22 August 2007

From the mailbag

Although we call ourselves The Knights of the Beer Roundtable and Hoosier Beer Geeks, from time to time someone will ask a beer question we don't have an answer for. Actually, it happens a lot. Like this email from Kevin:

Hey Hoosier Beer Geek,

I have a question. Back in 1981-1982 I lived in Evansville, In. I remember however fuzzily that through the summer months the Catholic Churches in Evansville would have “Beer Stubes”. They were like fish frys only with a beer truck. I was told that because of the German Catholic ancestry that the area had that it was like Oktoberfest all summer long.

I moved from Evansville in ’82, lived in Chicago for nearly 10 years and have now lived in Cleveland for 15 years. Nobody has ever heard of these “Beer Stubes”. Can you elaborate? Do they still have them?

Having attended Wabash College I consider myself a beer connoisseur.

Thankx, Kevin


Knight Chris did a little research and found out that the German word stube means parlor. Ergo, a beer parlor. "I've not heard of it before, but I'm guessing it was a Hofbrau Haus themed event called Beer Stube." That's currently our best guess.

Although we're quickly becoming the old wise men and women of beer drinking, we're really not that old; most of us are in our late 20's to early 30's. Back in 81 - 82 I was 6 year old and living in Illinois, so I'm probably the wrong guy to ask. But perhaps a Hoosier Beer Geek reader has an idea about these Beer Stubes? If you do, leave a comment. Let's help Kevin out.

4 comments:

  1. Note to Kevin who asked Hoosier Beer Geek about Beer Stubes. They're still having them in Evansville. Take a parking lot, add a band, electricity, and a Bud dispenser. Voila. Instant night party for the 20-somethings. There are a number of them during the summer - coordinated so each bar gets a Saturday of its own.

    50-something Bob.

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  2. oops, wrong spot for this post

    Anonymous said...
    I have seen where "bier stube" is translated as "beer room" or the room where the beer is. This could be a bar (lots of bars called Beer Stube or Bier Stube) or a special place at a fish fry or whatever. Probably related to a cities' German Heritage.

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  3. There used to be a restaurant in Terre Haute called Gerhardt's Bierstube. Don't know whether it's still there. Any Hautians out there who know?

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  4. Ahh... Beer Stubes. Growing up in St. Louis (about as German and as Catholic as the midwest gets, apart from maybe Milwaukee) I recall Beer Stubes. Any good Greater St. Louis Catholic School boys from the 80s probably does.

    Lots of Beer, a band, some food, etc. Held on the Church Parking Lot, or maybe in the Gymnasium. Anheuser Busch had 20 foot refridgerated trucks that could/would show up with half barrels in the back, and tap handles on the side.....

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