Black Madonnas and Brewtels

Black Madonnas and Brewtels

First thing in the morning – train to Częstochowa from Warsaw. It was a comfortable ride, certainly no Shinkansen, not Amtrak speed either.

Arrived at the Browar CzenstochoviA Hotel, a brewery/hotel/spa/restaurant. The room was amazing, sort of a neo-steampunk décor with a hint of H.R. Geiger. After settling in it was a short walk towards the city center and the Jasna Góra Monastery.

Stopped art Cleopatra restaurant, which was sort of a fusion of all Mediterranean styles. 

The herring was delicious. Also had the

Okocim   |   Mistrzowski Porter   |   Ale, Porter, Baltic   |   8.9   |   7.8

Sezonowe   |   Miody Ałtaju   |   Ale, Honey   |   4.7   |   8.0

From here it was a short walk to the aforementioned Jasna Góra Monastery, home of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa. You can read about it on Wikipedia, but the painting is a relic that saved the area from Swedish marauders. 

We did not get to see the painting directly (the image above is a mural), as there are set unveiling hours. The area is an amazing mix of different architectural styles, as the area was built up over the centuries.

Later that evening, it was time for dinner at the Browar CzenstochoviA; food was good, beer was even better.

CzenstochoviA   |   CzenstochoviA Jasne   |   Lager, Pilsner   |   5.1   |   8.5

CzenstochoviA   |   CzenstochoviA Miodowe   |   Lager, Honey   |   5.1   |   7.6

CzenstochoviA   |   CzenstochoviA Specjalne   |   Lager, Pale, Fruit   |   5   |   7.5

Was also joined by a relative who has a flight from Munich delayed due to a power outage(!), but was able make it here from Krakow via taxi in record time!

After dinner it was an another short walk to the Ministerstwo Śledź I Wodki (Ministry of Herring and Vodka), to have – oddly enough a beer or two.

Zamkowy Cieszin   |   Ciemna Strona Cieszyn   |   Lager, German Dark, Munchen   |   5.5   |   5.5

Fuhrmann Połczyn-Zdrój Browar   |   Polczyńskie Zdrojowe   |   Lager, Strong (Euro)   |   6   |   6.0

What was slightly disappointing is that – once Google Translate helped us – the bar did not sell any merchandise!

 

Złoty and Forint and Koruna, Oh My

We had planned a vacation this summer for Poland and Slovakia originally, to see the countries our ancestors came from. This morphed to Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia. Then Hungary was added as my wife works with someone from there; then added Wein (Vienna) as a day trip.

Surprisingly not that expensive, if you buy the airplane tickets in advance, and find hotels that include breakfast (thank you Priceline and Booking.com).

I wanted new lens Sony had out, which is a fast wide angle / zoom, but could not justify the cost VS amount I’d use it. One thing I never tried was LensRentals. Cheap cost, including insurance, shipped it to me two days before leaving.

We left the house June 28, knowing we’d actually “arrive” on 6/29, had packed properly. This means no Lithium batteries in checked luggage, any defensive items there also. Fortunately any medication was with hand-carried bags, in case the bags were lost delayed (not a big deal, as it’s happened before). The bags were in fact delayed, and  didn’t arrive at 11:00 AMN in Warsaw, the arrived 1:30 AM the next day! 

Arriving at the Holiday Inn city center was quite a relief. This is a nice new hotel with multi-lingual hosts right in downtown.

Had a wonderful beer part of complementary mini bar - tasted so good after the long trip and the bag delay.

Ksiaźęcych  |  Tyskie Gronie  |  Lager, Pale  |  5.2  |  7.0

Napped for a bit, so no time for breweries or brewpubs.

We did go to see the Chopin museum.

Never realized he quite celebrated, sort of the Michael Jackson in his time (although no kids or Fentanyl involved). Found out Uber is in Warsaw, and had a quick ride back to hotel, to decide where to eat.

As luck would have it, the Holiday Inn City Center has a great restaurant with gourmet quality food.

Beer selection was not too bad either.

Ksiażęce   |  Ksiażęce Golden Ale  |  Ale, Golden, British   |  5.2  |  7.0

Amber  |  Grand Imperial Porter  |  Ale, Porter, Imperial   |  7.8  |  7.5 

After dinner went to Chmielarnia Bar  - amazing selection

Rockmill  |  Russian Imperial Stout bourbon barrel aged   |  Ale, Stout, Russian Imperial  |  10  |  8.5

Deer Bear & Rockmill  |  Hazy Dreamer  |  Ale, IPA, New England, Sour  |  6.2  |  9.0

Rockmill  |  Session Rye IPA  |  Ale, IPA, Rye, Seasion  |  4.5  |  8.0

Next morning (after he bags arrived at 1:30 AM!) it was the train to Częstochowa, home of the “Black Madonna”

Really Good Beer Fest

It’s always hard to say what makes a good beer fest. Well, beer for one; we can certainly start there. After that there’s a whole host of intangibles, so let’s look at why I liked the latest Beer Advocate Belgian Beer Fest - Night of the Funk - in Boston this June.

Now truth be told it was not all Belgian brewers - like say the Modeste Beer fest in Antwerp; or even all “Belgian styles.” There were some Belgian styles such as Saison and Lambic represented, as well as several others. There were mostly American breweries, a smattering g of Belgian, and a few others from Canada and elsewhere.

What struck me was the Zen of the festival. All signs were the same, in black ink on tabloid size paper. Sure you could have signs in front of your table, or crazy ways to rinse a glass, but there was a sense of “we are all even”; at least how the festival is concerned.

The room was also a circular rotunda, with a nice open airy feel to it. The Cyclorama was the IMAX of the 1800s, was where you went to look at large panoramic paintings. And there’s a few more things that make for a good beer event. The food was located inside, was quite good and a fair price. Nothing frosts me more than an event where you are effectively trapped, and someone is going to exploit that be selling you a sammich for $12. The exquisite grilled cheese from Roxy's Grilled Cheese was amazing.

And bathrooms; let us not ever forget bathrooms. Carroll O’Conner as Archie Bunker made famous the phrase “you can’t buy beer Meathead, you can only rent it!” I’ve been to shows where the bathroom count is criminally low; this was not the case. Nice clean bathrooms with essentially no waiting.

All the folks pouring suds deserve kudos. Most beer fans were there for exactly what they wanted, I actually heard a few say “eww this is sour” (Hello McFly, a SOUR ALE?) Spoke with a lot of folks and had a really, really great time.

So all in all, by any standard a great event with a certain “je ne sais quois” - which means it was even better than expected.

And oh by the way the beers were pretty good!

New England Brewing   |   SpinCycle   |   Ale, IPA, Imperial   |   8.2%   |   7.5
Counterweight    |   Double Inundation   |   Ale, IPA, Imperial   |   8.2%   |   7
Collective    |   Stone tea   |   Ale, Sour / Wild   |   5.3%   |   8
Engine House no. 9   |   Amour Aux Myrtilles   |   Ale, Sour   |   6.3 %  |   7.5
Engine House no. 9   |   Wild Tacoma cherry table sour Batch 1   |   Ale, Wild, American, fruit   |   4.2%   |   9.5
Overshores   |   Good people bad habits    |   Ale, Wheat, Berliner Weisse   |   4% |   7.5
Overshores   |   Brett Qwad   |   Ale, Belgian Quadrupel Style   |   9.2%   |   8
Brewery Vivant   |   Tower of Sour   |   Ale, Sour   |   7.3%   |   8.5
Brewery Vivant   |   Angelina 2017   |   Ale, Sour   |   9.2%   |   9
Common Roots   |   Puncheon aged in Bloom with Peaches   |   Ale, Wild, American   |      |   9.5
Common Roots   |   Rooted   |   Ale, Belgian Lambic Style   |   6%   |   7.5
Funkwerks    |   Oud Bruin   |   Ale, Belgian Flanders Old Brown style   |      |   7.8
Funkwerks    |   Luminoso    |   Ale, Sour   |      |   9.5
OEC   |   Tempus blend 10   |   Ale, Sour   |   5%   |   10
OEC   |   Oudilis Cerasus blend 2   |   Ale, Sour   |   6.2%   |   9
Lost Abbey   |   Mr Todd’s Wild Ride    |   Ale, Wild, American   |      |   9.8
Lost Abbey   |   Cuvée de Tomme    |   Ale, Wild, American   |   11%   |   9.5
Upland    |   Raspberry    |   Ale, Sour, Fruit   |   5.7%   |   10
Upland    |   Pearpawsterous   |   Ale, Sour, Fruit   |   6.5 %  |   8.5
Strange Roots   |   Grand Blu   |   Ale, Wild, American   |   8.1%   |   8.5
Strange Roots   |   Prismatic Omen   |   Ale, Farmhouse, American   |   8.9%  |   7.8
Nod Hill    |   Monty gets funky   |   Ale, Sour   |   5%   |   8.5
Silly   |   Stupid Silly Sour   |   Ale, Sour / Wild   |   5.5%   |   8.5
Boon   |   Oude Geuze Boon à l’Ancienne - vat 92 mono   |   Ale, Belgian Lambic   |   8%   |   9
Dunham, Brasserie   |   Funk Sibérian   |   Ale, Farmhouse   |   5.2%   |   8.5
Dunham, Brasserie   |   Jane Doe Assemblage Hors Série 8   |   Ale, Wild, American   |   5.5%   |   9
Whiner   |   Sasha Fontaine    |   Ale, Sour   |   6%   |   8.4
Whiner   |   Francis Lambicus   |   Ale, Sour, American   |   6.5%   |   7.8
Zero Gravity   |   Bearsharktopus    |   Ale, Sour / Wild   |   6%   |   9
Steenberge, Brouwerij van   |   Monk’s Café grand cru   |   Ale, Belgian Flanders Brown   |   5.5%   |   9.5
Brabandere Petrus Bavik   |   Brewmasters Wild Tripel hop    |   Ale, Belgian Tripel IPA   |   8%   |   8.2
Väsen Brewing Group   |   Fœder blend   |   Ale, Farmhouse, American   |   7.5%   |   8.2
Lost Abbey    |   Veritas Peach   |   Ale, Wild, American   |   6.5 %  |   10
Archetype    |   Devil’s nest   |   Ale, Belgian Tripel   |   10.2%   |   8.9
Archetype    |   Walk the earth   |   Ale, Saison   |   8.6   |   7.5
Brewery Vivant   |   Strawberry Rhubarb   |   Ale, Sour, Fruit   |   5%   |   8.5
Nod Hill    |   Age of Winds   |   Ale, Sour   |   5%   |   8
Sam Adams   |   Brett Pale   |   Ale, Sour   |   4.3%   |   8
Omer Vander Ghinste   |   Jacobins Prestiege   |   Ale, Belgian Flanders Red blend   |   7.6%   |   9
Bockor, Browerij De    |   Cuvée des Jacobins Rouge   |   Ale, Belgian Flanders Red   |   5.5%   |   9.5
BlackBerry Farm   |   Pleiades   |   Ale, Saison   |   6.1%   |   7.8
OEC   |   Artista Zynergia Plumtastic blend 2   |      |      |   9

At the end, went to the Tip Tap Room to meet up with some friends, meet some new folks, and try a few more!

Molen, Brouwerij De    |   Bommen & Granaten (heaven & hell)   |   Ale, Barleywine   |   12.9%   |   9
Cascade  |  Cherry Bubonic Plague  |  Ale, Porter, Sour, Belgian  |  12.9%  |  9.0/10.0
Grimm   |  Tom Tom  |  Ale, IPA, Imperial  |  8.0%  |  9Grimm   |  1 million tomorrows with nectarines   |    |  7.7&  |  8
Toppling Goliath  |  Fire Skull & Money IPA   |  Ale, IPA, Imperial  |    |  8.5
Rhinegeist  |  Press Tart Berlinerweisse & Fruit  |  Ale, Sour, American  |  4.4%  |  8.5
Engine House 9  |  Bramble Sour  |  Ale, Sour, American  |  6.4  |  8.5