A Month in Europe

Beginning the second week in September, I will depart for a month-long European journey through six countries. The travel is ostensibly to support revisions for the second edition of The Beer Bible, which will appear in 2021. But it’s also to do a bit of off-the-map exploration. Craft brewing has begun to radically transform beer in every country where it’s brewed, and I wanted to get some sense of how that’s playing out in lesser-known beer countries. I also needed to to visit a few of the biggies that have undergone a lot of change since the last edition. My stops:

  • England. I’ll start in London, do a quick trip to tour Harvey’s, and then jet up to Manchester for a few days.

  • Belgium. Brussels to get caught up with changes there and tour Brasserie de la Senne. Then stops in Antwerp and Ghent, with a couple planned brewery visits along the way.

  • Vienna. I should be going to Salzberg, but the mystique of the old city where Anton Dreher helped change brewing calls out to me. I would love to do a bit on the ghost of those lagers, so please holler with suggestions.

  • Kraków. I’ve always wanted to go to Poland, with Kraków especially catching my eye. I suspect we will be hearing a lot from Eastern Europe in coming years, and while I could have chosen Budapest or Bucharest, I’m indulging my non-beer interests here as well.

  • Vilnius. There’s not a lot I can do to add to the wealth of information Lars Garshol has delivered in the past few years, but I can see this town for myself. Locally made indigenous styles are available, and it’s apparently a hell of a beer town on its own merit. Really looking forward to this stop.

  • Berlin. The one major German stop I’ve yet to make, it joins Manchester, Ghent, and Antwerp as remedial study.

As always, I would be delighted to hear your advice, tips, and have any connections you may have. I’ll be blogging on the road, so mark your calendars: I’ll be gone Sept 8-Oct 9.

Jeff Alworth4 Comments