Can’t make it to this year’s Oktoberfest? Fear not. The other 349 days on Munich’s calendar are filled with events at which you can enjoy Bavarian food, beer and culture. According to Larry Hawthorne, the author of The Beer Drinker’s Guide to Munich, “every day is Oktoberfest somewhere.”
For a baseball fan growing up around New York, the Sixties was an enchanted era. On summer nights, the radio filled my room with the sounds of epic pitchers’ duels, bench-clearing brawls, and late-inning heroics. And, of course, beer commercials. Thousands of them. Long before they could serve me at the corner tavern, I knew... View Article
The Pocket Guide to Beer, Seventh Edition, by Michael Jackson, Running Press, $12.95—Stands alone as the best compact guide to the world’s beers and breweries. Good Beer Guide to Belgium & Holland by Tim Webb, 2002 edition, $16.95—a comprehensive, witty and detailed investigation of this important region, with information and travel tips on beer styles,... View Article
By car or train, it takes about four or five hours to get from Toronto to Montréal. By the VIA Rail train that transported me on my most recent trip—which actually stops and sits for a time en route, allowing its passengers to sleep and arrive fully rested in the morning—the journey lasts eight hours... View Article
As much as it is worth a trip to Montréal just to partake of its remarkable beer culture, the city also afford visitors the opportunity to experience many other pleasures. To list but a few: St. Viateur Bagel Shop (263 avenue St. Viateur Ouest, tel. 514-276-8044), where the humble bagel is elevated to high art.
In the entire world, only a handful of cities both defined and popularized a great beer style. One of them is Burton-upon-Trent, a town of 50,000 in west-central England.
What’s your idea of the ideal vacation? Mine is relaxing at the beach, soaking up the sun along with the local food, drink and culture. Hawaii offers all of that. The weather is almost perfect, there’s always something to do, and the cuisine fuses the best of Asia and America. Best of all, there’s plenty... View Article
Thirty years ago, I made my first trip to Denver. It didn’t start out as a beer tour but I made my acquaintance with the then-exotic Coors on the plane ride out (remember Continental’s “Flying Pub”?); with Mexican food, still a rarity in the Midwest; and in the local bars. And, like thousands of other... View Article
It was the middle of January, and our Michigan subdivision had turned into a polar ice cap. My neighbor couldn’t fathom why an otherwise sane person was headed for the Far North.
