The brewery dates back to 1848 when it was originally founded by Diedrich Konig and had a few ups and downs until well after the Second World War. It wasn’t really the 1960’s it got back on its feet and was fairly successful with a Jever Export was produced.  Tastes changed a bit in the 1990’s and a Pilsner like the one in our photo became the more popular beer and the Export was dropped.  The Pilsner is a very nice drop and not unlike other German beers in this region in particular Becks. It’s got a fairly light pale straw colour and there is a very noticeable hop refreshing taste and it’s got the traditional fairly heavy head. It’s not one of the normal German Beers you see in the local bottle shop so look out for it as it is well worth a try and another very nice German beer.

Recently many beer drinkers have been concerned about additives and other nasties in their beer, and then there are people who are allergic to different things- well from deep in the German Black Forest not far from the French border town of Strasbourg comes Schnitzer Brau a organic gluten free beer which is full flavored, fresh tasting and brewed using organic millet malt instead of wheat. There are two flavors to look out for the Original and a very tasty German Hirse Citrus and Lemon blend.  The brewery also takes pride in ensuring the beer is organic with no nasty chemicals, pesticides or insecticides used on any of the products going into the brew, which has got to not only make the beer tastier but much better for you. Look out for Schnitzer Brau- it is available outside Germany.

The Hofbrauhaus - Las Vegas Style

Well it’s well known if you want to see all the Eiffel Tower, The Coliseum, Venice, New York and Egypt all in one day- there’s only one place to head- straight to Las Vegas USA. Well they have got another of Europe’s biggest attractions The Hofbrauhaus. Yes the world famous Munich landmark has been recreated a few streets behind the dazzling Las Vegas Strip with everything you would expect in Munich. They have the busty barmaids, the ump-ha bands, the giant pretzels, the sausages and pork knuckle and of course the world famous HB Beer.  The building is quiet remarkable it’s a real faithful reproduction of the original and their beer or bier is the real thing brewed using the original recipes handed down by the Duke of Bavaria over 400 years ago.  If you need a break from the one handed bandits while in Vegas head down to the Hofbrauhaus, its right across the road from another famous Pub/Eatery the Hard Rock Cafe- and you don’t need to wait until September for Oktoberfest it starts every day at 11!

For more information: http://www.hofbrauhauslasvegas.com

Oettinger Pils like all good German beers is brewed in accordance with the German purity law ‘the Reinheitsgebot’ of 1516 using only the fresest of grain, hops and water. The Oettinger Pils is readily available outside of Germany and is a very tasty drop indeed. The Oettinger group consists of 5 huge breweries throughout Germany, two of them in Oettingen where this beer originated in 1731 and others in Dessow, Gotha and Schwerin. THe breweries produce 14 types of alcoholic beverages and even some of Europe’s most popular softdrinks. The breweries all produce the Original Oettinger brand as well as their own local specialty beers.

The 2008 Munich Oktoberfest is only weeks away and one of the big tents everyone will be flocking to is the Hacker Festzelt which can cater for 9300 seated guests in any sitting. The tent is huge and is decked out with clouds and really makes you feel like you are in heaven, especially with a few litres of ice cold Hacker Pschorr beers. The blue skies and clouds with traditional Munich skyline were painted by artist Rudolf Reinstander and are huge, with the tent stretching nearly 100 metres by 45 metres. The centerpiece of the tent features a huge revolving band stand which not only features a traditional Bavarian brass band ‘Die Kirchdorfer’ but ‘Cagey Strings’ which are a more rock n roll style band which will perform each night from 6 pm. The cuisine is just what you need to accompany the best of beer, with chicken and plenty of ox, pork and even duck. The tent specializes in some pretty tasty sausages and some of Oktoberfest’s best platters with hams, cheese, breads and other tasty treats. Remember to book your reservation to the tents well before your visit to avoid disappointment!

For more information http://www.hacker-festzelt.de

This is story no 266 on Hoppsy, I can’t believe we waited until now to talk about Dab one of Germany’s best and most popular beers. Dab comes from the city of Dortmund which is in the North Rhine district just north of Cologne. Beer along with mining are the city’s major business. Dab dates back to 1868 when three German businessmen Laurenz Fischer and brothers Heinrich and Fridrich Mauritz and a master brewer Heinrich Herberz came together to form the a brewery called Herberz & Co. The brewery had a chequerd history and was destroyed in World War II, but was rebuilt in 1949. The brewery is today is controlled by the huge German food company Radeberger which owns a suite of breweries. The brewery makes a few products but the most readily available throughout the world is the Premium Lager which is very refreshing. It like most German beers is brewed to the traditions of the purity laws and has a fresh smooth taste with a hint of sourness similar to many of the beers in the Rhine region like Becks and even Cologne’s very tasty Kölsch.

Way back in 1040 the Benedictine monastery which overlooks the German town of Freising was granted a license to start brewing beer. Now the monks were a bit shifty and they had actually been brewing for quiet a while so by the time they got their license they had a pretty good drop of beer. There are some who say they might have started making beer on the sly as early as 768. Anyway with 1000 years of experience or 1200 years of experience who cares, if you have been brewing beer this long you certainly know how to make a great beer, and Weihenstephen is certainly one of Germany’s best, named after the master brewer Sacred Stephen of course the brewery today produces a great range of German styles including a Kristall, Hefe which is their wheat beer, the Dunkel which is the dark wheat beer, The original which is more of a lager and the Pilsner. The Weihenstephan Tradition is another beer which uses roasted malts and is a dark lager which is also quiet popular and is very similar to what was brewed back a millennium ago.

Well I am sure you have noticed we like featuring beer robots a bit on Hoppsy, well we found another one. This time it’s a clever ad for Holston Pils. The robot is a clever little fella, not only can he answer any question about Hamburg’s finest pils he also has a fridge in his tummy full of the fresh frothy brew.   I want one!  

If you have seen any funny beer related YouTube videos drop us a line; http://www.hoppsy.com/send-us-a-tip/     .. enjoy

Well there’s nothing that goes with German Beer better than a Bratwurst Sausage so what would be tastier than Beer Brats- yes that’s right a sausage dish using beer as one of the main ingredients. Now this recipie is so easy you can even try different types of sausage and beer.

All you need is a large onion sliced into ring, 6 of your favorite bratwurst sausage, 1 can and a half of your best German beer and a little oil. All you do is brown the sausages, brown the onions in the oil then cover with beer and slowly cook until the juice becomes thick and caremel like.. I’ts delicious- now you know what you are having for dinner tonight!  For a really tasty different treat ad a can of tomatoes before cooking

Here is another tasty beer based recipie to try. This one is lovely with some fresh whipped cream.

2 cups  brown sugar
1 cup softened butter or margarine
2 eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3 cups sifted plane flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups chopped dates
2 cups german beer
spinkle of icing sugar

This is so easy, and you will really want to lick the spoon!

All you need to do is combine the sugar with the butter in a mixing bowl and cream until smooth, then add the eggs beating well. Sift in he cinnamon, alspice, cloves, plain flour, baking soda and salt then mix in the dates and walnuts. slowly fold in the beer and put into a
well greased cake tin. Bake in a preheated oven at 350F for a little over an hour or until a cake needle comes out clean. Stand for about 10 minutes then cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle with the sugar and serve with some rich whipped cream.

The Oktoberfest celebrations have come to a close in Munich for another year. An estimated 6.2 million people passed through the gates and drank over 6.7 million litres of Munich beer and ate 104 oxes, half a million sausages and more chickens than you could point a stick at.  But visitors to Munich should not worry too much there are plenty of great beer halls and beer gartens around the city to continue the festivities.  Preperations are underway for next years huge event which starts on September 20th at noon and will mark the 175th Anniversary.

For more information  http://www.oktoberfest.de

Well most people would asume all the beer drinking fun in Germany at the moment is in Munich, well they are wrong- Stuttgart is getting in on the act too. The annual Cannstatter Volksfest is in full swing and will attract over 3 million visitors over the next two weeks.  Starting a week later than the Munich festival the Stuttgart festival has everything Oktoberfest has just  a little smaller scale.

Datting back to 1818 when the festival was merely a agricultural trade fair this festival has grown to be the second biggest in Germany after Oktoberfest.

There are beer tents from some of Stuttgart’s best breweries including Schwaben Brau, Stuttgarter Hofbrau, Dinkelaker and of course Furstenberg. The fairgrounds has some amazing rides too, including the worlds biggest mobile ferris wheel, some amazing roller coasters including an indoor coaster called the Black Hole and plenty of other thrill rides. There food, fun and the centrepiece is a huge 26 metre wooden fruit coloumn  which can be seen from most points of the festival.

For more information http://www.stuttgart-tourist.de/ENG/leisure/volksfest.htm