Rare Helen: An Oktoberfest Beer unlike any other!

I first met Tom, when he sponsored me to bring my dirndls down to Atlanta, GA for a Rare Dirndl Fashion Show, TV appearance and to be a vendor at the Atlanta Beerfest. Since then he has been busy with his newest business venture- Fannin Brewing Company.

The Rare Dirndl Team and Tom on Better Mornings Atlanta in 2011

When we met he was heading up German Kino Plus, a cable network targeted to Germans living in the United States. He travelled to Germany frequently to buy movies. He was wise enough to plan some of those trips in October, so he could spend his evenings in Munich's biergartens. While do this he was growing grapes to make his own wine.









With the wine aging in bottles, he now sat at the communal table in the Augustiner BierGarten. Lifting his stein and listening to the oompah bands, he daydreamed - "What else can I sell to Germans in the US?" Pickles. Bread. Beer! The seeds for Fannin Brewing Company were formed.

Tom chose Fannin County in GA to start his business for two simple reasons: Fresh air and fresh water make for fresh beer. He hooked up with Pat Walker at Blue Ridge Brewery, who was also planning to produce his own brews. Tom bought the equipment, Pat built the space, and they began selling their first beers in October 2012.

By June 2013, a deal with Eagle Rock Distributing was signed, and Fannin Brewing Company's beers were on tap in 8 restaurants, then 14, then 24. 

The Rare Dirndl Team and Tom after the Fashion Show at the Biergarten

And now he is brewing his first Oktoberfest beer! And he's calling Rare Helen. This brew is inspired by the very German town, Helen, Georgia and… you guessed it Rare Dirndl! 

A snapshot of Helen, GA

Recently it was debuted at a Beer Disturber Show, and one restaurant GM said "I recently had the opportunity to taste your Octoberfest selection at Eagle Rock's tradeshow. I spoke with Jody, whom I have met before, and told her on-site that this is one of the BEST Octoberfest beers I have ever tasted...hands down the best. I love what you guys are doing and am excited about the wonderful beer you are brewing. I just wanted to relay that, as an avid beer enthusiast, this is exceptional beer. Thank you for the opportunity to taste it, I cant wait to bring this on-board in our restaurant." -Lindi

We are soooo excited for Tom and the Fannin Brewing Co. Check out their website and if you are in the area, be sure to stop into some of the restaurants and taste their brew's for yourself!

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Shark Week: Sale, Video & Giveaway!

It's Shark Week!

The Discovery Channel has been celebrating Shark Week for 26 years and this is the first time Rare Dirndl is celebrating these awesome creatures with them. A new "Great White" Blouse Facebook Giveaway was launched yesterday, the Limited Edition Shark Week Apron has been added to the online store and... all spiky or sharky-like dirndls are on SALE! Use coupon code: SHARK to get 10% anything in the Shark Week Collection!

Head on over to Facebook to enter the "Great White" Blouse Giveaway! In 6 days we are giving away 1 Blouslette, 1 Off-the-Shoulder Blouse, and 1 Sweetheart Blouse with Lace! (S-XL) It's super duper easy to enter - Click HERE to for your chance and then easily share it with all your friends on social media, so they don't miss out!



Use Coupon Code: SHARK
This is the perfect time to get a dirndl that has a little "sharky" edge to it like "The City and The Sea" Dirndl and the Blue and Black Trachtenshirt!

Both have that dark, elegant blue like the deep blue sea and when you buy both of these and use coupon code: SHARK , you'll save over $50.00!

We've also made a super fun Shark Week Apron! It's an 18" cotton apron with ribbon apron ties that can go with the In Bloom Dirndl, the Teenage Riot Dirndl, or any mini dirndl that is grey, silver, blue, or black!

CLICK HERE to get yours for $24.99! (only 6 available)








So there you have it... SO MUCH Shark Week awesomeness going on this week, so be sure to take advantage of it all before its gone (like some of those fish I saw on Lair of the Mega Shark last night!)

TTFN ta ta for now!

Oh... and just thought we'd share how Hank, our resident Shark Pillow Pet celebrates his favorite time of year ;-)

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Restaurant Review: Old German Beer Hall

My first time at the Old German Beer Hall in Milwaukee WI, was a few years ago when I went with a few friends to get a beer after the German Fest and it was a blast. We drank delicious beer and took shots from the Shot Ski. This time, I went with my mom on the Thursday before German Fest since we had finished setting up the booth for the day and we were a bit hungry!

The ambiance was nice, it wasn't very busy when we first got there, but when we left the bar started filling up with the after-work beer drinkers. We didn't wear our Rare Dirndls because we knew that we were going to be wearing dirndls all day for the next 3 days… so we opted for something a bit more casual.

Thursday was 1/2 price liters, so if course we had to have a liter of beer. I had the Hofbräu Weißbier and my mom had the Hofbräu Original. Our server was Kaitlin and she was nice and her service was great (however I really, really wish she wasn't wearing a dirndl costume, but she did pull off the look better than most).

 

We ordered the Curry Wurst appetizer, the Schweineflügel -“Pig Wings” which were described as 3 Meaty Pork Petit Pork Shanks Served with Barbecue Mustard Dipping Sauce. We also had a side of Sauerkraut and Spätzle. We were a bit nervous that it was not going to be enough food, but it sure was!

The Curry Wurst was crispy and the sauce was absolutely delicious!!! I did however smell a bit like curry for the rest of the night, but if that's the only side effect I would order the curry wurst again in a heartbeat!

The Schweinflügel were also wonderful. Lovely pork flavor, with just enough fat and crispiness. The dipping sauce was super tasty… a unique blend of BBQ sauce and mustard flavors. I could have easily eaten an order by myself!

Unfortunately, the sides were less desirable then the appetizers. The sauerkraut tasted like it was fresh out of the can. The Spätzle was definitely home-made but the amount of butter was overwhelming… didn't stop me from finishing it, but it was simply too much butter.

Overall we had a lovely time, there was live music towards the end of our stay and like I mentioned the service was great. We would go again to try the other things on the menu and the beer specials are too good to pass up! 

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