Kressbronn-Tettnang

Yesterday: Konstanz

The DB-agent noticed that I was heading for Max & Moritz near Kressbronn am Bodensee and said their beer is wunderbar. The brewery is a two-kilometer uphill hike from the Bahnhof, past hop fields, apple orchards, and a beer can collection displayed in front of a house at Bergerstraße 3.

By the time I got to the top of the hill, I was definitely ready for some wunderbar beer, and I found it here in the form of their Kellerpils. Had fun talking with Andi the brewer, who gave me a great tour, tastes from the lagering tanks, and a four-pack of his Spezial, which I carried back to Konstanz so Paris could have some. Also a great Brotzeit to soak up the beer.

It was another long walk back down the hill (but not as long as the walk up), and a long wait for the bus to Tettnang. I walked round and round the Bärenplatz looking for Brauerei & Gasthof zur Krone, only to finally find Montag Ruhetag posted on their door. Had an even longer wait for a bus to Ravensburg.

There are plenty of signs that Tettnang is a major hop-growing and -processing center.

I noticed a Gasthaus-Brauerei near Ravensburg Marienplatz — no time to stop now, but I found that it's on my list for later this week. Couldn't find a beer at Ravensburg Bahnhof. Took trains from Ravensburg to Radolfzell to Konstanz and got back just in time for dinner at the Italian restaurant Pinocchio, where we enjoyed Stuttgarter Hofbräu Herren Pils and Malteser Hefeweizen.

Tomorrow: Ravensburg, and not Tettnang

Konstanz

Yesterday: Amsterdam-Zürich-Konstanz

We slept late and missed the free breakfast at the hotel. Walked over to Konstanz Hafen and found the Konzil Gaststätten. Along with a terrific Fischmaultäschle for lunch, I had my first taste of Ruppaner, the local beer of Konstanz. (Johann Albrecht is the "newcomer".)

We took a short walk to the Bahnhof to catch the #1 bus to Staat-Autofähre, from which stop it's about a 1 km walk to the Ruppaner-Brauerei. The Biergarten there has a terrific view of the Überlingersee, and the beers were noticeably fresher than at the restaurant earlier. It's a real nice place to relax and enjoy the beer.

Dinner at the Hexen Küche on Bodanstraße, with beers from Dinkelacker-Schwabenbräu. By the time we returned to the hotel, Paris' colleague had recovered somewhat from his flight, and we met him at Shamrock, an Irish pub on Bahnhofstraße. (Shamrock has free Internet access, and in fact that's where I'm posting these notes from.) One round of Guinness, and a couple of Maisel Weissbier. And then it was midnight already.

Tomorrow: Kressbronn-Tettnang

Amsterdam-Zürich-Konstanz

Yesterday: Omaha-Detroit-Amsterdam

Either Amsterdam has a remarkably confusing airport, or it's just too early in the morning (6:00am MESZ) for my brain to function. Fairly short hop to Zürich.

Taxi driver Bernd Müller was ready and waiting for us, and chatted all the way to Konstanz. He was very excited to hear that I was touring breweries, as the Ruppaner Brauerei is in his neighborhood, and he spends a lot of time in the Biergarten there.

Arrived at the Hotel Bayrische Hof at 10:00, two hours before our room was ready, so we dropped off our bags and strolled around the Altstadt. Ended up at the Bahnhof Gaststätte for breakfast - our third of the day, if airplane food counts - and a couple glasses of Rothaus Pils. Went back to the hotel around noon for a couple hours' sleep.

Walked to Brauhaus Johann Albrecht, about 700 meters across the Altstadt from the hotel. Good food and good beer, better than the one in Düsseldorf that we visited three years ago.

Tomorrow: Konstanz

Omaha-Detroit-Amsterdam

Yesterday: Columbus-Omaha

Our flight left Omaha around 10:00am and dropped us off in Detroit with three hours to kill. Had a couple of Bell's Amber at the Online C@fe near Gate A36. Northwest Airlines offers free Heineken on the Amsterdam leg...I figured having one might help me sleep.

Tomorrow: Amsterdam-Zürich-Konstanz

The trip to the Bodensee begins: Columbus-Omaha

So here we go...Paris' employer is sending her to work at Altana Pharma in Konstanz am Bodensee, and I'm going along for a week to find all the good beer in the area.

We'd planned to stop by the Crescent Moon for some Unibroue beers (newly introduced to Nebraska by the Crescent Moon), but we got such a late start that we just found ourselves a hotel near the airport and stayed put.

Tomorrow: Omaha-Detroit-Amsterdam

Beer drinkers beware: 4 percent of U.S. hops crop burns

From AP via CNN:

YAKIMA, Washington (AP) -- Federal investigators were set Tuesday to begin an investigation into a fire that ruined about 4 percent of America's yield of hops, used as flavoring in the brewing of beer and ale.

The fire started shortly before noon Monday in a 40,000-square-foot (3,600-square-meter) warehouse operated by S.S. Steiner Inc., one of the four largest hop buyers in the Yakima Valley of central Washington. By mid-afternoon flames engulfed most of the building, sending up plumes of smoke and a pungent aroma.

[I had a link to the original article, but it no longer exists.]

Thanks to Michael Feekart for the link!

Blogthings: What's your beer personality?

Blogthings now offers a deep, insightful, thought-provoking survey that helps you determine what kind of beer personality you have. Apparently, I'm a Guinness:

***You Are Guinness***

You know beer well, and you'll only drink the best beers in the world.
Watered down beers disgust you, as do the people who drink them.
When you drink, you tend to become a bit of a know it all - especially about subjects you don't know well.
But your friends tolerate your drunken ways, because you introduce them to the best beers around.

I can live with that.