Hi all, Neil here! Since Jessica had obligations this past weekend, I decided to steal away with friends on a little foodie excursion…here are a few pics and details about my day!
In a tiny German town of about 2,700 residents about an hour from Columbia sits Hermann, MO. While the town may be small it is home to Stone Hill Winery, Hermannhof Winery, and Tin Mill Brewery. So between the great scenery, the abundance of booze, and great events like the Wurstfest you can tell that Hermann, MO is about as German as it gets!
From Wikipedia:
The society had almost utopian goals of a “heart of German-America” where it could perpetuate traditional German culture and establish a self-supporting colony built around farming, commerce, and industry. The town is named after Hermann der Cherusker, a Germanic leader who defeated the Romans in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in the year 9. In 2009, the City of Hermann celebrated the 2000th anniversary of the battle, in which the Germanic warrior Hermann defeated three Roman legions and changed the course of history. A bronze statue of the city’s namesake was dedicated, and has been standing since September 2009 in the Hermann Park.
Wurstfest was split into two venues where visitors were presented with an amazing selection of wurst from participating vendors. Each had not only a plethora of flavors to choose, from different types of meat altogether! I quickly loosened my belt a notch, this was definitely going to be good!
First I sampled some of the creative flavors from Sausage Stonie’s Shop. They had options like “Pizza” and “Blueberry Maple Sausage” brats, as well as more traditional items like German Summer Sausage and Knackwurst.
Ohhh and head cheese! Don’t mind if I do!
There were so many cool flavors from different vendors that it is impossible to feature them all here, but check out this flavor from Schubert’s Packing Co, Inc.
Gummy Bear Brat?! It was actually really good! They also had some excellent Andouille going on too.
After making it through the first venue, we decided to walk off some of the meat by checking out Stone Hill Winery. I am definitely not a wine connoisseur, but I do like to support our local Missouri wineries. Missouri has been making wine longer than California you know!
When we arrived at the second venue we were greeted by a sea of vendors on one side, and ongoing judging for the sausage competitors on the other. I found myself wondering, “how much meat can you eat before you get the sweats?”
Kurzweils ended up being my favorite of the day. These guys had some really crazy but cool flavors!
By the end of the second hall we were all feeling pretty “meat-satisfied,” and Tin Mill Brewing Company across the street beckoned!
These guys are very reasonably priced considering they COULD if they wanted to gouge prices on a weekend like this. I had a First Street Wheat and a pint of their seasonal Maibock (which was quite good).
We waddled back to the car to head for home, but definitely not without some loot! There were a few goodies that I could not pass up having another taste of.
From left to right: Schubert’s Sweet Honey Mustard Bratwursts, Pride of the Prairie Mushroom and Swiss Bratwursts, Kurzweil’s Peach and Jalapeno Bratwursts, William’s Brothers Pepper-Jack sticks, Paradise Locker Meats Tomato Basil and Mozzarella Chicken Bratwursts (best chicken brat I have ever had).
This event was really great, and very cheap at only $6! By the time you got through all of the vendors you probably had at least 4 or 5 bratwursts worth of meat. Every vendor was super friendly and was eager and ready to talk about not only their products, but also little tips and tricks for you if you were a foodie or a hobbyist. If you are a Missourian, or even a nutty meat addict, I recommend making the trip for this and enjoying the German culture, food, drinks, and cheer!
Check our complete Flickr album for a ton more pictures!
Have you gone on a foodie excursion lately? What were the eats?
