Beers I've Tried: Battin Gambrinus

I was introduced to Battin Gambrinus on our trip to Luxembourg. Battin is a Luxembourg brewery since 1937. The Gambrinus is a pale lager with a rich gold color and a thick fluffy white head that has good staying power and that leaves laces on the glass as the beer is drunk. The taste begins with creamy maltiness that gives way to a finish that is hoppy (prehaps saaz hops) but not overly so. Over all a full flavored, balanced larger that is a pleasure to drink.

However, it is not cheap. 4 euros for 6 .25 liter bottles, or about 1.67 per half liter.

Gegorian Chant at Kastorkirche

Spent a most pleasant evening last week at a concert in the Basilika St. Kastor.

St. Kastor is the oldest of the Romanesque churches for which Coblenz is known. There has been a church on this site, near Deutsche Eck, since the middle of the 9th century. The present from the the church dates from the mid-12th century although a careful restoration was done after WWII as the church was hit by British bombers.

Combining this small gem of a church with a program of Gregorian Chant made the even special. The group, Schola Gregoriana Pragensis, is a group of professional singers from Prague who specialize in this form of music.

Listening to the Latin text of these chants sung in melodic vocals that resonated from the thick wall of this 1200 year old Romanesque church -- a church that was in place during the period in which this music originated -- made for a fitting and delightful evening.

Luxembourg - Nov 2009

We visited a friend of Magda's who lives in Luxembourg and whose husband works for the EU. It was a most "unfriendly" day. Most of the day was spent in conversation. But we decided to take a quick tour of the EU area.

When I worked at FIZ-Karlsuhe in 1991, one of my first trips was to Luxembourg. I remember the fortifications of the city above the deep valleys. I also remember a single building devoted to European government (of course this was pre-EU).

So I was more that surprised to see the city that has been built, all since 1995. Buildings were there for parliament, courts, the symphony, offices, banks and everything required to support the people working there.

The bottom part of one of the buildings contains a mall, that includes an amazing grocery store called Auchan. This store provides for people from all over Europe that are working at the EU, and are generally well paid and appreciate their food. Here are some of my observations:

• a tenth of the store was devoted to drinks, more than half of that was wines from all over the world. A large part of this was French. There was also a large selections of wines from Luxembourg (the Moselle extends into Luxembourg). The USA was represented by two levels of wines from Gallo.
• Beers from all over Europe were there, Germany, Belgium, France, and Luxembourg. The USA was represented by Samuel Adams Boston Lager and Miller.
• 30-40 meter long and 1 meter deep showcase of cheeses
• 30-40 meter long and 1 meter deep showcase for salamis, wursts and pâtés
• Huge counter of fresh fish, plus a counter of salted cod (which, I'm told is popular with the Portugese contingent to the EU).
• Frozen foods to satisfy any special needs of representatives from any European country.
• Sometime, watching the people shopping was as interesting as the selection offered by the store. I mean there are people from all over the world shopping there.
  

Beers I've Tried: Bitbuger Premium Pils

Bitburger is a classic German pilsner that is brewed int he town of Bitburg, within an hour's drive from Coblenz. Bitburger traces it's history back to 1817. While originally brewing ales, Bitburger brewed its first pilsner in 1883. Today, no ales are brewed, only pilsners. The Bitburger Premium Pils is the foundation of Bitburger's current reputation.

It is one of Germany's national brands. It is the official beer of the German national soccer team. There is probably no bigger sponsorship deal that that in German. It is also one of the German beers that can be found in the USA. It is Germany's no. 1 beer sold in draft.

This is one of the good one. Nice hoppy finish, light yet full-bodied, great foamy head. If you want to understand German pilsners, this would be a good starting place.

Of course, Bitbuger is brewed according to the deutschem Reinheitsgebot, the German beer purity law from 1516 that states that only water, barley and hops can be used in the production of beer.

Cost about .55 to .64 euros per .5 liter bottle.