Beer Enthusiasts Wanted!

 If you're a fan of great beer, you already knew you won the beer lottery when your orders for Germany came through. You can't say you've savored suds here until you've made the pilgrimage to Bavaria and settled into a sample of spicy crisp Weissebier. If you really want to get at the lineage and history of great German beer, there is no better way than visiting and touring a brewery that began perfecting their wheat brew long before you stole your first sip of beer from your parents.

Bavaria, Hefeweizen & Maisels Weissebeir Fest

 On its home turf in Bavaria, a properly brewed wheat ale is usually referred to as a weissbier or a weizenbier (German for white beer or wheat beer). In the States you would need to ask for this beer using the less common German name, hefeweizen (German for yeast wheat). All beers brewed in Germany are strictly controlled both in production method and ingredients used by the German Beer Purity Law which defines weizenbier as - any top-fermented brew that is made with at least 50 percent wheat. A few breweries mash their weissbiers with as much as 75 percent wheat.

The high levels of wheat used to brew Weissbier is why it stands apart from all other beer styles and produces the complex signature flavor with notes of clove, banana, nutmeg, vanilla, apple and even bubblegum. Other elements noted include phenolic, spicy, tart, aromatic, fruity, complex and crisp. No matter how it's described, a good German weissbier is delicious and worthy of any serious beer connoisseurs interest. If you want to sound like a pro when you order your first weissbier, be sure to pronounce it correctly - It's "vice-beer" for weissbier!

 Once a year we offer a really exciting tour to Maisels Weissebeir Fest that visits Bayreuth (Bavaria), which just happens to have highest density of breweries per capita anywhere in the world. Here we'll go to Maisel's Brewery, one of Germany's best-known and most popular brands of wheat beer for the full Maisel Beer experience, festival and concert. Sorry folks, this one, like most of our beer-centric tour programs is a one-time deal, so if you're interested don't wait to make your reservations. We've got a few more trips like this up our sleeve so keep an eye on our blog, website, facebook and newsletter!

Berlin & The Berlin Beer Festival

This one is the perfect excuse for a summer road trip with visiting friends and family.  The theme this year at the Berlin Beer festival is "500 Years of German Purity Law" and if you love German beer, this law is no doubt one of the reasons why. Reinheitsgebot, dictates that only water, barley and hops can be used in the production of beer brewed in Germany. First introduced in Bavaria in 1516, the order was implemented to prevent price competition between brewers and bakers for wheat and rye to ensure that bread remained affordable. The law also improved the quality of ales by greatly eliminating widely used preservatives that often contaminated the ale, such as soot, stinging nettle and henbane. The Darwinian effect German Beer Purity Law has had on the clean, crisp and honest flavors of German beer is now appreciated by beer connoisseurs world-wide.

 To help you find your way around the Berlin Beer Festival without missing any of the 340 breweries, a map is included with entry. The map gives you a great overview and will be an invaluable tool in helping you navigate the longest beer garden in the world and planning a food and beer crawl of epic proportions. If you want to do it like a pro, for a few Euro's extra, get the festival kit as soon as you get inside either entrance gate. The kit includes a tasting glass and neck strap, which is the prefect size for sampling lots of different beer and keeping your hands free for all the tasty fest food. The kit will also entitle you to discount pricing at many of the booths.

The beer festival is divided into 22 geographical beers regions featuring over 2000 different beers. These locations will focus primarily on Germany but there will be offerings from the international beer scene like Vietnam and Japan this year. Twenty different music scenes will be set along Karl Marx Alle, with live bands performing traditional German music, contributing to the atmosphere of a typical German folk festival. 

If beer, music, festivals and fun are your thing, be sure to check out our Berlin Beer Festival Trip. This overnight tour package will get you there and back for the weekend for just €229 and includes transportation, hotel, breakfast, beer festival, Berlin city tour and tour guide. We can't wait to see you in Berlin! Click here for full details.