Posted on by Iron Rogue

Will Tri for Beer

There are two kinds of athlete: those that fuel themselves with nothing but the best nature and/or science can offer in the quest of squeezing better performance out of the machines that are their bodies… and there are the “Will Run For Beer” types.  Count me in the latter category, only I guess it’s “Will Tri For Beer (or cookies, ice cream, chicken wings, burgers…)”.

I’ve always wanted to participate in one of the “Drink-Up Link-Ups” organized by Janine from The Purple Giraffe, and my recent trip to Germany gave me an opportunity to do a roundup of my my favourite beers that I drank over there.
How can I do a post about German beer on the 4th of July?  Well, did you know that if it weren’t for a single vote, German would be the official language of the United States?  If you didn’t, good for you, because it’s bunk.  I can’t actually rationalize it too well.  Anyway…

I’m far from a connoisseur of beer, and I seem to be out of touch with the rage over hoppy beers (notably all the India Pale Ales) out there.  I guess my German heritage makes me like beers that hew closer to the Reinheitsgebot (Purity Law – only ingredients can be water, barley, hops [and yeast]) and that typically means lagers (in my experience and largely uninformed opinion).  I jump at the chance to drink a nice Pilsener, and warmer temperatures (which were rare on my trip) give me cravings for Wheat Beers.

Wheat beers come in 3 varieties: Weiss (white), Dunkel (dark) and Kristall (Crystal/Clear).  The Kristall is filtered and you can see through it – it has the cleanest taste.  The white is lighter and fresher tasting than the dark, but they’re both refreshing thirst quenchers and the dark isn’t that similar in taste to dark beers or stouts.

My favourite wheat beers:

  • Schoefferhofer – I had more of this in Berlin
  • Maisel’s – I had all 3 varieties of this one, it’s my brother’s favourite.

My favourite Pilsener
  • Schultheiss – this was my go-to beer while eating out around Berlin.  A simple, straightforward Pils.
I have a note that I drank ‘Kronenberger’ but the only thing on the web seems to be Kronenbourg 1664, which I have tried, and is decent, but I refuse to further discuss a French beer in a post about German ones.

Special mention for the Jever Alcohol-Free beer; we got this by accident but I didn’t hate it, and I found myself willingly drinking it if I thought I was still going to try to fit a workout in that day; that way I didn’t get lazy/sleepy from any beer buzz.

But this isn’t a food/drink blog, so I need another rationale to link up with the Purple Giraffe, and I have a good one.  Janine also organizes a Virtual #RunForMemory to find a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease. Virtual Runs are fun ways that we can participate in a cause with online friends no matter where in the world they are. I try to pick some official event that can double its purpose; last time I wanted it to be a Snowshoe race for the Kyle’s Krusade, and though the snowshoe part didn’t work out then, I still wanted this to have a little something extra to make it challenging and meaningful.

 Well, our work run club was staging a race in some of the most hot and humid weather we’ve seen this year, and this was a mere 3 days after my Muskoka 5150 Olympic Triathlon experience.

Check out that temperature and humidity. The words I used to describe it to my wife were “Death March”. And yet it was worth it. I donated to the Alzheimer’s Research cause and you can too (just use the Donate button on the Purple Giraffe site).

We are on the cusp of having unprecedented longevity thanks to better scientific understanding of our bodies and better healthy living practices… yet it’s a terrifying idea that our minds could get left behind. Read the Alzheimer’s facts on Janine’s site.

I confess I have an ulterior motive; I want the Lightning Kid to grow old and live as independently as possible when my wife and I are long gone. People with Down syndrome are prone to dementia as they age, and there is considerable overlap in Alzheimer’s research that could apply to those individuals too.

I confess I have a second ulterior motive… a free Beer Koozy for participating. See how I brought it back to beer? That’s Synergy people!

Please consider participating in the #RunForMemory and/or donating to #EndAlz.

  • Register and Run 5k or 10k
  • Donate
  • Spread the Word using the #RunForMemory and #EndAlz hashtags.
The link for the site one more time is The Purple Giraffe.

What cause(s)/reward(s) do you run for?

4 Replies to “Will Tri for Beer”

  1. I swim for coffee 😉 particularly, latte's.
    But I also really enjoyed the Tour de Cure for Diabetes, because that runs in my family.
    I love 'white' beer, specifically, Hoegaarden.
    And thank you so much for the virtual run! I'll definitely be doing that this week. Lucky you to have company on that Death March! 🙂

  2. I swim for coffee 😉 particularly, latte's.
    But I also really enjoyed the Tour de Cure for Diabetes, because that runs in my family.
    I love 'white' beer, specifically, Hoegaarden.
    And thank you so much for the virtual run! I'll definitely be doing that this week. Lucky you to have company on that Death March! 🙂

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