1/24

After the high Cantillion and the low of DuBuisson, we visited four more breweries. I tasted many brews and selected my favorite and sorted out the off-flavored ones. In the categories of favorite beers are the Karmeliet Triple and Liefmans Goudenband, and in the category of least favorite is the Liedman Kriek. What’s interesting about Karmeliet Triple is that despite being such a light, refreshing beer, it is heaving in alcohol. This beer, which was a monastic recipe, is flavored with orange peel, coriander, and other spices. Liefmans Goudenband was a nice mixture of fruity, yet not overly sweet, and refreshing. This brew reminded me of wine that would be appropriately drunk in the warm, summertime. Unfortunately, the Kriek from Liefmans was overly sweet (as if it had been artificially sweetened) and reminded me of liquid cheery Jell-O. With the lack of beer laws in Belgium there not only comes bad beers, but some of the most delicious, creative beers. 

1/22

We arrived in Belgium the other day, and I immediately noticed how much more condensed this country is compared to Germany. Not only is this country condensed in terms of population, but also the architecture looks condensed. It was a surprise to find out that the traditional Cantillon Brewery is located in Brussels (in the industrial section).  Cantillon, one of only two breweries in Brussels, has been brewing Lambic, Kriek, and Gueuze the traditional way despite huge mass-market competition (who do not brew the traditional way). They brew Lambics by spontaneous fermentation, which means they obtain their yeast cells through the air. This natural, wild way of fermentation is done only in the colder months as to not encourage bacterial growth in the wort.  During the tour, the tour guide emphasized how they (Cantillon brewers) only used organic ingredients due to fact that they do not want chemicals to interfere with the spontaneous fermentation. During the tasting, we tasted one-year-old Lambic (which had an acquired sour taste), the Gueuze (which was a bit sweeter and reminded my of a sour patch kid but not in the artificial sugar way), and the Cherry Kriek (which did not have the artificial, overly sweet, and cheery flavoring). 

1/19

We are taking the train from Munich to Brussels and I’m excited to see what Beligum has to offer, mostly in terms of Beer. Since Belgium does not have to adhere to the Reinheidgabot, then brewers have more freedom to experiment, and thus produce interesting beers such as Lambic and Gueze. I found it interesting how Germany still adheres to such an antiquated law, yet brewing industry practices are far from antiquated. For instances, the monastery we visited yesterday only brewed traditional beers, yet the mode of brewery was very modernized. A car robot(like the ones in the BMW factory) was filling kegs for the monastery.

1/19

After drinking plentiful amounts of wheat beer, and smelling my fair share of banana aromas, I decided to drink more Helles beer. The first Helles beer I drank in Munich was the bottled Augustiner Helles beer sold in the hotel lobby for a euro fifty. This was a refreshing brew with a SRM around four and a fair amount of carbonation.  This beer reminded me of a PBR, yet I don’t mean it tasted like PBR. What I am trying to say is that the carbonation, light body, crisp taste resembles more American can beers than the heavy, dark indigenous beers of Bavaria. The next Helles beer I tried was Paulinger from the tap. This Helles seemed more substantial than the previous. The color seemed to be darker and the beer had less carbonation, probably due to the fact that it came from tap instead of the bottle. This beer also had a heavier body, yet it was still light, crisp, and refreshing. The first taste, I notice sweet, fruity flavors, followed by noticeable, yet not potent, bitterness. Overall, I enjoyed the Paulinger immensely more. 

1/19

It was a six-hour train ride from Berlin to Munich. When we arrived in Munich I instantly noticed differences between the two cities. It is more common to use the tram in Munich rather than the subway, as it is common in Berlin. The tram reminded me of the met in Portland. Also, Berlin is extensively larger that Munich, which is know for being a large village. The population of Berlin is 3 million because of the reunification of the East and West Germany and Munich just has a population of 1 million.  Yet one thing I enjoy about Berlin more than Munich is the street art, of which I see virtually none in Munich. I wonder why Berlin has more street art than Munich. Yet a positive of Munich is the diversity, of which Berlin lacks. One out of five people one sees in Munich is not German. This diversity, I believe, fosters a more accepting atmosphere. 

1/18

Overall, the brewing process is generally the same expect for a few differences among the breweries. First off, the most important variation depends on the size of the brewery. For instance, a larger brewery (ex: Ayinger) will rely on machines and computers primarily to control the brew process. Yet a smaller one (ex: Bayerischer Bahnhof) will rely on manual labor, also known as brew masters. The process begins with getting the barely malt ready, or in other terms making the malt produce starch and enzymes.  Then a mash is made, which is crushed, prepared malt (grist) combined with water that is heated at different temperatures at different times in order to activate various enzymes. The mash is then put into a container with a false bottom, so the liquid can be separated from the barley husks. An interesting note is that some facilities use copper kettles, while others (mostly the modernized, industrial breweries) use stainless steel. Then the wort is made, which is basically adding hops (hop pellets or hop extract) to the mash and heating it. After an hour or so, the wort is quickly cooled (as to prevent other unwanted organisms from growing). Once in the fermenting tank, the yeast is added. And then the yeast eats the sugar and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide. A lot of this fermentation takes place in huge tanks. Then the beer travels through pipes to maturation tanks. After maturation, the beer is filtered through Diamacious Earth to collect all the yeast cells.  

1/15

On Sundays, a majority of the museums in Munich have an entrance fee of one euro. So knowing this, I hauled myself to the Pinakothek Der Moderne which had exhibits of art, architecture, and design. The art portion of the museum had an extensive collection that surpasses the art museum in Portland. This collection consisted of Surrealist paintings, expressionist paintings, and post-modern sculpture. I was most excited to see paintings by Rene Magritte, George Groz, and Paul Klee and sculptures by Dan Flavin. It was satisfying to actually see and experience these works of art in person, most especially the Flavin fluorescent light sculptural installation. His work is meant to be an experience rather than documented in a book.  A large white room housed Flavin’s green fluorescent lattice that spanned the length of the room. Green light filled the entire room and burned into my eyes. After walking through the room, I was seeing and afterglow of magenta.