The last time I had a Schussenrieder beer, I really wasn't impressed, but I'm a forgiving sort, so thought I'd try their Christmas offering, the Schussenrieder Festbräu N° 1.A pale, orangey brown (not really quite amber) it started well with a toasted rye bread aroma, with raisens and lemony hops. It's malty, with a slight roasted hint, more toasted bread really, and has a wash of subtle fruity flavours, a little like juicy-fruit. In German terms, I'd probably describe this as süffig; it's really good for knocking back and wanting more, even at 5.6%. It gives a reasonable hop flavour, with a lemonand lie effect, almost like 7-Up in the finish. Yeah, strange, but not in a bad way, and not as powerful as a Radler might be. Despite looking a little flat, it's pretty gassy, so perhaps 7-Up is involved somewhere!
Overall, this redeemed Schussenrieder in my eyes, a bit, as it's a nice, juicy, sinkable beer.
I thought it was interesting that the swingtop had a Hacker-Pschorr print on the lid. Proper recycling!
When we were in Germany last month I had a really crap Christmas beer (Herforder, I think) which tasted of absolutely nowt.
ReplyDeleteAre there any really excellent German Christmas beers? Or is that a question to come back to in 11 months time?
Bailey, just for you, I'll post my Herforder tasting notes next. My neighbour gave me a few bottles...
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question though, no, not that I know of, but I'm still looking! :)