Beer Travel with Rick Steves

Rick Steves enjoying a beer at an undisclosed location. 

A couple days ago I found myself sitting in a lone chair at a table in a large empty room, in a snow-covered building deep in the woods of Northern Michigan.  It looked like a scene for a possible KGB interrogation.  But no,  instead I was recording two episodes of Travel With Rick Steves*, hosted by, that’s right, Rick Steves, who was more than 2,000 miles away at his studio in Edmonds, Washington.  I was at the public radio station in Interlochen, Michigan, which was procured by Rick’s producers for the interview.

I, as with many of you, have been a fan of Rick’s public tv show Rick Steves’ Europe, his public radio show Travel with Rick Steves and his countless travel guides and videos.  So, to have the opportunity to be interviewed by him for an hour on two of my favorite topics, beer and beer travel, was a dream come true.

The first show was about Finding the Best Beer in the World and the second one was Belgian Beer Touring.  Rick interviewed me with his great sense of curiosity, some listeners called in and others posted questions by email.  I answered all the questions, made some recommendations on beers, food and books, and told some short stories to the best of my ability, but in the end, I felt like we had just touched the tip of the iceberg on all the topics.  Rick told me afterward, “That’s the general nature of all this, but it inspires people to learn more about it.  I think that’s a good thing.” 

Looking back, I thought of so many other things I could have said, questions that were not completely answered, erroneous statements that were made by callers that I did not have a chance to refute or add to with more information.  In the end, it’s like travel itself.  It’s not perfect, it is what it is and it is a journey from which you learn, and armed with this new knowledge build upon and hopefully do better the next time.

One thing is clear, Rick Steves in a busy man with lots of people vying for his time, so to be able to have an hour window into his world was a privilege, exciting and perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  My gratitude knows no bounds.  I can’t wait to hear the final production of the two episodes in their broadcast format.  I’ll post the air dates when they become available.  I hope you will tune in or download the podcasts.

So, did we find the best beers in the world during the interview?  No.  We didn’t have enough time, but we did get a little closer.  Maybe next time.

* Travel with Rick Steves is a fun, hour-long, practical talk show with guest experts and questions from travelers. This weekly program is a lively conversation between travelers and the experts as we learn to explore our world smartly, smoothly, and thoughtfully. The show is currently broadcast on more than 200 station in North America.

Beer Festivals: One More Excuse to Visit Belgium

Thirsty festival goers enjoying the Bruges Beer Festival.

If you really needed one more excuse to visit Belgium, I suggest for the incredible beer festivals, built around the needs, wants and desires of beer enthusiasts.  Each year, Belgium hosts dozens of beer festivals, some more well known than others and each with its own character and personality ranging from the granddaddy of them all, the Zythos Beer Festival (ZBF) all the way down to the Heikant Beer Festival, which is fundraiser for a scout troop.  Yes, a fundraiser for a scout troop.  Where were these guys when I was a tenderfoot?

My favorite four Belgian Beer Festivals are the Zythos Beer Festival near Leuven, the Christmas  Beer (Kerstbier) Festival in Essen, the Modeste Beer Festival in Antwerp and the Bruges Beer Festival, which is why I include them in four different annual tours I offer.  The beauty of attending a festival as part of a beer tour is hundreds of beers and brewers come to you in one convenient and efficient place.  This saves a lot of time, especially if you are only in Belgium for six or ten days.  It would otherwise take months, maybe even years, to get the same beer experience.

The Belgians really have the beer festival model down, which makes for typically a really great, user-friendly experience for the consumer.  Most are pay-as-you go, using tokens, which allows you to just have as many beers as you would like at a leisurely pace, as opposed to the American system, where you pay an often-times huge set fee, generally around $50-$75, then people go crazy for four hours trying to get their money’s worth, then people start breaking glasses on the floor and things can get ugly.  You generally don’t have this at the Belgian festivals and it is part of what makes them such a joy.

The sheer variety of incredible-tasting beers at Belgian Festivals is daunting, exciting and fun all at the same time.  As many times as I have been to Belgium, I am always tasting new beers I’ve never had and seeing beers I’ve never heard of.  Most of these festivals are rather intimate, too, compared to say Oktoberfest.  Also, many of the beers are only available at these festivals as seasonal beers, one-of-kinds, or because they don’t bottle or export it.  So, you have to go there to get them.  There is simply no other way.

For more information on beer tours, which include these beer festivals, visit Belgianbeerme.com.  The next one is the Great Zythos Beer Festival Tour in April and there are still some seats open.  Join us, won’t you?

Belgian beer and travel: Microbrouwerij Urthel and De Hoppeschuur

Brewmaster Hildegard van Ostaden in her new brewhouse.

Belgian beer and travel: Microbrouwerij Urthel and De Hoppeschuur

Slide Show from Ardennes Mountain Spring Beer Tour of Belgium '11

Ardennes Mountain Spring Beer Tour of Belgium '11 Slideshow: Belgian’s trip from Brussels, Belgium to 12 cities Durbuy, Bouillon, Waterloo, Dinant, Achouffe (near Houffalize, Luxembourg), Soy (near Erezee), Rochefort, Abbaye d'Orval (near Florenvill), Chimay, Purnode (near Lisogne, Namur), Maredsous (near Annevoie-Rouillon) and Falmignoul (near Pont-a-Lesse) was created by TripAdvisor. See another Belgium slideshow. Create your own stunning free slideshow from your travel photos.

The Proud Beer Heritage of Luxembourg

What comes to mind when you think of Luxembourg?  I know, trick question, you do not think of Luxembourg. And, why would you?  It is the smallest country in the European Union with about 1000 square miles.

I am here for three nights doing some beer hunting and learning about the country.  They speak French, German and Luxembourgish, which is similar to German, but mostly they speak French.

What comes to mind for me when I think of Luxembourg are the famous cycling brothers Andy and Frank Schleck.  You may know them from a little thing called the Tour de France or Liege-Bastogne-Liege, or any number of famous cycling races.  Amazingly enough, for the two guys who put this miniscule country on the map, there is virtually no trace of them as far as souvenirs, public tributes, displays or commercialism of any sort, which is too bad.  I would have bought a hat or a shirt, or something.  I visited their nearby home village of Mondorf and discovered their home cafe, which did have some photos of them and some other momentos.  It was pretty cool, really cool.  I admire cyclists such as like the Schleck brothers.  The physical fitness level, endurance, stamina, disicpline and mental tactics they have are beyond me.  I do not know how they do what they do, but they do, and this is simply amazing.
I should mention that Mondorf is bang on the French border, so these guys are almost French.  You could probably throw a rock from their homes into France.

But, back to the reason I am here,  beer.  How do I put this...while trying to remain positive...ratebeer.com listed Mousel Zwickelbeier number one...and they were right...it is also made by AB Inbev...so this is from where you have to lower the bar of expectations.  Most of the beers here are pale lagers or what some people call Euro pils.  There are some wheat ales.  There are some Belgian, German, Mexican and Portugese imports, too.   It is what it is.  Having said that, my visit to the old taproom of the former Mousel brewery was one of the highlights of my visit.  Mousel is now brewed outside of Luxembourg City, but the Mousel Cantine remains with its wood panelled walls and carved wood details, murals, nostalgic photos, classic oak bar, and stunning old-world atmosphere.  The food and service are excellent, too.  I had mushroom pasta and ling cod for lunch.  If you visit only one place in Luxembourg, make it the Mousel cantine for a meal and a heavy  ceramic stein of Zwickelbeier, which is an unfiltered lager, that has some flavor to it beyond the common pils found here.

The rest of the old Mousel brewery grounds and buildings have been turned into a Disney Land of thumpin, bumpin, techno beat night clubs.  One is called the Big Brauweri and still has the giant steam machines and other gadgets anchored forever in place in the floors of the old building.  People just dance, eat and drink around it all.  This equipment survived two World Wars, it can withstand someone hurling on it.  Wed., Fri. and Sat. are the big party nights.  I do not know how Thursday fell out of favor.

I tried a bunch of other local beers, too--Bofferding, Ourdaller, Simon Regal, Battin Gambrinus,  Diekirch Grand Cru and Christmas beer.  The latter three, all AB Inbev products.  Nothing jumps out at me.
I also visited a brewpub in Bascharage, rhymes with cah garage, called Brasserie Meyer.  They brew Beierhaascht beers.  A helles, dunkel and an amber.  All clean, distinct and brewed to their German styles.  The place reminds me of an American brewpub in atmosphere, except the building also houses a hotel and an incredible butcher shop.  If I had only had a refrigerator...or a barbeque.  Except for some tastey hunters sausage, I did not eat there, but  food looked superb.  This town is also home the the giant Bofferding brewery, which only takes large groups with reservations, so, I did not get to visit their taproom.
It is hard to do this Euro melting pot of Luxembourg justice in a short blog, but it is worth a visit with its history, architecture, scenery, fortresses, fine cuisine and, proud, historic, but limited beer culture.  I based out of the Youth Hostel in Luxembourg City, which is really more of a hotel than what most Americans think of when thinking of youth hostels.  European hostels have retooled themselves to appeal to adult travelers and its working.  This is one of the best I have visited, complete with a really nice restaurant and very helpful staff.  I highly recommend it and other hostels, too.  Luxembourg is very user friendly.  As an example, you can ride buses anywhere in the city and country for only four Euros a day.
This morning I woke up and realized that I had left my boots, and my  only shoes with me, in the lobby the night before when I was drinking a beer, tired and working on the internet.  I came downstairs and they were gone.  A sinking feeling.  My only pair of shoes in Luxembourg gone and now I am barefoot.  How do you go shopping for new shoes, when you have no shoes?  It is a sinking, embarassing, perplexing and yet somehow a  humorous feeling.  I had to tell my innerself, “Stu, do not laugh.   This is serious...you have no shoes.  Seriously, dude, you are barefoot.”  After I asked the front desk for the second time, turns out someone had turned them and once again I was with shoes.  They just did not see them the first time they looked.  

Note to self--pay more attention to where you take off  your shoes.

Is Abbaye Mont des Cats in France the 8th Trappist brewery?

The new beer from Abbaye des Cats in France.  Photo by Danny Van Tricht.

Well the internet is buzzing, mostly in French, about the prospects of an eighth official Trappist brewery; this one in France.  Rather than rehash the details of this exciting prospect, I'm going to direct you to my good friend Chuck Cook (and his friend Danny Van Tricht), who thoroughly cover this news in detail...and in English in his Belgian Beer & Travel Blog.  I won't spoil the answer for you, but will tell you this is good news!  The dates for my next Trappist Tour are Oct. 15-24.  Farmhouse Ale of Belgium & France Tour dates are Oct. 10-15.  I am planning to include visits to Abbaye Mont des Cats on both tours!

Tribute to Hoegaarden's Pierre Celis

Pierre Celis, who died April 9, 2011, was a beer legend in the Belgian beer world.  The basic story is that he resurrected the style of Belgian Witbier back in the mid 1960s, naming it Hoegaarden, after the town where he lived and brewed the beer.   This is a photo of a photo of Pierre, that hangs in the taproom at the St. Bernardus Brewery in Watou, Belgium.  I took it this past fall on my Belgianbeerme.com Best Damn Farmhouse Ale Tour of Belgium & France.  I recommend reading more about Pierre in Stephen Beaumont's blog, where he so deftly covers the life of this great beer man.