Beer School Session 9: Bonner Bierborse

If there beer school had a mid-term, yesterday's Bierborse in Bonn would have been it. The festival, which translates to Beer Exchange, takes place in 15 German cities throughout the summer. Bonn’s was held in the Rhineland Park.

In true German fashion, umbrellas and tables surrounded beer trucks and stands so most festival goers were able to sit down while enjoying their brew. Also typical for Germany, each beer was served in the appropriate glass, banded to match the brewery and the correct shape for the style of beer. (You pay a 2 Euro deposit for the glass, which is returned when you bring back the glass.)

With over 500 different beers from 75 countries, Kevin and I were able to review a bunch of the beers we've sampled so far. Many of our new favorites were represented, including Leffe, Franziskaners Hefe-Weissbier, and the Czech Bubweiser, Weihenstephan, Rathause Pils, and Peter's Kolsch. A few old standbys, namely Guinness, also joined the mix. Though I didn’t notice a single American beer, we did have a conversation about the Brooklyn Brewery.

With so many beers to choose from, this was also a good opportunity to sample something new. Kevin tried a Cuban beer called Cubano that he thought was not that good. The best beer sampled was Forst, a dark beer from Northern Italy.

Beer was the main attraction, but food and entertainment held a supporting role. There were plenty of treats, children's games, and a concert stage.

We were amazed to find a vendor selling tacos — a first for our Germany travels. Now we know why. The tacos were terrible. They made Taco Bell seem delicious and authentic. I ordered a fish taco. It was a scoop of warm canned tuna spiced with straight sodium. Kevin had the veggie taco. It was a serving a beans and topped with overcooked spinach, replete with the green water that it had been stewing in for the last two days. The strangest part was the shell. More like a taco boat, the taco could only be eaten with a fork like a taco salad, but served on a napkin.

Fortunately, we then found a very nice guy selling Alsatian tarts cooked in a wood-burning stove. We ordered one with bacon and one with potatoes. Both were delicious and helped us to forget the tacos.