Today I was trying to rest — I think I was shaking off a little bug … so I decided to have my last Gordon’s Finest — the Gordon’s Finest Red Ale.  The nice thing about this Malt Liquor was that I didn’t have to drink all of it! LOL!

I’m sure if you like Malt Liquors, this beer is for you — but it definitely is not my favorite.

Beer Mentor

Went to dinner tonight at a Chinese restaurant.  Oh, and I ordered my Tsingtao Beer in Chinese AND the lady understood me and brought it out … so for those of you who doubted what I’ve said before, I actually can order a Tsingtao beer in Chinese!! LOL

我想一青岛啤酒，请。

(Oh, I took these pictures with my new camera tripod — thanks, Jill!!)
The brewery was founded by German immigrants to China in 1903 … so I feel justified drinking it AND adding it to my list of beers …
So, after ordering this thing … I drank it.  Then I drank another.  Obviously, it is my favorite Chinese Beer.

Beer Mentor

I kept hearing about this brewery in downtown Stuttgart: Calwer-Eck … and I finally made it over there.  Unfortunately, it was about 2am on Saturday morning.  I had one of their Pilseners but I’m going to have to go back again so that I can really remember the taste/flavor for this post.

This is Stuttgart’s first microbrewery — opened in 1987.  All of their beer is fresh (unfiltered and unpasteurized) — I remember it was very good, but I’d like to try the Weizen…
Suffice it to say that I had my 121st beer on Saturday Morning …

Beer Mentor

I received my 120th beer at my favorite local Mexican Food restaurant.  My friend (and the owner) enjoyed my story about a different beer every day and he provided me with quite a unique beer for my 120th: the Schorschbraeu “16% ABV Schorsch Weizen.”

This beer is classified as the strongest Wheat Beer in the world following the Germany Purity Law.  This means there are no adjuncts in this beer — it has only the 4 ingredients — hops, malt, yeast, and water.

They also have another beer with 40% ABV!!  Ha ha!  This brewery is only a couple of hours from here — I’ve already called and asked for a tour of the brewery.  I should be heading over that way in the next couple of weeks.  Wait for a follow-on post.

This beer (in my mind) is comparable to the Dogfish Head 120 minute IPA … it is also a sweet tasting beer and it leaves that lingering alcohol (warm) finish in the back of the mouth.  It was actually a quite pleasant beer to drink.  Give it a try if you can get one!

Beer Mentor

Tonight I was just trying to get settled back from my trip to Norway and I was really tired … so I pulled a can I’ve had in reserve out of the fridge to keep up my streak.  This was a can I purchased at the local convenience store by my hotel: Dominikaner Pilsener (from the Holsten Group of Brews (Hamburg)).

A decent Pils … it was a nice cap to an evening from a long day of travel.  Welcome back to Germany, Beer Mentor!

If you look hard enough, you can find your favorite kind of beer — and I did.  We went back to the Liquor Store in Harstad and they had several of these hand-crafted beers from this company: Haandbryggeriet

The first one I’m trying (I bought 3 others … LOL) is the IPA.  Yummy.  This was an excellent IPA, and it is really special in that they use wild hops in it that grow in a stream bed near their brewery.  The taste was excellent.

A nice Norwegian IPA to finish off my trip above the Arctic Circle.

Enjoy!

Beer Mentor

Today I was finishing up a few errands, completing a couple of tasks, and then we ended up relaxing in the room, taking the opportunity to sample another Norwegian beer.  Today’s brew was another Rignes … not the Pilsener this time — The Premium Lager.  This beer was drinkable (I guess it is one of the more common Norwegian brews).  I’m just about finished with my Norwegian tour — one more day … maybe one more Norwegian Beer!

Enjoy!

Beer Mentor

It was a full moon last night so I tried to get a couple of pictures … working with my wonderful digital camera, I managed to capture a couple of interesting shots.  This first one is a picture through the window in my room — you can see the reflection of the moon on the glass — the bright circle is the actual moon, the one that looks like the moon is the reflection … cool.  The other shot is from outside with the night time exposure on my camera — obviously I couldn’t get a good zoom — and it was about -12 celsius at the time so I decided not to spend anymore time outside trying to figure it out!

You may ask, what beer was I drinking while I took these amazing shots?  Well, I was drinking Mack’s Winter Party Beer!  This is a wheat malt based beer that was actually quite good.  Very drinkable — but I guess they mean for it to be that way.  A refreshing beer to drink after you’re finished skiing or whatever!  Pretty funny label — check out the pics.

Beer Mentor

Today I ran 8 miles for the first time ever … in Norway … above the Arctic Circle! Ha ha.  Yes, it was cold, but not as cold as earlier in the week … I think it was only -4 Celsius.  I actually got a little warm about mile six.

You can tell from these pictures how beautifully cold it is here — and that it is pretty far north.  The picture with my shadow and the shot of the sun were taken between 12 and 1 pm … The sun didn’t get too high in the sky …

How did I celebrate the completion of my first-ever 8-mile run?  We went out for dinner in Harstad — had a Ringnes Pilsener at a couple of different locations … I would say the overall experience was good.  The Pils was flavorful and hit the spot!

Beer Mentor

Ok, I’ll strike this one off of my bucket list (just like seeing the Northern Lights!)

Fishing in a Norwegian Fjord in winter …. yes!  What a blast!  I had a great time with my new Norwegian friends — good fellowship (and we caught a few fish!)

How do you celebrate the ending of such a  great day?  You drink a nice Norwegian Beer! Ha ha!

This one was a Hansa Fatøl — a decent beer … not the greatest, but it worked.  Although they can trace a brewing tradition for about 400 years, this company is a result of several mergers of Norwegian Breweries.

Beer Mentor