Beer schnapps

Sitting here on a cold winter's day, I cast my mind back to that magical trip to Franconia. Regular readers will recall I visited the German region back in summer, accompanied by Andy Neil and Ron Pattinson, among others. I chronicled the tour in a flurry of on-the-spot mobile blog posts. Looking back, I realise now that I missed out a few key ingredients that made it unforgettable. So, in a hopelessly self-indulgent trip down memory lane, let me talk about "beer schnapps".

At Maisel's Brewery in Bayreuth, I learned that microdistilleries need not be the preserve of gap-toothed hillbillies. It was there that I squared up to beer schnapps for the first time, after taking a look at the kit used to make the evil stuff. The legend on the vintage still said it all: "Bavarian Moonshine - 90° proof". By separating out the alcohol, something altogether more devilish is created from virginal beer.

Our grinning tour guide racked up shots on an old pharmacist's counter, brought over from London by the brewery's chairman. Dear readers, I cannot tell a lie: when I downed mine, I nearly spat. I can't even begin to describe the awfulness. Give me a black Sambuca any day of the week, because hopped liquor just doesn't float my boat.

My esteemed travelling companion Mr. Pattinson, he of the elephantine frame and hollow legs, had a very different reaction. He positively begged for more, and a love affair that would last the trip blossomed. At almost every stop, waitresses would be hounded to produce the foul substance, which Ron would gulp down with gusto. I'd forgotten that I recorded such enthusiasm for posterity on our final evening, as we sat in Spezial's courtyard in Bamberg. Watch this mercifully brief video, and witness a truly happy man. Listen carefully and you'll hear his self-satisfied chuckle at the end.