Written by Franz Hofer for Tempest in a Tankard The Wirtshaus is a Central European institution deeply rooted in medieval times. During the early and high Middle Ages, inns with taverns sprung up along trade and pilgrimage routes, offering food and accommodation to weary travelers, along with stables to quarter their horses. The vast majority …
Continue reading “The Origins of the Contemporary Wirtshaus”
Written by Franz Hofer for A Tempest in a Tankard
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: You can never have too much Munich in your life. But what about those times you really do need a break from the big city? Maybe some meadows dotted with cows, Alpine scenery, pristine lakes, or all three? Last week I posted on my …
Continue reading “Out and About Near Munich: Beer Gardens, Breweries, and Beer Halls”
Written by Franz Hofer for a Tempest in a Tankard Cantillon with its cobwebbed rafters sheltering rows of barrels. The cheerfully riotous Delirium Café. Moeder Lambic with its rare beers. The Morte Subite, elegantly attired in art nouveau. You could spend days or even weeks in Brussels without coming close to exhausting your possibilities for …
Continue reading “Belgian Beer Café Vignettes: Poechenellekelder, Brussels”
In anticipation of having to switch into BJCP mode tomorrow, I’ve been mowing down broad swaths of time brushing up on the causes of, and remedies for,IMG_1833 various technical and stylistic flaws. I’ve been getting together with friends to do blind tastings of beers dosed with extracts of this and that, and to figure out which beer is the different one in triangulated tastings––much harder than it sounds! I have also been tasting plenty of beer.