June 2, 2018 – Day Eighteen – Krueztal and Krombacher’s

June 2, 2018 – Day Eighteen – Krueztal and Krombacher’s

Another morning.  Breakfast is fried hot dogs with onions, red peppers, mushrooms, and melted cheese, with toast and tea/coffee.

Researching forest hikes nearby.

Henning's roses

Helmud is here about ten minutes early.  We gather our things and head downstairs to our chauffeur to Krombacher.  It’s a short drive and Helmud deposits Evelyn, Marilyn and me in the parking lot and heads home. Can’t understand why he doesn’t want to spend his Saturday touring the plant where he works five days a week! 

for my Vikings!

This building is new and Evelin hasn't seen it yet!

 We head inside and pay our sixteen euros for the tour.  We get a really good headset so that we can hear our English-speaking guide, a darling little German girl with long lashes and a slight accent. (Jarra might be her name!)  She tells us that we have about fifteen minutes until our tour begins. We will be joined by a group of about thirty students. During that time we visit the Skylight bar where we can enjoy any non-alcoholic Kronbacher’s products.  Marilyn has Schwepps bitter lemon, I have Orangina ( the red one), Evelin (I’ve been spelling in wrong all this time!) has ginger ale.  Krombacher owns Schwepps and several other companies.

The Skyline Bar

All the contents that the Purity Law allows

Three brewmasters and the ever-important water master!

Krombacher Hell (it means "bright" or "shiny" in German)

It's a really large campus!

We had thought our tour would begin with a movie;  but that doesn’t work out, so we begin the actual tour. We learn about the Purity Law, which says German beer can only contain spring water, hops, and barley.  When the law was passed they didn’t yet understand that yeast was what made the carbonation, so it wasn’t part of the standard.  We see the large room where the malted barley is mixed with the spring water, and trek across the campus to see the other stages of beer making.  Unfortunately we don’t get to see the bottling process, which is where Evelin used to work, putting on labels and caps.

Hops!  And they only use the "yellow stuff" inside the cones.

The "tuns" where the malted barley meets the spring water.

Only reason for this dreadful shot is that the tower on the right is on the Krombacher labels.

Such an accommodating tour guide!

These two displays are such a wonderful blend of reality in the foreground and photography as the background.

You really have to look carefully to know where the real thing ends.

The entire plant is spotless

Crib sheet for those who weren't paying attention to how beer is made.

We learn that Krombacher’s is a family-owned company and that they grow their own hops and their water comes from forty-eight wells, all within five kilometers of the plant. (Must be quite an aquifer!) We’re reminded that CO2 is heavier than oxygen and in the old days, when the beer was left in the cold, dark cave-like room, it was possible for the carbon dioxide to seep out of the barrels.  The person who checked on the beer used a candle to determine whether it was safe to enter or if the windows needed to be opened.

We peek in a window and see where Helmud works as an electrician, keeping all the machines in his part of the plant running!  And Evelin tells us that Henning’s mother used to work at the brewery’s version of candling.  The bottles pass between a bright light and a person so checks to be sure there is nothing in each bottle but beer!

At the end of this part of the tour we were supposed to return to the main lobby to see the panoramic movie;  but it is “occupied”, so we receive a DVD instead!

Then it’s on to the best part of the tour!  We go into the restaurant area where our guide has reserved a table for three just for us!  There is a basket of brown bread, butter, and a plate with ham and pickles already on the table and shortly a waitress brings four glasses of Krombacher Pils for us!  We watch how Evelin makes her open-faced sandwich with the pickle on top and follow suit.  Delicious!  Other tour groups fill up all the other long tables and the serious partying begins!  Once everyone has started their meal, the wait staff comes around and you can order any Krombacher product you like!  Turns out we like Dunkel (the dark beer), Keller, the unfiltered version, and Hell, which is supposed to be the wheat beer, at least that’s what I ordered.  Whatever it is, it’s pretty great, too!  The signature Pils is quite bland compared to the others! We spend so much time laughing!  Such fun! 

Trekking to our reward!

The party platter!

Still quiet

I think they're all his!

I know these are all ours!

(Marilyn has a group photo of the aftermath - you MIGHT get to see it!)

I asked Evelin if she and Helmud met at the plant, since they both had worked there.  Actually, Helmud has been there thirty-nine years!  She says no, they met centuries ago!!

There is music playing and when “Sweet Caroline” comes on, all the kids on the other side of the room – and us – join in with gusto!  When we can eat and drink no more, it’s time to go shopping!  These people aren’t dumb!!  The shop is two stories tall!

You can order special labels

The other, larger restaurant

All the Krombacher products

Helmud, our ever-obliging host, returns to take us home.  On the way Evelin offers to loan us her Garmin, which she has already converted to English!  We go inside with her to get it.  Then it’s home to recoup from the day’s entertainment.

Around nine we realize that we’re hungry and fry up some hot dogs to have with potato salad.  (Bless elastic waist bands)  “Lie to Me” finishes our evening and we note with joy that there is a Season Three!