Mainz Beer Bike

Mainz Beer Bike

Can’t decide if you want to spend your weekend sitting outside drinking beer or perhaps go on a nice bicycle ride through the city? Well, with the Mainz Beer Bike you can do both!

Anytime you see Beer Bikes in big cities they are always the main attraction on the street! Everyone waving and honking their horns in celebration. Most likely also wishing they were on the beer bike! Luckily we can have this biking and beer drinking experience right here in Mainz with the company BierBike Mainz.

How it works:

The beer bike sits up to 16 people plus one provided driver on the bike. 10 people pedal the bike, 5 people can sit on the bench and one person is doing the important job of serving the beer in the middle. You don’t have to worry about being a good bike rider because the trained driver will do all of the steering and choose the safe routes for the beer bike’s 2 hour journey.

The bike comes with a tap for beer, lights for night time rides and a stereo for your favorite tunes! If that isn’t a recipe for a good time all over town, I don’t know what is! Just bring Bon Jovi’s ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ and press repeat.

Even though it is a beer bike, the company wants to stress that drinking isn’t the main attraction. The real fun comes from the togetherness with your group and having a great time riding on the bike through beautiful Mainz. Not only are you having a blast with your friends while drinking great German beer, they have guided tours that take you passed all of the gorgeous landmarks and sites in Mainz. For example you will pass the Dom, the Old Market Place and the Rhine River waterfront.

Winter time on the Beer Bike:

BierBike Mainz has a great offer in the winter time where you drink German hot mulled wine (gluhwein) and eat holiday gingerbread cookies (lebkuchen). This would be so fun to do with friends while singing carols then getting dropped off at the Mainz Christmas Market!

Beer Bike Prices: Sunday to Thursday: 200 euro and Friday to Saturday: 270 euro. Beer must be ordered for the tour at 4,50 euro per liter and you also have a choice of other drinks like wine at their station.

Here is the link to book your very own Beer Bike experience: http://www.bierbike-mainz.de/english/contact.html

  

Author’s Profile: Gemma is a mom, a veteran and an Army civilian living in Wiesbaden, Germany. With New Jersey roots, she is enjoying her extended European vacation.

Trappist Westvleteren: How to score some of the ‘best beer in the world’

Trappist Westvleteren: How to score some of the ‘best beer in the world’ 
Brewed by the Belgian Trappist Monks at the Abbey of Saint Sixtus, the Westvleteren Brewery is known around the globe to produce perhaps the best beer in the world. This is could be due to the Monks esteemed reputation as brewers, the unmatchable taste and quality of their beer and the rationed/ reservation style of ordering.  


According to Ratebeer and Beeradvocate, the Trappist Westvleteren 12 has complex dark flavors of caramel malt, figs and dark fruit which makes it one of the best beers on the planet, no scratch that, the universe. This beer is not sold in stores and it is only sold in small quantities (60,000 cases per year) every week right at the gate of the monastery, from their hands to your trunk! So for any beer enthusiast, or those curious to what the best beer tastes like, living in Europe is like being so close to the Beer Mecca of the world, you just have to make the trip to try it!

Here’s how to get some Trappist Westvleteren:

The Call:

First you have to check out their webpage to see the beer schedule and when you can call the ‘beer phone’ (yes kind of like the bat phone).
 

  
You call the beer phone during the times listed on the left side only. It shows what beer you are calling for, so if you call for a yellow block “TW 12” that is what you will get. If you get a busy signal, call them over and over until you get through. If you get a recording, press ‘1’ to talk to someone.

Then when you speak to someone they will ask you for your licenses plate number. He will then ask what day and time you can pick it up. Your options are on the other column of the website you saw online, indicated by the color you ordered. He will tell you your day and time for your pick up!

The Pick Up:

You will receive 2 cases of the highly coveted beer! There are no changes available! Don’t be late for your order and do not show up with a car that has a different licenses plate or you will not receive your beer! They ask you to pay with your credit card and your receipt will say that you are not allowed to resell your beer (Niet verder verkopen). Also you are not allowed to order beer with that license plate and phone number for the next 60 days! So you better make it last until then! :)

If you missed the calling times for the beer phone, and you find yourself in Belgium one weekend, you can still try the Westvleteren liquid gold! Across the street from the brewery they have a beautiful café called ‘In de Vrede’ where you can order it in glasses and drink it at your table. They have a small gift shop where at times, if you are lucky, they sell a 6 pack per person.

They also have gorgeous and historic walks in the area listed on their website, so you can make your beer pick up a really beautiful day out in the Belgian countryside. http://www.indevrede.be/wandelen.php?lang=en

Address: Donkerstraat 13 - 8640 Westvleteren, Belgium - T +32(0)57 40 03 77

Prices: €30.00 (Blonde), €35.00 (8°) and €40.00 (12°) per 24-bottle crate (excluding bottle/crate deposit). Deposit for empty bottles and crate: €12 (€9.60 for the crate plus €0.10 per bottle). But most people would want to keep the crate as a souvenir.

Follow on Reading: To learn more about how the Monks “Make the beer to live but do not live for the beer” check out the article by The Independent, who got a rare interview, called: Monks who make the world’s best beer pray for quiet life.

Author’s Profile: Gemma is a mom, a veteran and an Army civilian living in Wiesbaden, Germany. With New Jersey roots, she is enjoying her extended European vacation.