In March 2013, I spent a week traveling around Germany drinking beer. From Hamburg, to Cologne and Dusseldorf, down to Munich, up to Bamberg, then across to Berlin via a lunch stop in Leipzig. I went to try and learn more about the beers of one of the most famous drinking nations in the world. Here's the trip in a few photos. Groninger brewpub, Hamburg Ratsherrn Brewery, Hamburg Ratsherrn beers,...

Today we raise our beers to Simon Johnson. It doesn’t matter what beer we raise as long as we love drinking it. It doesn’t even matter if it’s not a beer – all that matters is that in your glass is a drink which makes you happy. The beer world has lost a good friend. Someone who was unequivocally liked by all and never failed to put smiles on faces (sometimes quite literally if he had his face...