That was the year that was - 2015

2015 was one hell of a year, packed with some amazing travel and beer-related experiences; in fact, I would say that for a number of reasons, it was the best year ever. It was a year in which I crammed in more trips abroad than any years previously, or indeed since. Looking back, I’m not quite sure how I manged it, but everything just fell into place, in a way that has since proved hard to mimic, so what exactly happened and where did I go?

Where to start though? And where better than Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, and a city I have visited half a dozen times. Two of those visits took place in 2015, and both were as preludes to spending time in other locations within the country. 

The first visit took place that May and was only a couple of days in length. Prague was the rendezvous for the tour group from Maidstone CAMRA I was joining, before heading off to the city of Jihlava, which was to be our base for the next four days. Situated in almost the exact geographical centre of the Czech Republic, Jihlava, which is well away from the tourist hot spots of Prague and Pilsen, proved to be the ideal place for exploring this lesser-known part of the country.

Unfortunately, the hot and dry weather I enjoyed in Prague, was replaced by wet, windy, and decidedly cool conditions by the time we arrived in Jihlava, but on the basis that there is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing, I had a real good time in both locations. Highlights of Prague were the morning I spent exploring the area around Prague Castle and St Vitus’s Cathedral, an al fresco lunch at Klášterni pinovar Matŭska, before heading back down towards the Charles Bridge and the old town area of Staré Mésto. Although serious tourist territory, I managed a visit, to U Tři Růži; which at the time was one of Prague’s newest brew-pubs. I also made the obligatory visit to  U Fleků, Prague’s original brewpub, which claims to be the oldest brewpub in the world.

 Our stay in Jihlava, included a tour of the Bernard Brewery in Humpolec, a cultural day, visiting the well-preserved towns of Slavonice and Telč, plus a visit to the Chotebor Pivovar microbrewery,  and the Rebel brewpub in Havlickuv Brod. Special mention should be made of the bus ride back from Telč to Jihlava, which took us through some of the most pleasing countryside I have ever seen. I can still picture the rolling hills, dark forests and stretches of verdant green pasture, that make up the region, and the numerous fishponds which dot the landscape. The winding country roads we travelled along, lined by blossom-laden apple trees, completed the picture, and not for the first time, that year, I said to myself, “Life doesn’t get much better than this!”

Sticking with Prague, my second visit of 2015 to the Czech capital, took place in the autumn of that year, in October to be precise. As with the first visit, I used Prague as a staging post, and a prelude to a visit elsewhere in the country. Given the relatively small size of Czechia, flying into Václav Havel airport in Prague makes perfect sense and, as on the previous occasion, it allowed me to spend some time in this most beautiful of central European cities. This time around, I also had son Matthew for company.

Basically, our trip was a tale of two contrasting halves; spending four nights in the big city atmosphere of Prague, followed by four nights in the delightful preserved medieval town of Český Krumlov. The latter wasn’t without its share of tourists; in fact the town is now the second most popular destination for foreign visitors to the Czech Republic. Český Krumlov is people sized though, and easily seen in a day, but for me it was the perfect place to relax and enjoy a few beers - after taking in some of the impressive sights of this beautiful medieval town. It was also a town that had been on my bucket list, for more years than I care to remember.

Our time in Prague was spent visiting a variety of different brewpubs, most of which were new to us. We stayed at the same hotel that I had used back in May, although this time around, the room overlooked the street at the side, rather than the rail tracks at the rear. We also took a trip out, by train, to the Škoda car works in the town of  Mladá Boleslav, where we had a conducted tour of the factory. The weather was also disappointing, with rain at times, although by the time we reached Český Krumlov, it was characterised by sunny days, but increasingly cold nights. Autumn was definitely a week or two ahead of the UK, with some spectacular seasonal colours from the trees.

Český Krumlov certainly didn’t disappoint, and still lived up to the description given by beer enthusiast, and CAMRA founding member, Graham Lees, in his Guide to Prague & the Czech Republic. Writing in 1996, Lees described this small, southern Bohemian town as a "Time-warped, medieval beauty, built in a tight loop of the Vltava river". He went on to say that "It's as though some witch had cast a Sleeping Beauty-like spell over the entire edifice. But the spell is now wearing off, and the more tourists who "discover" it, the more it will change".

Many tourists had of course, "discovered" it during the 20 years since those words were written and the visit, in 2015, by Matthew and me. I wrote at the time that Cesky Krumlov is still well worth seeing. It's massive castle, overlooking the river, is the second largest in the country, after Prague, and the old town is still a maze of twisting, narrow streets, virtually unchanged since medieval times. There were hordes of mainly Chinese tourists, complete with their selfie-sticks, but they tended to gravitate around the castle and the old town square, and were thus easily avoided.  

At the end of August, I found myself in Brussels for the European Beer Bloggers Conference. Now despite its reputation for fine beer and equally fine chocolate, Brussels has never been my favourite city, but over the course of that visit, which happened to be my fourth, I did start to warm to the place more. I found that the city centre is surprisingly compact, and as well as visiting some new bars, along with a few old favourites, I discovered a lot more about Belgian beer and the nation’s brewing culture.

Some of that was the result of the conference itself, but I learned much more after the event, when I joined the post conference trip around West Flanders. This was a relaxed, two-day tour around the province, and included several memorable highlights. One occurred at the In de Vrede café, attached to the Monastery of St Sixtus, just outside Westvleteren. This abbey is the home of the most secretive monastic order, who are also the brewers of Westvleteren 12°, described by Rate Beer, as the best beer in the world.

Sitting outside, with my fellow conference delegates, most of whom were affable and typically outgoing Americans, soaking up the late August sunshine and Westvleteren beer in equal measures, I had another of those “Life doesn’t get much better than this,” moments. The superlatives didn’t finish there, as that evening, we enjoyed a private tour around the Rodenbach brewery, home to the world-renowned Flemish Sour Red Ales. We ended the day with an overnight stopover in Bruges, staying at a luxurious four-star hotel, just off the city centre.

I was too tired, and rather too refreshed to hit the town that night, but the following day, we were treated to a guided walking tour of Bruges, which was both interesting and a real eye opener. As if that wasn’t enough, we enjoyed an excellent lunch at the city’s De Halve Maan brewery. On way, passed through the Beguinage – a sanctuary, which offered a home to single or widowed women who wanted to live in a pious way but outside the walls of a convent or monastery. Of particular interest to fans of prog-rockers Yes, the Beguinage was the location where the promotional film for the track, Everydays was shot. Written by Stephen Stills and featured on "Time and a Word," the group’s second album, the tranquillity and calm and tranquillity of the surroundings, certainly does both the song, and the film itself, justice. Check it out below, to get the feel of the place, and you will see what I mean.

The year finished with a short family trip to Salzburg, Austria – a visit that allowed us to experience the magic of the city’s Christmas Market, whilst allowing a couple of visits to the Bräustübl at Augustinerbräu Kloster Mülln. Not only is this tavern the largest in Austria, it is also one of the finest and most traditional beer halls anywhere in the world! We arrived shortly after the 3pm opening time, and as we descended the steps from the entrance to the corridor where the food kiosks are situated, everything came flooding back, including the most important part - the ritual necessary to obtain a beer.

Just round the corner from the end of the corridor, there is a serving area, where you help yourself to a stoneware mug (litre or half litre). You then rinse it at the ornate marble fountain before queuing up and paying the person sitting behind a glass screen. You are then given a ticket, which you hand to the man dispensing the beer, in exchange for him filling your mug with beer, from one of the large wooden casks. You then wander off and find a seat in which ever of the three large, cavernous beer halls that takes your fancy, and get stuck into the beer.

The beer, which is a full-bodied lager, known as Märzen with an ABV of 4.6%, is brewed all year round, whilst from November through to Christmas a stronger Weinachtsbock (Christmas Bock) at 6.5% ABV is produced. This beer was unavailable during my two previous visits, but it was on this occasion, so I just had to try a mug full. It was everything I expected and more, being rich, malty, and strong enough to taste the alcohol. During the hour or so we were there, the hall had really begun to fill up; such is the popularity of the Augustinerbräu Bräustübl.

The absolute highlight of 2015, started with a visit to the Franconian Beer Festival - held in the incomparable setting of the castle moat of Nuremberg’s massive and imposing Imperial Castle. Fränkisches Bierfest, as it is known locally, showcases beers from around 40 of Franconia’s finest breweries, and in this respect is more like an English beer festival, than events such as Munich’s world-famous Oktoberfest, and the lesser known Cannstatter Volksfest which takes place in Stuttgart.  

I was fortunate to have local beer enthusiast, Erlangernick, as my guide, and in his company, I sampled beers from some of the 38 breweries exhibiting at the festival. These included various Helles, Vollbiers, Landbiers, Kellerbiers, plus the odd Dunkles and Pils. All were good; with some served direct from wooden casks. There was a great party atmosphere, and whilst most festival goers were within the 20–30-year age bracket, there was still a good sprinkling of people from other age groups. What was particularly encouraging was the number of female visitors, to the festival.

The following day, on one of the hottest days of the year, I met up with Nick at Roppelt’s Keller, to the north-west of Forchheim. He had borrowed his wife’s car, and his proposal was to drive us both around a few Kellers in the area. There were a couple he wanted to check out, which were well off the beaten track, and he thought I would like to visit them as well. Being chauffeured around some of the region’s best Bier Kellers, by someone with good local knowledge of them was a chance too good to miss, so after finishing my beer, we set off in his car to do just that!

Driving through the unspoilt countryside of the Steigerwald, in an open-top car, in search of good local beer, and with some vintage Yes playing on the car stereo, made me think, once again that  “Life doesn’t get much better than this.” Our first port of call was the tiny village of Aisch, where we sat out in the small shady beer garden opposite the Rittmayer Brauerei & Gasthaus. It was here that I tried Spargel (white Asparagus), for the first time.

We then visited two Kellers, both perched up on hills overlooking some really attractive rolling countryside. Herrmann Kellerbier from Ampferbach, and Müller Kellerbier from Reundorf, were the beery delights at these two stops; the latter beer being enjoyed in the grounds of the substantial Schmausenkeller, high on a hill.  It was a wonderful day out and my grateful thanks are due to Nick for acting as my guide and chauffeur.

It is no exaggeration to say that this brief snapshot, of some of Franconia’s best beer and drinking establishments, was not only the highpoint of 2015, but also remains as one of my all-time best beer experiences. It was the perfect combination of good company, fine weather, splendid scenery, and some wonderfully rustic places in which to enjoy some truly excellent beer. This then, is the perfect spot to finish my round-up of 2015’s “Year in Beer.”