A pair of Landbiers. Maybe.

More from my archive. And actually, I have five or six new Landbiers to try in my cellar as I type. But let's get these off my notes first.

First up, Hallerndorfer Landbier Hell, from Brauerei Rittmayer, the makers of the wonderfully odd Smokey George. The aroma reminds me of pineapple cubes, those old-fashioned boiled sweets my Dad used to bring home. He was a confectionery salesman! The flavour is very bready with a touch of candy floss (cotton candy to American readers), but not in the sweet sense. There is little in the way of hops, and the finish is dry. It's an ok beer, but the breadiness is a little too much without something else to balance it.

Ok, this next one probably isn't a Landbier, but whatcha gonna do? Huppendorfer Vollbier from Privatbrauerei Grasser is a lovely, clear amber with a tan-tinged head that settles to a thin foam on top. It has a slightly metallic aroma, hay and raw grain. The flavour is biscuity with a slightly sharp carbonic note and a hint of pears. Going down the glass, the carbonic note settles out. It may have been the carbonation, or it just needed to breath a bit. After this, it settles into a simple, grainy beer with that same pear-like fruitiness. Not complex by any means, but a nice simple beer.

Actually, I sometimes check Ratebeer to see what they classify a beer as, and they say it's a Zwickel/Keller/Landbier. I'm glad I'm not the only one confused :oP