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Archive for the ‘Beer Festivals’


Northern Bavaria rules….

Hey guys sorry for any delay, but I am sure the timescale is irrelevant..  So, two weeks ago, my wife and I drove over to a town in Franconia - Northern Bavaria if you will.. The town is called Bamberg. If anyone has heard of the name they will obviously know of the concentration of breweries within the town limits, higher than virtually anywhere in the world.. even the local maltings has a brewery !

We were there for the Sandkerwa - the church patronal festival, but it involves all of the local breweries - and get this ! a lot of the breweries from the outskirts - within around a 45 minute drive away.

We arrived Thursday afternoon from Luxembourg, a 3-4 hour drive(sorry guys German speed limits applied - ca 115mph all the way) took us there. We stayed in the IBIS in the centre of town, our preferred chain. This was a 10 minute amble from the Sand Strasse, where the festival was taking place. We had arranged to meet up with a few people from around the world, CA-USA and UK - various places. So we met up with Fred Waltman and his dad from CA, in the Schlenkerla tap - using SMS as a contact medium - I seem to have this knack of finding vacant tables….. so we dined and drank both the Schlenkerla Maerzen and the Smoked Weizenbier they do - slightly less smoked than the draught beer, so excellent.

After our meal, it was time to wander off down Sand Str. noticing that the Mahrs stand was only a few steps away - good, their OO was a beer to die for - by OO, it’s the Ungespundet, or unfiltered, zwickel or what ever you like to call it, always better than at their brewery tap - tried that last year. We followed on to the church whose festival it was, and on the corner was the Spezial stand, with their excellent Maerzen and, for us, a new beer - a wiezen, damn good it was too, sorry for the expletive…. but necessary. My favourite of the festival was the hausbier from Stegaurach, well what a beer! worth any trip - well from here anyway.

This festival included probably 30 different local breweres, all good, some better than others, but, I have to say, even the more mundan ones are leagues ahead of the commercial brewers.

Friday saw the arrival of Matt, a Brit on a mission, he samples beers he’s never drunk before, so as our CA friends Fred and his dad were off on a bike ride for the day - to outlying breweries, of course, we suggested to Mat we could drive out of Bamberg to a few inacessible microbreweries. First was a trip to the local maltings(with brewery), their shop was only open for 3 hours, so we had to get there with dispatch, we did, as for which breweries we visited afterwards, well not sure but …..oops!  it was a good day, ending up for a paltry few beers locally - at Sand Str. of course. Saturday we finally had a complete reunion, our friends from London had arrived. We, as they say, ploughed the field down Sand Str. but Mahrs Brau was, as usual a gem - good beer, fabulous staff. We had a methodology of procuring refills second to none. Normally you would catch the wait staff’s eye for more beer, not here, the staff would recognise empty drinking vessels accompanied by a note(cash) and in about 30 seconds arrive with refills - now that’s what I call service, everyone else seemed to have to wait for a good 10 minutes for service.

By this time in the procedings, the fill sign was on it’s way up on the ‘ol liver’ so we called it a day, well we had been bashing away for nearly 10 hours……

Sunday was a little quieter, but in the same note. But you know haow festivals go, you get to a point over the days where you really don’t want any more….. it took me 4 days to get there !!! no worries mate!

Our return to Luxembourg on Moday was no dry day either. As I was driving, I stayed dry, save for some ‘EnglishBeer’ as the germans call it - fizzy water… We had three of our English friends in back of our compact Mercedes, we had arranged to drop them at Nuremberg for their flights back. We decided to do a few more out of the way breweries en route, so having left at 10AM, we stopped at 3 more breweries, as usual, my secretary(wife) took copious notes, but have been lost in the turbulence of time… or was it the inbriate clouds. Needless to say, the beer was exemplary in each of the establishments - even though all I had was a taster. We finally got to Nuremberg at around PM, bit what a tour.

Can’t wait for next year, and the Mahrs Brau again….

Beer Fest in Haverhill, Ma This Saturday

The Tap in Haverhill, Ma will be holding their Rivervest beer festival this Saturday. This is a cool festival, with over 20 breweries participating. The deal seems to be $25 entry, then taste away…

At the last minute I’ve been recruited to help staff the Cask basement. Sal and I will be serving from 12:30 to 4:00. Planned cask ales include offerings from Martha’s Exchange, Ipswitch Ale, Pennichuck Brewing, and Haverhill Brewing.

We’re planning to go down on the 8:15 Downeaster, return on either the 5:47 or the 7:12.

Haverhill boasts a wonderful Napoli restaurant, the Hot Nepali, which we eagerly anticipate visiting after our bar tending stint.

Ebenezer’s, The Review

Amber and I had dinner and a few beers at Ebenezer’s in Lovell last night. As promised, here are my thoughts on the pub, the drive out there, and, most importantly, the beer. First, starting with the drive (about 50 miles from our apartment in Portland), we were struck by the beauty of the lakes region. We’ve not really explored the Sebago Lake area much at all, but the lake itself, especially near the causeway in Bridgton, and the mountain views as we got closer to New Hampshire were breathtaking. 50 miles is a long way to drive for a beer, but this drive is worth it in and of itself.

The pub itself is actually on a golf course in Lovell. As you drive up Rte. 5, there is a tiny little sign telling you to take a left, and then you go down a tiny road skirting the course to find what looks like a big wooden barn with a Belgian flag hanging from it. That’s the pub. This is western Maine, so it’s not nearly as trendy and touristy as the sea coast. Take a look for yourself:

This is the view as you drive down the road

This is the view as you drive down the road

(more…)

Headed to Lovell Tonight, Reviews to Follow

Amber and I are headed to Lovell tonight for dinner and some Belgian brews at Ebenezer Kezar’s Pub & Restaurant. I’m hoping Chris will have time to come over and chat a little. This will be our first visit to Ebe’s, and I’m very excited. I’ve heard nothing but good things. Jan’s little preview earlier this week was not enough; I need to go see this place for myself. Here’s hoping it meets some very high expectations.

A Brief Visit To Ebenezer’s Belgian Fest

A friend and I dropped into Ebenezer’s on Wednesday afternoon to see how the festival was going. The weather was perfect for a drive in the country, and we caught the bar in the quiet lull between lunch and dinner, with just a few other punters present.

Chris’ beer list guarantees that a short visit will be an exercise in frustration: how to pick just a few beers from a long list of rare, not to be missed gems.

Man with a dilemma - which beer is next ???

Man with a dilemma - which beer is next ???

Lambics seemed a perfect start for a Summer afternoon, and the draught list included six Cantillons and a Boons. We started with the Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus paired with the Cantillon Fou’ Foune. The Fou’ Foune is made with Apricots, and is deliciously subtle. The Rose has an exhuberant aroma that announces raspberries, and follows with flavors that perfectly balance the tartness and flowery fruit. The Boons Mariage Parfait that followed was notably less tart, equally delicious in a softer, smoother style.
A mature Moortgat Maredsous 8 (talk about smooth, this stuff coats the inside of your mouth and makes you forget every other beer you’ve ever had); and  a J W Lees barley wine aged in a Calvados cask (and served through a hand pump and sparkler!) capped our afternoon.
There is a beer dinner tonight (Thursday) which is sold out, but the festival continues through Saturday. If you buy a festival glass for $12 you get a two dollar discount on every draught beer throughout the festival.

Ebenezer’s Pub Belgian Fest This Week

The existence of Ebenezer’s may be one of the strangest ’secrets’ in the Maine beer scene. The next time you’re at a good beer bar, ask the folks either side of you whether they’ve ever been to Ebenezer’s. My guess is three out of four have never been. 

If you can’t get to Belgium, Ebenezer’s is the next best thing to visiting a Belgian bar. Monk’s bar in Philadelphia is a good approximation, but Ebenezer’s is the real thing. In Lovell. Honest…

So once a year Chris, the owner,  does a Belgian Fest. A classic case of gilding the lilly. People from away park their RVs on the grounds. Mainers sleep under the tables on the porch. Who knows where the visiting Belgian brewers sleep…

Amazing….   Just go!

On Not Being In London

One thing that is painfully obvious to me this week is that I’m not in London.

This is the week of the Great British Beer Festival, the grand-daddy of all beer festivals and Mecca for lovers of cask ale. I last attended in 2005, so I’m feeling enormously deprived… (lol) The fact that several of my NERAX colleagues are there now helps not at all.

GBBF offers over 350 cask ales from all over Britain, as well as a foreign bar that serves about 50 American cask ales, many American bottle beers, and kegs and bottles from Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, and many other countries.

Outside the festival one is confronted with the pubs of London. If that’s not enough, there is Cricket on now both at Lords and The Oval.

Good Grief!