VICTORY BREWING FOUNDERS TO HOST EUROPEAN PILS TOUR IN 2007
BILL COVALESKI AND RON BARCHET TO VISIT THE VENUES THAT INSPIRED THEM TO BEGIN BREWING PROFESSIONALLY
(Downingtown, PA) — Victory Brewing Company founders Bill Covaleski and Ron Barchet have personally designed a pilsner tasting tour through Germany and the Czech Republic. Attendees joining Covaleski and Barchet on the ten-day trek will experience many of the same stops that inspired them to begin their craft professionally twenty years ago.
“Ron and I are very excited to take our most fervent Victory patrons to places that we have such strong positive memories of. These great German and Czech breweries gave us the yearning to begin our craft here in the U.S. We hope that through this tour attendees will not only learn about many of the finest European pilsner breweries, but that they’ll also realize how far American breweries have come in interpreting this historic beer style,” said Bill Covaleski, founder and brewmaster of Victory Brewing Company.
Travelers can expect a myriad of activities included in this one of a kind tour. Arrival in Frankfurt, Germany will be on April 13, 2007, where at once attendees will be shuttled off to their first brewery experience in the Black Forest town of Karlsruhe (Full itinerary below). Throughout the ten days travelers will experience everything from lively, local brewpubs to large brewery tours. Points of interest will include the hop fields in the Tettnang region to the only Pilsen pub serving unfiltered Pilsner Urquell. Three group meals where beer is paired with local cuisine will also be included in the cost of this once in a lifetime experience.
Single occupancy room cost is priced at $2,800 USD while double room occupancy cost is priced at $2,600 USD per person. Ticket purchases can be made on the Victory website, http://www.victorybeer.com.
European Pils Tour 2007 - General Itinerary
April 12 (Thursday) Depart Philadelphia in evening for overnight flight to Frankfurt.
April 13 (Friday) Arrive in Frankfurt approximately 9AM. Picked up by there by our Tour Bus.
Roughly 2.5 hr. drive to Hoepfner Brauerei in the Black Forest town of Karlsruhe for afternoon brewery tour and beer appreciation meal pairing (inc. in trip price) their signature beers with their house Chef’s signature Black Forest dishes. Hoepfner produces Pils, Goldkopfle, Export, Weiss and… we may find their Maibock available! From there we head a short 20 min. to the town of Ettlingen, home to Rudy Vogel’s stellar Vogelbrau brewpub. We’ll look to have dinner at this lively brewpub that has invigorated an old movie theater building for over 20 yrs. now with outstanding unfiltered lagers.
April 14 (Saturday) After hotel breakfast, the bus will depart at 9:30 am for a 2 hr. drive to Brauerei Adler Gasthon , wjere we can enjoy great regional fare, along with an assortment of good beers. The bus will then depart for a short ride to the Tettnang region. There we will meet a real hop farmer and enjoy ourselves at his on-site restaurant, called the Gasthof zur Schöre. Schöre serves house brewed Shörbrau Lager Hell and Dunkles among other specialties. We’ll stay that night in the Tettnang region, maybe with a souvenir bottle or two of the 4 schnapps distilled at Gasthof Zur Schöre.
April 15 (Sunday) After hotel breakfast, the bus will depart towards a true temple of German beer, the Kloster Andechs monastery brewery. Now in the heart of Bavaria, we’ll hoist masses of Hell, Dunkles or maybe even Bergbock Hell atop the “Holy Mount” where Benedictine monks have brewed since the Middle Ages. Andechs also serves up some great Bavarian food, most notably the large, perfectly seasoned and cooked Schweinehaxen. After a roll down the Holy Mount, we’ll head to the south of Munich for overnight rest.
April 16 (Monday) After hotel breakfast, the bus will depart at 9 am for a 2.5 hr. drive to Tegernsee Brauhaus. There on the lake we’ll enjoy Dunkel Export, 1806 Max I Josef or even maybe Heller Bock as we feast on local specialties that include the best gulaschsuppe we have ever had, all in the cozy confines of an 820 seat bier hall. It is very likely that brewery tour will be available as our friend Karl Lechner was Brewer here at one point. One and a half hour later by bus puts us in the adventurous, family-run brewery of “The Bavarian Cowboy,” Wyoming native, Eric Toft. There at his Landbrauerei Schönram we’ll talk and tour, all within hands reach of Schonramer Pils, Gold, Hell and Original Altbayrisch Dunkel. These beers and more will be part of our Oberbayern Dinner (inc. in trip cost) presented at Landbrauerei Schönram. A sleepy three hours on the bus and we are in Austria to overnight in the town of Linz, poised for our assault the next day on the legendary pilsners of the Czech Republic.
April 17 (Tuesday) With a 9 am bus departure we will arrive at noon in Ceske Budejovice for a lunch, tour and sampling of the renown Budweis brewery. The obligatory pilgrimage through Bohemia to Pilsen, home of the Pilsner Urquell brewery, will take us 4.5 hrs. Though we cannot promise a brewery tour due to evening arrival, we will no doubt enjoy the best pilsner taverns, like Na Parkanu where you can enjoy pig’s knee to go with your rare, unfiltered Pilsner Urquell. This unfiltered of the “pilsner original” is offered only at this establishment and on the brewery tour. “Good” King Wenceslaus II established the town in 1295 and will watch over your restful sleep just as he protected the precious hops of Bohemia there.
April 18 (Wednesday) A 9 am departure will haul us to Bamberg, Germany, perhaps THE most breweried town in the world. Here we get to relax, but the poor liver, with two nights in one, ancient and romantic place. With the painted town hall situated on a bridge over the Danube and an impressive cathedral with noted works of art, you may be tempted to put down the beer glass for a moment. That may be a mistake as within walking distance from one another we’ll have the fascinating breweries of Schlenkerla (Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier, the original smoked beer), Keesman (Herren-Pils), Mahrs (whose Ungespundete Lagerbier was awarded silver medal honors by Men’s Journal and whose place was named “Best Brewery In The World” by them in 2005 ), Spezial (Rauchbier) and Fassla (Gold-Pils). Accommodations will be in town for that night.
April 19 (Thursday) Don’t linger in a Bamberg bed this morning because there are 5 more breweries in town and countless others in the lovely region to see! For those who want to see the surrounding breweries of the area we will offer bus trip around Franken to several breweries of note guided by our local friend Peter Moroskow. We expect an 11 am departure for that trip. Option # 2 will permit you the freedom to do self-guided sightseeing, shopping, drinking in Bamberg with a tour of the historic Weyermann Maltings as an option. In the evening we’ll gather for a group dinner (included in price) at a landmark Bamberg restaurant like Klosterbrau (established 1533) to enjoy beers like their Bamberger Gold-Pils and Braunbier paired with the Chef’s regional specialties.
April 20 (Friday) A 9AM bus departure has us on our way to the home of the Hofbrauhaus, Munich. But before we go to the heart of Munich we take in lunch at the Forschungsbrauerei in Unterhaching. This family run brewery is Munich’s little secret. They pour, by the liter, Pilsismis and St. Jakobus Heller Bock. From there, we are headed to downtown Munich where we can check in to our hotel and prepare ourselves for the next onslaught of great beers. We are booked at one of the best Augustiner outlets, called the Augustiner Braustube. Attached to the brewery and housed in the former malt house, they serve fantastic fare along with all of the beers of Augustiner, some dispensed from wood kegs.
April 21 (Saturday) Our one and only obligation on Saturday is a visit to the Frühlingsfest auf der Wiesen. This is a mostly local affair and takes place on the same meadows as the Oktoberfest. There we can try the great helles and weissbiers of Munich, along with a chance to taste some Maibock. As for the grand finale to Munich and the great Euro Pils tour, there are a lot of options.
April 22 (Sunday) Transport to Munich Airport. Auf weidersehen, Deutschland! Arrive in Philadelphia and get shuttle back to Victory, where we will be ready for some Ale!
Two meals are included in this price - all other beer and food purchases are not included. |
