KITCHEN TABLE BEER TRAVEL: OREGON TO GERMANY

 

Beer travel starts at John’s Market in Multnomah.

Culturally aware types emphasize art and architecture for reasons to travel.

They love the history, the land, the people. And they can’t stop talking about all the new stuff they learn.

If it’s someone you know, you listen like you’re not hearing an endless variation of “What I Did On My Summer Vacation.”

Someone you like makes you feel as if you were there with them. As if?

Maybe you were there. In case you don’t travel well, don’t have the travel bug burrowed into your brain, then you need Beer Travel.

Beer Travel? How does that work, you ask?

First find a comprehensive beer stop like John’s Market.

Buy a selection of beers from the country you won’t be traveling to.

Find the town or city they represent, and the brewery. Mark them on a map.

Since it’s Germany we’re talking about, heat up a pot of sauerkraut and sausages and get started.

DAB

(Dortmunder Actien Brauerei)

Made in Dortmund, near Dusseldorf on the mid-west line of the North Rhine.

Nice balance with malty finish, not hoppy. Becks has more bite.

Worth the trip? Yes.

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RADEBERGER PILSNER

Made in Radeberg, on the eastern side near Dresden.

They make beer with soft water from their own well. Says so on their page.

Lower carbonated with a frothy feel, along with hints of DAB. Nice.

And a bottle that reeks of beer royalty.

Control the water, the hops, the works? Sounds like Portland breweries.

I’d jump on that train for other towns around Radeberg with private wells.

And Dresden for Slaughter House Five.

Worth the trip? Yes.

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DINKELACKER CD-PILS

(Dinkel/Acker on the label)

Made in Stuttgart, lower left Germany. Near Munich.

In a bad example of internet branding, Dinkelacker has no page evident, and a wiki entry nearly off the first page of google.

Unheard of for a city’s identity beer.

When I called Radeberger Pilsner low carbinated, I wasn’t calling it flat.

However, Dinkelacker is flat and semi-uninspiring. Reminds me of Portland’s original brew, Blitz.

A little too light, a little too bland.

Worth the trip? Yes, but not for Dinkelacker CD-PILS.

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DINGFLEBENER EDEL-PILS

(“Craft Beer From Germany”)

While it’s no Dinkelacker, it’s no Craft Beer either by Portland standards.

Maybe this is a trend with beers that don’t travel well to America: No web presence.

Not even a wiki entry of note.

This is my fear: making the effort for the beer travel experience of a lifetime and ending up with endless steins of Dingflebener Edel-Pils.

Besides that, Dingflebener isn’t even on a map. It’s called “municipality in the district of Hildburghausen, in Thuringia, Germany.”

In all fairness, Dingflebener is mentioned here.

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BITBURGER

Made in Bitburg, lower far left in the Rhineland.

It works, just another beer similar to the others.

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At some point German beer levels off.

Unlike Oregon beer, and the unreal variety here, Germany feels like it’s captured a certain style, a trademark taste.

As a Becks fan, this sample of German beers doesn’t live up to expectations.

Beer travel to Germany looks better with the art and architecture.

For any questions, call John’s Market.