So This Guy Walks Into A Bar...

a.k.a. "First Contact"

Life here can't all be sausages and festivals.  A man's gotta work.

There's only one brewpub in a 40 mile radius around here, and it's at the closest city, Kaiserslautern.  The family and I decided to stop over there to check it out last Monday for lunch.  It's called Brauhaus am Markt or Market Brewery.  I ordered their four beer sampler--they brew three house beers and a seasonal:  Helles, Weisse, Alt and Weinachtbier (Christmas Beer).

The beers were good, especially the Christmas beer.  I left my business card and wrote on the back of it that I'd like to meet the Brewmaster.  The waitress said he wasn't there but was expected to be in around 4 pm.  We hung around and were later greeted by Brewmaster Bernhard Honing.  We chatted briefly--he knows some English which is great because my German consists of a bad, loud German accent and a lot of pointing.  I told him I'd like to watch him brew.  He said, "how about Wednesday?"

It was on!

I arrived at 8 on Wednesday morning and Bernhard was finishing up a first batch of beer and milling in the grain for the second.  Apparently, he got there at 2 am!  He said he likes to get there early, as the restaurant gets pretty busy during the day and it gets harder to brew among a crowd.

In what I believe is typical of German brewing, they like to keep things simple.  A couple types of malt.  One type of hops.  I think he had five different malts on hand while I have about 41 different malts in our warehouse!  I've used eight or nine different malts in a single brew in the past.  I don't think one philosophy is better than the other--they are just different.

The brewery adheres to Reinheitsgebot, though they do use wheat.

The next thing that struck me is there's not a lot of "helping" to be done.  The process is largely self-contained.  Where I mix the barley by hand with a paddle, there are stirrers in his mash tun.  Where I rake the spent grain into garbage cans to haul out, he has mechanical rakes which comb the grain through a trap door, and a grain pump sends it out into the back alley through a hose where a local horse/pig farmer collects it in a small trailer for his livestock.

Much of the process was familiar, if not completely identical.  While conversation was difficult--the English/German was not the only barrier; I also had to deal with metric and I only "think" in English measurements.  In Germany, it's all Celsius and hectoliters, so when Bernhard asked how much beer I brew in a year, I had to pull out the calculator.  Bernhard brews the equivalent of 10-12 barrel batches, so it is similar to the batch sizes I brewed when I worked for Rock Bottom.

Because a lot of the process was automated, there was a fair amount of down-time, which Bernhard graciously filled by feeding me!  The sauerbraten was delicious!  I learned that Bernhard is also a hobbiest schnapps and whiskey maker, and I sampled a little of his work.  He has a distilling license as puts out a variety of flavored schnapps.  The first I sampled was a Maribelle schnapps--a type of plum.  This fruit is popular in northeasten France, so this makes sense as we're not far from the French border.  The second was a coconut schnapps that he blended with Meyer's rum.  Both were fantastic. 

I was curious how this smallish brewpub had such cool toys, and the answer lies with the ownership.  The facility is owned by Bischoff--the largest local commercial brewery in this "state".  Bernhard has worked the better part of the last 25 years for Bischoff.  Bernhard asked me if I'd like to meet Bischoff's Master Brewer.  Arrangements are being made and soon he and I will make the trek to Winnweiler to visit the brewery!  When I mentioned that I am waiting for my brewing gear to arrive so I can start things up here, he also said I was welcome to grain/hops etc.  There's something to be said for the generosity offered to me.  I am truly grateful.

I did pick up some tips with regard to fermentation temps, which I will bring back to SFB for experimentation.

The gleaming copper kettles of the Brauhaus am Markt in Kaiserslautern

Bernhard Honing--Braumeister, Schnappsmacher, und host extraordinaire.



The inside of the steam-fired brew kettle.



Their brewhouse control panel has a few more switches than ours!

In the fermentation room.

The serving vessels are located on a balcony above the patio.



Pictures Pictures Pictures

Oh happy day.

My electronics have all arrived from the states. 

So today instead of boring you with a long diatribe,  I will "pic up" the blog with some photos of the first two weeks of my Germany adventure.

Here is the road leading into our village of Oberstaufenbach.  We're in a valley within two kilometers of two other villages and a small town.  There are bike/walking paths adjacent to the road, which is nice as vehicles tend to soar on these country roads.

Here is the welcome sign to our village.  There are about 400 villagers and more than half of them are Americans working with the nearby military bases:  Ramstein Air Force Base and Landstuhl Army Base.

Our house, in the middle of our street.  It looks small, but it's actually quite large.  Plus, there is a two bedroom apartment attached to the lower level (which you cannot see from the front) which we are able to offer to friends/family who visit.  Unfortunately, our boiler uses fuel oil which is very expensive.  Mrs. Brewmaster doesn't like to pay for this oil, so if you visit, be sure to pack plenty of sweaters!

This is from one of the big hills surrounding our valley.  Germany has hundreds of wind farms.  Here you can see one small example.  In the little that I've traveled so far, I've seen wind farms with as many as 20 masts.  This picture was taken at a wildlife preserve near our home which we discovered the day after we arrived.  Many cool animals and birds of prey.  We didn't stick around for the falcon show, but someone else told us that the show couldn't happen in America.  Apparently they let the falcons get VERY interactive with the audience.  I guess Germany isn't as "lawyered-up" as America. 

Christmas or Weihnachten is a very big deal here, but also very different from the way it's celebrated in America.  Many towns have Weihnachtmarkts-Christmas Markets where locals and tourists alike gather to purchase crafts or to simply get together and enjoy the seasonal Gluhwein--a spiced, hot wine drink.  Christmas is more about family, friends and togetherness than presents and lights.

Rudesheim with the Rhine River in the background.

Germany is comprised of sixteen states and we live in Rheinland-Pfalz, in southwest Germany, so technically I am currently a Rhinelander.  We took a day trip to the town of Rudesheim on the Rhine River.  This is wine country in Germany.  We took a cable car up the hillside over the vinyards for a birdseye view of the Rhine.  We then went back into town to enjoy their Weihnachtmarkt and some delicious grilled sausages.

Below are a few of the many photos taken at Rudesheim.

So, How's Germany?

That's sort of like asking someone who has lived in Bayfield for two weeks, "How's Wisconsin?"

I understand the reason for asking, though, so I can offer up some first impressions. 

I've never been to Seattle, but I think the weather is similar here.  Very gray, daily rain, occasional breaks in the clouds.  It's not overly cold, but it is windy.

There is a definite language barrier.  Most Germans have a working knowledge of English, and I can fake enough German to get by, but in large crowds or in restaurants it's all German.  It's an odd feeling having people speaking all around you and you can't understand most of what they say. 

I've been listening to a German Top 40-ish radio station here.  Almost all the songs are American hits, but the DJs all speak German, so it's fun trying to figure out what they're talking about.  You'll hear the words "Lady GaGa" in the middle of a thick German stream.

Christmas is huge here, but not in the way of America.  Where Americans see Christmas as a time to buy things--presents, decorations, clothing, etc., the Germans seem to enjoy the spirit of togetherness.  There are very few outdoor displays--most are simple and modest.  Religious observance seems a bit reserved, but no one is afraid to wish you a Merry Christmas.  Where America tends to be "in your face" about everything, good and bad, I'm not finding a lot of that here.  The utter lack of polarization is very refreshing. 

Beer is an interesting thing here.  First off, it's dirt cheap.  More on that in a future post.  However, I've been a little disappointed so far.  Granted, I'm only two weeks into this adventure so there will be many beers to try over the next several months.  But, I've been led to believe that Germany was the first and last word in exceptional brewing.  Not long before I left for Germany, I had stumbled upon this article which decried the decline of beer in Germany.  Americans, unhampered by ancient brewing laws, can throw anything they want into a beer, mostly for better--some for worse.  As a result, the stunning variety of beer made available to the American populace has spoiled me.

Granted, as a brewer who adheres to the simplicity of the "basic four" ingredients, I take pride in brewing beers that are fairly true to style.  However, I do have an adventurous palate, and so far, that palate has found a lot of the same in the few beers I've tried here.  They're decent, they're basic. 

They're boring.

Yet, I remain enthusiastic about the future.  Two weeks will not cement my impressions.  I'll revisit this topic in six months and we'll see where we are.

P.S.  I promise to get some pictures up here very soon.  There have been some technology "issues"--namely that I accidentally left a great deal of my technology back home on my couch when I left for O'Hare!

One Week In...

But, not much to report.

I wrote a very lengthy synopsis of my trip out here to Germany.  However, as I read, and re-read it, it had so little to do with brewing that I didn't think it appropriate to post here.  That said, I may start a secondary blog which is geared more toward my personal experiences, where this blog will remain focused on all things beer.

Anyway, there are a few things which you may find interesting.  First off, the area we are living in is a lot like the Holy Hill area.  Lots of high, rolling hills.  There are pockets of agriculture along side thick pine forests.  Weather is similar to Milwaukee.  No snow yet, but high winds and rain almost daily.

We live in a tiny village and the next biggest village is about a mile down the road.

All of our furniture, as well as all my brewing gear, is scheduled to arrive around January 6th, and I can't wait to get started brewing as the water is delicious here.  I don't have a water quality breakdown, but I can tell you that it's a little hard, based solely on the fact that our shower head tends to spray water in several directions other than where you'd like it to go.

I make most purchases on the Air Force Base, as they are on the dollar and prices are reasonable.  Once you get "out on the economy", a dollar will get you $0.75 Euro, so not only is everything 25% more expensive, but you have to pay VAT and local tax on top of it.  The value of the dollar is trending in our favor, so hopefully our buying power will improve over time.

This past week, and the next couple will be spent getting acclimated to my new surroundings, while ensuring that things are running as smoothly as possible at SFB.  Once we can function a little more independant of each other, I'll be out exploring and learning a little more.  In the meantime, I welcome any questions you may have about Deutschland.

There are STILL Decent Companies in America

Just when I'm convinced that we've become a truly disposable society, a company proves me wrong.

Backing up....

Several years ago I was planning my homebrew setup.  I received a gift certificate to Northern Brewer, and decided to use it to buy the Cadillac of homebrew pumps--a magnetic pump from the March Pump company out of Illinois.

The pump sat in my basement for over a year.  Finally, I started putting my system together and put the pump into use.  After about four uses, the pump died.

I emailed March Pump with my model and serial number and explained that the unit is probably out of warranty, but I was very disappointed because I barely used the thing and it no longer worked.  I received a response within hours by a gentleman named Doug Street.  He told me that it was out of warranty, but if I sent it to them, they'd take a look at it.  He said, sometimes they can get them working again, but there would be no guarantees. 

The only thing I had to lose (other than the value of the pump) was shipping.  I sent it off.

I followed up a couple of weeks later to get the status, and was told that they got it running, but it was pretty "fubar-ed" up and was rubbing a lot.  Oh well....

So I come home today to a very pump-sized box on my front porch.  I figured I got my very defective pump back. 

No!

A shiny new pump motor was staring back at me!

This company was up-front, responsive, and successful in removing some of the cynacism I've cultured over the years.  They went above and beyond anything they had to do, and they not only left me 100% satisfied, they also made me want to tell everyone my pleasant experience.

I think I'll start with this blog......

So What Else Is New??

So kind of you to ask.

It is with great excitement, a touch of apprehension, and a tinge of sadness that I am reporting that I am leaving you.

Temporarily.

Let's back up a little.

A few months ago, my lovely wife was offered a pretty cool opportunity.  She is a medical coding auditor and she's darn good at what she does.  Now, normally I find this occupation as interesting as, say, a sequel to "Eat, Pray, Love" but once in a while, life throws you a curve.  Well, it did.  My wife swung and hit it out of the park.  She was offered a supervisory position overseeing all of the Air Force bases in Europe, with Germany being the home base (Ramstein AFB).  Last month, she moved there, and rented a great house in the little village of Oberstaufenbach.  On December 8th, the day after the December tapping, I will be moving there to join her.

While living with the woman I love is a no-brainer, this decision had a fair amount of trepidation.  I have worked very hard and sacrificed much to get to where I am today.  I love working for St. Francis Brewery.  I love making good beer.  I love the freedom, automony and trust that the ownership has offered me.  I also continually strive to become a better brewer.  Both I and my bosses see this new venture as an opportunity to learn and grow as a brewer.

With this in mind, in a wonderful display of generosity, the ownership of SFB is considering this a Sabbatical of sorts.  They are keeping me on staff, and I will be returning one week a month to get a whole lot of brewing done.  I have hired an Assistant who will handle the day-to-day minutiae.  You will meet her in an upcoming post.

Stay tuned to this blog, as I keep you abreast of my new adventures.

In all sincerity, it has been a pleasure serving all of you.  I look forward to raising a mug of St. Francis' finest with all of you in the future.

Auf Wiedersehen!
Scott

El Doble Rojo

Thought it would be fun to crack out the Spanish lingo.

I brewed up a short batch of Double Red.  It's not just for Valentine's Day!

This is a malty, higher strength version of an Irish Red.  Low bitterness.  Caramel and toffee flavors.

Surprise the wife with a growler, and let the chips fall where they may......