This easy Pineapple Punch recipe comes together with minimal effort, but tastes like you went through a lot of trouble. Canned (or fresh) pineapple, wine, champagne and some juice come together to create a tasty mix… with a little bit of a punch. (And it’s a nice way to stretch out the wine budget a bit since generally, you use…
Category: German Beer and Wine
German Beer Day- Celebrating the Reinheitsgebot of 1516
April 23 is German Beer Day! (Isn’t every day German Beer Day?) This auspicious date celebrates the signing of the Bavarian Reinheitsgebot (Beer Purity Law) of 1516. Bavarian Duke William IV decreed that beer could only contain Barley, Hops, and Water (the importance of yeast still hadn’t been worked out). Now over 500 years old, it’s one of the oldest…
What is Bock Beer? And Do Germans Really Call it Liquid Bread?
I regularly see memes and articles about how German beer is considered “flüssiges Brot,” or liquid bread. But where does this idea come from? Most likely, this started with a group of monks and Bock Bier. During Lent, members of the Paulaner order abstained from eating solid food. Bock beer, with its extra load of carbohydrates and nutrients, satisfied some…
What is a Radler? – The History of a Drink Named for a Cyclist
I realize that this might be considered blasphemy, but I’m not much of a beer drinker. I just never developed a taste for it (apparently, I make an “eeewww” face from the bitter flavor when I drink it). And soda is just too sweet to be refreshing. Fortunately, an innkeeper in Deisenhofen, Germany, came up with a solution when he…
How to make Eierlikör at Home
My Oma always had a bottle of Eierlikör and a bottle of Schnapps in the door of her refrigerator. The Schnapps was there for when my Onkel stopped in on his way home to Mittagessen for a ‘Kurzen’ with her… and the Eierlikör was for us. We would get our warm meal mid-day, and there would always be a Nachtisch…
White Glühwein Recipe – Citrus and Spice and everything nice!
While on a Christmas Market Tour, I tried all sorts of warm drinks… there was Red Glühwein, Feuerzangenbowle, Punsch, Eierpunsch, and WHITE Glühwein. White Glühwein? I’d never seen that before! This mulled white wine is warm and flavorful with the addition of Cinnamon, Anise, and Allspice. And that citrus kick appeals to my Southern California upbringing. I experimented with…
Recipe for Aperol Spritz- Refreshing Drink on a Hot Day
This summer, I’ve spent far too much time reminiscing about “This time last year I was…”. You know the game. Here we are at home, the sun is shining, and I keep imagining that little restaurant in Bamberg where we spent an evening relaxing over drinks while people watching. And, of course, to help cool down (there was a…
What is Smoked Beer? A Visit to Schlenkerla in Bamberg!
I admit, I had never heard about smoked beer until a few years ago when I was out to dinner with my parents. My father was so excited to find Schlenkerla Rauchbier on the menu! He had enjoyed it years before when stationed in Bamberg, but had never seen it in the US before. This summer I took a beer…
Rüdesheim Coffee Recipe – Make Rüdesheimer Kaffee at HOME
One of my favorite souvenirs this summer was a Rüdesheim Coffee Recipe. Rüdesheim on the Rhine is best known for the many Wein Stuben that line the Drosselgasse. But wine isn’t the only popular Beverage in town. Since 1957, Rüdesheimer Kaffee, generously flavored with Asbach Uralt, has been lifting the spirits of tourists and locals alike. So, naturally, when my…
German Beer Brewing Witches? The Dark History of Women Brewers
Did our current image of witches (pointy hat, broom, cat, cauldron) come from Medieval female Beer Brewers? Did German Witches Brew Beer?? Were female brewers WITCHES? Or were they victims of worldwide hysteria? There has been some interesting speculation lately, so I wanted to share the bits and pieces I found. After all, Germany does have plenty of witch stories……