Author Archives: Jen Muehlbauer

Rosamunde #5 now open on Telegraph Ave

Posted on May 28, 2015 by Jen Muehlbauer

Remember how excited we all were in 2012 when we first heard that San Francisco sausage institution Rosamunde was coming to Oakland? It landed in Old Oakland and there was great rejoicing, even by vegetarians (seriously, those vegan sausages are … Continue reading →

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Whole Foods Dublin loves beer

Posted on May 20, 2015 by Jen Muehlbauer

There’s a new Whole Foods opening today in Dublin, and plenty of other writers can tell you about the food options and/or make fish-in-a-barrel jokes about the prices. I’m here to tell you about the beer situation…which, by the way, … Continue reading →

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State of the blog 2015

Posted on April 25, 2015 by Jen Muehlbauer

For a blog called “East Bay Beer,” I’ve certainly done nothing but write about Belgium lately. Sorry. There are a lot of things going on these days. Breweries and bars are opening too fast for me to keep up. I … Continue reading →

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The pleasant surprise: Ghent

Posted on April 11, 2015 by Jen Muehlbauer

When I was in Belgium 14 years ago, I only spent an afternoon in Ghent. Mistake. This time, our group chose Ghent mainly as a convenient base for excursions to West Flanders, but everyone wound up loving it on its … Continue reading →

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Antwerp: old buildings, old beers, and getting old(er)

Posted on March 24, 2015 by Jen Muehlbauer

I’d never been to Antwerp before and all I knew about it was diamonds, Jews, and the renowned beer bar Kulminator. Well, the diamond thing is pretty low key to the casual observer (I saw a few stores by the … Continue reading →

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Day trips: Malle (Westmalle) and Mechelen (Het Anker)

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Jen Muehlbauer

The small city of Mechelen is about halfway between Brussels and Antwerp and a relatively easy and quick train ride. Unlike Brussels, Mechelen (population 82,000 or so) actually seems to want you to visit. Signage is good and the city … Continue reading →

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Day trips from West Flanders

Posted on March 19, 2015 by Jen Muehlbauer

Safely mixing beer tasting and driving is tricky, but if someone in your group is willing to stick to small portions, it opens up some interesting possibilities in the West Flanders countryside. You might want to base yourself in a … Continue reading →

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The big hub: Brussels

Posted on March 18, 2015 by Jen Muehlbauer

Let’s get the negatives out of the way first: It’s the busiest, grittiest city in Belgium. It’s where the airport is and it’s full of foreigners but it seemed like the hardest place to get around. (Maybe that’s just because … Continue reading →

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East Bay Beer Goes To Belgium

Posted on March 18, 2015 by Jen Muehlbauer

I went to Belgium in 2001 for a few days, where I discovered this weird sour beer that kinda tasted like wine and had a waiter upsell me some awesome dark beer made by monks. I was living in the … Continue reading →

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East Bay Beer Goes To Belgium: Don’t want to be an American idiot

Posted on February 28, 2015 by Jen Muehlbauer

<long boring frequent-flyer-mile-oriented story deleted> so I was the first of our group to arrive in Belgium. I figured I’d walk around, have some beers, enjoy the silence. I’d planned on declaring “vacation” and “birthday week” and whatever other justification … Continue reading →

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