"Ladies who Lager" German Beer Tour

I received the following press release last week, and thought How cool would it be to go on this tour? Sadly, I will be unable to go, but maybe some of you would be interested.

Part beer tour, part culinary vacation this Bavarian beer tour spotlights women brewers, hidden craft beers, abbey beers and slow food.

Under-the-radar craft beer, pioneering "Ladies who Lager," independent breweries and artisanal eats are on tap for a Beer and Brewery Tour to Germany, rolled out for the fall by Philadelphia-based Treasures of Europe Tours. The trip is a beer vacation, study tour and Slow Food tour rolled into one.

Bavaria's best craft brewers and most inspiring women brewers will be featured on the beer and brewery tour along the beer trail this October.

“Our culinary and beer vacation spotlights hidden beer and food venues that are worth traveling for,” says Tom Conrad, who will guide the tour.

“We’re proud that Treasures of Europe is the only travel company with a tour focusing on craft beer, women brewers, small regional breweries and Slow Food,” he added.

The line-up includes the Meinel sisters, 11th-generation brewers who are rocking the Bavarian beer scene with a new line of un-girly beers for women; Sigi and Barbara Friedmann, who recently landed a European Beer Star prize; and Germany’s iconic brewmaster-nun, Sister Doris, who has been stiirring the brew kettle for over 40 years.

The trip is designed for beer fans, brewers, somms and people in the trade. It’s also for gourmet travelers, www.treasuresofeuropetours.com.

food activists, and Slow Food enthusiasts as well as culinary adventurers and people who are newer to the world of beer and food. The dates are October 3-13, 2014. Space is limited and the group will be small. Info at

The Alpine village Mayrhofen, Bavaria's cosmopolitan capitol Munich, the “Harvard of Beer” Freising, and the artists’ colony Murnau, plus the UNESCO world heritage city Bamberg are on the itinerary.

Beer and breweries in the nooks and crannies of Franconia will be the centerpiece of the trip. This region in northern Bavaria has the highest concentration of breweries in the world – one for every 5,511 citizens.

A fall Alpine cow homecoming festival, private sausage making workshop with a master butcher, an artisanal dairy and cheese-making farm, Zoigl brew house visit and a private farm-to-table meal cooked by a local chapter of the ladies’ auxiliary of the Bavarian Farmers’ Association are also on tap for the group.

"Beer, food and travel are an unbeatable combination," says Conrad. "We're looking forward to celebrating the best craft beer, women-brewed beer and artisanal food Germany has to offer," he added.

Reservations and information for the Beer and Slow Food tour at Treasures of Europe Tours - Beer Tour http://treasuresofeuropetours.com/beer-tour-2/.

April Beer Tour - Second Stop

Surprisingly close to our hotel.

Independent Ale Works was our second stop. It's in a nondescript industrial park a couple of miles west of I-35W on University Drive. It's a little hard to find, which explained why were the only folks there. We'd bumped into the owners, Stefen Windham and David Miller, at Denton's East Side Social Club. (It's a great neighborhood bar downtown, around the corner (sort of) from Rooster's Roadhouse.)

Stefan and David made us feel right at home. Their tasting room is a little more comfortable that Rabbit Hole Brewing Company's because of the big armchairs in the front room, and the large sofa and big screen TV in the room behind that.  It's the perfect place to sit and visit.

The two had only recently opened the tasting room, and mentioned that the craft beer lovers were just

beginning to find them.

I have to say that the Dark Intentions black ale is delicious! Smooth, with coffee notes and just enough hops to lighten all that malt!

We had a nice chat with the two and they showed us their brewery. It is all hand made equipment. It's a small brewery, but they have a lot of room to grow.

While we were the only ones there, they did get a call from someone trying to find them.  So hopefully, they had more visitors after we left.

I stay at the Best Western on the Interstate all the time. It's close to my cousin's house, and now I know it's close to Independent Ale Works, too!

April Brewery Tour

Over the last weekend in April, my brother and I went up to Denton to visit Satan and his siblings. On Saturday we visited a couple of Texas' newest breweries: Rabbit Hole Brewing Company, and Independent Ale Works.

Rabbit Hole Brewing is in Justin, Texas, not far from Denton. It is in an industrial area. It is housed in a metal building with a sizeable lot with lots of room for parking. On tap was the 561 Kolsch (I thought it was fantastic), Rapture Fusion Brown Ale (Very good), and 10/6 English IPA (Wonderful).

It was a beautiful day to sit on the porch and catch up with family, and hear all the new stories they had to tell. And all the old ones we like to repeat.

Last Friday in Dallas

I was picking up my brother at his house en route to Dallas. I ran into a couple of sprinkles on the way, and my old windshield wipers managed to spread the dust and pollen on the windshield into a thin layer right in front of my eyes. So I had to stop and get new wiper blades.

When I got to my brother's house, I had him put them on. No matter how hard I tried , I couldn't figure out how to put them on! He just snapped them on while I looked on in puzzlement.

We got to the Metroplex and watch with no amusement as all the time that had clicked off on the drive up began to click back on, pushing our 1:15 pm arrival time back to 1:45. When we got to Uncle Buck's Brewery and Steakhouse, we met Satan's friend, who complained about our arrival time: "I coulda slept another hour!"

The bar at Uncle Buck's is upstairs and was nicely appointed. The restaurant was dark, but there was plenty of light at the bar. Between Satan's friend and I, we sampled pretty much oneall the brewery had to offer. The saison tasted of butterscotch and I could only get one sip down. I ordered a pint of the IPA, and it was good. Until it warmed up and I could taste the butterscotch. So much for that pint.

I tried to get my brother to try some of the Belgian beers, but I noticed he had the same expression on his face that I had when he put on my wiper blades.

We drove to Plano to stock up at Kegs and Barrels. You can either be proud of me or ashamed of me for only spending $45, including ice.  But I didn't bring a large enough ice chest!

For the record, I am Facebook friends with Stephen, who works there. But I didn't announce my presence to the world, much less to him, though I did check-in to the store on FourSquare. So I guess I did announce my presence to the world, just not to Stephen. I'm just way to shy for shit like that.

We iced the purchases down, and decided we would head down to The Common Table, recommended by Paul Hightower, co-author of Beer Across Texas and owner of Texas Beer Blog. He keeps me up to date on new Texas breweries.

The crowd at The Common Table was young and affluent. Apparently they all live in the area, because many of them walked there.

The three of us had a few beers on the patio and chatted. The weather was glorious--perfect for drinking and eating. There was just enough wind to keep the flies away. We sampled some of the food, and it was very good. The tap list was long, but the bottle beer menu was even longer. I almost had a (512) Pecan Porter, but Gary's friend reminded me that I could get that in Austin and San Antonio. I should be drinking things I never had before. She was right, of course. How could I get my "Legendary" badge on Untappd if I don't try new things?

As we sat there enjoying the evening, we kept seeing foursome after foursome walk in and go inside. I didn't think the building was that big! It was like a clown car being loaded.

It was a beautiful evening, but the long drive and the quantity of beer were combining to make me sleepy. We returned to the hotel. And rather quickly. I don't go to Dallas often enough to know my way around (thank goodness for GPS). While I knew both the restaurant and the hotel were downtown, I didn't know just how close they were.

Eola School - Eola - Beer Day Trip

A couple of weeks ago, late on a Friday night, I decided that I needed to head to Eola and see what was going on at Eola School Brewery. I hadn't seen Mark since February, and was wondering what he had on tap.

He had what he described as an all-malt blonde ale, a black IPA, a light beer with flaked corn and a stout. He started me off with the all-malt blonde.  It was nice and crisp. The black IPA was almost gone, he poured me a pint from a growler, and the familiar flavor he had shared with me a month earlier had mellowed.  Next, Mark poured me his Double IPA, Big Prick.

Mark tends to back off on his flavors when he brews. He's concerned that his customers won't appreciate what he's trying. I can see it, since he'd poured me his black IPA six weeks ago.

Mark showed of the last of his Big Prick DIPA t-shirts, complete with a saguero cactus in the logo. It was a nice looking shirt. Now, I haven't been able to buy a t-shirt from Mark for a couple of years. He normally only buys L and XL and XXL. So I asked if he had the XXL Big Prick shirt.  He said he hadn't bought a XXL in a while.  "Mark! I've been on a diet for six months so I can buy a shirt from you!" (I was XXXL and Mark never, ever bought that size.)

Mark doubled over in laughter, but never said he would buy an XXL shirt.

Crap! Another 50 pounds to go!

Suddenly, I got a text from my friend KC, who is one of Satan's friends. She was upset that I hadn't let her know I would be heading to Eola. I apologized. Frankly, I hadn't thought about anyone by me. Sorry, KC!

Mark was already busy when I arrived, and more people filed in as I ate my pizza. Mark, the sole employee of Eola School restaurant, spent most of the time I was there waiting on thirteen people (besides me). And as another group came in I decided I should head to San Angelo and visit Joe's Brewhouse in downtown San Angelo.

More to come. . .

Colorado "Business" Trip

A pint of New Belgium Dig at the Denver airport

Enjoying O'Dell IPA at the hotel in Edwards.

The sampler at Gore Range Brewing. Yeah, I drank that one before I thought of taking the picture.

Inside Gore Range Brewing

Rye Porter at Tommyknockers

The view from Tommyknockers

Ten Best Brewery Tours by Trip Advisor

TripAdvisor.com has released a list of the ten best brewery tours.

1. Anheuser-Busch, St. Louis, Missouri
2. Samuel Adams, Boston, Massachusetts
3. Coors, Golden, Colorado
4. Lakefront Brewery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
5. Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co., Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
6. Stone Brewery, Escondido, California
7. Terrapin Brew Company, Athens, Georgia
8. Harpoon Brewery / Massachusetts Bay Brewing Co., Boston, Massachusetts
9. New Belgium Brewing, Fort Collins, Colorado
10. Boulevard Brewing Company, Kansas City, Missouri

For the complete story, click here.

The Satan Push - Conclusion

At the conclusion of the trip, Satan and I didn't talk about another trip.  He came back to Paradise the next weekend for Oktoberfest.  We worked the entire weekend, and were exhausted.  We still didn't talk about another trip.

The other night, I emailed him and asked, "So.When's the next beer trip, and where to?"  We had a few options: Lubbock for a day, Dallas, Kansas City, Artesia/Socorro/Las Cruces, or Denver.  New Mexico is likely the front runner, since Satan's littlest brother lives in Dexter, and teaches at the INS Academy in Artesia.

Yesterday, we met in Eola for a home brew contest at the Eola School Brewery, more on that later.  Sometime in the course of the day, we decided on when and where.    I think I'll keep it a surprise.

The Satan Push - Stop 6 - Ranger Creek

The latest entrant into the Texas Brewing scene is Ranger Creek Brewing and Distilling in San Antonio. I had been corresponding with Mark McDavid for a while, and he suggested that I stop by the next time I was in San Antonio. As soon as Satan said he was coming, I knew we'd be stopping by. And since my nephew lives in San Antonio, I figured he and his wife would like to come along. My brother joined us, and the five of us drove across town, past Morgan's Wonderland, and into an industrial park that Ranger Creek calls home.

Mark met us at the door.  After shaking our hands, he launched right into the tour.  He poured us a sample of their Oatmeal Pale Ale, or OPA.  I have to admit, I was scared of the OPA.  I've had the Quacker Oat Ale at Dodging Duck Brewhaus in Boerne, and wasn't impressed. I make a beer called Dirk's Elixir Wheat Porter from Radical Brewing: Recipes, Tales and World-Altering Meditations in a Glass, and one time I left out the black patent malt, creating a vile looking, milky golden beer. I am happy to report that Ranger Creek's OPA is nothing like the other beers. It was crisp and hoppy. I wish it was already in stores!

Mark led us unto the brewery and gave us the a great tour.  After our visit to Jester King, it was odd seeing a brewery with four walls and a complete roof.  Our first stop was by several pallets of three gallon wood barrels of assorted toasts.  Mark said that as soon as they get everything set up, they will be making Texas bourbon and experimenting with the barrel caracteristics.  (It's at this point that my brother's migraine kicked in, as you can see from his expression in the photo.)  Mark told us that we could expect to see Ranger Creek whiskey on store shelves in 2012.  I know what I'm drinking for my 50th birthday that year.

Mark showed us around the brew house, and explaining the brewing process.  He showed us the beer mash tun and the whiskey mash tun.  He showed us the fermenters.  They were almost touching the ceiling.  When they were erected, they had to cut some of the steel supports.  I wondered aloud if they would have to remove the roof to expand, and Mark said they probably would.

Someone crawled out from behind the fermenters carrying what had once been a large roll of tape.  Mark introduced us to TJ, who was insulated the glycol lines, which had been sweating and leaving puddles on the floor.  Then Mark introduced us to the Hungarians, whom I had been following on the Ranger Creek blog. (Later, one of the folks I follow on Twitter mentioned that when he toured the brewery later in the day, the Hungarians were fascinated by his iPhone. I forgot to take mine out, but my neice-in-law is an attractive blond and was wearing shorts. The Hungarians were focused on something else.)  To my surprise, Satan didn't know the Hungarians.  But when he was in Yugoslavia, he had spent a few days in their hometown, so he got along famously with them.

The Mark showed us the still.

[Insert sounds of Angelic singing here.]

The still is a thing of beauty.  Copper gleamed as the sun through the skylight that had to be installed to accommodate the still .  Like a beacon in the night, it beckoned the whiskey lovers among us like a siren summoning ships to the rocks.

Ahem.

Back in 2009, Satan and I had visited Anchor Brewery and taken the tour. Our tour guide there showed us their still at the far end of the building, and like the Lord told Moses, told us that we could go no farther, but we could gaze upon the holy land. At Ranger Creek, Mark let us go up close, peek inside,and even--GASP!--touch it.

Then Mark took us outside and showed us the largest smoker in town, possibly the world.  It is a shipping container with a firebox in the back.  This is where they will smoke the malt for their Mesquite Smoked Porter.

Back inside, Satan spoke with the Hungarians, and guess what!  No, he didn't know them.  But he had visited the town they were from when he was in Yugoslavia.

Satisfied from the samples and tour, we thanked Mark and headed for our last stop, San Antonio's Flying Saucer before heading home.  We found out the next day that they had tested the still later that day.  Sure enough.  It works.

The Satan Push - Stop 5 - Freetail Brewing Company

I only have a few rules in life.  Some have multiple applications:  "Don't dip your pen in company ink", for example, applies to office supplies and personal relationships in the workplace.  Some are life lessons: "You can only count on yourself" or "Always watch your back."

One is very simple:  "Never drive by Freetail without stopping."

The plan was to meet my nephew and his wife for lunch at Freetail Brewing Company, then head over to Ranger Creek.  My nephew works nights for Boeing, so this would be breakfast for him.  (Beer for breakfast.  I miss my 20s.)

As usual, the food was excellent, but the real winner was the beer.  I've never had a bad beer here, and still haven't.  I had a sour beer while my brother, who had complained that his wife never lets him do the things Satan and I do and decided to join us, had the Spirulina Wit.

Satan was raised on a farm.  On that farm was a medium sized flood control lake chock full of algae frogs.  The Spirulina Wit looked like a glass of that.  Or like a green bean smoothie.  It was a murky bright green with next to no carbonation.  It had an herbal aroma that was hard to describe, and tasted light and herbal.  Like it was good for you.  It was surprisingly good. It would have been better if it were more carbonated, but if we weren't heading for a brewery tour, I would have ordered a pint.

Our waitress was awesome, in multiple ways.  She was prompt and attentive, even if at times she seemed to be covering someone else's tables besides her own.  She had an athlete's body and was well inked.  She looked like she could rip me in two.  I tipped well, both for my safety and for her service.  Then we loaded up the car for the drive across town to Ranger Creek.

The Satan Push - Stop 3 - Root Cellar Cafe and Darkside Fermentations

It had been a long time since I had been to San Marcos.  In a previous life, I was a route salesman and I worked San Marcos for a few months.  Long enough to get the general geography down, not long enough to learn all the details.  San Marcos is a small city with a large university, and the whole town feels like the campus.  And Satan and I love the vibe of college communities.

I will say that it was easier to find the Root Cellar than it was to find a parking place, but we managed.    The restaurant is in the basement of a three story building.   The ceilings were low, the rock walls covered in a thick, glossy tan paint.  Art hung everywhere.  Very laid back and hip atmosphere.  A couple of attractive waitress scurried among the tables: one a shorter, curvy blond in jeans, and a taller blonde in shorts (with a fistfull of straws stuffed in her right back pocket) with great legs.  Runner's legs, Satan decided.  There were a couple of guys working there too.  They looked like guys.

We had to wait for a table; not a surprise, it was 12:30 pm on a Friday.  We scoured the menu and had already picked out what we wanted when we were seated.  We had seen a chalkboard at the cashier's stand advertising a Golden Strong Ale and a Grooms Ale, made with yarrow root.  We ordered a bottle of each, only to find out the Grooms Ale was sold out.  So we ordered two bottles of the golden ale.

I thought the Golden Ale was a little on the Dark Strong side, but it was still a very nice Belgian ale.  Dark, dried fruit, with hints of spice and a nice alcohol warmth.  A perfect beer for a neat little place.  Satan commented that the restaurant reminded him of some places he had been to in Europe.

I love being in college areas.  There's a sense of education in the air.  At restaurants in non-college towns, the conversations you overhear tend to be about work, last night's TV shows, or something else that is important in people's lives, but hardly inspiring.  At the table next to us, two ladies were discussing Shakespeare, Shylock and politics as they discussed the opening of a Shakespeare Festival they were organizing.  You don't hear that in Eola, for example.  The conversations in Eola are more prosaic and tend to be about farming and family.

 I ordered a rosemary citrus chicken, Satan had Shepard's Pie.  Really great food.  If I have a complaint, it is that the service was a bit slow.  It was a busy Friday, true.  But the ladies next to us waited an hour after their order, and only got their food because they flagged down the waitress.

Stuffed, we made our way back to the car and headed for Blanco, our last stop of the day.

The Satan Push - Stop 2 - Jester King Brewery

I tend to start things and not finish them.  I can't tell you how many comic or stories I have started writing and never finished.  Half way through each project, I get a new idea, and so I am off on a tangent, leaving the old project behind, gathering dust in a drawer.

That's why Jester King Brewery felt homey and familiar to me.  It is both unfinished and, as of the night before, a real, working brewery!

As we climbed the hill of the east side of Dripping Springs, heading towards Austin, we drove into a driving rain storm.  So we followed the ribbon of flashing brake lights to Fitzhugh Road and turned left.  As we left 290, the rain began to thin out a bit.  Jeffrey Stuffings had told me to look for a sign that said Ceres Park.  By the time we had found the sign and turned into the drive, it had stopped raining.  We drove down the road looking for the brewery.  It was hard to spot because 1) there isn't a sign, and 2) it's at the bottom of a hill hidden behind a small garage/workshop.  Fortunately, there was mail on one of the workbenches identifying the place as Jester King, and we weren't trespassing on some sharpshooting farmer's property.  And to confirm our deduction, there was a field of stainless steel kegs off to the left. We made our way to the brewery.

Jeff and his brother Mark had brewed their first batch the night before and were running late.  "Make yourselves at home," he texted.  So we did.

We explored every corner and all but climbed on top of their equipment as the rain cloud moved over the property.  That's when we noticed the roof wasn't finished.  The ridge cap hadn't been put up over halve the roof, and the walls on the west side of the building hadn't been put up.  We basked in the glow of morning sunlight reflecting off stainless steel fermenters, dodged raindrops and tried to figure out how the brewery worked from the maze of pipes running along the ceiling.

After about forty-five minutes, we were about to leave when we spotted Jeff and Mark.  So we got the "official" tour, and found out that we had been pretty close in out guesses.

As Mark and Jeff lead us around the berewery, Jeff told us that they would be making barrel aged beers, and focusing more in the Belgian tradition.  He showed us his barrels, and his cool room.  I could feel my mouth watering in anticipation of a sample or two, but sadly, they didn't have any to share.  They did have a lot of enthusiasm, though, and that helped me through my pain.

The rain clouds were breaking up and it was getting steamy as Jeff and Mark described their previous 13 hour brew day.  We sympathized.  The first batch on a new system always takes twice as long as it should.

With stomachs growling, we thank the Stuffings for their hospitality, and headed for San Marcos.

The Satan Push - Stop 1 - Pecan Street Brewery, Johnson City (Under Construction)

I call Satan "Satan" because he says his friends' wives all say he's the devil—a horrible influence on their husbands.  When he's around, they say, their husbands drink more, stay out later and flirt with women of dubious virtue. Satan says that it's his friends' fault when they get in trouble with the wives. But I have a theory: Sometimes, when Satan comes up with an idea, before you know it, you think it's your idea and you're convincing him to go along with “your” plan.  I call it the Satan Push.

A couple of weeks ago, Satan decided he would take his birthday off and come down and drink beer, maybe visit  a couple of breweries.  By the time everything was arranged--Satan Push!--I felt bad that I had convinced him to take a vacation day to drive four and a half hours to get here, just so we could drink beer.

I set up a little tour of places I wanted to visit, and on Satan's Birthday, we headed out towards Austin to visit Jester King Brewery.  En route I decided to tempt Satan a bit, and swing by the site of the future Pecan Street Brewery.  No one was around, so Satan took a few pictures for his homebrew club's newsletter.

Meanwhile, I got a text from Jeff Stuffings, owner of Jester King, that said he was running late.  He told us to make ourselves at home while we wait.  Once Satan had enough photos, we headed for Dripping Springs.

Next Stop: Jester King

DFW Beercation Stop 1 - The Covey

Satan and I decided that we were in need of a beercation, so we headed to the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. We had heard there were a few brew pubs there.
Our first stop was at The Covey Restaurant and Brewery. I had been there back in 2009, just before my final Jimmy Buffet Concert (and thereby hangs a tale, but that's for another blog, or an open letter to Jimmy Buffet).
We got to The Covey after the lunch rush and there were only a few people in the place. We sat in the bar are and ordered the sampler. They were all great beers, and I was leaning towards the Limey Bastard bitter or the 100 (2) Belgian ale. But after Satan ordered Alligator Stuffed Jalapenos and I ordered the Ta-taka pizza, I decided on on the HopPodge IPA.

Stuffed jalapenos were excellent, just the right amount of heat from the pepper a and spice from the seasoning. Really well balanced. But we should have paced ourselves. No sooner than we finished the appetizer, our food arrived.

The Ta-Taka pizza had sliced buffalo, and was topped with an awesome Asian sauce. A definite winner, in my book. I had two pieces of pizza left on my plate, and was about to push away from the table, when Satan unleashed the full fury of The Satan Push©, and taunted me into forcing the last two slices down. Now you see why I call him Satan.

Update: On September 24, a date that will forever live in infamy, The Covey closed forever. Jamie Fulton, the owner and brewer, will be moving to Washington, D.C., where he will become the brewer for Farmers and Brewers.

Beercation Tips

Normally, I don't eat at McDonalds. I LOVE McDonalds, but since it's on the other side of town, I don't go there.

But when Satan and I do the Beer Road Trips, like this year's Mission From God, we spend a lot of time getting to brew pubs. We aren't too interested in breakfast, so we often stop at Mickey D's. I'm glad to see our decisions are validated.

But we still look for the local places. Town Edge Cafe in New Glarus, Wisconsin, ROCKS!

So what are your beercation tips? Post 'em in the comments.