B-town's very own German Ski Chalet

This past Saturday night my-coworker Adam and I ventured forth in to the frigid cold to check out the newest beer spot in Burlington. Down at the bottom of Church St., past Manhattan Pizza but before Big Daddy's Pizza stands the newly constructed, 3 story beige-stone-faced Das Bierhaus. The first thing you notice is that there's no front door. A black iron gate bears a sign in German announcing to enter through the alley, something common in Montreal but rarely found in Burlington. ID'ed and on up the stairs, we headed to the Ski Chalet-themed 2nd floor bar. This place is packed with boisterous and happy young professionals. This is no college bar, but a respectable and clean establishment. And who do we find sitting at the bar but our co-worker Andrew! We ordered .3L Ayinger Celebrators from Colin behind the bar and set about enjoying the ambiance.

Before too long we were chatting with proud owners Nick and Chad. Nick explained that he wanted to bring a bit of the Alps to Burlington, which proved to be somewhat difficult. Sourcing delicious wurste and hand crafted suds were not readily available locally. After a lot of set backs, Nick and Chad forged ahead establishing connections with importers, distributors and all manner of beer-o-philic folks. And I'm glad they did!

I've always been a fan of the Germanic approach to beer and have long felt that most people haven't been properly introduced to how amazing German beers can be. For many years, the only beer people knew from German resembled Beck's: pale, crisp lagers in green bottles. But there are so many other styles unique to Germany that Das Bierhaus is introducing to the Burlington area: smoked beers, weizen doppelbocks and kolsch just to name a few. You can order draft beers in three traditional sizes, .3L, .4L and .5L and will have them delivered to you in the proper glassware.

My Celebrator gone, I moved on to the illustrious Schneider Aventinus and fell in love with it all over again. Delicious and creamy, smooth yet textured, it was what some would call a "religious experience."

Long story short, this place is great. If you love beer (and/or sausages), you should pay Das Bierhaus a visit and explore some exotic yet traditional suds. (I've included the current beer list below.)

Prost!
Jeff

"Die Draft Liste"
Lagers: Becks, Spaten Premium, Weihenstephan Original, Ayinger Celebrator.
Ales: Reissdorf Kolsch, Weihenstephan Hefeweiss, Erdinger Hefeweiss, Schneider Aventinus.
"In der Flasche" (bottles)
Includes selections from Schlenkerla, Pinkus Organic, Uerige, Franziskaner, Weihenstephan, Schneider, Duvel, Sierra Nevada, Stoudt's, Victory, Stone, Dogfish Head, Haproon, Long Trail, Otter Creek/Wolaver's, Rock Art and Sam Adams.