Alcohol Myths

Apparently there’s a show called “Mythbusters” on the Discovery Channel, and they had an alcohol quiz in honor of St Patrick’s Day. Check it out here.

Thanks to Tony for sending me the link.

Water of life

Depending on your spirit of choice, you may think I’m going to write about Scotch, or perhaps Aquavit, but no, I’m not. Before one of my recent trips to Germany, a friend of mine who is interested in such things asked me whether there were any good German eau-de-vie’s, and I had to honestly answer that I didn’t know. I had tried any of a number of different schnaps, aperitifs, and digestifs while in Germany, but truth be told I really hadn’t paid attention to where they were from or which ones were better than others. I resolved, in the face of this question, to find out.
Fortunately, I have just the friend for that kind of question and I was visiting him on that very trip. So, he suggested I try any of the various products of a small distillery from the Black Forest called Schladerer. Fortunately for me, Schladerer makes a nice little sampler box of its most popular eau-de-vie, so I bought two of them and brought them home for a good, old-fashioned taste off.
And taste we did, coming to the conclusion that there are indeed good German eau-de-vie. We both liked the kirschwasser best, a clear cherry brandy. In fact, the inspiration for this post is the glass of same I had this evening from the full-sized bottle I bought on my last trip. The others were good as well, with my preference, from most enjoyable to least, as follows: Williams pear, raspberry, apricot, then plum.
I’m not sure if Schladerer’s products are available in the US (they are not available in the People’s Republic of Pennsylvania, where the liquor stores are state-run), but if you see a bottle by all means, give it a try.

Another look at Pilsen

So, from one set of tunnels to another, today I’ve decided to meander back to beer, and back to the Czech Republic, for another look at Pilsen.
In Pilsen, the Pilsner Urquell brewery’s not the only game in town, and for those interested in the brewing process the Pilsen brewery museum is a must. Housed in a small complex of houses in town, and now part of the Pilsner Urquell domain, the brewery museum was once a very small local brewery.
Visitors can walk through the small malting room, with its tile floors and low, arched ceilings. The well in the quarter provided the water needed for the brewing process. The malt dryer is covered with pungent malt, which I pushed around smoothed out and generally played with using the various old tools which are part of the museum’s display. Fun, yes, but instructive as well.
Similar to the Pilsner Urquell brewery, this small museum has steps leading down to a small fermenting room and, below it, the lagering tunnel. At all of 100 ft., the cellars are perhaps less impressive than those at the brewery, but it’s easy to get a good understanding of the mechanics of brewing. These tunnels were cooled by large chunks of ice which were left at the top of the stairs leading to the tunnel. As the ice melted the cold water ran down into the tunnels thereby keeping them cool. I guess they only brewed in winter. This brewery brewed around 5600 Hectoliters a year, about what Pilsner Urquell brews in one day.

A bit of bubbly

On a not-so-recent trip to Paris, at the crack of dawn, my travel partner and I woke up early and headed for the train station. Our goal – the early train to Epernay, the capital of France’s Champagne region.
Having arrived in Epernay, our first stop was Moet Chandon (where else?). The home of Dom Perignon and the world’s largest champagne producer, Moet Chandon is housed in a variety of buildings along the Avenue du Champagne in downtown Epernay. Some of those buildings are old and charming and others, well, let’s just say the newest building in the Moet Chandon empire looks rather like a suburban high school.
That didn’t keep us from checking out the tour. Luckily, there were only six people there, so we got up private tour of sorts. Of the 28 km of dark, damp cellars spreading out underneath the Moet Chandon facility, we must have walked about 1 km past countless thousands of champagne bottles reposing in the dark.
The first steps in making champagne are much like making wine. First, the grapes are pressed and the juice from the first two to three pressings are put in large tanks to age before bottling. Unlike wine, champagne is bottle-fermented, so the thick-walled (and thereby burst-resistant) bottles are outfitted with a temporary cap and left to lay in the cellars for three to six years. After fermenting the bottles are moved into upright wood racks, where they can be stored at a gradually increasing angle to move the sediment to the neck of the bottle. The apprenticeship alone for the individual who turns and sets the angle of the bottles takes two to three years, and no machines are used (or so they say). Once the bottle fermentation is complete, the sediment is flash frozen in a bath of liquid nitrogen and removed. At that point, a mixture of wine and sugar is added to the champagne and it is corked for the final time. At least that’s what they tell us.
For those interested in more of a show, Mercier is another cellar owned by the same group as Moet Chandon, but with a screen surround audiovisual and laser show, an elevator with moving figures preparing champagne, and an electric train leading through the cellars. A bit over the top for me, but others on the tour loved it.
The city of Epernay is attractive if not particularly memorable, and on our visit looked a little desolate other than for bus-riding tourists. One memory from Epernay has little to do with champagne but will remain with me forever: there was a public restroom in Epernay which was wholly self-contained. It was made of stainless steel or some other easy to clean surface, and the door opened automatically to let “customers” in and out. After reluctantly going in, I was somewhat concerned that it might choose to let me out before I was finished doing my business, thereby giving all of Epernay a chance to take a gander at the American on the toilet. The sink was right above the toilet, which was a bit weird as well. Upon leaving this strange steel bathroom-pod the door closed again, and the entire interior of the restrooms was automatically disinfected and cleaned before it would allow anyone else to enter. Very strange. I have to wonder if anyone has ever been trapped in there during the cleaning process, and how they fared.

If you can’t eat you might as well drink

Apropos of church, some of the most enduring beers were originally brewed by monks, including the famous Starkbier of Munich and its surroundings. It’s loud and chaotic, but the Starkbierfest is a beer festival with a pedigree. Beer has long been regarded a staple in the Bavarian diet, but it is the notion of beer as “liquid bread” which led the monks of St. Francis of Paula to brew a hearty beer to sustain them through the final weeks of lent and the fasting which leads up to Easter. That beer and the brewery which grew out of it, both named Paulaner Salvator, started a tradition of double-bock beers which survives to this day.
Every spring Munich’s breweries gear up the production of their strongest, richest beers – beers with names like Salvator, Optimator, and Maximator. These dark beers, “strong beers” according to the literal translation, are served in heavy half liter of liter ceramic mugs rather than the usual glasses. As many an unsuspecting visitor to Munich has discovered the double bocks they are almost twice as strong as a normal beer with over 7% alcohol by volume.
The festival is more than just beer, however. The Starkbierfest is called the “fifth season” in Bavaria, and the beer halls of the city are crawling with stout men in their lederhosen, heavy woolen socks and green Loden jackets. The Starkbierfest, like the Oktoberfest, is considered a family event, and the Bavarian women in their long skirts and dirndls are also present, often with the children and the extended family. Where there are Bavarians there is music, and the beer halls reverberate with the local folk music. The atmosphere at the Starkbierfest is friendly and celebratory, with far fewer tourists than the more famous Oktoberfest.
The traditional home of the Starkbierfest is Paulaner’s Salvatorkellar, known in Munich by its location, Nockherberg. The Salvatorkellar is at Hochstraße 77 on the Nockherberg and can be reached by streetcars 15, 25, and 27. If you are in town, don’t miss the opportunity to try one of the other fine double-bock beers in one of Munich’s many other beer halls, in particular that of Löwenbräu on Stiglmaierplatz.
The Starkbierfest is held the 4th and 3rd weeks before Easter. This year’s Starkbierfest started with the traditional Starkbieranstich on March 11, 2007.

A new church for me

Ok, I’m not much of a church goer, but I may have found a little bit of religion. My wife has recently started to go to the local Episcopal church with the kids (which I’m ok with), but I don’t go except on holidays. Don’t get me wrong – I like the progressive viewpoint, the church is pretty, but church services don’t really do it for me.
There is one thing, however, which has helped nudge (and I do mean nudge) me in the direction of becoming a bit more of a churchgoer and that’s – well, beer. You see, the priest (I think that’s what they are called in the episcopal church) is a bit of a beer fan, and has started a beer club called the Franklin Society, after a well-known quote from Benjamin Franklin. Now, beer and churches have a long and mutually beneficial history, and this is arguably just a new chapter in a very old book. Nonetheless, it’s one I enjoy, and one which will hopefully lead to new and interesting posts in the future. Either way, it should broaden my beer horizons a bit, which is always a good thing.
Who knows, I may discover religion yet …

Not the Pitts

We’ve just returned from a city which, much like my home city of Philadelphia, suffers from an old, worn reputation it no longer deserves. I’m talking about Pittsburgh. Now, Pittsburgh still has its issues, but it’s no longer the smog-filled steeltown of old. One thing which is left from those days (combined with a significant German population) is a legacy of beers. Now, not all of those beers are great, but the beer tourist still has a few worthy things to see.
First of all is the Pittsburgh Brewing company, an old-school American brewery which has been in the same location on Liberty Ave in Pittsburgh for over 140 years. According to Factory Tours in PA, the brewery can be toured from April through November, although the brewery website doesn’t say so. Either way, I’ve never been, but one of these days I will. If you are in the neighborhood and can’t tour Pittsburgh Brewing, you can still make your way to beer experience of a different sort. Just a short way down the street from Pittsburgh brewing is the Church Brew Works, where you can worship at the altar of beer (quite literally) and enjoy a fine example of adaptive reuse. The brewery is housed in an old Catholic church, and where the altar once stood there is a large brewing house. It’s a worthy visit, if just for the unique environment, but the beer’s not bad either.
Finally, another old building has been renovated and, in this instance, brought back to its original purpose in the Penn Brewery. Fans of German music and food will enjoy a visit, particularly during the various German-style events, but we’ve been to the restaurant a few times and always had a good time. The old brewery buildings provide a great backdrop for good German-style beers. In summer, a nice patio area provides outdoor seating as well.