October 10, 2018

Spoetzl Brewery - Home of Shiner Beer

October 10, 2018/ Meghan Oaks

Two hours west of Houston, at the convergence of US-90 and TX-95, on the edge of Texas hill country, lies the tiny town of Shiner. One of the most well-known small towns in Texas, Shiner is home to Spoetzl Brewey - the makers of Shiner Bock (among others). Ask any Texan about Shiner and they will know it. In true Oaks fashion, we had wanted to make a visit to the brewery, something that falls right in line with all of our other brewery tours. Our trip to Austin for Memorial Day Weekend, provided the perfect opportunity to finally do it.

July 26, 2016

The Czech Beer Festival

July 26, 2016/ Meghan Oaks

One of the coolest ways to get to know a city is to partake in it's local festivals. In the summer, this isn't all that hard. Germany has festivals happening literally every single weekend. When we were planning our long weekend to Prague, I discovered that we would be there for the last weekend of the Czech Beer Festival. Of course we had to go. Turns out, that was a fantastic decision! Evelyn thought so too.

April 14, 2016

6 Things to do in Bruges, Belgium

April 14, 2016/ Meghan Oaks

Bruges, a small, midevil city in Belgium, not far from the North Atlantic, is a charming little city to spend a weekend in. There are canals, reminiscent of the ones in Amsterdam, that run through the city, a stunning center square watched over by a giant clock tower, twisting and winding cobblestone streets lined with houses hundreds of years old, lots of old, beautiful churches. All of this is accented with hundreds of chocolate shops, small cafes serving waffles or french fries (or both!), and pubs where the bar is lined with taps pouring fresh, but strong, Belgian beer.

March 30, 2016

De Halve Maan Brewery Tour in Bruges

March 30, 2016/ Meghan Oaks

People often think of four things when they think of Belgium - waffles, fries, chocolate, and, of course, beer. We ate plenty of the first three while in Bruges, and toured a brewery to make sure we got the full experience for the latter. In Bruges, there is a 150 year old, family owned, brewery that offers multiple tours a day in multiple languages. It's called De Halve Maan, which means crescent moon in Dutch. We opted for their "XL" tour which lasts twice as long as their normal tour and includes a sampling of not one of their beers, but four. It was an easy decision :)

February 20, 2015

5 Tips for Drinking With Germans

February 20, 2015/ Meghan Oaks

Just in time for the weekend! Germany is generally thought of as the home of beer. Whether or not that is true is up for debate, but the fact is, Germans like their beer. And if you're in the western part of the country, in the wine regions, you will find that they also like their wine. Since we have been here, Aaron and I have been in multiple scenarios that involve Germans and alcohol. And it is from those scenarios that we have learned a few things that we would like to share with all of you, should you find yourself drinking with a German.

October 01, 2014

10 Tips for Attending Oktoberfest

October 01, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

On Monday, I recapped our trip to Oktoberfest this past weekend. To say it was an experience is an understatement. Today, I'm going to give you 10 tips for attending Oktoberfest. This way, if you are contemplating or planning your own visit, you'll have a leg up on us.

September 15, 2014

A Visit to Chimay

September 15, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

Our final morning in Brussels started off roughly. The Delirium beer had done it's job, and done it well. After showering and packing up, we went to a cafe to grab breakfast. One thing I've noticed about Europeans is that they call a cup of coffee and a croissant (or other bread-based pastry) breakfast. I am a lover of breakfast. I would eat it all day every day if I could and it would contain all the breakfast foods: eggs, bacon, waffles, crepes, french toast, more bacon, maybe some fruit (but never melons), orange juice, even more ...