Happy New Year 2009

Wishing you all a Happy Happy New Year!
For all of you who were on our tours in 2008, thanks for your support and hope you all had a wonderful time, we certainly did!

Be good to see many more of you in 2009.










Cheers for 2009.

Andy and Evi
the team at Bier-Mania!

Happy Christmas 2008!

Hello to all of you!
Long time since we posted, however...... Hope you all had a great Christmas 2008!

Cheers,
Andy
Bier-Mania! Cultural Beer Tours

Oktoberfest 2009 Chickens and Beer!

If you do wish to go to Oktoberfest in Munich next year, please contact us as soon as possible, the sonner the better!
What's a koala beer doing with 2 Mass Kruges?
It was given to us when we met up with Kenneth Hart on his 10-day European Thirsty Swagman tour with a group from Australia, cheers Kenneth!
We also met Kenneth and his group at the weekend in Düsseldorf when we visited the 4 brewery-pubs there, hope you all had a great tour guys!
Cheers,
Andy

Oktoberfest 2008-It's Over!

Finally back from this year's 175th Munich Oktoberfest, great time and a total of 3 tours this year, the Fest ended on Sunday after 16 days and some 7 million litres later...we didn't drink all of them but we did contribute!
Our tours are not just about Munich's Oktoberfest, we also see the Alps where we spend a night at a rustic guesthouse then followed by a walkabout in Munich before we go to the Oktoberfest on the 3rd day of tours, works well!
All tours visited mad Ludwig's Neuschwanstein and Höhenschwangau Castles then we headed into Austria and around lake Plansee in the Austrian Alps, a gorgeous drive through some stunning scenery. Most tours we also stopped at the Benedict Ettaler Kloster, a monatery in the village of Ettal, they not only have a terrific church but also brew their own excellent beer as well of course making their own liquor and cheese!
The first night we stayed in the village of Oberammergau, well known for it's Passion Play when the villagers made a pact with God in 1633 and performed every 10 years since 1634.
After a few Maxbräus at the brew pub Maximillians, we ate at Johanna's Zum Stern Gasthaus, also our accommodation for the night.
On the first day of tours in Munich we went to the world renowned Hofbräuhaus for some beer and traditional Bavarian food, great atmsposphere and some good singing! This was followed by a much needed walkabout in Munich visiting sights such as-

• Altrathaus and the Glockenspiel on Marienplatz
• Theatrekirche and Odeonplatz
• Hofgarten
• The River Isar and Müllersvolksbad
• Englischegarten and Chinischeturm

Not only did we see the usual sights, we also went to beerhalls such as Schneider's Weisse Brauhaus on Talstrasse for some Weizen beer as well as Augustiner Bierhalle for their excellent Hell Lagerbier (featured in London later this week), Edelstoff, Dunkles and Weizen.
The last day of tours we had a tent reservation for around 6 hours in the Hacker Festzelt, not only a great atmosphere with over 60% of the 9000 revellers in traditional 'Trachten' dress but also one of the most authentic of the tents.
Overall a great time!
Cheers and maybe see you in London!
Bier-Mania!

Zeitgeist-Bier-Mania! Oktober Bier Fest 2008

Only 4 more sleeps to go until 1000 litres of some of Germany's finest beer arrives in Zeitgeist!
As a reminder...
When

* Thursday 09 October 1800-0100/closing time (6pm-1.00am)
* Friday 10 October 1600-0100/closing time (4pm-01.00am)
* Saturday 11 October 1200-0100/closing time (midday-01.00am)
* Sunday 12 October 1200-2300/closing time (midday-11.00pm)

Where
The Jolly Gardeners, 49-51 Black Prince Road, Lambeth, SE11 6AB
See map.

* Tokens to be purchased at the main bar.

Beer List (as pdf)

































This beer list is final!
See you all there!
Prost!
Bier-Mania! Zeitgeist& Stonch

Bruxellensis 2008 Photos

Hello.
Photos from last wekends's Bruxellensis beer festival are now online.
See Photos.

Servus!
Andy

Bruxellensis 2008

For those of you who missed this year's Bruxellensis beer festival in rue Glacier then here is a video.

Oktoberfest 2009 Dates

We now have tour dates for our Bier-Mania! Oktoberfest 2009 tours. We have a total of 5 tours and all tours from next year will be using *** star centrally located hotels in Munich.
Please note that we have Option A and Option B.
So why do a Bier-Mania! Oktoberfest Tour?

• All the planning and bookings have already been made for you.
• You get to join other people, after all it is a sociable event!
• You get to see Munich and not just the Oktoberfest.
• We get reserved places at the Fest!
• When you book a tour you know it will be Andy driving, leading and guiding as well (!).
• We not only visit the Alps (option A), we also stay the night there!
• They're good fun!!
• We run responsible tours, we are there for a Cultural Tour!
  

Option A
This is a fully supported 4-day tour with a maximum of 8 people and includes a scenic drive to Neuschwanstein and across the Austrian Alps. We stay the first night in the Bavarian Alps in the gorgeous village of Oberammergau, which incidentally also has an excellent brew-pub! We stay in Gasthaus Zum Stern. Great place! The 2nd night we are in Munich and a chance to look around and have some lunch in Hofbräuhaus. Day 3 is Oktoberfest Day when we have (TBC) our reserved seats at te Hacker Festzelt.
Tours start and end at Hotel Concorde just 400 metres from the Hofbräuhaus!
Option B
This is basically the same as the above however on day 1 you stay in Munich. Day 2 you join us in the Hofbräuhaus and day 3 in the Oktoberfest. Bier-Mania! will also have an extra guide on day 2 and 3 to show you around Munich.

Dates

• Tour 1 MB-090918 (18-21 September)
  
• Tour 2 MB-090922 (22-25 September)
  
• Tour 3 MB-080926 (25-28 September)
  
• Tour 4 MB-090929 (29-02 October)
  
• Tour 5 MB-091002 (02-05 October)

Price
We have increased the price of tours to €795.00 as we now use *** star hotels.
Tour Itinerary
the itinerary can be downloaded. Oktoberfest 2009 Itinerary.

Cheers,
Andy

The 175th Oktoberfest

Just 3 more sleeps till this year's Oktoberfest kicks off on Saturday 20 September.
It is the 175th Oktoberfest and will be going on until Sunday 05 October.
We go down south tomorrow!

And This Is How It All Started...
The notion of a beer fest in October probably started out decidedly informal, sometime in the late Middle Ages. In those days, Bavarian brewers did not brew during the hot days of summer. They made the summer beers in late March and finished brewing on 23 April (St Georges Day) and started brewing again on 29 September (St Michaels Day) when the cool days of winter returned, at which point they had to consume any left-over summer beer quickly to empty the valuable cooperage for the new season’s fresh beers. So the original Oktoberfest was probably a casual activity for the purpose of disposing of any left-over beer that had made it through the summer.
They called the beer Märzen (March) beer which is also now known as Oktoberfestbier!

The Oktoberfest as a formal, organized affair took place for the first time on October 12, 1810. On that day the Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig (who later became King Ludwig I) married Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. To allow the commoners to partake in the ceremonies, the noble couple decided to organize a wedding party for its subjects on some grazing land outside the Munich city gates—and some 40,000 happy Bavarians showed up for the fun. That meadow, incidentally, was then given its current name of Theresienwiese (Theresa's meadow), in honour of the Crown Princess—and to this day this meadow is still the site of the annual extravaganza. Strangely, the most popular attraction at the first Munich Oktoberfest in 1810 was horse racing and not beer because there wasn't any! Even though there was a lack of beer the fest was such a success that Ludwig decided to repeat the whole show on the anniversary of his wedding and in subsequent years with beer of course.
Already in 1814, the German poet Achim von Arnim reported that the festivities featured an ample array of beer shacks where the people could get their brew in half-litre, tin-lidded steins. Eventually, horse racing was dropped from the program, but—foreshadowing a trend—more and more beer stands were added to keep the crowds in high spirits, and the festivities were extended to several days.
In 1896, the first beer tents appeared. So forward wind to 2008 and it has become probably the become the biggest party in the world.

Cheers!
Bier-Mania! Cultural Beer Tours

Zeitgeist-Bier-Mania! Oktober Bier Fest 2008

Our 2nd London Bier Fest this year, the 'Oktober Bier Fest 2008' brings you not only the usual diverse selection of Germany's 'real' beer, but also Augustiner Oktoberfestbier, straight from Munich after our Oktoberfest Tours!
This prestigious event has been organised again by Bier-Mania! Cultural Beer Tours and Zeitgeist (@ Jolly Gardeners) German gastro-pub in Lambeth in association with Stonch from Stonch's Beer Blog.
The Beers
We will have around 1000 litres of mainly draught beer from around 15 different breweries and 20 different beers. Most beers have never visited the UK so they will be a bit shy and will need lots of help!

Most beer will be served from gravity barrels (Stichfass), and we will also have 2 taps serving Augustiner throughout the Fest by Zapfanlage (CO2).
All beers will be served in its correct glass/stoneware!

The beers represent nearly every style of beer that Germany has, the only thing we have missed (we think!) is Berliner Weisse, Gose (Leipzig), Steinbier, Kirschbier (cherry beer from Neuzelle monastery) and Roggenbier (rye beer) .
When

• Thursday 09 October 1800-0100/closing time (6pm-1.00am)
• Friday 10 October 1600-0100/closing time (4pm-01.00am)
• Saturday 11 October 1200-0100/closing time (midday-01.00am)
• Sunday 12 October 1200-2300/closing time (midday-11.00pm)

Where
The Jolly Gardeners, 49-51 Black Prince Road, Lambeth, SE11 6AB
See map.
Cost

• £3.70 per 0.5 litre beer.

• Tokens to be purchased at the main bar.

Food
There will be the standard Zeitgeist food as well as Weisswurst (veal sausage from Bayern) to give the Fest that Bavarian feel!

Beer List (as pdf)

This beer list is provisional as we will be adding more beer to this list!

See you all there!
Prost!
Bier-Mania! & Zeitgeist

NEW Go East German Beer Tour

This brand new 10-day epic Go East German Beer Tour starts and ends in one of the most spirited cities in the world, Berlin!

We have got together with Ute Boese from The German American Connection to bring you this awesome tour of the former DDR-East Germany as well as Berlin!
The tour shows you the whole of East Germany, all the way from the Bavarian border to the Baltic Sea, an amazingly array of contrasts from historic microbreweries to some of the most modern German breweries.

Brewing beer has a long history in the Eastern part of Germany: Weissbier and Schwarzbier originated in Thuringia (17th century), the German brewery boom originally started in the 13th century in Northern Germany for export to Scandinavia…

Located in the middle of the former DDR, Berlin is the perfect central point to explore traditional and modern German breweries and brewpubs in East Germany.

The variety of local beer specialities is as diversified as the landscapes, cities, town and villages you will cross.

Have a look at the itinerary, again, if you like it drop us a line and get yourself a reserved place – Go East.
Dates will out soon.
Cheers,
Andy (Bier-Mania!)
Ute (The German American Connection)

Bruxellensis 2008 Bier-Mania! Beer List

Hello,
We have now finalised the beers we are taking to Bruxelles next week and think we have a pretty good selection for you to try with 15 different beers, some of which have have never been to Bruxelles before, so it is a bit like a holiday for them!
Please note that not all beers will be available all the time apart from the Zwiesel Dampfbier (1), Schneider Märzen (10) and the Huppendorfer Zwickel (7) all of which we have in bottles.
Beer List as pdf
Cheers! See you there or in London next month!

Oktoberfest Beer Tent Wies'n Plan

This year Bier-Mania! will be at Hacker Festzelt.
The main Oktoberfest entrance is the North side, that is the right hand side of the map above. Walk along and go in the main entrance, breath is the atmosphere of 9500 people and a band!
Cheers!

Oktoberfest Update

Just returned from Munich and can report that the beer tents (Festzelt) are nearly completed ready for the start of the Oktoberfest in only 17 days time!

We currently have 8 places available at our beer tent on Sunday 28 September. There is one thing that potential candidates must know though-the words to a certain song!
Please email andy@bier-mania.com for more details of how to be at the largest Volksfest in the world!

The scene of the left is the main throughfare looking north, the scene will be rather different in 17 days time!

For more information see www.oktoberfest.de


Cheers,
Bier-Mania!

Oktoberfest 2008 Update

We have the following places available for this year's Oktoberfest tours.

Tour 1
Friday 19-Monday 22 September FULL
Tour 2
Tuesday 23-Friday 29 September FULL
Tour 3
Friday 26-Monday 29 September FULL


Cheers,
Bier-Mania!

Oktoberfest 2008 Last Minute Bookings

Bookings for this year's Oktoberfest tours will end this Sunday 24 August!

Only 32 days to go.....
We have only a few places left.
Don't wait another 12 months!

Oktoberfest Beer Now Out-Hacker-Pschorr

Yep, I know it's now August but the Oktoberfest Märzen beer is now out!
The Hacker-Pschorr is excellent, had a 'few' over the last week and it really goes down well. As is usual with Festbier, it is upped in alcohol and has 5.8% ABV.
Looks good! Darkish in colour.
Smells very malty.
Tastes very malty
Aftertaste in all honesty after 3 or 4 it can get a bit 'thick'. And that includes the head!
Don't take my word for it, to find out what it is like you'll have to come over the the Oktoberfest! Or go to my local 'offie'!

German lesson (I did ask the wife!).

• Hacker-Pschorr is quite hard for the English speaking world. So, to pronounce Hacker-Pschorr....
  
• say Hacker.
  
• Then say For surrrre.
• Then say Per surrre.
• Put it together and you have Hacker Per Surrre.
  

Cheers,
Andy @ Bier-Mania!

Ardennes Special Beer Tour Promo Film!

The Belgian Ardennes, great beer, lots of cows and Trappiste Monasteries...awesome!

Oktoberfest Training-Part 3 (Using Mobile Phones)

Part 2 of your Oktoberfest Training Package showed you how to improve and strengthen your drinking arm.

Part 3 of your training takes you through the use of mobile phones (=cell phone for the Americans, =handy for the Germans).
As we have experienced at previous Oktoberfests, it can be very frustrating for you trying to have a telephone conversation at the Oktoberfest when the oompah band is too loud (at leat you know the words now!) and the other 8000 festers just don't care that you are on the phone!

So at Bier-Mania! we believe that the old motto 'train hard-talk easy' is very appropriate-this training guide will help you at least maybe appreciate that trying to have a phone conversation at the Oktoberfest is futile and/or at least realise no-one will ever know what you were trying to say anyway.

If you do however succeed in your training then no-one is going to be impressed except your mobile phone company.

1. Get your mobile phone out.
2. Put in all the numbers (if you don't have them already) of everyrone you vaguely know and/or haven't contacted for at least a year.
3. If you don't have any people that fit into this category then distant relatives or mums, dads, sisters etc would be just as appropriate.
4. You now have 6 weeks to hit your local disco every Friday and/or Saturday. We suggest you only go once a week otherwise you will have no money left for the Oktoberfest.
5. Where were we?
6. Stand close to the speakers at the disco and phone as many people as possible on that list until your friends tell you they are leaving.
7. Say what a great time you are having.Say how you wish they were here.
8. Tell them you miss them.
9. Good luck!
   

Summary
This is excellent training for the Oktoberfest. The next time you talk to those people they will still have no idea who rang them (on your phone!), what you said or where you were.

Cheers!

Oktoberfest Training-Part 2 (Arm Stengthening)

Just 6 weeks to go till the BIG O.
At Bier-Mania! we believe that the old motto 'train hard-drink easy' is very appropriate for the Oktoberfest so we have a few things which we think will ensure your time in Bavaria is as enjoyable as it should be!
This exercise helps to ensure that you can lift your 1 litre Masskrug (=Stein) with ease and waitresses and waiters are seriously impressed...

1. Without further ado (read this first!), start walking around your home with a 2 litre jug in your left hand (or the opposite hand you normally use).
2. Bump into everything (mind the kids and pets).
3. After a week or so you should start to become quite adept at not spilling any liquid, or you have been kicked out of the house.
4. If you have been kicked out of the house then go back to point 1 but replace water with beer and start again.
5. Good luck!
   

Summary
When you get to the Oktoberfest, drinking only 1 litre with your good arm will be easy.

Oktoberfest Training-Part 1-Song-In München steht ein Hofbräuhaus

Hope everyone is looking forward to the 175th Otoberfest this year.
As part of your Oktoberfest Training Package, it is imperative that you learn certain things before the Big O.
We recommend that you sing this very quietly at first and gradually build up to a higher volume.

In München steht ein Hofbräuhaus
Good luck, one two, three.....

In München steht ein Hofbräuhaus: Eins, zwei, ... g'suffa!
Da läuft so manches Fäßchen aus: Eins, zwei, ... g'suffa!
Da hat so manche braver Mann: Eins, zwei, ... g'suffa!
Gezeigt was er so vertragen kann
Schon früh am Morgen fing er an
Und spät am Abend kam er heraus
So schön ist's im Hofbräuhaus.

In English this would sound something like this...

In Munich stands a Hofbräuhaus: one, two ... cheers!
There run out so many steins: one, two ... cheers!
There are so many brave men: one, two ... cheers!
Show what he can endure
Already early in the morning he begins
And late at night he comes out
So beautiful it is in the Hofbräuhaus!

You can see sort of how it goes at the Hofbräuhaus. Oh dear!
Cheers,
Andy

Oktoberfest Tours Bookings

Bookings for this year's Oktoberfest tours will end on Sunday 24 August!

So book your places now and avoid disappointment, we have only a few places left.
Don't wait another 12 months!

Our first Oktoberfest tour starts on Friday 19 September.
Oktoberfest 2008 kicks off on Saturday 20 September and finishes on Sunday 05 October.
Cheers,
Andy Bier-Mania!

Colorado Byways and Beer Tour-Special Offer

This year's Coloardo Byways and Beer Tour is from Saturday 18-Saturday 25 October.
This the week after the Great American Beer Festival in Denver.

As a special 2008 offer, the price of the 8-day tour has been reduced by €140.00 and is now €1260.00 per person. This is a 'half-board' tour with all hotels, breakfasts and evening meals included as well as transport and a leader/guide/driver.

For more details see Colorado Byways and Beer Tour.

You will find a downloable itinerary, a map of the route as well some photographs of Colorado.

Cheers,
Andy

Colorado Byways and Beer Tour-Itinerary

Please have a look at the itinerary for our new Colorado tours, we think it looks awesome, we hope you do as well!
Tours start and end in Denver and we meet up the night before tours in our hotel.

Day 1
Into the Rockies & Goldmining Country
Today we leave our hotel in Denver and drive south along the I25 with our first stop of the tour at the USAF Academy. We then go onto the Garden of the Gods where we can visit the open air museum as well as the Trading Post. We then have the option of driving up Pikes Peak or going onwards to Cripple Creek where we can have a look at the Mollie Kathleen Goldmine before checking into our hotel for the night. We have the evening to have a bite to eat and a look around this old gold mining town.
Overnight– Carr Manor, Cripple Creek

Day 2 Scenic Byway & the Royal Gorge
We head off straight along the Gold Belt Byway, a scenic 50km/30mile drive to Canon City where we will park up and catch the train up the Royal Gorge Route, a scenic round trip along the Royal Gorge, amazing! Lunch should also be aboard the train. We then have a one hour drive onto Salida where we overnight and get ourselves to the Amicas Brewpub for the evening. Overnight– Woodland Motel, Salida

Day 3 Great Sand Dunes & Southern Colorado
We hit the road early today to see the dunes of the Great Sand Dunes National Park, after which we travel through Colorado‘s border area with New Mexico stopping for lunch in Pagosa Springs at Pagosa Brewpub. A further hour‘s drive takes us to Durango and our overnight stop at one of Durango‘s most historical hotels. We then get out to a couple of Durango 4 breweries!
Overnight– General Palmer, Durango

Day 4 San Juan Skyway Byway & Gunnison County
Today we travel some of Colorado‘s most scenic country (and you thought it couldn‘t get better!) when we drive along the San Juan Skyway Scenic Byway and into Gunnison County and Crested Butte in the heart of the Rockies. Tonight we stay in Crested Butte at another historic hotel from the late 1800s. After checking in we can eat at the Crested Butte Brewery & Grill. Cheers.
Overnight– Forest Queen Hotel, Crested Butte

Day 5
West Elk Loop Byway & Ski Country
Another great drive takes us from along the West Elk Loop Byway and onwards through Glenwood Springs, Vail and onwards to Frisco, our stop for the night. Later we can go to Backcountry Brewery for some food and great mountain beer.
Overnight– Alpine Inn, Fisco

Day 6 Rocky Mountains National Park & Fort Collins Brewpubs
The amazing Rocky Mountains National Park scenic drive is followed by an evening out in Fort Collins, maybe hit the Coopersmith‘s Pub and Brewery and some of the other Fort Collins brew-pubs.
Overnight– Armstrong Hotel, Fort Collins

Day 7
Breweries, Beer and Brewpubs!
We start today with a look around one of Colorado‘s most eco-friendly breweries New Belgium Brewing. We then go onto Boulder where we have the rest of the afternoon to look around. See you later for some food and beer in Walnut Brewery, after which we can then have a brewpub walk around Boulder!
Overnight-Golden Buff Lodge, Boulder

Day 8
Coors Brewery & Buffalo Bill
Today starts with a tour of America‘s largest single plant brewery, Coors brewery followed by a visit to William Cody‘s Buffalo Bills Museum & Grave. We can have some lunch here and pretend we are Indains by admiring the view of the Great Plains from Lookout Mountain!
Unfortunately all good things come to and end and we finish the tour at our hotel in Denver. Hope you had a fantastic time!

Optional Extras
Extend tour by 1-day (9-day tour)
See Mesa Verde (west of Durango) and/or travel the Durango-Silveton Narrow Gauge Railway.
Day 9, Day 10
Denver Optional extra sightseeing & brewery tours in the Denver area. These are NOT part of the tour and will be priced as separate trips ‘outside the tour‘.

Cheers!

Colorado Mountains Scenic Byways and Beer Tour

This brand new Colorado Mountains Scenic Byways and Beer Tour combines Colorado's incredible scenery and cultural heritage along with its brewpubs and beer culture!
On this unique 8 day tour we take you on a 1000 mile clockwise loop of the Rocky Mountains, a truly epic backcountry tour starting and ending in Colorado‘s mile -high city, Denver.
Over the course of the 8 days we will visit a gold mine, travel along scenic byways and through National Parks, take a railway journey along a breathtaking gorge and last but not least, visit some of North America‘s finest breweries and brewpubs. Oh, and we also travel across North America‘s Continental Divide, twice! As with our European tours, we travel in small groups and where possible overnight at ‘Mom and Pop‘ hotels and motels, usually within walking distance from the evening‘s brewpub !

We see the real ‘unchained‘ Colorado!

Great Belgium Beer Tour ™ (22-31 May 2009) Itinerary

Great Belgium Beer Tour ™
GBBT-090522
Please see the full Example Itinerary.
Contact us for the password.

Cheers,
Andy
Bier-Mania!

Oktoberfest Tours €350.00 (tours 4 and 5)!

The following Bier-Mania! Oktoberfest 2008 tours have now been reduced to only €350.00 per person for 3-day/2-night as these tours are now unsupported tours and are in Munich only.

Dates
Tour 4 MB-081001 Wednesday 01 - Friday 03 October
Tour 5 MB-081005 Saturday 04 - Monday 06 October

Tour Itinerary
These can be downloaded at Tour Itinerary

Outline Tour Itinerary
Day 1 (Saturdays & Wednesdays)
Munich Walkabout
Check into your hotel in Munich.
We can suggest Mikes Bike Tours or a whole host of other guide companies to see Munich, maybe you just want to look around on your own.
You could have an early lunch at Hofbräuhaus in the centre of Munich, a must-do place when in Munich, the atmosphere is electric, maybe after lunch you want to have a look around Munich on your own or even have a look around the Oktoberfest grounds, choice is yours.
Overnight-Munich

Day 2 (Sundays & Thursdays)
Oktoberfest, The Big Day!
Hopefully you haven't been out too late the night before as today is the big one! You can all go down to the Wies'n together or on your own to your reserved beer tent at Hacker Festzelt (confirmed) for 12 o'clock or 1 o'clock. We have reservations at your tables for around 4 hours, after that you're free to wander around the tents, have a power nap outside on the grass bank or have a look around Munich again. Maybe you just want to call it a day!
You should go to bed with those songs reverberating aroudn your head...'Country Roads.....'
Overnight-Munich

Day 3 (Mondays & Fridays)
Oktoberfest Bye bye!
Unfortunately for you, this is your last day in Munich unless you have decided to stay longer! The tour ends when you check out and tales of yesterdays exploits!
Hopefully see you on one of our guided tours next year!
Have a good journey home. Prost!

Included

• 2 nights accommodation
• 2 breakfasts
  
• Two days in Munich
• Oktoberfest beer-tent reservation (includes two litres beer and chicken)An truly awesome time!
• Advice on Munich and Bavaria
• Final Detailed Tour Itinerary
  

Cheers!
andy@bier-mania.com

Oktoberfest 2008 Countdown!

Countdown

9 weeks or 63 days...........
Prost!

Oktoberfest 2008 Tour Itinerary (Tour 1-3)

Please see the following Outline Itinerary for tour 1,2 and 3 of this year's Oktoberfest tours for those of you who don't have the time to wade though our comprehensive Tour Itinerary!
Any queries then give us a shout, andy@bier-mania.com or phone us.

Enjoy!

Outline Tour Itinerary

Day 1 (Fridays & Tuesdays)
Pick-up, Neuschwanstein & the Alps
After we pick you up from Munich airport, we will then drive straight to Neuschwanstein Castle where we can have a look around, take some photos and have some lunch.
Suitably refreshed we then drive into Austria and along Lake Plansee on the 'back road' back into Germany, a beautifully scenic drive with mountains either side of the road!
Time permitting,w e should have a chance to visit the monastery at Ettal for a quick beer and looka round. Oberammerammergau is then just a 10 minute drive where we will check into our Gasthofs (guesthouses) located in the centre of the beautiful village.
We then all meet up (after some free time) for a traditional Bavarian meal washed down with some fresh, cool beer!
Should be a good night and time for everyone to get to know each other and talk about how many litres they can drink in Munich!
Overnight-Oberammergau

Day 2 (Saturdays & Wednesdays)
Munich Walkabout
Today we hit the road relatively early (don't worry, you ca have a nap in the van on the way) for the 1 hour drive to Munich where we will check in and get ourselves into Munich. Time permitting, we will have a guided walkabout, we'll show you some of the places you may miss if you were on your own, we also build a thirst for our lunchtime beer!
We will then have an early lunch at around midday in Hofbräuhaus in the centre of Munich, a must-do place when in Munich, the atmosphere is electric! After lunch you can either stay with us or go have a looka roudn Munich on your own or even have a look around the Oktoberfest grounds, choice is yours.
See you tomorrow!
Overnight-Munich

Day 3 (Sundays & Thursdays)
Oktoberfest, The Big Day!
Hopefully you haven't been out too late the night before as today is the big one! We will all go down to the Wies'n together and get to our reserved beer tent at Hacker Festzelt (confirmed) for 12 o'clock or 1 o'clock. We have reservations at our tables for around 4 hours, after that you're free to wander around the tents, have a power nap outside on the grass bank or have a look around Munich again. Maybe you just want to call it a day!
You should go to bed with those songs reverberating aroudn your head...'Country Roads.....'
See you in the morning!
Overnight-Munich

Day 4 (Mondays & Fridays)
Oktoberfest Bye bye!
Unfortunately for you, this is your last days in Munich unless you have decided to stay longer! The tour ends at breakfast over coffee and tales of yesterdays exploits!
See you all again next year!
Have a good journey home. Prost!

Andy
Bier-Mania!

Oktoberfest 2008 Tours Update

This year’s Bier-Mania! Oktoberfest Special tours will take you on an unforgettable experience of not only the Oktoberfest and Munich but we also travel into the Austrian and overnight in the charming village of Oberammergau in the Bavarian Alps, see the REAL Bavaria. And in only 4 days!

Included

• Transport/leader/driver
• Three nights accommodation
• Three breakfasts
• Visit Neuschwanstein Castle
• Austrian Alps scenic drive!
• Visit Ettal monastery
• Overnight in Oberammergau in the Bavarian Alps
• One traditional Bavarian dinner
• Munich walkabout!
• Two days in Munich
• Oktoberfest beer-tent reservation (includes two litres beer and chicken)An truly awesome time!
• Pick-up/drop-off Munich

FEW PLACES NOW AVAILABLE

Dates

1. MB-080919 Friday-Monday 19-22 September
2. MB-080923 Tuesday-Friday 23-26 September
3. MB-080926 Friday-Monday 26-29 September
4. MB-080930 Tuesday-Friday 30 September-03 October
5. MB-081003 Friday-Monday 03-06 October

See our Calendar for availability.

Price

€525.00 per person

Contact andy@bier-mania.com or evi@bier-mania.com or phone +49-(0)2157 810558 (Germany) to book your place on one of these unique tours.

Annafest & Franconia Beer Tour

Annafest/Franconia and Bamberg Special™
Tour 1 SB-080726
Tour 2 SB-080802

PLACES STILL AVAILABLE

Dates
Tour 1
Saturday 26-Thursday 31 July 2008
Tour 2
Saturday 02-Thursday 07 August 2008

Pick-up/drop-off is Nuremberg Airport.

Itinerary
More info.

Highlights

• Regensburg Altstadt on the Danube
• OR
  
• Zoigl beers, 15 pubs with over-night in the Oberpfalz, Bavaria TBC NEW.
  
• Annafest 2008 & 23 Cellar 'bars'!
  
• 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 and 10 breweries.
  
• And much much more.......

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

Ardennes Special (04-06 July 2008) Tour Photos

Ardennes Special Beer Tour
AS-080704
Great tour, great weather, good time!
Thanks for those of you on the tour for coming along, good to see you all.

Tour Photos
The tour photos can be seen here.

Tour Summary
Friday 04 July
Chimay & Ardennes
Chimay Trappiste-France transit-L'Estaminet/Bouillon-La Vieille Ardenne/Bouillon
Overnight-Hotel de la Poste, Bouillon
Different Beers-around 10

Saturday 05 July
Orval, Ardennes & Belgium Beer Night
Orval Trappiste Abbey/Orval, L'Ange Gardien/Orval, Millevertus Brasserie, Houffalize, Achouffe Brasserie, La Petite Fontaine/Achouffe, Nounou's Cafe/Achouffe, Interpol Brasserie/La Vieille Forge, Belgium Beer Night!
Laugh of the day-Pol's 'Nose Cleaner'!
Different Beers-around 32!

Sunday 06 July
High Fens, Grain d'Orge
Scenic Ardennes drive, Haute Fagnes, Signal Botrange (700 metres), Grain d'Orge Brasserie, Eupen station.
Laugh of the day-Tay making friends with a sheep!
Different Beers-around 3

Bye bye!

See you all again soon.
Cheers,
Bier-Mania!

New Bier-Mania! Website

At long last, our new website is now online.

See www.bier-mania.com

Cheers,
Andy

Ardennes & Bière de Garde Special (15-18 June 2008) Tour Photos

Ardennes & Bière de Garde Special
PM-080615
Sunday 15-Wednesday 18 June 2008
Another great tour!

The Tour Photos are now online, See Tour Photos


Day 1-Sunday
Frankfurt-Grain d'Orge Brasserie-Hautes Fagnes-La Vieille Forge (Belgium Beer Night)

Day 2-Monday
Achouffe Brasserie-Mardasson Memorial-Millevertus
Brasserie-Frites!-Orval-Bouillon



Day 3-Tuesday
Sedan Castle-European Beer Museum/Stenay-Chateau Charmois-Vauquois Hill, WW1-Rarecourt Farm Brasserie-L'estaminet Microbrewery-Le Lapin qui Fume* (who can't smoke)-La Clapier/Verdun

Day 4-Wednesday
Verdun Station END TOUR

*By the way, France has banned smoking in pubs and restaurants, Le Lapin qui Fume (in Verdun) which in English means the 'Rabbit who Smokes' has now been renamed by locals as the 'Rabbit who can't Smoke'! Who said the French had no humour!

Cheers,
Andy

Bruges and Flanders Special™ (08-09 August 2008)

Bruges & Flanders Special beer tour
(BF-080808)
6 PLACES LEFT
This amazing beer tour takes you both sides of Flanders, both Belgium Vlaanderen and the Biere de Garde region of French Flandre, awesome!
A short tour with an overnight in Mont Cassel in France, straight out of a scene from Chocolate, the movie (ring a bell?!).
We also visit the (now) world famous Westvleteren Trappiste monastery for a beer or 2 as well as seeing some WW1 history when we visit Ypres.

Where
West Vlaanderen, Belgium
Flandre, France
Another incredible tour.

Dates
Friday 08-Saturday 09 August 2008

Pick-up
0945/9.45am
Bruges (please contact us for your hotel).

Drop-off
1730/7.30pm
Bruges

Tour Itinerary
Download Tour Itinerary
Email for password
Day 1-Friday
West Vlaanderen & into France

• Strubbe Brouwerij, Echtegem (B)
  
• Diksmuide, Lo...
• Westvleteren Trappiste (B)
  
• In der Vrede cafe, Westvleteren (B)
• 't Rohardushof, Roesbrugge (B)
• Watou
• Mont Cassel (F)
• Kasteelhof Estaminet, Cassel (F)
• Trois Moulin Estaminet, Cassel (F)
• Kerelshof Estaminet, Cassel (F)
• Overnight-Mont Cassel (F)

Day 2-Saturday
Bière de Garde , Ypres & WW1

• Thiriez Brasserie, Esquelbecq (F)
• Het Blauwershof, Godewaersvelde (F)
• In Flanders Fields Museum, Ypres (B)
• Ypres town
• Hill 62, Ypres (B)
• Drop-off Bruges

Tour Map
Map

Cheers,
Bier-Mania!™

Annafest/Franconia and Bamberg Special™ (Summer 2008)

Annafest/Franconia and Bamberg Special™
Tour 1 SB-080726
Tour 2 SB-080802
This July and August we have 2 Franconia tours combining Forchheim's Annafest with the German regions of the Oberpfalz (Palatinate) and Franken (Franconia).
Both tours Saturday till Thursday.

8 PLACES (each tour)

Dates
Tour 1
Saturday 26-Thursday 31 July 2008
Tour 2
Saturday 02-Thursday 07 August 2008

Pick-up/drop-off is Nuremberg Airport.

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

Highlights

• Regensburg Altstadt on the Danube
• OR
  
• Zoigl beers, 15 pubs with over-night in the Oberpfalz, Bavaria TBC NEW.
  
• Annafest 2008 & 23 Cellar 'bars'!
  
• 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 and 10 breweries.
  
• And much much more.......

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

Oktoberfest 2008 Tours

BOOKINGS NOW BEING TAKEN
Tour Itinerary

The Format
Day 1-Neuschwanstein & Bavarian Alps

• Pick-up Munich airport (or speak to us)
• Neuschwanstein castle & lunch stop
• Austrian Alps
• Ettaler monastery (time permitting)
• Overnight-Oberammergau, Bavarian Alps

Day 2-Munich Walkabout

• Walkabout in München then a selection from-
• Augustiner bierhalle
• Hofbräuhaus
• Englishergarten
• Schneider Weisse
• Oktoberfest grounds
• Overnight-München
  

Day 3-Oktoberfest!

• Oktoberfest (around 11am/midday) with a tent reservation
• Evening-free time Oktoberfest/Munich
• Overnight-München

Day 4-Byebye till next year!

• End tour in München. This year we now have up to 16 people per tour.

The Dates
Tour 1 MB-080919 Friday 19-Monday 22 September 2008
Tour 2 MB-080923 Tuesday 23-Friday 26 September 2008
Tour 3 MB-080926 Friday 26-Monday 29 September 2008
Tour 4 MB-080930 Tuesday 30 September-Friday 03 October 2008
Tour 5 MB-081003 Friday 03-Monday 06 October 2008

The Cost
€525.00 pp

What's Included

• All transport within tour
• Leader/guide/driver
• Hotels x 3 nights
• Breakfasts x 3
• Oktoberfest tent reservation x 1 (includes 2 litres of beer and half Hend'l=spit roasted chicken)
• A whole lot of fun!

Prost!
Bier-Mania!