note that copyright applies).

Friday-day 1
The weekend started in Bruxelles airport, then it was off to Drie Fonteinen for an excellent 'look around', thanks Guido, followed by the usual excellent meal paired with beer, including mussels cooked in Geuze, delicious!
Chance for a break and next stop was Chimay Trappiste Abbey, great visit followed by a beer, including the lower alcohol 4.8% 'monk's beer', otherwise known as Chimay Doree. Great place.
After hopping across the border and into Alsace and a stop in paradise, in the form of a beer warehouse Vannet, we were round Sedan and back into Belgium.
Great night in Bouillon, even if pubs do close at strange hours! What a castle though, Godefroid was a lucky guy!

Saturday-day 2
Today started with a cold visit around the amazingly peaceful Abbey/Monastery at Orval followed by some Orval 6.2 and 3.5 (the 'monk's beer) and some food. Even after some 7 visits we never tire of probably the most stunning of Belgium's Trappiste monasteries.
we then headed north and up to Houffalize, quick photo by the German tank then it was Achouffe and a brewery tour followed by some beers and carnival music! Yep, there is even a Chouffe song!

After settling into the gorgeous La Vieille Forge hotel (a converted forgery/blacksmiths) we had a Belgium Beer Night, a selection of around 25 Belgium beers with food cooked in beer. I wouldn't want to be a rabbit in the Ardennes!
Later it was down to La Petite Fontaine for some great live music from the resident band, even Tine was singing that night!
Sunday-day 3
Breakfast and sadly the end of the tour.
See you all next time.

Cheers!

Great Belgium Beer Tour/Grand Prix (August)

Dates
Sunday 31 August-Sunday 07 September 2008
Tour Itinerary
Proposed Itinerary.

Oktoberfest 2008/Bayern Special (MB-080923-C)

Dates
Wednesday 24-Thursday 25 September 2008
Proposed Itinerary.
Tour Itinerary
Day 1-Oktoberfest

• Pick-up Munich airport
• Transfer to hotel in central Munich
• Oktoberfest (with reservation)!
• Overnight-Munich

Day 2-Munich

• Munich walkabout
• Lunch at Hofbräuhaus, Augustiner or Schneider
• Or
• Oktoberfest!
• Transfer to Munich airport

What's Included

• Airport transfers by luxury coach
• Hotel **** x 1 night
• Breakfast x 1
• Beer tent reservation
• 2 x litres of beer
• 1/2 chicken!
• A whole lot of fun!

Pick-up/drop-off
Munich airport (Germany).