May 17, 2012 is a holiday in Germany for two reasons: It’s Christi Himmelfahrt (Ascension Day is the 40^th day following Easter. But, this is also the date recognized as Father’s Day in Germany. In the Eastern part of  Germany, it might also be called Men’s day.

Unlike the tradition in the USA, German fathers follow a slightly different path. Large groups of men gather and go for a long walk or hike together. They either wander from Beer Garden to Beer Garden or they pull a wagon filled with beer. Often the wagon is specially built for this one and only purpose and it’s often decorated with lilacs and birch branches. Sometimes a horse carriage is employed, or even a bike with a trailer or an antique tractor. Sadly, however, the drinking can get out of hand and alcohol related accidents TRIPLE on Father’s Day.

Nowadays it’s common to celebrate the day more as a family and it offers a short work week since it hits on Thursday and most people take Friday off as well.

2012 marks the 179th Oktoberfest and the official design motif was recently announced. Since 1952, the City of Munich has invited local graphic artists to submit competitive designs for Oktoberfest.

This year, the jury considered 18 entries and the winner receives a 2,750 Euro prize and well as major bragging rights. The chosen design will be printed on some 10,000 posters and 100,000 brochures in German, English and Italian. This year’s winner is Björn Maier from Munich. No second prize was awarded, but third place was split two ways between Mattea Stahl and Daniela Kohl, also both from Munich.

The wine industry has done some amazing marketing over the years. We associate wine with fine dining, special celebrations, as well as everyday enjoyment. The wine industry has cultivated the idea that wine is the beverage king, reigning over all others. Beer has risen to the challenge and the industry is now promoting the idea of a “Beer Sommelier.”

And why not? Mainly viewed as an everyday, beverage for every man, beer offers much more. With the plethora of styles that are now readily available, beers trumps wine on all fronts. From fruity Belgian to chocolate stout, and all the back to whiskey barrel aged, beer offers an amazing spectrum of color, aroma, and taste. There is literally a beer for everyone and a beer for every occasion.

Several organizations are promoting Beer Sommelier training, but the Doemens Institut near Munich, Germany is leading the charge. Now with their partnership with the Siebel Institute in Chicago, this quality education is now available to English speakers.

However, if you think the training just consuming a lot of beer, you are mistaken.  It’s not easy to become a Beer Sommelier. Domens Institut in Gräfelfing, near Munich, has created a challenging and intensive program to elevate beer industry personnel, hobby brewers, and beer aficionados to a higher, scientific, level of understanding about the beverage they love. At the end of the course, the beer sommelier possesses expert knowledge about the beer production process, beer selection and food pairing, beer quality, proper serving and hygiene and health promotion.

The man behind the effort at the Doemens Institut in Gräfelfing, Germany is Dr. Wolfgang Stempfl . He has been the Managing Director of Doemens e.V. & the Doemens Academy GmbH since 2001. Dr. Stempfl studied Food Chemistry at the University of Munich and holds a PhD from the Technical University of Munich. He developed the “Bier Sommelier ©” program in 2004, and is an internationally-recognized expert in beer judging. During the German-based course, once week takes place in Munich and the second week in  Obertrum, Austria, the hometown of the Trumer Brewery. The second half is led by Axel Kiesbye. He was trained at the Technische Universität München-Weihenstephan, and worked at Steigl in Salzburg. He now works at the Trumer brewery in addition to being the operator of the BierKulturHaus in Obertrum. Courses are also offered in Sao Paulo, Brazil and now in Chicago, thanks to the partnership with the Siebel Institute of Technology.

Bier Sommelier Program Details

It’s always good to begin at the beginning, so Dr. Christoph Pinzl, the director of the German Hops Museum in Wolnzach (in the heart of the Hallertau) presented a detailed history of beer.  After that introduction, we dove into 2 days of the course on the technical details of the brewing process. How detailed? In the first 90 minutes, we only discussed the brewing water! You can imagine then the depth we got into with hops, malt and yeast!

Our third day was dedicated to discussing the details of tapped beer: CO2, Nitrogen, mixed gas, design and installation of beer dispensing systems, safety, hygiene, and cleaning. After delving into the details, it’s astonishing what all is required of a bar/restaurant to ensure a quality product gets into the customer’s glass!

The next two days were dedicated to lectures on sensory factors of beer:  Sight, Smell and Taste. Dr. Stempfl has detailed knowledge on this subject and he tried to impart his knowledge to us. Most interesting was the chemical kit he possesses. With this kit, he is able to add specific aroma and taste to a glass of beer. This helped us to pick out Diacetyl, Dimethylsulfid, Cassis, Lightstruck, and other tastes, aromas, and off-flavors found in beer.

The most fun during the course was just before lunch each day. During this time, we were treated to detailed tastings of various beer styles and were asked to describe the color, clarity, aroma, as taste in excruciating detail. For example, you can’t just say it’s brown and tastes good. Instead, you attempt to create a picture of words to invoke an emotional response: “The rich dark copper color features red highlights and harmonizes with its fine, rich foam … “

Week one in Gräfelfing closed out with two tests on Saturday morning. In the first test, we were presented with 6 different beers:  A blond Bock, a Spezial/Export, Kristal Hefe-Weizen, an alcohol free lager, a light lager, and a pilsner. We had to taste each one and correctly identify the style.  In the second test, we were given 6 glasses of beer and had to correctly identify off-flavors in the beer – cassis, chlophenol, Lightstruck, etc.

Sunday was an off day to allow us to travel down to Obertrum, near Salzburg, in order to start the second week of our course. At the Bier Kultur Haus, we were asked to create our own beer from scratch and brew it. I was assigned to the marketing team and we had the task of setting the parameters of the beer. Since our beer will be ready in April/May, we naturally thought of Maibock, but wanted to offer something out of the ordinary. We settled on a Weizen Bock designed to invoke thoughts of spring. We used American aromatic hops and added coriander to the beer which we named “Strong Spring.” The whole brewing process took us about 7 hours and the beer should be ready for consumption in early May. We are hoping to have an open tasting at the Alchemiste Belge in Salzburg.

During the balance of the week, a variety of topics were presented:   Beer Market & Marketing,  Beer & Glass Culture, Beer Cocktails, Building Beer Menus ,  Beer, Alcohol and the Law, Psychological Factors Affecting Beer Consumption, Beer Trends & Future Prospects, Beer and Cheese, Beer and Chocolate, Cooking with Beer, highlighting Beer in Gastronomy, Tapping and Pouring Beer and Cellaring & Aging Beer. All of the topics were extremely interesting, but the ones that made the biggest impression on me were “Beer and Health,” and the cooking topics. In Beer and Health, for example, we explored how beer, even more so than wine, can improve your health. One liter of beer per day for a typical adult male has very positive effects on overall health – better than abstinence. However, increasing consumption beyond one liter per day has negative outcomes.

Cooking with beer and pairing beer with various foods was new territory for me and I thoroughly enjoyed these topics. Pairing various beers with food is largely an intuitive process: A lighter beer with lighter food and a heavier one for more weighty courses. But, it quickly gets more complicated. Interestingly, we had to try various beer styles with the following foods: Lemon slice (sour), heavily salted bread (salty), chicory (bitter), sugary cake (sweet), and bread loaded with Chili pepper flakes (spicy). For each beer style, we had to analyze the effect on the food and beer. For example, sweet and sour, and spicy and bitter are often good flavor pairings.

We also sampled several beers with various cheeses and with chocolate. Beer and cheese, for example, is an amazing combination – much better than wine and cheese. With the right beer, usually a rich Belgian sort, and a flavorful cheese, the flavors comingle for a taste explosion.  Beer and chocolate is not something I would typically go, but many of the Belgian styles of beer paired extremely well with the Swiss chocolates we tried.

Also during the second week we had two written tests and two homework assignments. The written assignments consisted of developing a detailed beer menu and the conceptualization of a beer event.  I created a “Top 10” beer list for my visitors to Bavaria as my beer menu and worked with a small group on Geo-caching beer event.  In addition to the daytime activities, we also had several field trips. We were treated to private tours at the Bier and Oktoberfest Museum in Munich, the Trumer brewery, and the Stiegl brewery.

The course was an amazing experience – rich with information and sensory training. However, the most fun was getting to know the other 18 participants which included many brewery personnel, hobby brewers and people involved in gastronomy.

If you have an interest in raising your beer knowledge to a higher level, I recommend that you participate in the program. Keep in mind that the courses in Munich are only presented in German, but are now offered in English at the Siebel Institute in Chicago. Sign up early – spaces go quickly! More information can be found at http://www.siebelinstitute.com/  

Starkbierfest. The “Fifth season,” as it’s known to insiders, coincides with Lent. The monks brewed a special, rich, calorie laden beer to help them through the fasting time. Nowadays, before the festivities begin, there is a political event at the main venue, Paulaner am Nockerherberg. The biggest politicians from Bavaria gather and are subjected to a good old fashioned roast. Lady Bavaria and Brother Barnabas lead the festivities and the roasting all takes place in good fun. Reports of this year’s were quite good. Last year, everyone was pretty well insulted. This year, they managed to walk the line between being funny and being offensive.

The BayernTrips Starkbierfest kicks off on Friday when our new guests land at Munich airport. Friday night will be pretty mild, but we kick things off in style with 30 seats front and center at Paulaner am Nockherberg. We will be meet by friends from Böbing, Landshut and Ulm (the FFF). After a traditional Weisswurst Frühstück on Sunday, we spend 2 nights in Bamberg, 1 in Nuremberg, and 1 in Regensburg, before returning to Munich to cap things off at Augustiner Keller, Ayinger, and, the coup de grace, Löwnebräukeller!

For more information about Starkbierfest, see my article here. Otherwise, plan on joining us in March 2013! In the meantime, follow our exploits on Facebook...

Munich’s House of Art, located on the edge of the famed Englischer Garten, has a checkered past. Conceived by Hitler, the “House of German Art” opened in 1937. As the Nazi’s attempted to rid Germany of “degenerate art,” they built this monolithic building to promote the party’s view of what art should look like. There’s no doubt that Adolph would be appalled by the art in his building – that’s part of the fun of going there!

Unlike most museums, Haus der Kunst doesn’t possess a collection of works. Instead, the exhibition changes frequently. This weekend, we had a look at all three collections (14 Euro per person). The three exhibitions were from Thomas Ruff, Wilhelm Sasnal, and Sammlung Goetz.  First a disclaimer: Although my mother is an artist, I am not an art critic and have absolutely no training. My opinion is offered solely as lay person who loves Munich.

Thomas Ruff Exhibition: This artist specializes in photography and presented an array of themes in various formats. He presents large format prints of the stars, of common portraits, houses, nudes, and even propaganda posters.  I really did enjoy some of his. Notably, he found some glass negatives from the 1930’s from a machine shop near Düsseldorf. He reworked this raw material into an art form which was quite interesting – perfect for my machine shop upbringing. He also presented several boring and banal buildings which he photographed in the early mornings in the later winter. These grey scenes with these nothing but functional buildings made for an interesting subject. There was even a room filled with semi-blurred pornographic scenes. I didn’t get to see much of that because my wife dragged me out of there quickly!

William Sasnal: He is a polish artist most famous to Americans for his illustrations in the Maus comic series by Art Spiegelman. Surprisingly, there were only a handful of works that were even slightly reminiscent of that work. Mainly oil paintings, his work covers a variety of themes and broad spectrum of style.

Goetz Collection: This film collection was hard to find. You actually need to exit in the rear of the building, go outside and downstairs into the cellar. This former air raid shelter now houses 14 small rooms with various films running in a constant loop. Many of the films had to do with dancing; one was about Blackpool, another about drug dealers meeting in New York. There wasn’t much in the way of dialog or plot in any of them and this truthfully wasn’t out thing. Plus, the confined nature of these rooms was creepy and we desperately wanted out as quickly as possible!

German TV

Is German television as banal as what Americans must endure? I asked my Intermediate English students at Munich’s Volkshochschule (like a Community College in the USA) for their opinion. They worked together in teams of two to write a short statement about a TV show they know. Keep in mind that they are intermediate students and they had 10 minutes to write, with no opportunity to edit. Great work, ladies! I corrected a few mitakes, but this is what they came up with:

·         7: My favorite program is the documentary called “Welt der Wunder.” It’s very interesting and educational because you learn a lot about the world’s animals, people’s lives, and nature. I like it very much because I see places I probably will never visit during my life. Human relations and health issues are also discussed.

·         6: Sendung mit der Maus. When I wake up each Sunday morning, I look forward to 11:30 AM because the Mouse and the Elephant is on ARD. It’s a very interesting mix of cartoons and documentary. I always get excited about “Shawn the Sheep,” which is the last show. Last Sunday I got upset because it started early at 8:30 and I didn’t wake up until 10 o’clock. Footnote: They always tell funny stories about a Scotsman, his dog, Bizer, and three pigs.

·         2: Every Tuesday evening after nine, there is show called “In aller Freundschaft” on channel one. It’s a series set in a hospital. Some of the doctors and nurses are friends. I’m very interested in watching the series because I can learn something about medicine. Every week I look forward to the next episode!

·         1: We are very upset about all the people and their children watching TV every day.  It’s much more interesting to spend more time with friends or just reading a book. Or, if you live in Bavaria, you could go the Deutsches Museum. All those silly soap operas, reality games, sitcoms and advertising… We think the world really doesn’t need it! Go out for an ice cream and have a nice walk with your girlfriend!

·         3: Once I watched “Big Brother” on TV. After watching it for a while, I found it very boring. Although the way people behaved made me upset, it annoyed me even more that some executive could put this on the air!

·         4: I prefer watching the crime series, “Commissario Brunetti” . This crime series is very interesting since it shows an interesting city like Venice. Many situations, however, are very confusing and the endings are often annoying!

5.     5: Soap Opera “Dahoam ist Dahoam”  I watched it for a while, but it was very difficult for me to understand. It was so confusing! I think it’s just a Bavarian fairy tale. It was very interesting for me to see the fantastic original Bavarian clothing and the wonderful landscape of beautiful mountains and lakes. But, I’ll never be able to understand that Bavarian dialect!

Just for the record… I am hooked on the soap opera Dahoam ist Dahoam. I started watching it in order to practice my Bavarian (mainly so I could understand Karl in Böbing J ). Anyway, it takes place in a small fictional town called “Lansing.” It brings to mind great times with the great folks I know in the small towns of Bavaria, so I gradually got interested in the characters. Plus, you can download the episodes daily via iTunes, so it’s really easy to follow when I’m in the States and need a “Bavaria” fix!

So, my North American friends :You can see that the TV landscape here is also a vast wasteland. Yes, there are some decent shows here and there, but I tend to agree with my two students who chastised all us TV watchers: Step away from the boob-tube and get an ice cream with your girlfriend!

Sunday’s in Munich means that all public museums offer a special € 1 Euro admission fee. After doing a little work in the morning, Vonia and I ventured to the Pinakothek der Modern near our place in Munich. Usually modern art doesn’t really ring my bell, but this museum in Munich is really top notch.

There is an ample collection of Matisse, Picasso, Salvador Dali, Klee and even Andy Warhol to start you off. Additionally, there is a great exhibition on design which includes cars, motorcycles, and Bauhaus and art deco furniture – and even computers – it was fun to see that old Commodore I started out with!

Surprisingly, a lot of the Wittelsbach collection is housed here and there was a great amount of work from the 17^th and 18^th century.

If you wanted a snapshot of Cubism, Blaue Reiter, and surrealism, this is the museum to visit – you won’t be disappointed!