Advent beers 5-7: old friends, and new

Day 5 of the Kalea Bavarian Beer Advents Calendar revealed an old friend, Schneider Weisse Tap 7, Unser Original. I've always had a soft spot for Schneider, even more so after spending a brilliant night in their Weisses Brauhaus in Munich last March. Tap 7 is somewhat of a classic, in my book, ticking all the boxes one might expect from a Weißbier. The banana, bubblegum and cloves are all there, but also an apple pie with shortcrust pastry, fudge and a finish that sharpens with a bite of green apple peel. Lovely beer.

Day 6 brought another old friend, but one I had not seen in about four-and-a-half years: Erdinger Urweisse. Compared to my tasting notes from back then, this seems somewhat dumbed down. Either that or my tastes have changed in the intervening years, or it just wasn't wise to drink it after the Schneider. At least it didn't seem as intense as back then, but for all that, an enjoyable sup, with caramel notes, light cloves and baked apple.

A nice touch from Kalea was the little Santa hat on the beer, to mark Nikolaustag. Though my wife pointed out that really, it should have been a mitre... But I liked it!

Müllerbräu Neuöttinger Pils was today's beer, another new one for me. A sweet bread dough aroma, showing highlights of grass and hay, this follows through to the flavour, being bready, in a nice way, with soft grassy hops and a light citrus kick at the back.  It finishes with a lingering malty sweetness and a gentle herbal bitterness. I'm getting the impression that most Bavarian Pils don't really do hops that well, but having said that, while this wasn't an amazing experience, it was a perfectly enjoyable drop, and I can't ask for more than that. (definitely better than day 1 and 2!).

I'm off to Ghent for a couple of days this coming week, followed by time in Münster, so there'll be some catching up to do on the calendar when I return. But I'm sure to find something in Ghent to keep me going!