Looking for German Beer in Big Bear

 

This past week, we headed up to Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino mountains for three days, also spending some time in Lake Arrowhead with relatives. Over the years, Big Bear has acquired a reputation for German food and beer not only by having a couple of German restaurants, but also by having a very popular Oktoberfest celebration (which I have yet to experience).

At any rate, we rented a cabin-style house for three days and set out to find any German restaurants still remaining. It appears that at the moment, there is only one German place in town, the German Deli on Big Bear Blvd. It is currently only open to 3 pm, so dinner was out of the question. We dropped in for lunch. The menu has no schnitzels, basically just various types of sausages. (There is also a deli counter).

Cutting to the chase, I first ordered a bottle of Flensburger, which is marketed in the US with the old-style flip tops. After that, it was a Weltenburger Fest Bier, Maerzen (can). Both were quite good. 

For you German history buffs, Flensburger comes from the town of Flensburg on the Danish border. Flensburg was the site of the Doenitz post-Hitler government for several days after Hitler's suicide in Berlin. Several of the Nazi leaders convened in Flensburg where they negotiated the final surrender of Germany to the allies.

Leavenworth, Washington: A Touch of Bavaria in the Pacific Northwest

 Last week, my wife and I took a few days off to see some of the Pacific Northwest. In short, after flying to Spokane, Washington, and spending the night, we drove to Leavenworth, Washington for three days followed by three days in Coeur d"Alene, Idaho. For purposes of this site, I will concentrate on Leavenworth.

Leavenworth is a former logging town that sits nestled in the Cascade Mountains along the Wenatchee River. When the logging business dried up in the 1960s, the town considered ways to re-invent themselves to draw in tourists. Eventually, they settled on turning Leavenworth into a Bavarian-themed town. The result is a town center of about three blocks where all the buildings resemble what you might see in Garmisch. There are about three German restaurants plus a beer garden or two. We had German food every night. Most of the places were serving Muenchner Hofbrau or a couple of other choices like Ayinger or Weltenburg Kloster. With snow-capped Cascade mountains in the immediate background, the effect is fantastic. For dining, I particularly recommend Andreas Keller for atmosphere and food.

Ayinger in the US Is Worth Trying

 

Aying

The Bavarian brewery, Ayinger, in the village of Aying, has been exporting beer to the US for several years. I recall a few years ago trying it and being less than excited. But as I have noted before, German imports to the US are dramatically better now and closer to the real German taste.

With that in mind, I picked up a 4-bottle-pack of Ayinger pils at Total Wines and More this week, and was pleasantly surprised. The pills Ayinger is 5.5% alcohol and has the clean, crisp taste of a good pils, The cost was about 10 dollars.

Though I have never been in Aying, it might be worth a visit if I ever get back to the region. The brewery has its own hotel and a bier stube across the street with biergarten to boot.

BItburger Festbier is Tasting Pretty Good in the US

 

The Bitburger brewery (in Bitburg, Germany) is a very popular German import in the US. You can usually find it on draft in local German restaurants, as well as in bottles or cans in stores like Total Wines and More. I have had good success taste-wise from canned and bottled Bitburger.

Currently, there is Bitburger Festbier available, and it is very good. Does it taste better in Bitburg? Probably so, but I recall drinking Bitburger in other parts of Germany and being less than thrilled. 

As always, I am writing this from the perspective of one who hasn't been back to Germany since 2013 and time can dull your judgment as to what is authentic tasting German beer. Recently, I was able to get my authentic fix at Las Vegas' Hofbrauhaus.

At any rate, the Bitburger Festbier in bottles is 6.2% alcohol, which is just about the way I like it.

According to their website, Bitburger Festbier is available in the US for a limited time beginning in August. Bitburg's annual beer fest takes place in the spring (circa April) and goes for about 3 weeks.

Gaffel Koelsch

 

I am adding Gaffel Koelsch (Cologne) to my list of great German beer selection in the US. I sampled a can purchased from Total  Wines and More last week, and like so many other canned German beers available in the US, it is surprisingly good. I cannot testify how it tastes in Cologne, but as I have said before, German imported beers have improved dramatically in recent years.

As stated previously, Koelsch beer is an exclusive product of Cologne-at least in Germany. The glass you see above is the standard Koelsch glass favored in Germany, but for me, any German beer glass works fine.

Here is a description from Beer Advocate.com:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1536/4137/

Drinking German Beer in Arkansas

Last week, the Missus and I spent a week in Arkansas. Having one night to spend in Little Rock, I looked up THE German restaurant in town, which happens to be Fassler Hall located downtown a few blocks from the state capitol. The location is a combination of beerhall-sports pub with an outdoor "beer garten".

Though the menu did not have many German entrees, I picked out a pork schnitzel with gravy that was very good, a sort of Jaegerschnitzel, if you will.) My first beer was a Paulaner, which was nice, as it usually is in the US, and the second was something new. It was Hirter Brau (No, not Hitler). It was a dark beer and very nice though I don't usually drink dunkles. Looking it up on Google, I discovered it was n Austrian beer, which I had never heard of. I informed the staff and they had not known it was Austrian.

The employees are basically young American kids, so I didn't get to meet any Germans. Anyway, it was a good meal.

The rest of the week, we spent in Hot Springs. The only German restaurant in Hot Springs is Steinhauskeller, which is located, appropriately, in a downstairs cellar in the historic old town of Hot Springs. Again, I saw no German employees. The first night in town, we stopped into the bar for a pretzel and a couple of beers. (Munich Hofbrau Oktoberfest). Later that week, we had dinner there. I had a cheese schnitzel, which was great. In addition to the Hofbrau, I again tried a new beer, which comes from the Hamburg area and is called Wernesgruener (in a bottle). It was fine, and if I had had it in the US 10 years ago, I would say it was almost authentic German taste. It had the smoothness I expect in German beer with no aftertaste.

I noticed that like Fassler Hall in Little Rock, they also served Hirter, but this time I didn't order it.

Choices for German restaurants in Arkansas are limited, at least in the two major towns, but if you are there, I recommend both. 

Paulaner: "Ein Mass, Bitte!"

 

My son recently bought me a liter can of Paulaner together with the glass mug at Total Wines and More. (11$). Since I  have been trying to lose weigh, and have cut down on the beer and wine, it took me almost a week before I drank it. In short, it was outstanding.

Paulaner is one of Munich's 6 breweries, and in my opinion, it is the best. I have eaten and drank at all of Munich's brewery restaurants and found Paulaner to be the best (at least to my taste). In addition, I have had good experiences with Paulaner in Mexico and more recently, in the US.

Check it out. You might need someone to help you finish it all off.