Blue Rider of the North Bavarian Farmlands

The cow shit smells wonderful in Germany. I'm riding through german agricultural land, nostrils full of glorious manure aromas, and I remember coming to Germany as a child. One strong memory was of my father declaring how much he loved the smell of cow shit. Honestly, it smells of grass and tradition and pastorality. I imagine the underarm odors of Heidi from The Sound of Music smelling like this.

I wrote a report on the OSU Bovine Research waste recycling practices in grad school. Trying to figure out how to get less cow shit bacteria in the stream running through the farm, that then runs throught the town of Corvallis. Dairy and beef farmers in Oregon typically employ a greater degree of processing and concentation on their handling of manure. So when you smell cow shit being spread in Oregon, it don't smell too good. If you ever drive through Hermiston, don't stop to take a leak, or you'll have to burn your driving clothes.

Bike touring is the best way to see a country. I love the livestock smells, the wet pavement smells, the rotting fruit tree smells. The townfolk looking at me questioningly as I am often lost and riding down private deadend streets. Having lunch in a Gasthaus and hearing the local farmers speak with inpenatrable dialects.


I also stop at wheat, oat, and barley fields to inspect the crop. I have very little experience differentiating good grains from bad, but that is why I stop to look. I was supposed to be working at the company's grain elevator for the last two weeks, but was sent back to the brewery after two days. Barley harvest was interrupted this summer by heavy rains. Farmers cannot operate the combines when the soil is wet. So the barley has been sitting out in the fields in the rain for two weeks.

I bought a hybrid bike, essentially a road bike with variable-tension front suspension. On a single ride, the bike will handle pavement, cobblestone, gravel, and single track. I've asked Whitney to ship my bike shoes to Germany. I found clipless pedals with a cleat on one side, and a regular pedal on the other.

There is a region nearby called the Frankonian Switzerland, full of cragy rock outcroppings, rivers, and granduer. It is just far enough that a riding there and back would require two days. Today, I found out a train can carry me and my bike there in about an hour.

The Versuchsbrauerei

The brewery can produce a 250 liter batch, which translates to a little more than 2 barrels. I have spent most of my time in the brewery or doing brewery related tasks. In the above picture, you can see the Kettle and Lauter Tun.

In the forground, you can see the recipe for Weyermann Schlotfegerla, a dark "smoke beer". Bamberg is the capital of a special beer called Rauchbier. Rauchbier is somewhat of a "historic beer" approximation. In the early days of malting technology, malt was dried directly with smoke. The direct contact with combustion bi-products lent a very smoky flavor to beer.

As you can see in the photo, the Schlotfegerla recipe calls for 27% Rauchmalz. It's like drinking Spanish ham. Schlotfegerla translates to "Chimney Sweeper", which is the company logo.