Established in 2002, this brewery is right on the main street in Grand Lake and offers a verity of microbrews to sample. We could not decide on which one to taste first so they offer a tasting for $10 whivh gives you 10 4 oz. glasses of each of their beers. The beer was both unique in flavor as well as name. Some of the names reflect the area the that beer is brewed in including; Grand Lager, White Cap Wheat, Stump Jumper, Plaid Bastard, and Trail Ridge Red. All the brewering is down onsite with windows from the main street and showing off all their equipment. The Tasting area/ bar is cozy, so get there early, but it is definately worth the wait.

This weeks brewery tour is our famous hometown Brewing Company called Lion Brewing Co. of Wilkes-Barre, PA, recently Tour Guide (Jeremy) and I got to experience the cozy little brewery and had a grrrreat time!

Every October the brewery has Oktoberfest (held this year on Friday, October 3^rd 2008 and Saturday, October 4^th2008 ) on the grounds of the Brewery. This is not your average “drunk fest” but also a place to be able to take the family. The Brewery really has a family atmosphere event. They had games and rides for the kids and were really strict on public drunkenness you never seen one person throwing up, staggering around or speaking in “beer terms” at all. The Lion Brewery even offers Root Beer that is always on tap for visitors under 21.

We arrived mid morning with stomachs and taste buds ready for the taste of sweet sin and for Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton, Lion Brewery Union President Clarence Gallagher and the Brew Masters to tap the first keg of the fun filled weekend, then the fun began and we didn’t leave til well after the sun went down on both days

The Brewery really puts on a “fest” we saw everything from Weiner dog races, big expensive fireworks, Polka favorites by NEPA’s favorite Polka Band Joe Stanky, a strolling accordion player who had everyone singing “in heaven there is no beer , that’s why we drink it here…” but the best was not just that, it was what really surprised us…. the entrance fee being only $3.00and that price included a 16 oz commemorative Oktoberfest mug for the adults or a 12 oz Lion Brewery root beer mug for the kids.

On a Brewery note the Tours and Beer Tasting, was unbelievable! The volunteers poured a fresh, ice cold not heady beer . I preferred their famous Octoberfest beer which has a Smell of floral hops and very light sweet malts. I absolutely loved it! The tours were small in numbers, which were great you actually got to hear the tour guide and not have to worry if you were in someone else’s view. We can’t wait til next year!

* Tours when not celebrating their Annual Oktoberfest offered select Saturdays at 1pm. Reservations are needed to tour The Lion and are accepted via email (info@lionbrewery.com)

* All pictures used in this blog are courtesy of Lion Brewery Inc. website

On my many recent winery tours, I Christy ( the infamous wife) learned many different terms that helped me really appreciate Wine even more than I do now. The following is just a few tid- bits that I feel can help you on your next winery tour experience. Enjoy!

ACIDITY Vital component in wine that gives “bite” and life.

AFTERTASTE Strictly the flavor(s) left after the wine is swallowed. 

BALANCE Vital relative measuring of different elements in a wine, especially sweetness, acidity, fruit, tannin, and alcohol.

BODY Important measures of a wine’s weight that is determined chiefly by its alcoholic strength, but also by its extract. The more body a wine has, the less like water it tastes.

BOTRYTIS Also called “noble rot,” Botrytis cinerea is a beneficial mold that, in just the right warm, humid circumstances, will begin to grow on the outside of grapes. As the mold sucks water from the grapes, they shrivel. This, in turn, concentrates the grapes’ sweet juice, allowing a very sweet wine to be made.

BREATHE What a wine is supposed to do if you leave the bottle open for a bit before serving. This

BUTTERY The sort of richness (and color) acquired by maturity

CRISP A complimentary term for a white wine with refreshing acidity.

LEGS The colorless streams left on the inside of a wine glass after a relatively alcoholic wine, more than 12 percent, has been swirled.

LIGHT The opposite of full bodied and not a pejorative term for wines that are meant to be delicate, such as many dry whites and some reds destined for youthful consumption.

MATURITY That period is a wines development after its youth and before its starts to decline. It can be after three years or after three decades, depending on the wind .

NOSE The nose of wine is its bouquet or aroma, depending on its state of maturity. It is the flavor you can smell. You nose a wine when you consciously smell it.

TANNIN Tannin is a group of beneficial compounds in wine that come mainly from the grape’s skins and seeds. Tannin gives wine structure and because it acts as a natural preservative, allows wine to age.

VARIETAL A type of grape variety.   A varietal wine is an American term is named after the predominant grape variety from which it was made. 

VINTAGE Either the harvest, or the year of the harvest.

Hello fellow beer and brewery lovers. Today I wanted to write about a great new way to see both the cultures of the regions the beer is made and the actual breweries themselves. I have often wondered if it was all possible to learn about the town or city that the brewery is in rather then just the history of the brewery itself. Well if you have the same feeling then Bier-Mania Beer Tours is for you.

The owner of Bier Mania Beer Tours, Andy Neil, has come up with a great idea to combine the traveling to the breweries and the actual brewery experience all in one. Here is a description of the services that his tours provide:

“In 2006, British born entrepreneur Andy Neil established Bier-Mania! ^TM Cultural Beer Tours, and began a personal research tour throughout Europe and the United States. He designed a series of beer tour experiences, rich in history and culture, that would expose his tour guests to a broad range of traditional beer styles. He selected comfortable hotels and cozy Mom-and-Pop motels in historically rich regions, explored the most diverse estaminets, museums, beer gardens, and breweries, and structured a menu of tours to delight the most discriminating beer geek. His German wife Evi monitors the details, adding her linguistic expertise to sculpt desirable reservations.

Andy Neil takes his role as a tour authority seriously. In order to provide the maximum pleasure for his guests, he limits the number of touring clients to groups of 4 to 6 travelers, but sets his maximum limit at eight people. His tours are engineered in nomadic style, making the most of each stop along the way, while providing a bit of personal time for individual freedom at select destinations.”

They have a pretty cool looking website with a great interactive map to see where you will be traveling, So next time you are looking for a unique way to discover the breweries of the world stop by Bier-Mania. I know the next time the little misses and I are looking travel we will try them out.

Here is his review:

“Great beer and fantastic pizza. It’s very thin crust unlike Chicago’s deep dish style. The beer has won some awards. The co owner is the guitar player from Cheap Trick. Check out the pics on the website - Rachel Ray was there for a show.”

The site looks great. The tour looks like a great time and full of music and good times. I will have to check it out next time the wife and I are in the Chicago area.

Thanks for the suggestion Michael. If you have a favorite brewery/ winery tour, please drop me a line using my suggestion form and I will get it up as soon as I can.

“Hands on Harvest offers wine aficionados and budding vintners a chance to experience the magic of harvest for a day – without having to quit their day jobs!”

It looks like a great time to try my hand a being a vintner for a day. If you have the chance I would make plans to head on out to Cali for this cool event in October.

If you did not know the patron saint of beer is Saint Arnold. I personally did not know this but this brewery certainly does live up to it religious heritage. The brewery was a very fun time. They make a great variety of brews to fit any pallet. They have a great tasting room at the end of the tour and you even get to keep a souvenir glass for the memories. So if you are ever in the Houston area make sure you stop by the Saint Arnold. Here is the tour webpage.

And this year they actually have the cave area open which is great time. They have a very nice gift shop and the tour guide was very knowledgeable. So if you are a fan of beer, then this tour is must before the big man upstairs says last call.

A video of the Yuengling brewery tour:

Below is a nice video about the tour and there is even a website.

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