A Beer Evolution

One of my favorites- June 2011

Beer.  Its the universal elixir.  I'll take a quality glass of red wine over a beer on most days but a good beer can be hard to resist.  I'm not talking about the watery mass produced brews most Americans associate with beer; Budweiser, Miller, and Coors- brands that are quintessentially American and served as "imports" in every part of the world except America.  Bucking the trend of most women I know (yes, this is a stereotype, so for that, I apologize), I prefer a dark beer to a light one any day.  In fact, the darker the better.  My favorite from my college years is Black Cat Stout from the Northampton Brewery in Massachusetts.  When I do drink beer I would enjoy it for what it was but never really thought about how it was made or the science behind its production.  And then I met Glenn..........

Driveway brewing- Norfolk VA circa 2006

One of the first things Glenn told me about himself was that he was a home brewer.  This fact didn't necessarily impress me but I had a vague idea of what it meant.  Or so I thought. (In hindsight the full-sized chest freezer that had been converted into a keg-o-rator that dominated the kitchen should have been a clue).  I quickly learned that when Glenn said he was going to brew a batch of beer it would be an all day endeavor and I had better find something else to occupy my entire Saturday.  Brewing for Glenn is serious business.  I didn't completely understand the brewing contraption that took up a good part of our garage (and later got a permanent built-in spot in the remodeled garage).  What I did know was that when it got rolled out into the driveway, all of the men from our neighborhood descended upon our house in Norfolk like moths to flames.  (The same thing happened in our Washington D.C. neighborhood to a lesser extent).  I could stand at the kitchen window and watch as the men would reluctantly answer their ringing cell phones to explain to their wives (who also had a full view of our driveway from their windows) how Glenn needed their "help" and they couldn't possibly return home.  Admittedly, I was grateful for this "help" since it saved me from having to go outside to hold the hose or assist in some other mundane task.  Of the neighborhood "help", one man was truly legitimate.  Kevin has since gone on to establish O'Connor Brewing Company.  His brewery took off after we moved away but from what I've seen and heard, it is a success.

Paying homage to Sam Adams- Boston September 2006

Whether we are traveling or dining locally, a menu that includes a wide selection of beers is always popular.  If there is a local beer on tap Glenn is always willing to give it a try.  In Norfolk a favorite restaurant was Cogan's Pizza where beers ranging from local brews to PBR and everything in between was always on tap.  I think it was here that, much to Glenn's delight, I fine tuned my beer preferences and truly started enjoying a wider range of beers.  When visiting family in Maine we discovered St. Andrews Brewing Company, a very local Mid-Coast Maine favorite.  Like many regions in the United States, Maine is home to numerous micro-breweries that offer a variety of unique yet quality beers.

Old school in Copenhagen- July 2012

We don't necessarily plan our vacations around cities that are home to breweries (at least I don't) but we have been known to tour those that fit into our itineraries.  When in Boston we toured the Sam Adams Brewery where we sampled a variety of beers that included Glenn's favorite- the original lager- and his least favorite- the cranberry lambic.  (Sam Adams is such a favorite that we shipped numerous cases to Albania with us and stock up on it whenever we visit an American military commissary.  Glenn doles out these precious bottles selectively so being offered one means you are truly a special guest). A trip to Acadia National Park included a visit to Bar Harbor Brewing Company where blueberry infused beer is on the menu- it was much better than I had anticipated.   A trip to Copenhagen wouldn't have been complete without a stop at the  Carlsberg Brewery where Sidney's response to the thousands of beer bottles on display was to sigh deeply then state "so much beer".  (He is definitely his father's son).

Our move overseas required Glenn to leave his brewing equipment behind.  I think this was the hardest part of our move since Glenn not only enjoys drinking beer but he loves brewing it as well.  Without his equipment he hasn't been able to brew since we have been in Albania- the closest we have come is to attending a raki burning- but he has been able to find beers that are surprisingly good.  We were both shocked to learn that Albania has its share of homegrown breweries.  Our favorite local beer by far is Korce E Zeze (dark Korce) from the Korce Brewery.  While good though, I'm not sure it is in the same league as those from international breweries.

So how is a beer lover to cope?  Unfortunately, most of our travels throughout the Balkans do not provide opportunities for great beer consumption.  Occasionally we will discover something exciting but all too often the import selection revolves around the mass produced American beers we won't even drink when we are back in the U.S.  While we're open to local suggestions, we're realizing that in order to experience really good beers, we must head north.  So it should come as no surprise that upcoming travel plans for the fall include trips to the Czech Republic, Austria, and Germany.  Apparently if we can't bring the beer to us, we'll go to the beer.

Bicycling Through Copenhagen

Just one of hundreds of Copenhagen's bike parking lots

The final leg of our Scandinavian adventure took us to Denmark.  Using Copenhagen as our base we ventured out to Legoland in Billund "because Sidney really wanted to go" and spent one afternoon at Carlsberg Brewery "because Glenn really wanted to."  Both of these trips were fun; its amazing what one can do with those tiny plastic blocks and visiting the most famous brewery in Denmark, one that produces over 3 million bottles of beer a day, is always more interesting when you have a home brewer in your midst.  The best part of our Danish stay, however, was doing like the locals and bicycling through the Copenhagen.

It seems as though everyone in Copenhagen uses bicycles as their preferred mode of transportation.  The International Cycling Union awarded Copenhagen the first Bike City Award and claims that at 1.3 million kilometers per day, the 37 percent of Copenhageners who bicycle daily log more miles than any other city in the world.  There are dedicated bicycle lanes and bicycle traffic signals throughout the City and you can't go more than a block without coming across large bicycle parking lots.  It feels as though bicyclists have the right of way and motorized vehicles and pedestrians need to cede to their oncoming traffic.  During rush hour you see women in their skirts and high heels peddling alongside disheveled students, tourists with maps in hand, and parents with toddlers in tow.  Regardless of your age, size, or medical condition (I saw more than one obviously pregnant women peddling right along with the rest of the crowd), Copenhageners get around on two wheels.   Bicycle Copenhagen, the city's free bicycle borrowing program allows you to pick up bicycles at numerous locations throughout the city and bike to your location.  They make it so easy that there isn't any excuse for not using pedal power to get around.

The boys getting around using pedal power

We joined the locals and rented bicycles from Baisikeli, a company that uses its profits to send refurbished bicycles to Mozambique and Sierra Leone (by renting from them we got our exercise and supported a good cause!).  What they say is true; once you learn to ride a bicycle, getting back on one is easy.  It has been over two decades since either of us rode a bicycle but we quickly got into the rhythm and kept pace with the hundreds of other bicycles speeding along the streets.  On a bicycle, the city just looks different.  We were able to really notice things that you just don't see when you are traveling by car.  We were able to take in the beautiful architecture of some of the city's more historic buildings, feel the bumps of each cobblestone paver on the narrow secondary streets, and easily stop to take in the sights when something looked interesting.  We also discovered how much easier it is to cover more territory on a bicycle than it is when you are on foot.   It definitely didn't hurt that the weather was a perfectly comfortable 70 degrees (the warmest weather we've experienced on our entire trip) and that Copenhagen is a very flat city.

Sidney loved having a front and center view on the world.  He laughed when riding over the aforementioned cobble stones and was able to see so much more from his front row seat.  We peddled through the Copenhagen Citadel, stopped to put our toes in the water at The Little Mermaid, and had lunch at a sidewalk cafe with our bicycles parked nearby.  As is the norm, we also stopped at numerous water fountains and watched the boats in the canal.  (We saw several tour boats, or as Sidney calls them "furgon boats").  All of this was so much easier than it would have been had we needed to find a parking space for our car.

I had forgotten how much fun it is to ride a bicycle.  Sadly, riding a bicycle is neither a safe nor convenient option in Albania, but we are now talking about how we need to buy bicycles when we reach our next post.  Its just another criteria to add to our "must have" list.

Visiting The Little Mermaid