Hopfenland - Kuchlbauer midsize brewery tour

In a prior post about our weekend in "Hopfenland Hallertau" we toured the Lamplbräu microbrewery.
Now, we'll share our walk through a mid-size weissbier brewer called Kuchlbauer, in the town of Abensberg.
The entire experience here is called Kuchlbauer's Bierwelt (beer world) with a brewery, biergarten, art and info.

Like Lamplbräu, Kuchlbauer is privately owned. The same family has run it for seven generations (since 1904).
Whereas Lamplbräu was basically in the country (bordered a farm), Kuchlbauer is near a town center.

Also, unlike our "tour" at Lamplbräu (where I just called the owner, set a time, and he ushered us around personally), you have to purchase tickets for a Kuchlbauer tour at a specific time, with a guide & 40 other people.

We arrived early and had some time to kill before our tour started.  Kuchlbauer has a biergarten too, so we went there.  From outside its brick walls, you immediately see something quite different -- a strange, tall tower looms:

Next photo (below) is the biergarten entrance... what exactly is that thing, and why is it here?  Stay tuned:

The inside of the biergarten is decorated much like the tower.  They have a colorful, unique personality:

The tower is fenced-off and not accessible from the public area / biergarten - only through the tour.

The first biergarten customers we saw:  nuns!  A good sign for things to come?  Absolutely.

After getting a snack, we went back to the "corporate" front entrance to find the tour's starting point.

The tour takes a couple of hours to complete and costs €11 for adults, €5 per child, and €7 per teen.
The intro video (in German) told us that we'll see the fusion of "beer and art" at Kuchlbauer.  (Art??)

We followed our guide into the brewery for the start of the tour.  First stop: the copper brewing kettles.
It's easy to see the size difference now between this operation and the Lamplbräu "Sudhaus":

Then, as at Lamplbräu, we saw the next step in the brewing process - nearby cooling and storage tanks:

Moving on through the tour (& brewing process) we saw antique equipment like this bottling machine...

... then their larger, modern bottling facilities (they were not active - the current batch was not yet ready):

From the tower (hang on, info coming soon...) you could see the shipping yard and one of their trucks.
It's not InBev of course, but Kuchlbauer is clearly more commercial than a classic Bavarian microbrewer:

Unlike Lamplbräu - which cycles batches between helles (a lager), pilsner (another lager), and weissbier (an ale) -
Kuchlbauer brews exclusively weissbier.  The have six varieties available today (five are pictured below):

The varieties are, from left to right in the graphic above:
- "Sportsfreund" (sports friend)... basically a 'lite' dunkel weissbier, 40% less alcohol, 40% fewer calories
- "Alte Liebe" (old love)... a dunkel (dark) weissbier
- "Turmweisse" (turm = tower)... richer, uses a special malt, and has a higher 5.9% ABV (alcohol by volume)
- "Weisse" or "Helle Weisse"... a traditional Bavarian weisse, described as round and mild (vs. the Turm)
- "Aloysius"... named after a mythical Bavarian character, it's a dunkel bock weisse with a high 7.2% ABV
- [Not pictured] "Alkoholfrei"... alcohol free and low calorie weissbier

Note: Our friends at Regensblog told us Kuchlbauer *does* brew a helles (and they love it).  We found it on Google, but no link to it on KB's web site.  It must be brewed at another site and considered non-core to their brand.

The traditional weisse and the Turmweisse account for the vast majority of their output and branding.
The Turmweisse has the crazy tower on the label, and is available packaged with a unique weissbier glass:

           

(Keep reading -- we'll get to the "beer and art" explanation and tell the story behind the tower...)

This effectively ended the first part of the tour about the brewing process.  Next came some data and history.

You may have noticed, in the very first photo, that their logo on the side of the building said:  "since 1300".
Kuchlbauer is one of the oldest breweries in Germany.  They have a list (below) with the 15 oldest continuously operating breweries in Bavaria.  Kuchlbauer is 700+ years old (Munich's Weihenstephan is the oldest at 970).

They also had a map of all breweries in Bavaria (notice the bias towards Bavaria, and not Germany)...

... plus their wiessbier output (upper glass) relative to total Bavarian weissbier production (lower glass):

The lower glass made for quite a photo op by itself - Frau A could probably fit her head in the top of it: 

Between the weissbier output comparison and the long list of Bavarian weissbier brewers, you realize just how many local microbreweries Bavaria must have (and how many more visits, tours, and tastings Frau A and I need to do).

Now the tour shifted focus again, concentrating on the topic of "beer and art".  Getting closer to the tower...

Next, the guide led us down to a basement room in the main building, to a replica of Da Vinci's "Last Supper".
Yes, you read that correctly -- it's a half-scale reproduction of Leonardo Da Vinci's famous painting:

This replica is 8 meters wide and 3 meters high - the mounted television shows a short video to the group: 

The video and then the guide tried to pull symbolism from the Last Supper and link it to beer, brewing, etc..
We didn't understand the details of how they claimed to link the two, sorry.   But:  the head of the brewery and developer of the tower, Leonhard Salleck, has such a strong interest in Da Vinci and this specific work that he wrote a book on it titled Der Schlüssel (The Key), available on Amazon.de.  (No English translation available though.)

The next "beer and art" rooms/hallways were inspired by the artist who designed the tower. (Can you guess who?)  They weren't designed by him, but in his style, and done in the main building during the tower's construction:

The decor of the room above is unique enough, but one specific feature is important to our story:  dwarves.
The brewery owner likes dwarves, and uses them to tell visitors about the brewing ingredients, process, etc.
(Video below is about 3 minutes long, and a little dark, but gives you an idea of the Disney-esque feel.)
The dwarves will play an important role later in this post, about how the unique tower came into being:

The interesting designs continued into the next hallways & rooms, with beer bottler built into the walls:

Finally, we left the central building and went to the base of the tower (freestanding next to the brewery).
This is what everyone was waiting for -- the Kuchelbauer Tower  (plaque below:  "beer art tower"):

The tower has its own live webcam -- the latest photo is always available here.

As far as we could understand, here's the story behind the Kuchlbauer Turm:

Leonhard Salleck, head of the Kuchlbauer brewery, also has a strong personal interest in art.  In the late 1990s, he dreamed of erecting a beer+art tower (it'd be a tourist draw and marketing tool).  In 1998, Salleck contacted Austrian architect and painter Friedensreich Hundertwasser, asking him to design such a tower.
Hundertwasser initially declined.

But in 1999 Salleck sent another request.  He wrote a short märchen (fairy tale) about the "weissbeer dwarves of Abensberg".  The work, life, and mindset of the dwarves in his fairy tale communicted themes of brewing as art, and how brewing aligns closely with nature.  (Hundertwasser was a nature lover; his buildings - like this tower - have trees growing in and through them).  Finally, Salleck said that the Abensberg dwarves need a home.

Fortunately, Hundertwasser had some affinity towards dwarves (maybe why his designs are so childishly playful?) and his new response to Salleck's request was something like:  "You guys in Abensberg are crazy... I'll do it".

Hundertwasser created the initial concept for the tower, but his apprentice Peter Pelikan handled the planning
(and eventual implementation).

Along the way, Salleck had trouble getting Abensberg to approve.  First, German tradition (and often law) holds that nothing can stand taller than the town's church steeple.  Second, local leaders thought it would be a blight on the town's aesthetics and history, and not a future landmark.  To overcome the strong opposition, Salleck & Pelikan cut the tower's originally planned height in half.  This was eventually approved.  (It was ultimately a stroke of luck, because after the experience Salleck said that the larger version might have bankrupted the brewery.)

Hundertwasser died in 2000, at 71 years old, during the planning phase and before construction even started.  Construction eventually began with the laying of the cornerstone in 2007.  The 12-ton "onion" dome was mounted on the top in 2008, and the tower was opened to visitors in January 2010, just 20 months before our visit.

The tower stands 35m (114ft) tall, is 10m (33ft) in diameter, with the curves and colors of classic Hundertwasser.
(Further interesting information about the German engineering firms and software involved can be found here.)

The biergarten was later implemented at the foot of the tower and its grounds designed in a similar style.
Every December, Kuchlbauer erects a typical German Christmas Market in the biergarten space as well.

We entered the tower at ground level and immediately went down the stairs to the lower level.
Here, the tour guide gave a final speech and left the group to explore the tower independently.

On the other side of the "basement" is a wall of weissbier glasses from brewers around the globe. 
With more than 4200 on display, it is the (claimed) largest collection of weissbier glasses in the world.
We took a short (24 second) video walking past the glasses, to give you an idea of exactly how many there are:

From this lower level, then you climb the stair to the top of the tower.  Each level has another mosaic area, depicting important aspects in beer brewing. We'll cover those in a separate post. And then you descend to the beer garden and turn in your ticket for a Kuchelbauer beer of your choosing.

What is there left to say?  This was one of the most, um, unique tours Frau A and I have experienced.

Of course, the last activity was heading to the gift shop and getting a six-pack (one of each kind)!
For a million+1 reasons, this is a great destination on any trip to non-Munich, non-Alpine Bavaria.

Munich Day Trip - Salzburg (Austria)

Another city that is sooooo close to Munich is Salzburg, Austria, perfect for a Saturday trip:

Wikipedia describes its appeal:  "Salzburg's "Old Town" (Altstadt) has internationally renowned baroque architecture and one of the best-preserved city centres north of the Alps. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997."

Just a few photos from a brief time there...

The view from the nearby Hohensalzburg Castle (on a small mountain overlooking the city) is lovely.
The castle itself it interesting too -- one of the largest medieval castles in Europe (built 1077-1519).

The two greenish spires in the cityscape above belong to the Salzburg Cathedral.  The crypt is my favorite part because it dates to 1020!  But the two towers and big dome get most of the photos:

 Here's the facade of the Cathedral:

Some of the small shopping streets are really charming.

Privacy with your Pilsner

Probably has something to do with the fact that it's the season of Christmas parties, but we've discussed several times recently how we're glad we didn't have smart phones when we were younger and less wise.

These days anyone can snap an embarrassing photo of themselves - or another person - and immediately upload it to Facebook or Twitter or any number of other sites. Kind of scary - at least in "the old days," there was a time lag of developing or downloading the photos the next day and usually realizing that sharing them was not a nice idea.

South American beer brand Cerveza Norte has come out with a solution: A beer cooler that keeps your beer cold and blocks photos of your party by responding to photo flashes with its own light that blurs our the photos.  According to Fast Company, it's a device for anyone "who values privacy along with their pilsner."

And of course it comes with another fun foreign commercial.

via FastCompany

Cobblestones are Evil

I've said this before, but usually it's in the context of shoes...how they ruin your heels and rapidly wear out the soles...and how they prevent me from wearing most of the cute shoes I brought with me from Texas. 

But this time it's different. Cobblestones are painful.

December has been a very interesting month, beginning with a routine walk to pick up some lunch on the last Friday in November. While crossing over to the Viktualienmarkt, I collided with a woman in such a way that her foot tripped me and sent me flying Superman-style. By some miracle I didn't hit my head or put out my hands (which at best would have made two badly sprained wrists), but instead landed flat on my chest. After a few moments of disorientation, I got up and walked home, still shaking.  I was very thankful for the calming tea the man at the Lebanese restaurant gave me while I waited for takeout. One of those small acts of kindness that really make you feel better!

Nothing was broken or cut and I didn't twist an ankle or hit my head, so nothing to worry about, right? Just a little shaken up.

A couple of hours later, I realized my neck was sore and it hurt to bend over or twist. But, it's unlikely that I could have done anything serious. I would have known if I'd really hurt anything, of course.

At this point, it's sore and hurts when I lay down or get up, but not too much when I sit still. So I still think it's probably just bruises and swelling but unlikely to be anything serious.

And so the next week I go to London for work. One night after our Christmas party, my purse is stolen. Luckily I had most important items back at the hotel, but I had my passport with me as ID. And at this point with the effort of lugging bags through the airport and the stress of having my purse stolen, I'm starting to hurt a lot more and also pretty unsure how to get back to Germany with no passport.

Thanks to a friend in another embassy, I find out how to get a temporary emergency passport, and by 1pm the next daz have a new passport in hand. Thank you, US Embassy for the excellent service!

To make the story short, by Monday I'm incredibly sick, with high fever, chills, coughing, etc. So I decide to see the doctor, which is something I usually avoid. At this point coughing is excruciating and even sitting still yields a dull ache. After a few visits to different specialists I learn a lot of new German medical words, have my first CT scan and get the diagnosis of having multiple infections and THREE fractured ribs. I really didn't think it was possible, but those cobblestones are hard.

Fast forward through 2 1/2 weeks of pretty stressful and long work hours (working from home, at least) and sickness and discomfort...I somehow met all the deadlines, got to the US, and am feeling almost normal again. Relaxing in front of a fire with a couple of dogs and football in HD is helping a lot!

Not an experience I'd like to repeat, but I feel proud of myself for having made it through the past few weeks and am enjoying a well-deserved vacation. And incredibly thankful to have someone like Herr J to take good care of me and feed me ibuprofin, vitamins, and ice cream. And to stock the fridge when I'm too sick to go out or unable to carry groceries.

And I've learned that cobblestones are lovely and quaint, but truly evil!

More Design Gifts

Tis the season for gfits... Here are a few on my wishlist. Though since the wishlist would also have to include space for them, I may have to settle for the fun of giving them as gifts.

For the eco-savvy LEGO lover (or just someone living by the German recycling rules), Italian designers Flussocreativo have created the cool LEGO-style "Leco" recycling center. Space-saving and cool-looking!

via w ooh ome

Another clever way to make use of space is Finnish designer Martina Carpelan's Kulma shelf. Kulma means corner in Finnish, and works to take advantage of either negative and positive space created by a corner.

via CMYBacon

For a smaller gift that's both clever and cute, Icelandic designer Stefán Pétur Sólveigarson's I Could Eat a Horse spaghetti measurer brings truth to that phrase. It measures pasta portions to fit child, adult, and the super hungry. (The horse-shaped measure feeds 4)

via w ooh ome

Also cute and useful in the kitchen would be Australian designer Toro Legno's Kitchen Bull. This cute guy combines a cookbook shelf with a knife holder and and a cheeseboard that pulls out of the bull's back.

I have a magnetic knife rack mounted on the wall and way too many cookbooks to fit him, but he is adorable!

via CMYBacon

For your world traveller friends, the Scratch Map is a world map that lets you use a coin to scratch off each country you've visited. And provide fodder for future travel dreams

Available from iwantoneofthose.

For those who want a little bit of creativity, the MoMa store offers Ricard Saint-Clairs Chalkboard Bud Vase. You can use it for messages or to draw your own vase.

Also from the MoMa store is this great collapsible water bottle. The difference is that this one not only rolls up into a light and portable piece of plastic, but it also stands up like a bottle while full. And comes with a mini caribiner to attach to your hiking pack.  I got one of these for Herr J when in NY last year and was very sad on our Pyrennees hiking trip that I hadn't bought one for myself also!

I'm a sucker for kitchen gadgets and clever designs!

Herr J's New Scarf

I still haven't finished the dirndl, but did take up a new hobby that:

1) Fits into my work-travel schedule,

2) Is portable, and

3) I can actually finish in a reasonable time!

KNITTING!!

It kind of started as a joke, with me asking Herr J if he wanted a scarf. He said he would wear one but didn't have one. I joked, "I'll make you one," and he replied, "I'd definitely wear it!"

And so off to the wool store I go and find some lovely wool dyed in different shades of blue, grey, brown. And some needles.

And then I consult Google and figure out how to knit. I found a pretty simple pattern for a manly scarf that was ribbed and only had knit and purl stitches - nothing too fancy.

There were some speed bumps along the way and something I did was wrong (perhaps winding the yarn the wrong direction?), but i actually liked the way it turned out. And then halfway through it started to be ribbed again. I had to figure out what I had done wrong, rip out the "right" rows, and go back to the wrong way. But, it worked and Herr J now has a warm scarf.

And of course having no experience, I bought twice as much as I should have. But I love this yarn and am making myself a girly scarf (long, ribbed, narrow, and with fringe).

The key to this is that I've been knitting on the train between Munich and Frankfurt. I'm sure it's a funny sight - the 1st class car is mostly German businessmen in suits...and one businesswoman in a suit, knitting.  But it helps to pass the time and I feel great accomplishing something.

Frozen Fog in Munich

In late November, Munich had about 2 weeks of consistent fog.  Almost every day, at least downtown or out in Neuperlach where my office sits, there was low cloud cover and a thick, cold haze all around.  I've never experienced anything like it.

At one point it got cold enough that the fog froze overnight:

At first glance you might think that it snowed, but the ground is clear and the layer of frost gets thicker as you go higher.

It created quite a photo opportunity at one of the train stations south of Munich:

Here's a close crop:  nothing on the ground, but everything the fog had condensed onto became frozen white:

Finally, at the end of November, the weather cleared up a bit, enough to see the mountains again from my office:

Of course, now the sun is setting around 4:20pm, so even during afternoon meetings it starts to feel late:

Still no snow, so it doesn't feel like Winter has really arrived, but you can see some on the peaks (two photos up).
Hopefully we get some nice storms and then the sun comes out for some good skiing.  Until then, it's still umbrella weather.