Not long ago, you could buy a fridge here. The massive East German box housing the new Hofbräuhaus used to be an Innova. Apparently meat and beer are more profitable than home appliances.

Sometimes it's really a pity. You have to visit the BA's Business Class Lounge (South) at London's Heathrow Terminal 5 to get this yummy, malty and refreshing beer.

See here: http://www.fullers.co.uk/rte.asp?id=47

When having asked for a local beer near Tower Bridge, the bar tenders shrugged - could only offer Stella Artois, Becks and Heineken.

When I tasted Fuller's London Pride I was amazed how smooth and malty this excellent beer is.

The brewmasters at Fuller's don't imitate Guinness Stout, they created an own dark amber malty beer with unique taste. Guinness tastes IMO more 'foamy' on the tongue, London Pride doesn't.

Don't settle for less than Fuller's London Pride when ordering a yummy beer that also teases the gals.

A mug of hot, mulled wine at a German Christmas market is a seasonal specialty that Germans look forward to every year. But that doesn't mean Germany's proud beer tradition takes a break for the holidays.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of Italians head north for Munich's Oktoberfest. Local entrepreneurs have identified a market niche, while Munich police have introduced special measures to deal with the massive influx -- such as importing Italian police officers to keep their compatriots in order.

Looking to head to Munich this year for Oktoberfest? The Local has put together a guide to the world’s biggest beer bash that might get you out of Bavaria alive.

Looking to head to Munich this year for Oktoberfest? The Local has put together a guide to the world’s biggest beer bash that might get you out of Bavaria alive.

Albeit almost having been crushed into 'nirwana' by an 'overeager' NYC Indian/Pakistani born (???) yellow taxi driver when heading as passenger of this cab to my hotel room at 'The Roosevelt' in midtown Manhattan (E 45th St and Madison) from a BA flight London-JFK in the late afternoon/ early evening last Wednesday, I enjoyed my stay in the 'Big Apple' until last Sunday very much.

Also responsible for this successful trip to NYC was 'business manager' Eddie and his very attractive shop assistant, Amy, of B&H Jewelry at 79-81 Chambers St. I purchased there two very neat diamond watches at nice prices.

Other "contributors" for nice and inexpensive food and drinks were the waitresses, named Emily and Lori, at MARK's Restaurant, 33 St. Mark Place (between 2nd and 3rd Ave), Lower East Side - nearest subway station "Astor Pl". They served the extraordinarily yummy $2.50 'sliders' (see also: www.alwayshungryny.com or www.stmarksburger.com) with good beer and wine for $3 during Happy Hours 3-7 p.m.

'Morning has broken' is always best during a trip with the Staten Island Ferry.

MTA subway riding on a $29 week ticket of unlimited rides really makes fun. "Stand clear of the closing doors, please."- or - "This is a Brooklyn bound local 4 train, next stop is Bowling Green."

'Top of the Rock' gave me a marvellous impression - $23 for a perfect sunshine view 

Enjoy the "Big Apple". 

P.S.

Let's hope hurricane "Irene" misses my beloved vacation destination. The New Yorkers have already been facing a lot of financial and economic trouble and hardship; they really don't need additional blows by terrorists or natural disasters. 

Prior to my morning ferry trip to Staten Island, I got the free 'amNY' newspaper at the subway station Whitehall - South Ferry. During waiting time before entering the ferry, I suddenly found a nice ad about $2.50 'sliders' at MARK's restaurant on Manhattan's Lower East Side (between 2nd and 3rd Ave, near subway station Astor Pl).

MARK's is offering $3 beers and wines during daily happy hours between 3 to 7 p.m.

This morning, I decided to 'make' this beer experience.

At this 'tiny' restaurant on St. Marks Place (with two outdoor tables, but a lot more stools at the bar and couches and seats behind it), you will get acquainted with friendly waitresses, named Emily and Lori, who like you to serve these obviously renowned 'sliders' with awesome beers of NY state origin.

What do they offer 'on tap' for three bucks during happy hours? Else you pay $5.

- Blue Point Toasted Lager of Long Island

http://www.bluepointbrewing.com/bpbc/microbrews/toasted-lager/

- Sixpoint Rightous Rye Ale of Brooklyn

http://sixpoint.com/creations.html

- Ommegang Belgian Pale Ale of Coppertown, NY

http://www.ommegang.com/index.php?mcat=1&scat=0

Emily who served the sliders and the beer looks very much like the pretty girl in the following Braustube Hürlimann, Zurich, ad. This poster is hanging on the wall in the rear near the cashier's.

Lori 'always' likes to express your choice of food and beer with "absolutely". The 25 y/o gal is as pretty and friendly as Emily.

The beers are of supreme quality and taste. Same applies to the sliders, covered with cheese and onions (my choice). Albeit not being very big, they are extremly yummy, especially with the mustard you get on request. 

MARK's is neat location you'd surely be happy to drop by.

On my next trip to the 'Big Apple', I will certainly be pouring in some of their excellent beers there again.

Traditional beers are experiencing a renaissance among German beer drinkers. Alexander Bakst takes a tour of the Rhineland to compare Kölsch and Alt, two regional brews steeped in history and ancient rivalry.

Summer in Munich means one thing: drinking beer outdoors. Chris Cottrell discovers five of the best places to knock back a cold Maß in the Bavarian capital.

(1 Mass stein contains approx. 34 fl. oz.) 

The Oktoberfest beer festival does much to keep Bavarians' reputations as yodeling, thigh-slapping funsters alive and well. Yet when it comes to the price of a brew, they get all serious.

Despite Berlin’s reputed round-the-clock nightlife, all of the capital’s bars close at some point, right? Well, not quite. Exberliner magazine’s Jacob Heinze discovered four real 24-hour drinking joints...

After having had a pleasant weekend vacation in central London I entered 'London Pub' for chilling out. There, I met a nice guy, a young, Caucasian in his 20s, bartender - let us call him 'John' - who was a former South African citizen - now British 'subject' -, and is keen on applying for military service, preferably for the Royal Navy. I ordered 'Guinness Stout' on draught but unfortunately this yummy stuff wasn't available anymore for whatever reason, tap closed.

So I asked 'John' for a local beer but 'London Pub' doesn't have local beers, for example Fuller's (London Pride). So he offered me "John Smith's Extra Smooth" ale (on draught), one U.K. pint (568 mL) for GBP 2.90 (€ 3.30 - $4.70), not bad, huh?

Well, this kind of ale isn't Guinness but very smooth, indeed, malty and quaffable. The small bubbles tease your tongue, sweetish 'impression' but still hoppy, not too much. You'll certainly go for a second, third, ...

Then I got acquainted with two other guys from Norway, brothers, one of them was a self-employed businessman. They were on weekend vacation, too - having visited some sort of museum with many historic and current aircrafts.

The businessman ordered Carlsberg on draught, and I asked him why he didn't go for a U.K. beer. Well, the next round was John Smith's Extra Smooth.

After having had six servings of this 'quaffable ale' over three hours and a really nice chat with the Norwegians, I rather felt the impact.      

http://www.johnsmiths.co.uk/brands/extra-smooth.html

John Smith’s Extra Smooth was launched in 1993 and is now the nation's number 1 ale. The boffins say it has a distinct cereal character, with malty, caramel notes being complemented by some fruitiness. But we just think it’s a right good pint. Extra Smooth is available in draught at the pub or in cans to be enjoyed at home (both 3.8% ABV).

OK, with 3.8 pc alcohol v/v, it's below average in terms of Austrian, Bavarian, Belgian, Czech beers (5.0 +/- 0.5 pc) but nevertheless very tasty (y'know, alcohol is a taste amplifier in general terms).

In contrast to Carlsberg on draught at 'London Pub', this John Smith's Extra Smooth ale really has a neat taste.

Enjoy the atmosphere there with friendly bartenders and reasonable prices.

And, very important, they serve you at least one pint, meaning the beer level is above the legal mark; this is in strong contrast to savvy beer tappers at Oktoberfest tents who manage to churn out 120 one-litre mugs from a 100 litre keg by producing too much foam. This didn't and won't ever happen at 'London Pub'. 

Bavaria has another season, in addition to the traditional Spring, Summer, Winter, and Fall. It's their strong beer season, and it kicks off at the Nockherberg in Munich with the initial beer tapping. The age-old traditions and recipes of strong beer season established by Bavarian monks long ago are practiced today in taverns and breweries throughout the region.

To appreciate the Munich love of beer you just have to consider what locals call the "fifth season".
It's the Starkbierzeit (Strong Beer Time), a three-week frenzy of early-spring stout swigging.

What has 16 passengers, pedals, a bar and loud music? Answer: a bierbike, a pedal-and-alcohol-fuelled contraption which can often be seen swerving along the streets of German cities. But now a court has banned the party wagons amid fears that inebriated passengers could tumble onto the road.

Video from Euromaxx by DW:
Lifestyle in Europe
"In this report we look at Sylter Hopfen beer which is brewed with sparkling wine yeast and aged in sparkling wine bottles and stoppered with sparkling wine type corks. Jens Boysen and brewer Thomas Kipka sell their special brew for around 20 euros a bottle. Wine dealers and specialty shops as far afield as Tokyo buy up some 3000 bottles a month."
http://www.dw-world.de/popups/popup_single_mediaplayer/0,,6069763_type_video_struct_0_contentId_6065596_start_525_end_776,00.html

Visitors to the Munich Oktoberfest this year drank their way into the history books by downing an unprecedented 7 million liters of beer, beating the previous high of 6.94 million reached in 2007, the organizers said. The impressive list of lost items includes a set of dentures and a live rabbit.

I was wondering whether I should take another taste this evening but I wasn't disappointed with this genuine Czech brew of 'Royal Brewery of Litovel'.

Excellently combined in terms of taste and flavor, this 'Schwarzbier' - dark and really black due to heavily roasted barley - is a real knock-off; sweetish, malty, a little bit smoky, a bit hoppy but extraordinarily refreshing - wow, you get your bang for the buck.

When I bought this Czech specialty two days ago I thought that the price of 55 euro cents ($0.75) was wrongly labeled. No way, it's real, unbelievable - this kind of Czech 'black beer' can compete with all the German 'Schwarzbiers' I've ever drunk, take as example 'Koestrizer Schwarzbier' - that is a bit hoppier but as quaffable as Litovel.

It's not a stigma of not having the certification of being brewed according to the German Purity Law because this beer also contains sugar syrup besides water, malted barley, hops and extracts of hops.

The brew masters did a very good job of creating an excellent beer of 4.8 % alcohol v/v without making it too sweetish and too smoky.

Schwarzbier is a type of its own. The Gutter girls would also like it very much.

Enjoy!

The Breznak producing brewery has been producing this 'Pilsner- type' cool beer since 1753, and the Czech brew masters also know their craftsmanship. In order to make the Germans buy their refreshingly cool beer, they produce it according to the German Purity Law.

And, you get a real neat 'Pils' for a 'nice price', unbelievable, 17 fl. oz for just 59 euro cents ($0.80) + €0.08 deposit for the glass bottle. If you buy a case of 20 half litre bottles of Breznak's you only pay €10.99 + deposit, sometimes with a special offer of the supermarket chain of Netto's (Stavenhagen) even only €8.99 + deposit.

It's really an excellent Czech beer - refreshing, 'hoppy' (meaning you get a certain kind of Pilsner taste, indeed - well , it hasn't that kind of bitterness of German Jever's or Flensburger's Pilsners - for hot to warm summer evenings, chilled from the fridge, it's great stuff!

And on a party evening - a case of Breznak's will be emptied very fast, I think.

The cool Bohemian beer has 5.1 % alcohol v/v.

Though rivers of beer are consumed each year at Oktoberfest, it's just a fraction of Munich breweries' overall sales. For them the festival is not just tradition, it's also a massive public relations event fuelling their international business.

In Cologne, you're supposed to drink 'Koelsch' when ordering a beer, else you ask the 'Koebes' what other beers they offer. He and Cologners would be quite insulted if you ordered 'Duesseldorfer Alt'. Don't really expect getting Duesseldorfer Alt in Cologne.
The 'haute cuisine' is almost Bavarian style - in terms of 'simple, yummy, traditional' Brotzeit dishes although they would also be insulted if you order a Brotzeit there.

The Munich beer festival kicked off Saturday with millions of visitors from around the world expected to raise a glass or two to celebrate the event's 200th birthday over the next 17 days.

Spiegel:"Munich's six main breweries are usually locked in bitter competition. But this year, they have taken the unprecedented step of joining forces to create a special beer in honor of the 200th anniversary of the Oktoberfest. The move follows a recent drive to strengthen the festival's folk traditions."

The bright (pale)-yellow beer, they call 'Tegernseer Hell' of the Ducal-Bavarian Brewery of Tegernsee (Lake Tegern), has been having a more than 1.000 year's beer tradition, derived from the monks of the St. Benedict's monastery there, founded in 746 AC. 54 years prior to the coronation of Emperor of the 'Holy Roman Empire of German Nation', Charles, the Great, (Charlesmagne) in 800 AC, the St. Benedict's monks were savvy enough to brew their liquid bread, the monastery beer, with high quality.

If the 'Tegernseer Hell' was based on an old recipe of theirs - they did quite a good job then.

This beer's taste is between sweetish and bitter, the right mixture - it's certainly not a 'Pilsner' type of beer, with 4.8 % alcohol v/v well within the range of regular Bavarian beer of 5.0 +/- 0.5 %.

The 'crystal-clear water' comes from the near-by Bavarian Alps near Lake Tegern, the brewing ingredients of hops and malted barley - according to the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516, of course.

The 'Ducal-Bavarian Brauhaus Tegernsee' is located in the city of Tegernsee.

(watch the web-cams of this beautiful Bavarian landscape with the following link:

http://www.tegernsee.com/service/webcams.html)

The Local (Germany):" Beer in Palestine? Oompah music in Ho Chi Minh City? With Munich's legendary beer bash Oktoberfest about to celebrate its 200th anniversary, Ben Knight takes a look at the impact of Bavaria's cultural juggernaut around the world."

The Local (DE):"Vehicles for city tours such as multi-person bikes offering free-flowing beer and electric Segway scooters are increasingly sparking the ire of both motorists and pedestrians in Germany, leading some cities to consider banning them."