Mileage Run to Pittsburgh

For those of you not familiar with the term, a "Mileage Run" is a trip you take, not to go anywhere but just for the miles.  A "pure" mileage run is where you don't stay overnight (some don't even leave the airport). I know of one person who flew back and forth between Toronto and Dubai -- via Moscow for about a week. There was a fare mistake so a Business Class ticket was about $500. He showered in the lounge and slept on the plane.

I like my Diamond Medallion status with Delta, but that is too hard core for me. Plus I like going to new places. So when Delta had a short lived sale (or mistake) were you could fly round trip from LA to Pittsburgh for $130, I jumped on it. I have read about the Church Brew Works -- a brewpub in an repurposed church for years and thought this was a chance to see it. I'm spending two nights, so I'll have a full day for beer exploring. Plus, most Delta flights have WiFi these days so I can actually get some work done as well. And I've been upgraded on 3 of the 4 legs so far, so I will fly in (relative) comfort.

So watch this space...

(Tip of the hat to BillN for catching my spelling error)

Bike and Beer Trip Underway

Head over to The Mad Brewer for the details. I'm in London now, but will soon head for Dunkirk, where over the next month or so I'll ride to Vienna. Lots of beer stops, it's worth following along.

Last day in Bamberg (this trip)

Bamberg Weekend

These are some random pictures from over the weekend. Posting pictures of every Schlenkerla, Spezial or Mahrs beer I drank would boring, cruel -- or both.

Cream of Cauliflower soup and a beer at Spezial. The perfect lunch.

One of the pubs you should visit if you have time is Der Pelikan. They always have some interesting beers and they do some good Thai food if you need a change from all that pork.

Der Pelikan

One of their standard draft beers is the Huppendorfer Vollbier from Brauerei Grasser.

Huppendorfer Vollbier 

Red Curry at Der Pelikan. Very good and a nice change from Schnitzels

They had the Fastenbock (Lenten Bock) from Brauerei zur Sonne in nearby Bischberg. They do a  real nice kellerbier and their fall bock is usually very good. This one was OK, but the level of butterscotch (diacetyl)  was a little to high for me.

Sonne Fastenbock. 

Bamberg seems to have an abnormally high number of tourists for March. There is a summer long Gardening Exposition in Bamberg this summer, which may mean people are coming early because things are pretty booked this summer. So I took my Schlenkerla outside to the street...

Too many tourists at Schlenkerla, so I stood outside in the cold.

Another non-pork meal...

Chicken Breast with Bärlauch sauce at Spezial

Das Gute Mönschambacher Lagerbier at Cafe Abseits

The famous Schnitzel Sandwich at Cafe Abseits. Not to be missed.

Griess Kellerbier. If you like hops you'll like this.

Bamberg Day Five (Thursday)

I have a warm spot for Klosterbrau. It was the first place I visited on my first trip to Bamberg. It was October and they had a bock and it was simply marvelous. 

Their kitchen is pretty good, so I headed there for beer and dinner.

The "signature beer" is the Braunbier ("Brown Beer"). It is basically a darkish amber lager. The other regular beer is the Schwärlza or "Little Black") -- it is basically a dunkel, again on the darker side.

I ordered a Braunbier and the "Bierhaxe" -- basically a smallish schweinehaxe with a beer sauce.  The Braunbier was very disappointing. In fact, if I hadn't ordered food I might have just left. It had an off flavor that was hard to describe. Once I got past that there was the flavor or rancid butter. That says to me INFECTION!

On the other hand, the Haxe was very nice. The skin was crispy and the meat tender There was the right amount of sauce for the kloss.

My plan was to have a Schwärzla but I couldn't stand the thought of another beer there, so I left when I was  done eating.

I had an appointment with some people at Stöhrenkeller on the Stephansberg so I headed up there. It turns out they were all early too, so it was good.

One person hadn't eaten so they ordered a Schinkenbrot ("Ham Bread"). This was a local cured ham on a dense buttered pumpernickel type bread.  We were all offered a piece -- it was delicious. Even though I had just eaten a haxe, I almost ordered one. Went with beer instead...

The Schlenerkla Lagerbier is still rare enough for me that I started with that.

While it was still good, I don't think I liked it as much as the other day. To me, it was just missing an extra "oomph" I think it would be much better unfiltered. Of course, it is only 4.3% alcohol so you can call it a session beer.

I switched to the Drei Kronen (Gänstaller Bräu) Kellerbier. That was just what the doctor (who was sitting next to me) ordered.

The rest of the evening would be boring to see. Glass after glass of kellerbier, so I'll just leave it at that.

Bamberg Day Four (Wednesday)

Work intruded Wednesday -- that plus the late night before -- so I got a late start off. First stop was Cafe Abseits.

By the way, for those of you walking (or coming in on the train) the rear exit from the Bamberg station is open, which cuts a lot of time off the walk. 

My "standard" beer there is the Mönchsambacher Lager so I started with one.  This is one of my all time favorite beers, so do no miss it if you get the chance.

Soon after, Gerhard Schoolmann, the proprietor, joined me, bringing a bottle of tthe Weyermann Imperial Stout.

The week before I had drunk a number of Imperial Stouts at the Fred Bar in Atlanta. This held up well with them. The alcohol was "only" 8.7% and it was more along the traditional English Imperial Stouts (they did event the beer, after all) not the hoppy and stronger American cousins.

I had an appointment at Spezial so I just had time to try the Josephi Bock from Brauerei Grasser in Huppendorf.

I need to try it again without the Imperial Stout aperitif -- it was good but a little sweeter than I like. I would choose the Keesmann first, but this would be a close second.

A had some time for a couple beers with a friend at Spezial...

Then my ride came and we all headed out to Strassgiech, to the Zoiglstube at Drei Kronen.

This an Andreas Gänstaller's place -- he does the brewing and his wife runs the kitchen. Both are very good. He just had his kellerbier on that evening...

My standard dinner there is the Biertreberschnitzel - -a schnitzel breaded with spent grains. As always, it was wonderful.

And later came by with some glasses of his next beer, a "smoked Märzen" -- along the general lines of Schlenkerla. It was very nice, but I don't think Schlenkerla is in any danger.

Speaking of Schlenkerla, I didn't stop there on the way home for a beer or three. But in the Scheme the crowd wasn't the sort that encourage pictures, so you'll just have to take my word for it. 

Bamberg Day Three (Tuesday)

I've been having internet connection problems. So just pictures for now of my visit to Greifenklau, Spezial Keller and Stöhrenkeller...

Late Night Snack

Bamberg Day Two (Monday)

A little too much the first day, so I took it a bit easier -- at least at the start.

I headed over to Fässla for an early dinner.

They have two beers on draft at the brewery, Gold-Pils and Lagerbier. The Pils is my go-to beer there, for for many it is the Lagerbier...

Fässla Gold-Pils

I had to wait a bit for the dinner menu. I started with a Zucchini-Mushroom soup. An interesting combination that was very good,

Main course was roast pork in a mushroom sauce with Kloss (a/k/a starch Tennis balls).

After a couple of Pils I gave the Lagerbier a try, Sometimes it has a bit too much diacetyl  (which can give it a buttery flavor) but this one didn't. A nice beer but I still prefer the Pils.

Fässla Lagerbier

When I was at Mahr's yesterday, Keesmann was closed. Their bucks are usually pretty good and I wanted to check them out.

Trying to pace myself a bit, I started with their Sterla, and amber unfiltered lager.

Keesmann Sternla

I was standing in the Schweme, where you go to the window and order a beer. Standing and drinking does have a self-regulating factor.

Then it was time for the Josphi Bock. This is a dangerous beer -- you can't really notice the alcohol, but it is there.

Keesmann Josephi Bock

Self control went out the window and I had a second. If I had been sitting I might have had a third.

On the way home Schlenkerla was still open, so I had to check that the Märzen was still in top form. It was.