Craftival 2

Following last year's success, the Freiburg Craftival celebrated its second edition last Saturday. This year's festivity was different, with 16 breweries offering 40 beers. The festival had already started at midday, and although Red Baron arrived an hour late, only a few visitors got lost in a space that had doubled in size compared to the crowded space the year before.

At the entrance to the party grounds, Schmitz Katze I was stamped after paying a 7-euro entrance fee that included a tasting glass but no free beer. 0.1-liter beer samples were served at the various booths for 1 euro each.

According to plan: To the left, there is last year's party ground,
to the right is the 2016 enlargement. 

Schmitz Katze stamped on Red Baron's left arm.

I first visited my friends from Braukollektiv.

They offered me a good fill of one of their latest creations, Ziggy alternative pale ale.

© BZ

While I was talking to them, their booth was the only crowded spot in a somewhat deserted area, underscoring the popularity of this craft beer team in Freiburg. Eventually, I had a chance to take my photos without too many people showing their backs.

James, in professional discussions

Later, I passed by a booth offering craft beer from Alsace. It turned out that the guys behind the counter were selling the brew, but since they were from Freiburg, they did not even understand French.

A glass cleaning station between the fills.

After two more one-euro samples, I felt somewhat dizzy and started looking for some food. One food truck was offering pulled pork in a burger bun. It was delicious.

Pulling hard on the pork in the background

Admire the special Craftival glass with just a puddle of beer in it.

The next stop was Emma's, which sold a beer brewed by a girl of the same name. She calls her beers "Biere ohne Bart" (Beers without a beard). The taste of her Kuckucks Rot amber ale was stunning and later devastating, so I needed more food.

Glasses were filled generously with more than 0.1 liters for one euro.
Here is my sample of Cuckoo's Red.

To this end, I docked at the Schwarzwälder Flammkuchen Manufaktur, and indeed, a tarte flambée with white cheese, Black Forest bacon, and red onion rings was "manu factu" prepared for me.

Order your size.

Flammküchle mit Speck, roten Zwiebeln, Käse und ein dunkles Porter.

Although being the only customer present, I had to take a queue number. There was no need to call me as I profited from the sparsely populated scene, talking to the people at their booths and later at the tables.

Although lacking customers, the friendly team of
Schwarzwälder Flammkuchen Manufaktur was in high spirits.

So I met a chemistry student from Freiburg and even two doctoral candidates working at CERN - where else? Suddenly, I started feeling old.

**