This post is a part of the 2015 New Beer Every Day Beer Diary Challenge, #ottbeerdiary. Over the course of 2015, I will be trying a new beer every day. Please read the background in the link above, and enjoy reading about the most recently tasted beers below. If you’d like to join the challenge as well, let me know in the comments below, and be sure to check out Grown-up Travel Guide and his #grownupbeerdiary, where Andy Higgs came up with the diary format in use below. You can catch up on all of our posts as part of the challenge under the tag ottbeerdiary.
Day 207: July 26, 2015
Diary entry:
Yesterday’s adventure on the Rhine was followed-up today with a mini-adventure on the Mosel.
For years I’ve been hearing stories from coworkers about their adventures in Cochem, Germany, yet I have never managed to visit the town before. With this weekend excursion, I had the perfect opportunity to finally correct that.
Cochem was a short, thirty-minute drive West from Koblenz along the Mosel valley, with beautiful views of the steep, wine growing valley walls on either side of the river. Arriving in Cochem, you can’t help but marvel at the castle rising up over the beautiful old town alongside the Mosel River. We park across the river from the main town in order to ensure we have the best views of the town before crossing over.
Wandering the old town is a treat in itself, however, it is quite full of tourist-focused shops. However, the souvenir shops seem equally matched with wine shops and wine bars, so that’s a pleasant mix, for sure.
I will definitely return at some point to spend a night in this town and get to try more of the wines.
The Beer:
Name: Kirner Weizen
Style: Hefeweizen
Producer: Kirner Privatbrauerei Ph. und C. Andres
Alcohol content: 5.5%
Bottle size: 0.50l Draft
Purchased from: Zum Kellerchen in Cochem, Germany
Visiting Cochem today, one of the prime ambitions was to pick up some regional Mosel wines for home, but that didn’t stop us from popping into a local pub for a beer. Zum Kellerchen is in the center of Cochem’s shopping district, and is a quaint, local pub located, naturally, in a wine cellar.
The Kirner Weizen is a decent hefeweizen. Nothing earthshatteringly different from a normal hefeweizen, but then, nothing wrong with a normal hefeweizen on a fine, summer’s day.
Kirner Brewery is from the town of Kirn, Germany, in the Rhineland-Pfalz region of Germany. Kirn straddles the Nahe River, southwest of Mainz. The Kirner Brewery has been brewing since the 17th Century under the Andres family. Originally for their own restaurant, and later for other local restaurants. They use local regional ingredients, such as barley from the region around Kirn, and hops from Lorraine.
