A Writ from God Version II

I recently emailed our bier drinking idol Larry Hawthorne of The Beer Drinker's Guide to Munich fame. He did return my email, and I feel honored once again to be speaking with the esteemed one. While his response was very long, I include some of it below, edited for brevity (I know, it is still very long). This does give some insight into what could lie ahead of us if we perfect our bier consumption activities. 

Hey, Chugger,

I've been remiss with my correspondence.  I apologize for not getting back to you.  Still around and generally traveling a lot.  Not much to Munich, of course, in the past year or most of 2019 for that matter.  I was getting serious about an 8th edition of the BDG2M, but I let it slip another year and then along came Covid.  ...

If things open up again next year I'll get moving on an update.  This time there will be a Kindle edition and a limited print run.  ... But, I like to do it, so there is still an eighth edition in me somewhere.  I've been retired from my day job for some 16 years now and have dabbled in different things.  ...

We are still very active with the adult LEGO community (damn, that almost sounds pornographic) and regularly attend LEGO builders and designers conventions in Australia (January) and Chicago (June) each year.  ... we travel around the US half the time and the rest is a lot of travel in Europe (Prague is our landing spot as Eliska is Czech and we have an apartment there).  ...

...

It would be great to meet up with you guys sometime.  Cannot believe how long it's been and you've walked in my footsteps and occasionally I've walked in yours (tried to leave a copy for your next visit with the folks running Shakespears there in Munich around the corner from the Hauptbahnhof).  I think Barleyman and Paulaner Girl live in the San Diego area?  We're often in Hemet, high desert area of Inland Empire area there in SoCal.  We've got a place there.  Might try to meet them if they're available sometime over at Stone in Escondido and have a few bitter ales if they're interested.   ROADTRIP  ! ! !

As it is, we're in Hawaii and have been here since early February.  We were coming through here from our Australia trip in January to stay for a month or two, as we usually do.  But the Covid got worse and we decided to stay right here and ride it out.  ... We're domiciled in Henderson, NV (Las Vegas) as you probably know.  Essentially it was for tax reasons but it's really on wheels there.  ... we're looking elsewhere to relocate, maybe Nashville area in Tennessee.  I love bluegrass and play banjo, fiddle and guitar, so in my old age I'm really getting into jamming the music.

Meanwhile, all the best to you guys.  I always thought you and your gang were hilarious in the things you do and the way you approach the wonderful art of drinking beer.  Lots of it.  I mean that IS what it's all about, as you were all able to break the code first.  I think it might have been around the third edition that you guys became early adopters of The BDG2M.  You left me a positive review on Amazon once that more or less said, "he gets it".  You were alluding to the fact that it was all about the immersion in the culture and the beer and that there was nothing to be self-conscious about, just because it was a hell of a lot of fun.  There was a time when even the title of the book, "The Beer Drinker's Guide" felt risky.  I mean, not exactly the Great American Novel, that one.  But it WAS the perfect title, and you guys confirmed it for me.  That really made a difference to me, believe it or not.  Because, you know, I actually was thinking I do get it but I need someone else to agree with the conclusion.  And you guys did, even to the point of spinning off your own tour businesses for a while.  

All the best, Keith (Chugger) and regards to the whole gang.  I look forward to us meeting sometime and lifting a few Maß.

 

Prosit!

Larry 

Speaking of Train Passes

With all of our expected travel for the Bier Immersion, German Rail passes are in order. With the proposed itinerary, we have 6 different days of travel that will require a train. Deutsche Bahn offers passes for 5 or 7 days within a month, so the 7 day pass would seem appropriate. It would then give us an extra day trip while in München.

There are 2 flavors of the rail pass; Single and Flexi. The Flexi allows two Oktoberfestians to travel on the same pass. While it costs more for the pass, it is not twice the price, so $$ are saved:

    1 Single Rail Pass    256 €

    1 Twin Pass              388 €

So, two Oktoberfestians with a Single Pass each would pay a total of 512 €, but those same two Oktoberfestians with a Twin Pass would only pay 388 €. 124 € for bier!

Unfortunately these passes are only for non-EU Oktoberfestians, sorry Barbus.

More Bier Immersion Stuff

 Ok, Ok, Ok......

Being the AOC (Anal Oktoberfestian [Chugger]) that I am, I am trying to end this year with everyone thinking about and planning for our Bier Excursion in 2021; Covid and travel restrictions permitting. We have had some discussions in previous threads, but in all honestly, not much enthusiasm; Flying Dan and BarleyMan excepted. This is my last attempt to generate some ongoing enthusiasm. What else is there to do when most of us have some form of limited or total shutdown? Unlike our normal trips, this will require some planning and coordination, and I'm sensing an "attitude" from some (no fingers being pointed). The alternative is Flying Dan and I (with a rendezvous with BarleyMan) are on our way and we may or may not see you.

So, I have created a planning document that will be kept up-to-date with our decisions. This will make it easier than trying to keep up with multiple posts. We should still use the various posts for discussion and other recommendations. 

You can use the link above in the header, or access the document from here. 

Updated Proposed Itinerary

I have made a couple changes to the proposed itinerary just to try and spur some activity as we approach the end of the year.

Barbus... Say it isn't so!

 

Holland-made Tecate beer masquerading as Mexican

Rare photo from the early days of Oktoberfesters quest

 

Some Information About Kulmbach...

 Learn about the new venue as proposed by Flying Dan:

General Wikipedia Information

Plassenburg Castle

Kulmbacher Bratwürst

TripAdvisor Info

Kulmbacher Brauerei (possibly the most important) 

An interesting bier

1st Proposed Daily Itinerary

 Here is the first draft of a daily itinerary for next year's trip. Questions to be discussed:

1. Are these the right cities?
2. Enough/too much time in each?

Have at it...

Trick or Treat. It is a treat!

 Happy Halloween.  Here is my Hacker-Pschorr Hefeweizen t the Manderville bier garten in Sarasota

Happy Halloween

 

Oktoberfest 2020

 

Proposed Trip Logo

Courtesy of Barbus, here's a suggestion for a logo for our trip.

Thoughts? Other ideas?

Just for fun I picked a 11 day excursion to see what the airfare looked like end of March first of April.  I know they can't go out much further than that.  I found a TAP Portugal flight from ORD to LIS (1.5 hour layover) to TXL for $204.00.  It was a bout a 13 hour flight.  The return out of MUC to LIS (5 hour layover) to ORD was $277.00.  It is a 17 hour flight!  Includes no seat selection but does allow for one carry on and a personal item.  Total of $481.00   I will say Delta and American and their partners are no way close to these numbers.   What the heck, they look like jets (Well kinda they are Airbus) and the seating looks the same.  I always sit in the back as I would be the last to hit the water. 

a day late.

Bier Immersion 2021 - Part 1

Ok, the first draft of next year's Bier Immersian 2021 trip has come a little quicker than I thought. If you are reading this before the previous post, please read that one first to set the stage.

I am suggesting the following bier immersion for our trip. This includes five different locations and bier styles prior to the culmination of the trip in München. We will start in the north and work our way south, visiting these cities and sampling their bier (remember, this is just a suggested itinerary. add value if you can):

Berlin: Berliner Weiße

Berliner Weiße is a light and sour wheat beer, which is sweetened by a shot of himbeer (raspberry) or waldmeister (woodruff-flavored) syrup giving it a candy-colored red or green color.

Leipzig: Gose

This unusual beer is spiced with coriander seeds and - unlike any other German beer - it is brewed with lightly salty water and features a sourness.

Dusseldorf: Altbier

A German style brown ale, “Alt” means old, and the name refers to the pre-lager brewing method of using warm top-fermenting yeast like British pale ales.

Cologne: Kölsch

Kölsch, meaning "of Cologne", locals are proud of their beer which is brewed exclusively in the Cologne region.

Bamberg: Rauchbier

The secret of this beer’s mild smoked flavor is the century-old process of drying malt over an open fire made from beech wood logs.

München: Helles, Weisbier, Dopplebock

Let the discussion begin.............

Oktoberfest 2021

What? Oktoberfest 2021? Even though this year's 'Fest has been cancelled, it would not have even started yet. Are you guys crazy?

Well, yes, we are probably crazy. But nonetheless, it is never too early to start planning an Oktoberfest trip. We have already begun informal discussions, and next year's trip is going to be a bit different.

We are discussing a trip that celebrates the different bier of Germany, not just München. We expect to start our sojourn somewhere in northern Germany, and work our way south sampling the different biers in different regions. This "pre-trip", if you will, will culminate with a traditional visit to Oktoberfest in München. Details of the bier immersion trip will start flowing shortly. Items to be discussed include, where do we go, how long are we there, how do we get from Point-A to Point-B, and so on. Current thoughts are 4-5 different cities, and 7-10 days of bier immersion.

Please stayed tuned in the next few days for the first draft of Bier Immersion 2021. Your input is extremely important. Where do we want to go? How long do we want to stay? Is it only bier focused or should we also immerse ourselves in culture? So much to decide. Maybe I should go have a cold one to get started.

If you are so inclined, you can also provide your input to the first draft prior to publication. Let me know your thoughts.

Prost !

Wurst Kase

British Airway Cancelled my London/Munich/London

It is official for me now.  BA cancelled my trip from London to Munich and the return.  I went to the BA manage your flight web page and could only request a voucher.  I called the help line and talked to a pleasant chap located in Germany who refunded my money to my credit card.

Painless, the US carriers could take a lesson on customer service from those folks at BA!

Just waiting for American to cancel my flight to London and the fight not to get a voucher!!

Oktoberfest Trip Website update with latest news.

Dang.  Next year will be tough with the wedding. 

Oktoberfest Trip Officially Cancelled

I'll Probably Be Cancelling

Delta just cancelled one of my flights.