Pivo and Prost: Beer Tours in Europe!

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Our recent trip to Prague and Germany was all about BEER. It was a 10-day tour specifically designed for craft brewing enthusiasts. So, let’s take a journey through some of the interesting things we saw, shall we? All beer-related, of course (the pretty scenic pics will come in another post).

*Note:  I am fully aware that this is a DIY home improvement blog, but I wasn’t exactly getting anything done while I was out of town, so hopefully you’re still interested enough to read about this until I tire of bragging about our trip… home-related blog posts are coming again soon, I promise!

Nearby the brewery was Březnice Castle, which is decorated in true Bohemian style. After all, the castle is located in southern Bohemia! Apparently, the previous dwellers were avid hunters.

The outer grounds

Most of the other buildings in Březnice showed their age, with most of the damage brought on by WWII.

Another interesting brewery we visited was one of the last stops on our trip:  the Schlenkerla Brewery in Bamberg, Germany. Here we were able to talk all night with Mattias, a fifth generation brewmaster (who knew English quite well, and was the highlight of Scott’s trip), and try a very unique kind of beer… Rauchbier, which is also referred to as “smoked beer”. It has a rich, smoky flavor that I normally associate with smoked meats. In other words, it tasted like liquid bacon.

And let’s not forget about the rich, hearty food that comes with such a rich, hearty beer:  all pork, all potatoes, no substitutes. In fact, we were told that if we preferred a lighter option, “Go with the potato pancakes”!!!

We called this the “German taco” – a potato pancake with marinated pork inside.

One cool thing about the smoked beer is that the flavor was so unique, the brewery has also begun making the beer into chocolate truffles. I’ll admit, it was a strange taste, but won us both over by truffle number two!

Oktoberfest is essentially what you would get in the U.S. if everyone at your state fair began dressing in lederhosen and dirndls. There are rides, tents, games, food kiosks, and of course… massive beer gardens with lots of rowdy Germans signing “Sweet Caroline” at the top of their lungs.

Now that Scott and I are back home, we are slowly getting used to our normal diets that don’t include beer with every meal (even breakfast). We have about ten pounds each to lose (at least!), and I’ve finally been able to load the last of my pictures onto my Picasa web album. Feel free to browse through!