In Bruges: the Brugs Beertje

If you are only to visit one town in Belgium, go to Bruges. And if you are only going to one beer pub, go to the Brugs Beertje. This place is a jewel! In fact, for a true Belgian beer lover, this place is an absolute must! This is a small place, hidden in a narrow side-street, a great atmosphere with lots of locals and tourists alike, and a beer list that looks like a phone book! There are hundreds of options, and it's hard to go wrong. There are also five beers on tap.
Daisy Claeys runs the show (see picture at the top of the blog page) and both her and her staff are very knowledgeable and fun. In fact, Daisy just got the 2010 award from the Brugs office of tourism for attracting so many visitors to Bruges!

Viva Obama! Brewhouse in SB taps the Obamanator!

Obamanator on tap at the Brewhouse in Santa Barbara

On 20^th January 2009, Barack Hussein Obama became the 44^th President of the United States. In his honor, Pete released the long awaited Obamanator dark Lager.

The Obamanator is a Munich Dunkel type Lager. It was brewed a few weeks ago, just before Christmas, using a mixture of Pilsner and Munich malts. Also used were Santiam hops, the world’s first naturally seedless Tettnang-type hop. The Santiam hop is said to be a hybrid of German Tettnanger, Hallertauer Mittelfrüh, and an American hop (some sources say Cascade). It is considered to be a good American-grown hop to use in German-style lagers.

While this dark lager would be filtered across the pond, this one was kept unfiltered, with a nice body and a rich flavor. The Obamanator is now on tap for Barbeerians and others to enjoy. Headbrewer Pete describes it as “Dark & Smooth” and adds: “This brew represents change we can believe in!”.

Cheers to that!!

History of Oktoberfest

The original "Oktoberfest" occurred in Munich in 1810, almost two centuries ago. The occasion was the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig (to become King Ludwig I) to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. The day was 12 October 1810.

The citizens of Munich were invited to attend the festivities held on the fields in front of the city gates. Horse races were held at the close of the event, and the decision to repeat them yearly gave rise to the tradition of Oktoberfest. Although the horse races were once the most popular event of the festival, they are no longer held today.

In the first few decades, entertainment was sparse, and mostly limited to the horse races. In 1819, citizens of Munich took over festival management. Festivities were lengthened and the opening date pushed forward in order to take advantage of the more pleasant September weather. Visitors were able to quench their thirst at a rapidly expanding number of small beer stands. In 1881, booths selling bratwurst opened to satisfy the attendees’ “Bierhunger” (German for “beer hunger”: that appetite resulting from beer consumption, a phenomenon well known to the Barbeerians). In 1896, the enterprising landlords, with the enthusiastic backing of the local breweries, set up the first beer tents.

In the year 1910, Oktoberfest celebrated its 100th birthday; 120,000 liters of beer were consumed. In 1913, the Bräurosl was founded, which was the largest Oktoberfest beer tent of all time; it could accommodate 12,000 guests (today, the biggest tent is the Hofbräu-Festhalle, which holds 10,000).

Over the years, Oktoberfest had to be cancelled a number of times for various reasons. As we know, Germans have been known to pick up a fight with their neighbors here and then, when not busy drinking beer. Add to that a couple of Cholera epidemics, and some perfectly-good drinking time was wasted away digging up trenches. Cancelled years included:

1812 cancelled because of Napoleonic wars (OK the French were to blame that time)

1853 cancelled due to a cholera epidemic

1866 cancelled due to Austro-Prussian War

1870 cancelled due to Franco-Prussian War

1873 cancelled due to another cholera epidemic

1914-1918 cancelled due to World War 1

1939-1945 cancelled due to World War 2

1946-1948 Germans weren’t trusted to behave yet; as a result, proper Oktoberfest beer wasn’t allowed. Attendees had to settle for beer that had an alcohol content under 2%.

Today, the Oktoberfest in Munich is the largest festival in the world. This year marks the 198th anniversary with its 175^th celebration. It is also celebrated in many breweries and German eateries around the world. So “Zum Wohl!”

Witbier: A history of the Style

The History of Witbier

The Belgian style of “white beer” has its origins going six or seven centuries back. A monastery was established in the fifteenth century in the small town of Hoegaarden, in a region where much wheat was grown. Back then, monks liked making beer and were usually the experts.

Belgium was then a part of the Netherlands, where many spices were brought in from the colonies. One of those colonies was the orange-growing territory of Curacao. Beer was made using the local wheat, as well as Curacao orange peel, along with other spices such as coriander, in addition to hops. Wit, or “White beer” was the result and became a distinct local style. By the 19^th century, Hoegaarden had become a true brewing center for a region that included thirty breweries, all making the local “white” beer. After world War Two, the style became almost extinct until the 1960s, when an entrepreneur named Pierre Celis revived it. Pierre Celis had grown up in the Hoegaarden area and knew much about the disappearing style of beer. He bought equipment from breweries that had closed and started production in 1966. He called his brewery “De Kluis” (Cloister) as a tribute to the monastery that had started Hoegaarden’s brewing tradition. By the 1980s, other breweries were opening, feeding on the renewed popularity of the style. By the 1990s, the beer was also made in southern Holland, and northern France, as the style’s popularity continued to spread. In 1992, Pierre Celis moved to Austin, Texas (where he had friends) and opened a brewery there, spreading white beer’s popularity to the American continent. And now, it is widespread across the US and Canada for us all to enjoy. (Thank you Michael Jackson & his “Beer Companion” for much of the above info).

Hollister Brewing Co. - Goleta, California

OK, first thing: I'm a huge fan of this place! If anything, I would have called it something different. There is a town called Hollister, California. What if some dude wants to open a brewery there? He can't call it Hollister Brewing Company, the name is already taken. I would have called it Goleta Valley Brewing Company, or something that sounds more local to me. But what's important is: is the beer good? And the answer is an unarguable YES, at least in my opinion.

This place opened May 2007 so it is still relatively new to the area. Eric Rose, the brewer, used to brew at the Santa Barbara Brewing Company, which is located downtown SB (Goleta is about twelve miles up the road). He did fine there, but was undoubtedly more limited in what he could brew. Ever since Eric and his partners opened Hollister Brew Co, he has been doing remarkably well. Eric keeps surprising me with beers that are both creative in recipe and top-notch in quality.

I tried to pop in there about once a month or so. I'd be there more often if it wasn't so far from my house. And probably I'd be there too much, so it's probably just as well. But the point is, every time I go there, I find something new worth getting a pint of. Eric keeps it interesting.



Reviewing all the beers would just be too much work for this blog. I have yet to find one I did not like. I'll just mention a couple that have really made an impression on me. One was the Dunkelweiss upon the opening last year: a very Bavarian tasting wheaty tasty dark Weizenbier. Another is "The J", a smoked hemp ale. I also loved the seasonal Lemon Ale, made with fresh Goleta lemons. Then I became addicted to the "Hip Hop", a double IPA (9.4%) with a chewy body (that's a compliment) and a wonderfully hoppy aroma. The regular Extra Pale Ale ("White-Star XPA") is creamy and wonderful, especially nitrogen-pumped. And last summer's black IPA ("black-eye pale ale") was simply brilliant in my opinion: it tasted like a excellent full-bodied West-Coast IPA, but yet was as pitch black as a stout. Those are probably my two favorite styles of beer and a pint of this stuff was just like pure liquid happiness to me!



If you're a beer enthusiast, and you're ever in the SB area, you have to visit this place. The food is excellent as well. I personally would recommend the fish tacos, and the tortilla soup. It's all good stuff though, and the menu is definitely more creative than at the average brewing company. This place makes me proud to be a Santa Barbaran, or as I like to call myself, a Barbeerian!

Hollister Brewing Co.
6980 Hollister Ave. Goleta, CA 93117
Tel: 805-968-2810
http://www.hollisterbrewco.com/

Downtown Brewing Co - Santa Barbara, Ca

This is my first entry on a local brewery, and we are lucky enough to have quite a few. Technically, the name of "Downtown Brewing Company" is a bit of a joke because it is neither downtown, nor a brewery. But there is an explanation:

Downtown Brewing is a local chain based up in San Luis Obispo, and that is where the brewing takes place. For readers from out of town, that's pretty much exactly one hundred miles up the road from Santa Barbara. They have three locations: SLO, Paso Robles (30 minutes north of SLO) and Santa Barbara, the most recent addition, which opened in May of 2007. They do not brew here in SB, they bring kegs down highway 101. So it isn't really a brewery. In addition, Downtown Brewing is located in the "Uptown" part of SB so it isn't even downtown. Oh well, just had to get that out of my system.

Having said that, I actually like the place. Service isn't anything to brag about but it isn't a place I'd go to if I'm in a rush. But it is a place I love going to on a nice sunny weekend day (or long summer evening) because they have a nice beergarden outside. SB does not have a beer garden and I always said it needed one. We have the right weather, someone just needed to provide the space and bring the beer. And downtown Brewing did, so good on them!



The beers are not amazing, but they are very drinkable. There is a light but tasty honey blonde, a pleasant blueberry ale, a nice reggae red, an IPA, and usually either a stout or a porter. I've never had a bad beer there, but I've had some very pleasant ones. In my opinion, their India Pale Ale (IPA) is their best beer. They also had a very nice Oktoberfest (hey still have some!) and they are now pouring a very nice winter brown. The latter has an ABV (alcohol by volume) of 7.6%. It is well hopped, malty, tasty and strong. It has a nice dark copper color and a decent body. In other words, it has all you need to warm up with if sitting outside in cooler weather as I did last weekend (it was only about 59F, burrrrrrrrrr!!!)



Overall, this place provides very decent beer, nice outside tables, and provides a pleasant watering hole between the downtown area (where several brewries are located) and Goleta where we have the fabulous Hollister Brewing Co (to be reviewed in the near future). I like Downtown Brewing Co and enjoy going there. So cheers to that!

Downtown Brewing Co.
3755 State St, Santa Barbara
Phone: (805) 682-7803

A Word about Mead

Mead is basically fermented honey and water. Its history goes so far back that we may never know the exact origins of the drink.

It has been established that ancient Egyptians may have been first to create beer, and yet they reportedly made mead for a long time prior to that.

Mead was consumed in ancient Greece (Aristotle spoke of it) and became a popular drink throughout Europe. As European populations increased however, the demand for honey increased as well, and prices went up. Around the Mediterranean, grape culture being cheaper than beekeeping, wine became more common. Tastes in Northern Europe evolved more towards beer, also cheaper to produce.

Beer and wine were easier to come about, and replaced mead as the daily drink throughout Europe. Mead was mainly produced for special events, such as weddings.

Although it became less common, mead’s lure was never lost. Today, mead is still of interest to beer enthusiasts, and home-brewers alike.
Meadhing is the practice of brewing honey. A brewery that deals specifically in mead is called either a meadery or a mazery. (Thank you Wikipedia!)
There are many variations of the drink. Traditional mead is nothing but honey, yeast, and water. But there are non-traditional meads that typically contain additional ingredients. A mead made with spices (like cloves, cinnamon or nutmeg) or herbs (such as oregano or even lavender or chamomile) is called metheglin. Mead that contains fruit is called melomel. Mead that contains specifically grape juice is called pyment. Pyment made with white grape juice is sometimes called "white mead." Mulled mead is a popular winter holiday drink, where mead is flavored with spices (and sometimes various fruits) and warmed, traditionally by having a hot poker plunged into it.
Mead may be dry, semi-sweet, or sweet. Sweetness simply refers to the amount of residual sugar in the mead
Mead may be still, petillant, or sparkling. Petillant meads are “lightly sparkling” and can have a moderate, noticeable amount of carbonation. Sparkling meads are not gushing, but may have a character ranging from mouth filling to an impression akin to Champagne or soda pop.
Clarity may be good to brilliant. Mead should be crystal clear, and observable particulates are undesirable.

To this day, mead is still a more select drink than beer. There are quite a few commercial examples out there to sample should you think of making your own. Regardless, mead is worth trying and is quite a treat.