Bavaria and Beer E-Book

Paul Riedel

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 82

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

A deep historical background about Bavaria and its connection to the beer history. Some drinks recipes and suggestions for the perfect geer tasting for your next party.

Leseprobe

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Paul Riedel

It all started with a little goat

Preface

Bavaria

Beer

The wisdom of women

Possibilities of brewing

Beer tasting at home

Paul Riedel

Being an artist is not only a profession, but also a constant struggle against the currents of society. I experienced this in my early career years.

In my political views, protesting against the oppression of homosexuals was my constant companion. Equally important were animal rights and environmental protection. The more you learn from history, the more you want to correct in the one short lifetime you have. The path to fulfilling my goals led me to an awakened sense of enjoyment and a wish to liberate society from the negative marketing and overreach of the monopolists of the beer world. As a beer sommelier, I ask myself [the question], to what extent may I consume alcohol and offer it to third parties with a clear conscience? Alcoholism is a clearly defined disease according to the ICD-10, but how does one deal with social drinking?

Questions like these preoccupied me as I shaped my path of enjoyment. In my city tours, I see it as my mission to convey this to my guests.

I completed training as a sommelier to ensure a professional background on this issue. The training was more extensive than I expected and reinforced my views. I developed my concept in Brussels in 2006, recognising the bad reputation that accompanied beer. Beer drinkers were socially [seen as] of lesser standing than wine or even Scotch drinkers. Women who drink beer suffer even more than men from malicious gossip.

Beer contains less alcohol, less sugar and even has vitamins and other beneficial properties, compared to wine and Scotch. But nobody cares.

In the course of my investigation of the product I realised that beer has a long history that bears telling. In this way was born my quest, my enthusiasm for this beverage and I discovered the healthy pleasure of drinking beer.

It was not uncommon forme to have guests turn up for my city tours who were already drunk or boasting that they still had a hangover from the day before. It is precisely such people who struggle to appreciate the value of my tours. What was lacking all the more was a concept for beer presentation, which should also motivate a beer drinker to a new perspective of the experience.

However, a professional sommelier does not drink during working hours; he only tastes in small sips.

My goal is to help everyone tobe in the instant, to gain the most enjoyment, to experience unforgettable moments.

In my presentation I address all your senses, because if you are satisfied with the day, you will not forget it so quickly, will you?

Give my method a go and add more pleasure to your life.

It all started with a little goat

Mythology has always fascinated me. Even as a child, my companions were the many heroes and gods from mythology, such as Thor, whose main pastime was boozing and guzzling. In my generation, you were only considered a man if you behaved the same way. Here I held bad cards because I did not conform to the ideal.

According to the story, the god Thor had a nanny-goat named Heidrun. An infinite supply of beer and mead could be suckled from her teats. Other sources record that she also brought mead for fallen heroes, but either way, she provided fun and enjoyment.

Thor’s chariot was pulled by two goats, and dear Heidrun was always with them. She ate from the Larad tree, a relative of Yggdrasil, and from it she produced her beer and mead.

I chose Heidrun as my companion in this book because animals have something that is missing in our society: moderation. This is not a luxury, especially when it comes to beer, but something worth striving for.

Whether in eating, drinking, our obsession with obtaining the very latest in mobile telephone technology or exploiting the planet, we have lost all moderation and are struggling with the consequences.

Heidrun ensured unrestricted access to mead and beer. The two male goats were eaten by the thunder Gott for dinner every night, and then the bones were covered with their skins, and the goats were resurrected. This magical regeneration theme is repeated in many fairy tales and legends, such as the Greek legend of Jason and the Golden Fleece, the land of milk and honey or the story of the “The Self-Replenishing Food Table” that would deck itself with food on command.

In ancient times, eating and drinking well was the prerogative of the gods. They recognised their special position. Modern man wants to feel like a god, but we see from the problems of our time that over-indulgence only makes us sick. We are not gods, and our food and drink are not regenerated by miraculous pets.

You see, Heidrun fits perfectly here as my companion. She gives special hints, comments, and recipes. Therefore, my request to you, dear Reader be moderate and respect all living beings, even humans.

Preface

On my way to Canada, I stopped off in Munich for a job. Intrigued by the local history and tradition, I remained here and devoted myself to the precious Bavarian culture.

So, it was a coincidence that I came to Bavaria in 1984, but good fortune that I found my second home here.

At that time, I was dreaming of a future in Toronto and beer was far from my thoughts.

In the eighties, whisky was in vogue, and in discos it was important to have gaudy cocktails in your hand. I’ll get to those drinks with umbrellas and fuss later. At the beginning of the eighties, we were cool. It’s hard to imagine why, but that’s also why I’m writing this book, isn’t it?

In our current world of electronic media, social media, and superficial contact exchanges, people look firstly at a profile picture. They swipe quickly left or right and look for the next profile, mostly oblivious that they have swept to one side the best partner candidates in the process. Our court jester Prangl (Am Karlstor), as a love messenger, would have become horribly sad in the process.

Back then, we certainly didn’t have a profile picture. With our hairstyles and weird gear, we would have been more likely to get a spot in a freak show from our photos than an invitation on a date. But with our hairspray, we were responsible for some of the hole in the ozone layer. Scientists will calculate this for us one of these days.

We revealed ourselves through our drinks. Expensive drinks signalled, “I’m too fine and too expensive a date for you.” Colourfully decorated drinks in huge glasses belonged to wallflowers; they demonstrated either “I’m funny and nobody knows it” or “Help, I’m on my own again”. I usually gave such fellows a wide berth. Gä,1 they weren’t my thing.

The really cool guys drank Johnnie Walker Black Label. And the best thing about it was that we couldn’t get drunk on it, because it was so expensive that at the beginning of our careers, we could afford at most one drink a night. With that in hand, we would strut around for a long time and the dating worked great.

I don’t want tobe a telltale, but some of my acquaintances would pick up a glass left by a stranger and try to give suspicious waiters the slip all evening.

I don’t want to just talk about the old times. But it illustrates why I came to love this special part of Germany and its cuisine so much. I give here a collection of my language skills, local superstitions, organisation of beer parties and how to understand and love Bavaria with any cultural background, be it for private or business purposes.

1 In the Bavarian dialect this means nothing but reinforces the statement.

Bavaria

Reichsdeputationshauptschluss is the name of the biggest change on the European map, which was carried out by the Corsican Napoleon Bonaparte.

In August 1802, a commission convened to bring about the Peace of Lunéville.

Long negotiations followed, and, as always in history, after the numerous wars, men sat together to count the money. Forty-seven imperial cities were united in an instant to form Bavaria, Baden, and Württemberg.

Like the Borgs (in Star Trek), the commission assimilated them all. Languages and cultures were ignored, and so the colourful mixture of today’s Bavaria was created.

On top of that, Napoleon Bonaparte stepped on the toes of the church. With secularisation, he incorporated the high monasteries ruled by bishops. Here, cities like Regensburg and Salzburg became part of Bavaria. Later, Salzburg was given back to Austria, but that’s another chapter. Napoleon formed a confederation with the three new lands against the Habsburg family.

Emperor Franz II of Habsburg then laid down his crown in 1806; that was the end of almost nine centuries of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nations. Thus began the Bavarian Kingdom under Maximilian I.

We advertise diversity, because everywhere in Bavaria people speak differently and maintain their own folk costumes and traditions. Until 1806, Bavaria itself was far from finding a common identity, and now they are losing it yet again.