Vogelbräu is a brewpub on the outskirt’s of Karlsruhe’s city center. Being the selfless fellow I am, I checked it out for you in the lovely (and surprisingly large) beergarden which is hidden in the interior court of the brewpub building. The pils was delicious, but not in the classic sense. When I think of pils I generally think of a clear, light-colored, and hoppy beer with relatively little malt taste, and usually highly filtered.
The pils at Vogelbräu, in contrast, is not filtered, and the hops are challenged for supremacy by a strong malt taste. It’s a good beer, although …read more

So, today I arrived in Germany – and promptly decided to go to France! More correctly, I decided to take a quick day trip to the Alsace region of France to see what’s left of the once proud brewing heritage of this past pawn in the power struggles between Germany and France
Now, I had a serious language barrier, as I speak very little French. Since it was a last minute sort of decision, I had also done absolutely no research on the city or its beer scene whatsoever, adding to the challenge. Fortunately, I did stumble across a small brewpub …read more

Last weekend I managed to finally make it to the new incarnation of the Dock Street brewpub, which is pretty pathetic considering I had planned to go when they first opened. For those who don’t know, Dock Street was a Philadelphia-based pioneer of micro-brewed beers back in the 80s, at one point vying with Sam Adams for tops in the market.
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I expected a slightly too slick and slightly too large brewpub along the lines of a Triumph or the former Dock Street locations in Center City Philadelphia. This one has a much …read more