Well, if you are still reading after all of those pages, then you must really like beer tours. Or else, you have a lot of time on your hands! You must have liked it or you would have stopped reading long ago. Well, I'm glad you did, because it took a long time to write and publish on the web. I had a great time, though, reliving the experience, as I had to put it down in words. Having a digital camera on the trip with lots of memory made it easier, because, all I had to do was follow along with the pictures. Before I left I bought a new 128 meg memory stick for my Sony camera and it held over 200 pictures. I also had a 64 meg memory stick that held over 100 pictures. In addition, I received pictures on a CD from Harald and Ralph, who also were using digital cameras. If you ever go on a trip, make sure you have a digital camera with lots of memory!
In America, beer is very popular, but not in the same way as in Europe. The beer drinking culture in America is centered around the bland American lager beers like Budweiser, Coors and Miller. True, there are a lot of microbrewed beer and brewpubs in America, but that makes up such a small portion, it can't be called part of the culture.
I got involved in homebrewing around 1990, before the microbrew fad hit the US. Back then, if you wanted to go to a brewpub, you had to drive to Philadelphia or Baltimore. Now, there are about 6 brewpubs in and around Delaware.
In Europe, it is a whole different thing. Every region has a style of beer all to their own. Although that is starting to change with the larger breweries buying up the smaller ones and mass marketing their beer, it is the case.
Back in the early 90's, my wife and I went on a trip to London. It was supposed to be a club trip then, too, but everyone else backed out. My wife had lived in London for a semester of school a couple of years earlier, so she was anxious to go back. Therefore, we decided to go by ourselves. That was an amazing trip, too. Cologne reminded me of London a little bit in the way there were multiple pubs on almost every corner. We mixed tourist sight-seeing with pub crawling!
We swore we would make a return trip, but it has been nine years and we haven't made any serious plans to do so. That's why when Harald presented this trip to Germany, I couldn't turn it down! Now I swear I will make a return trip to Germany. I hope it doesn't take me a decade to do it, though.
Joyce and I were talking about taking an introduction course in German, so we could speak it a little bit. Without a personal interpreter like Harald was, it would have been a little difficult to get around.
Also, if I ever go on another trip to Europe, I will leave the traveler's cheques at home! ATMs are everywhere, now. Traveler's cheques were useful when we went to London, but there was an American Express office right around the corner from Victoria Station. There's no need to do that now, though. You can access money right from your checking account and receive the local currency. Exchange rates are also very good that way, too. Just bring a small amount of the local currency with you on the trip, then take out what you need from the ATM machines.
A word about homebrewing! What a fantastic hobby! I call it an addictive hobby. Not because of the affects of alcohol, but because the desire to brew keeps calling me! Before I started brewing, I thought Heineken was a great imported beer. True, it's flavor is a tiny bit better than Budweiser, but not by much. The idea of being able to make my own beer seemed incredible at the time.
When I made my first batch from a kit, I thought it was the best beer I ever tasted! It was from a Munton & Fisson Premium Ale kit, which made an amber British style beer. Since I only used the one kit and didn't add any extra malt extract, it was probably very weak by today's standards. But, I was thrilled that I could actually make a beer that I liked! My other homebrew friends liked it, too. But my family and other friends didn't care for it. In the early '90s, the microbrew fad was just beginning and most people had never tasted different styles of beer. I used to take bottles with me everywhere I went while visiting. People were polite, but I could tell they really didn't like it. I came to the conclusion that they just didn't know what was good and I stopped trying to share so much.
Now things have changed. When I tell people I brewed and IPA, sometimes they will ask if I used a lot of hops. That's a real switch. Ten years ago, most people had never heard of an IPA. That's an India Pale Ale for those of you who still don't know. It is brewed with a lot of hops and has a strong bitter flavor.
Although I have been brewing over ten years, I still take the shortcut by brewing with malt extract. A number of folks in the First State Brewers club, like Jerry and Marty, brew by using the all-grain method. I have been very content using extract, because it trims the initial brewing time to two hours, instead of the six hours required for all-grain. But some people want the brew the "real" way. I can't blame them. I would like to do that myself, once I get my house better organized and have some more time.
Another thing I might also get involved in is making wine. I know that might sound sacrilegious to some beer geeks, but I like wine, too. I think by making it, I would also learn more about wine. The brewing process is very similar to that of beer, except you don't heat or boil it. You just have to keep it in the fermentor a lot longer than beer. If I make good, wine, I don't think I would have any problem finding friends to share it with, though. Everyone seems to like wine.
But beer is my first love. You won't catch me going on any wine tours any time soon. If you are interested in learning to brew, join a homebrew club. If you live in or around Delaware, I could recommend the First State Brewers. But where ever you live, I'm sure you can find a club.
Now go have a beer! Prost!
