Franconian Beer Message Board
BierTV |
| Posted by Nick B. on 2007-05-29 04:59:32 |
| Three shows will be in German TV in the next weeks that have to do with brewing. My translations (first-pass, please forgive the sloppiness) of their descriptions follow. Of Bambergers and Bamberg www.siehfern.de/index.php?textinfo=63514544 BR, Mittwoch, 13.06.2007, 15:15 - 16:00 Uhr Bamberg is a city of churches and bishops, castles and grandiose fascades, breweries and their beers. Bamberg's center, with the river Regnitz and the little Venice, has been declared a World Cultural Heritage site. For many Bambergers, the midieval cathedral city is their dream city. Grandpa Rudi, citizen Rudolf Thümlein, passionate hurdy-gurdy player and bicyclist of a particular kind, knows them all: He knows Jürgen Riegel and his quirk for the Venetian gondola, he knows Fritz Kropf's family, the last of their kind from the fishing guild, and he knows Ingmar Michel, the owner of Mahrs Bräu and his horse-something. Gerhard C. Krischker, well-known dialect poet in Bamberg, weighs in with his two cents. They all live in one of Franconia's loveliest cities, they characterise Bamberg's image, and are influenced by her as well. ### Aufseß in Franconian Switzerland "4 Breweries, 2 Castles, and 1500 Inhabitants" http://www.siehfern.de/index.php?textinfo=63514582 BR, Donnerstag, 14.06.2007, 15:15 - 16:00 Uhr In the community of Aufseß on the Franconian beer- and castle-road, foxes and hares said "goodnight" to each other until a few years ago. ("It was the middle of nowhere" until a few years ago.) But then mayor Ludwig Bäuerlein had a bright idea to boost tourism in the low-income commuter region. He bethought himself (!) of the Aufseßers' old Franconian brewing tradition and came to the following reckoning: four breweries for 1500 residents. With that, Aufseß received an entry in the 2000 Guinness Book of World Records for the world's greatest brewery density. ### Of Prayer and Beer Brewing The Friars of St. Rémy http://www.siehfern.de/index.php?textinfo=63508315 ARD, Sonntag, 03.06.2007, 17:30 - 18:00 Uhr The Abbey of St. Rémy in Rochefort is known world-wide for its beer. The dark "R10", so called on account of its alcohol content according to old Belgian measuration, is even deemed to be the world's third-best beer by an ongoing internet survey. The Rochefort monks like to hear that, but they emphasise that beer brewing is not the object of the abbey. For them, the brewery is only there to make the meditative life in the abbey possible and to finance social work. Even today, their beer is brewed according to old recipies, mostly handed down by oral tradition. The abbey breweries, like the one at Rochefort, are normally not open to the public. The brewing tradition at Rochefort dates back to 1595. The mash is heated as early as 4.00 AM. Brewing was done exclusively according to old rules of handwork up into the 1950's, ere budgetary problems compeled the abbey to modernise the operation. Although monks supervise the entire process carefully, they're supported by secular helpers. Today 16 monks still live in St. Rémy, most are already somewhat old. The monks have dedicated themselves first and foremost to the quest for God; a quest which demands quiet and seclusion. Along with prayer and spiritual study, manual labor is quite naturally a part of their life. The day begins shortly after 3.00 AM. Getting up, washing, the first prayers in the church; then at 9.30 AM the labor which is again and again interrupted by prayer times. The days of communication by dactylology (sign language) are over for the Trappist monks at Rochefort. The vow of silence is indeed still part of the order's rules, albeit more pragmatically construed as in the past. The monks shall keep a low profile when speaking, and restrain themselves to what's important. The 58 year old Frére Pierre speaks very candidly about the fact that entry into the monastery is not a decision that one simply hits upon and then never questions again. He says he wrestles every day with himself, in order to adapt to the monastic life. For 20 years. On the relation of beer to prayer, he says: "You have to put work in its proper place, for if you don't watch out, it will destroy you." The film illustrates the monastic life's spirituality and the fascination with the old art of beer brewing through impressive imagery. An authentic and living portrait of a confraternity that's not entirely of this world. ### I haven't figured out how to download teletext-broadcast subtitles, so it'll take a while to transcribe the Deutsch and then translate it into English; if anyone knows how teletext subtitles can be downloaded, I'd really appreciate a tip or two! Eventually, I'll offer subtitle files to those of you who've recorded the shows yourselves --for your own legal, personal, private use of course-- which you can multiplex into your own DVD's, if that's your thing. (Otherwise I'll keep them to myself.) |