tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89436064917805384702024-03-13T14:22:17.997+01:00The Bitten BulletEvery new beer is a risk. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet.Barry Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367655129107699025noreply@blogger.comBlogger299125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943606491780538470.post-19854515793932019932018-03-18T14:02:00.001+01:002018-03-18T14:43:43.810+01:00Blind tasting Pils for our localThere are a few things that are worth dusting off the old beer blog for, and a blind tasting is certainly one of them. In this case, a blind tasting to decide what pils will be served at our local.<br />
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Our local, Landgasthaus zur Linde, closed a couple of months ago, and now our friend, who actually owns the building, and lovingly renovated it five years ago, has chosen to run it himself, rather than seeking a another leasee. As part of that, there was of course the discussion on what beers to serve, so rather than take the word of the brewery sales people at face value, it was decided to do a blind tasting with five beers, four of which could be considered regional, and one big national brand.<br />
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The tasting had eleven participants, with only two of us knowing what beers were being tested, though not the order. The beers were labelled A to E, and were poured in the kitchen, and brought out into the main room one-by one to be tasted, with rating being done on a 1 to 5 star basis once all the beers had been tasted. Tasters could give as many stars as they like. After scoring, the five beers would be revealed, and participants would try to guess what beer was what.<br />
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The beers to be tested were:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Bitburger</li>
<li>Rothaus Pils (Tannenzäpfle)</li>
<li>Faust Pils</li>
<li>Eichbaum Ureich</li>
<li>Distelhäuser Pils </li>
</ul>
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Of course, the most fun bout a blind tasting is that it forces people to leave their preconceptions at the door. And we all had ours! There were a couple of confirmed Faust drinkers, and based on the sales guy’s pitch, the proprietor thought this would come out on top. I think all of us had a less than stellar opinion of Distelhäuser Pils. For years and years I’ve said that I don’t like the pils, but can drink the export. Tannenzäpfle was expected to do well, although the love was divided. It’s one of those beers that you seem to either love or hate, and my own feeling sways from always having a crate in the cellar, to being sick of it. Two of the five, Bitburger and Eichbaum Ureich used to be served at the restaurant, under the two previous leasees, with Bitburger having been present four of the last five years.<br />
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The results were very surprising, but the reveal will come at the end. As for the scoring, out of a total max potential of 55 stars awardable to a beer, these are the total and average scores.<br />
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<b>Beer<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Total Score<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Average <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>C<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
44<o:p></o:p></div>
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4<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>D<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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31<o:p></o:p></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
2.8<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>E<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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28<o:p></o:p></div>
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2.5<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>A<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
27<o:p></o:p></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
2.5<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>B<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
21<o:p></o:p></div>
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1.9<o:p></o:p></div>
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Beer C was clearly the winner, by some margin, and B was a clear loser, with the rest filling up the middleground. The score distribution looked like this, and showed some interesting patterns.<br />
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<b>Beer<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>1 Star<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>2 Stars<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>3 Stars<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.55pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>4 Stars<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.55pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>5 Stars<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
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<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>A<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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2<o:p></o:p></div>
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5<o:p></o:p></div>
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1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.55pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
3<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
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<br /></div>
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<b>B<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
3<o:p></o:p></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
6<o:p></o:p></div>
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2<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
</td>
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<br /></div>
</td>
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<b>C<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
3<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.55pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
5<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.55pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
3<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>D<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
3<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
2<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
2<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.55pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
2<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.55pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
2<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>E<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
5<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
6<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.55pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.55pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Beer A had mostly 2 stars, with three 3 star reviews bringing up its average. </li>
<li>Beer B had also mostly 2 stars, but nothing above 3, so was very consistently rated low by the group.</li>
<li>Beer C, on the other hand, rated consistently higher, with mostly 4 star ratings, the most 5 stars, and nothing less than 3. </li>
<li>Beer D had the widest spread, with two of each star, and one extra 1 star. So very hard to make any declaration, other than is was a divided room on it. </li>
<li>Beer E received only 2 and 3 star ratings, so was generally considered to be average to low-rated. </li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
So what were the beers? Here they are, revealed<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
in order of rating.<br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>Beer<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 90.85pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>Beer Name<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>Total Score<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>Average <o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>C<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 90.85pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal">
Distelhäuser Pils<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
44<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>D<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 90.85pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal">
Rothaus Pils<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
31<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
2.8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>E<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 90.85pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal">
Eichbaum Ureich<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
28<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
2.5<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>A<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 90.85pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal">
Faust Pils<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
27<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
2.5<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>B<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 90.85pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal">
Bitburger<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
21<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
1.9<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<br />
Literally everybody was shocked at this result. Based on people’s preconceptions, Distel came in almost as the underdog, with Faust being the one expected to do the best.<br />
<br />
When it came to then naming the beers, the results were also telling, confirming the biases many of us had. This was done before the results were tallied, so people were guessing the brand based on their own personal notes and scores. Of all the beers, Ureich was guessed most correctly, by five of the eight who tried to guess. The best guesses were by one friend, Klaus, who correctly guessed three out of five!<br />
<br />
My own rating was as follows. I was fairly close to the average score, except for the Rothaus, which surprised me at how badly I rated it, though of late, it was clear that my love for it has waned. I only guessed one correctly, the Ureich, and it is telling that I also expected Faust to be the top rated.<br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>Beer<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 90.85pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>Beer Name<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 90.85pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>My Guess<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>My Score<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>Average <o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>C<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 90.85pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal">
Distelhäuser Pils<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 90.85pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal">
Faust Pils<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>E<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 90.85pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal">
Eichbaum Ureich<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 90.85pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal">
Eichbaum Ureich<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
3<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
2.5<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 75.5pt;" valign="top" width="101"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>A<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 90.85pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal">
Faust Pils<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 90.85pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal">
Distelhäuser Pils<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
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2<o:p></o:p></div>
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2.5<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>B<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Bitburger<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rothaus Pils<o:p></o:p></div>
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2<o:p></o:p></div>
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1.9<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>D<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Rothaus Pils<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bitburger<o:p></o:p></div>
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1<o:p></o:p></div>
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2.8<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ll say one thing, though, Distel do also produce a decent Weizen, and a surprisingly good IPA and Porter, so it thy also get served in the local, I’d be happy enough. I guess I should buy a crate of Distel pils on Monday!<br />
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As this was held on St. Patrick's Day, I brought a little taste of Ireland to close the evening ;)Barry Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367655129107699025noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943606491780538470.post-8577218546072123992016-05-17T22:27:00.000+02:002016-05-17T22:27:03.563+02:00Hops and NeedlesIt's that time of year again, where I am planning my third annual Fichtenbier (spruce beer) brewday, and it put me in mind of a beer I tried last year in the tasting room of the then relatively newly opened <a href="http://braukunstwerk.de/" target="_blank">Braukunstwerk </a>bottle shop in Münster. <b>Hops and Needles</b> from Brewcifer is rather aptly named, as <a href="http://brewcifer.de/en/" target="_blank">Brewcifer </a>(who I believe brew on Buddelship's kit in Hamburg) sourced spruce needles from <a href="http://www.sonnenkiefer.de/" target="_blank">Sonnenkiefer</a>, who produce a range of products from coniferous tree bits.<br />
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Described as an IPA with spruce tips, it's got quite a fruity aroma, with tangerine, passion fruit and a minty, lemon verbena note that felt familiar. Flavour-wise, it's slightly medicinal, but with peach and strawberry cream on top of a biscuity base, dried out with mandarin pith, and light tannins. It's a nice, juicy kind of beer, and I liked it a lot, but I couldn't help thinking that the spruce was playing second fiddle to the hops (Simcoe, Amarillo and Citra, by the way), especially as I know what more spruce tastes like. Nevertheless, it added a nice edge, and I guess that's the main point.<br />
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<br />Barry Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367655129107699025noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943606491780538470.post-8626701790232395422016-05-06T14:51:00.000+02:002016-05-06T14:51:26.053+02:00The Session #111: Beer midlife crisis?<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E7WrbvUdTu0/SL2a6h5b7AI/AAAAAAAAJfM/lpV3Pg6bTAItjPFXuD42HyUG2-Ymzvx1gCKgB/s1600/the-session-logo-small.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E7WrbvUdTu0/SL2a6h5b7AI/AAAAAAAAJfM/lpV3Pg6bTAItjPFXuD42HyUG2-Ymzvx1gCKgB/s1600/the-session-logo-small.bmp" /></a>I'm about the right age for a midlife crises, if such a thing exists, but <a href="https://literatureandlibation.com/2016/04/11/announcement-the-session-111-surviving-a-beer-midlife-crisis/" target="_blank">our host, Oliver</a>, wants us to focus on the idea of a beer midlife crises, something that I can probably relate to in one sense or another.<br />
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If this blog, and the (in)frequency of posts over the past few years is anything to go by, it would sure look like I lost the zeal for good beer. But for many, and I would include myself in those ranks, blogging is just an aspect of a hobby, a means to engage with a broader, international community of beer lovers. For others, it is a means to establish a brand, to launch into something closer to a job in the industry, as many of the new, glossy-looking German blogs seem to be, riding on the wave of a new German beer (sub) culture.<br />
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Truth be told, I had more pressing things to be doing, renovating a house, taking care of my family, and fitting into the new social dynamics of a small German village. But I will admit that over this period, while my core love of beer smoldered away inside, I was quite content, in the main, to buy beers I liked by the crate-load, and simply enjoying them without analysing. My home brewing was taking a hit, too, with a low point in 2012 of brewing only once in the entire year! And apart from the highlights of attending a festival or two each year, I had neither the time nor the money to be investing in what can be an expensive hobby. At least when trying to keep up with the new, usually dearer, specialty brews from new and old breweries here, while there were pretty decent "normal" beers to be had at very reasonable prices. So my broader explorations slowed, and I had to become more selective.<br />
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This period also saw a boom in what I suppose can be described the craft beer movement here in Germany. With my lack of time and money, to a degree it felt like watching from the outside, as the choices for lovers of interesting beer expanded, and the idea of craft finally came to Germany. However, observing an apparent swell of "me too" breweries, or often just brands opening up in the trendy parts of Germany, as well as large breweries co-opting the "movement", I think I probably reached, well, not a crises, but a kind of cynicism that is not really the way I like to see the world.<br />
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And that is probably as close to a crises that I will get in my beer life. The pleasure of experiencing a new beer, for brewing, for sharing and for actually being part of a community with a common interest, well, that never went away.<br />
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In the past 14 months, since moving into our house, my home brewing has increased pace again, and brew days have become more like a social occasion, as people usually pop around for a bite to eat and some beer tasting. I'm also planning on giving the home brewery a more permanent home in the barn, one of the many projects on my endless to-do list. Last August I completed a <a href="http://thebauernhaus.blogspot.de/2015/08/the-bierkeller-part-5-done.html" target="_blank">dedicated beer cellar</a>, and plan to start cellaring certain beers properly, with a view to having vertical tastings in a few years, so the way I see it, beer has been incorporated into the very fabric of our home.<br />
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The social aspects of beer are also too important to forget. For me, beer has been like an "in", as a foreigner in a small village. Stammtisch people now introduce me as "the Irish brewer", if someone new pops in, giving two topics to immediately talk about. But more recently, my passion for all things beery has been re-awoken due to being around more people with similar interests, either home brewers, professional brewers, or simply neighbours of all ages just happy to objectively taste something new. Beer is ultimately a social thing, and it needs people to make it any way interesting at all.<br />
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I won't promise that this blog will suddenly be seeing more regular posting, nor am I ready to close its eyes and draw a blanket over it, <a href="http://thebeernut.blogspot.de/2016/05/keep-on-truckin.html" target="_blank">as TheBeerNut put it</a>. I will continue to occasionally post about things that grab my fancy, or that I feel need a bit of thought and exploration (purely for my own sake), or simply giving readers a view into what is happening in the German beer scene. But my personal interest in beer? That won't lessen any time soon. It's simply too much fun!Barry Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367655129107699025noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943606491780538470.post-89324184854046269742016-05-03T21:47:00.000+02:002016-05-04T08:51:31.470+02:00Reinheit celebration brews<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
A few weeks ago, my wife returned from the local drinks store with a six-pack of a new beer from Distelhäuser, Jubiläumshopfen, a dry-hopped pils brewed in celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Bavarian Rienheitsgebot. On the back label, it lists Citra and Cascade as the hops used to dry hop, and a swirl of the bottle shows plenty of hop debris (pellets, presumably) left over from the dry hopping process. A careful pour leaves these behind.</div>
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Fruity, with masses of passion fruit and mango, but also with a pungent, kind of crushed tomato leaf-marigold background that eases off a bit as the beer breathes, revealing a more delicate shade of mandarin and lime pith. It doesn't eel at all like a pils, in the classic sense, and given I'm not a huge fan of Distel Pils, I found this to be a relief. It's creamy and oily at first, though it does have a snap to the finish, offering a lightly tannic dryness. But the main act is the big fruit bomb, carrying the mango and passion fruit over from the aroma, with bitter mandarin in the mix to sharpen things up. All in all, a rather juicy drop. </div>
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Having a contact in the brewery, I was curious about the hops used in the boil, and it's a rather long list, consisting of Northern Brewer, Perle, Tettnanger, Smaragd, Saphir and Centennial, plus the Citra and Cascade for dry hopping, as previously mentioned. Apparently the regular Pils also uses six hop varieties, though I am guessing more traditional types.</div>
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The second celebration beer came from an unlikely source, considering the trial that Camba Bavaria have been going through, taking their Milk Stout, Coffee Porter and other beers off the market, as the Bavarian rules won't let them cal them either beers, Brew Specialities, or even "mixed drinks". I received the bottle free from Camba as they saw on Twitter it was my birthday, and offered a drink on them, which was very kind.<br />
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I have to admit, I wasn't sure what to expect here. Would they be sticking it to the man, or playing it straight, but in a way, it was somewhere in between. The aroma wasn't standout, reminding me a little of hay in a dry, dusty field, with grassy highlights. This belies the fruit-forward flavour of this Helles. Where the Distel was bright and sharp, this contrasts by being earthy and deep, with strawberry, melon and tropical fruits, ending on a mineral, chalky, herbal note. Both have their merits!<br />
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<br />Barry Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367655129107699025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943606491780538470.post-87482088491254695512016-04-27T07:40:00.000+02:002016-04-27T08:02:39.346+02:00With a little help from my friendsThe occasion of <a href="http://www.graphedbeer.com/2016/03/announcing-open-it-on-16th-april.html" target="_blank">#OpenIt</a> a couple of weeks ago happened to coincide with a small, pre-birthday gathering, at which I had already planned to open a selection of bottles, some of which had been languishing in my cellar for a few years. Ever the one for experimenting on my friends and neighbours, I thought it would be a chance to share some big bottles, and get some feedback in the form of a casual tasting.<br />
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After filling bellies with chili and a selection of my own humble beer offerings of porter, pale ale and saison -- people always seem to go for the homebrew before the commercial stuff, which is endearing -- we had, at the end, five volunteers, plus a few backseat drivers, for a tasting. I gave them sheets to write down their thoughts, as it wasn't a free lunch!<br />
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The first beer opened was <b>Jeff's Bavarian Ale</b> from Maisel & Friends. This was only in the cellar only a few weeks, as I had bought the rather well-priced big bottle on a whim, while waiting for a physio session in nearby Mosbach. I had avoided reading anything about it, but was not surprised to later learn it's based on Weißbier, as the aroma is distinctly fruity, with banana and bready yeast overtones. It is, however, quite a bit richer than the average Weißbier, leaning more towards a Weizen Doppelbock (well, yes, it would at 7.1% ABV), with plenty of vanilla, fruity elements recalling summer berries, and a sweetish, crème caramel base. The finish is sweet and oily, leaving a warm, spicy feel. Words used by the group to describe it included: blackcurrant, fruity and mild, liquer-like.<br />
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I was a little hesitant about opening the <b>Chimay Bleue Grande Réserve 2008</b>, that I bought in some newsagents in Münster in 2009. It had been moving about with us, so has seen four difference "cellars" over the past seven years, and the amount of gooey-looking sediment at the bottom of the bottle gave me pause. I decided it was best to decant it, and we got a lovely clear beer for serving. It had a gorgeous, rich, sherry and port-like nose, and a flavour laden with raisins, dates, vanilla and toffee. And all of this on a silky-smooth, creamy body that masked the 9% well. It certainly wore its age well, and everybody seemed to enjoy it. Words used to describe it included vanilla, honey, chestnuts, nutty. Quite perceptive, this bunch.<br />
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Maisel & Friends was chosen by the group for the third round, as they all liked the sound of <b>Marc's Chocolate Bock</b>, a 7.5% creation that the blurb says is his interpretation of an Irish stout... eh, ya wha? Rich and fruity, with dried fruits, dates, and yes, a suggestion of chocolate. It has a lovely velvety texture, with vanilla, caramel and chocolate mousse. All rather nice in the mouth, but although the finish was certainly chocolaty, that in itself a great feat, it was of a type that didn't appeal to me. The team described this beer as dark caramel, bitter chocolate and a bitter, burnt aftertaste.<br />
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The final beer we shared was <b>Bergmann Adam</b>. Bergmann is a Dortmund brewery I've covered before, but I'm not sure if they are yet brewing at their own facilities by now. This was a beer I had been greatly anticipating, as there was some personal interest in how it turned out. Back in 2010, I had irregular mail correspondence with the owner -- in 2009, I'd arranged <a href="http://thebittenbullet.blogspot.de/2009/07/day-in-dortmund.html" target="_blank">a visit to the brewery</a> with the <a href="http://thebeergeek.com/" target="_blank">The Beer Geeks</a>, Chris and Merideth -- and he'd told me of his intention to remake an Adambier, which originally came from Dortmund. Out of curiousity, I contacted <a href="http://barclayperkins.blogspot.de/" target="_blank">Ron Pattinson</a> to see what insights he had on the original Adambier, and he kindly given me some info that I passed on to Dr. Raphael:<br />
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<i>Dortmunder Adambier was a strong, sourish top-fermenting beer. Wahl & Henius ("American Handy Book of the Brewing, Malting and Auxiliary Trades", 1902) has an analysis of the beer performed in 1889. It was around 18º Balling, 7.38% alc. by weight (9.4% ABV) and a lactic acid content about half that of a contemporary lambiek. In contrast to sour beers such as Gose and Berliner Weisse, Adambier, also called Dortmunder Altbier, was heavily hopped. It acquired its sourness much like Porter - through a long secondary fermentation. Bacteria in the lagering vessels slowly changed the beer's character. It needed to be stored for at least a year for this process to take place. At the end of the primary fermentation the beer it was not sour at all. Another beer of this type was Münsterländer Altbier - stilll brewed by Pinkus Müller in Münster today. (Source: "Jahrbuch der Versuchs- und Lehranstalt für Brauerei in Berlin, 1911", p.522)</i></blockquote>
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Now, they didn't want to introduce lactobacillus, as they were contract brewing, but said they would use lactic acid to add sourness. Nevertheless, it was something I was eager to try. However, getting a bottle seemed to be difficult, as it sold out quick every time it was made, and it wasn't till I think last year that my colleague Markus generously gave me a bottle. Needless to say, I was excited to be trying this for the first time!<br />
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A respectable 7.8% ABV, Adam was not what I expected. On the nose, I found it fruity, with soft, ripe berries to the fore, with a soft, yeasty edge. Expecting to pucker up, the flavour was also more in the direction of fruit, with a slight bite of cranberry drying up what would otherwise be sweet caramel, and just a hint of a roasty edge. Maybe the cranberry dryness was a hint of the lactic acid, but then, maybe I've been desensitised, as it was nowhere near "<i>lactic acid content about half that of a contemporary lambiek</i>". Not that it's a bad beer in its own right, but its wasn't lagered for a year with bacteria doing interesting things to it. The group however said they did pick up a sourness, and along with the Chimay, this rated highly. Malty explosion, mildly sour and smokey were descriptors used by the <strike>victims</strike> volunteers.<br />
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It was a fun evening capped off by this tasting, and those who remained for it all said it was great fun. There's plenty more waiting in the cellar!Barry Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367655129107699025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943606491780538470.post-59656218025563321932016-04-23T01:30:00.001+02:002016-04-23T01:40:16.071+02:00The Reinheitsgebot - A Personal VoyageYes, it's that time of year when German Beer Day comes around, but as everyone knows, a special year, with today being the 500th anniversary of the Bavarian Reinheitsgebot.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u8wswhDsMwc/VxqyrOEGOSI/AAAAAAAAJqg/oZrBOdKiW4URyhBjGkYepMxroPHTSAmQQCLcB/s1600/RHGB500.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="109" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u8wswhDsMwc/VxqyrOEGOSI/AAAAAAAAJqg/oZrBOdKiW4URyhBjGkYepMxroPHTSAmQQCLcB/s200/RHGB500.png" width="200" /></a>I'm not going to go into the arguments for and against it. They have been done to death already this year, and most of the arguments are ones I've seen repeated frequently over the past three to four years, especially since the rise of the Craft Beer Scene in Germany. I've attended talks at the likes of Braukunst Live, have read plenty of the new wave of German beer blogs, seen interviews with prominent members of the growing craft brewing community, and enough YouTube recordings of panel discussions to be well versed in the main points against the Reinheitsgebot. At least they are consistent, and indeed, they are arguments that I've used myself, after moving here in 2008 and<a href="http://thebittenbullet.blogspot.de/2008/08/eine-kurze-einfhrung.html" target="_blank"> starting this much-neglected blog</a> soon after. I've also seen enough of the marketing from the Deutsche Brauerbund to know what the pro argument sounds like. So this is more about my own perception of the <i>gebot</i>, and how views seem to be shifting.<br />
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At the time I left Ireland, it was a country seeing a surge of interest in good beer from small, local breweries, and I admit, I missed it when I came over here. Not that I wasn't prepared in some way for the relative conservatism, but in a way, I had to retrain my expectations, hitting the reset button if you will, and <a href="http://thebittenbullet.blogspot.de/2008/09/deutsches-bier-and-me.html" target="_blank">came to realise that there was plenty to enjoy from the rich German brewing traditions</a>, if you knew where to look.<br />
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Sure, I railed against the <i>gebot </i>often enough, while at the same time thoroughly enjoying fantastic German beers, with the odd Belgian, US or English import to add a spark and remind me what I was missing. Then. in 2010, the first <a href="http://thebittenbullet.blogspot.de/2010/05/festival-der-bierkulturen-2010-german.html" target="_blank">Festival der Bierkulturen</a> happened, which was billed as going "beyond the Reinheitsgebot". This was a first peek at a small section of the brewing community doing something different, and I loved it.<br />
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But after three years living here, I began to rail less against the instrument of the <i>gebot </i>itself, as it was simply a marketing tool, and instead, more or less concluded it was the <a href="http://thebittenbullet.blogspot.de/2011/03/maybe-its-not-reinheitsgebot-or-is-it.html" target="_blank">German drinkers on the whole that were stultifying German beer culture</a>. What I meant by this was that on the whole, and certainly at that point in time, it was fair to say that the general populace were happy with the status quo. And given that most were happy that way, and with what the Reinheitsgebot appeared to promise, then the impetus for change would simply not happen, the Reinheitsgebot would go unchallenged, and we'd continue ad nauseum.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0r6PefFzZe0/T0QJOLnRy8I/AAAAAAAAJdo/erdeiDAyVuEh78x-TmLPqeCEPTbunn2VgCKgB/s1600/BraukunstLIve_600x800.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0r6PefFzZe0/T0QJOLnRy8I/AAAAAAAAJdo/erdeiDAyVuEh78x-TmLPqeCEPTbunn2VgCKgB/s200/BraukunstLIve_600x800.png" width="149" /></a>But I hadn't realised that things really were already starting to change. Hopfenstopfer had started brewing a single hopped pale ale that year, the now classic Citra Ale. Braufactum appeared with incredibly different beers, beautifully marketed. Online stored were increasing their foreign offerings. Something was stirring. And then, <a href="http://thebittenbullet.blogspot.de/2012/04/braukunst-live-2012-master-classes.html" target="_blank">in 2012, Braukunst Live started</a>. In a way, this felt like a shift, as it was a big festival in the most conservative of brewing cities, and there was a huge focus on "craft", with the accompanying debates on the limitations of the Reinheitsgebot.<br />
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The growth of the craft beer sector has continued unabated since then. In many ways, it mirrors what I saw happening in Ireland, and indeed the UK, also with the eventual existential crisis about what exactly <b>is</b> craft beer? Berlin and Hamburg are thriving centres for this new "movement", and there are new breweries and contract brands, popping up regularly, as more and more want to be part of the action. In the 5 years since I moved to south Germany, two new breweries have opened in my former home town of Münster, one by a friend who has an avid interest in pre-Reinheitsgebot beers. And the arguments against it get louder.<br />
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Thinking back to that piece I wrote five years ago, and just getting a feel for the mood in the beer community, and articles in even regional newspapers over recent weeks, I get the impression that regular drinkers -- beyond the feedback loop of the craft beer circles -- are on to the Reinheitsgebot. They are beginning to understand that it is not necessarily an assurance of good-tasting beer. They are beginning to experiment and buy that odd bottle that has appeared on the Getränkemarkt shelf. They are lifting their heads above the parapet, just a little mind, but enough to make me think that now might be the time for some practical change..<br />
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I wouldn't say throw the Reinheitsgebot away completely. It's too valuable as a marketing tool, and sure, it has historical and cultural significancef. But let's not be stupid by saying this means other fermented beverages based on malted barley, but perhaps with some coffee added, are not allowed to be called beer. Let those who brew according the gebot use it as a seal of sorts, and extend the actual brewing rules laid out in the Vorläufiges Biergesetz (1993) to allow anything brewed with natural ingredients to be called beer. It surely must be that simple!<br />
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But for me, the real tipping point is the negative marketing, bordering on propaganda from the Deutscher Brauerbund. That alone is what makes me rail against the Reinheitsgebot. Skip to 2:10 on this video below, published by the Brauerbund. In my poor translation, they say "So, no artificial ingredients, enzymes, colouring or aromas. Brewing beer is therefore more demanding and complex than in most foreign breweries". Reading between the very wide-spaced lines, they are essentially tarring most foreign beers as being riddled with chemicals and being generally awful. And this messaging transferrs to those German beers influenced by foreign styles that are currently in vogue. This is exactly this kind of crap that tips my opinion enough to say I don't like what the Reinheitsgebot represents. With that kind of propoganda, it's no wonder it has taken this long for the blinkers to be shed. Let the brewing traditions of Germany open and grow, to give the beer-drinking public what they want, and see a rejuvenation of German beer culture at a time when the trend has been away from beer.<br />
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Barry Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367655129107699025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943606491780538470.post-67357769753821121352016-04-20T08:00:00.000+02:002016-04-20T08:39:59.920+02:00Artbrau 2016 - Part 2: Eichbaum ExperimentalsOn my train ride to Heilbronn, I had tweeted something to the effect of wondering what <a href="http://www.eichbaum.de/" target="_blank">Eichbaum </a>would be bringing to the party this time. <a href="http://thebittenbullet.blogspot.de/2015/04/artbrau-2015-part-1.html" target="_blank">Last year</a>, it was one of the bigger surprises. To reiterate, I know Eichbaum well. Based in Mannheim, they are probably our biggest regional brewery, and are independently owned, at least since a management buyout following bitter strikes in 2006. So their beer is everywhere to be seen here, a bit like Distelhäuser. Eichbaum Ureich is probably the most popular around here, and I'll buy a crate now and again if I've a bunch of pils drinkers coming over. Well, either that or Tannenzäpfle. But as I've said before, with their pils, export, weizen, kellerbier. --you get the idea -- they never rated high on my radar, other than the fact that their beer is colloquially referred to as <i>Leichenwasser</i>, or "corpse water", owing to the brewery's proximity to the main Mannheim graveyard! Last year changed that view a bit, but was a bit like peeping through a keyhole, or bunghole, if you will, catching a glimpse of odd things they were experimenting with. Odd, but in a rather good way! So I found myself at their stall again this year, where at first glance, the choice seemed similar to the year before, but oh how wrong I was.<br />
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One enigmatic entry on the blackboard was simply listed as Eichbaum Experimental, which turned out to be rotating all day. At the time I asked, it was a 7.5% beer aged on <b>juniper wood</b>, which was referred to as a "gin beer", and using the hop variety Relax, which the server told me was normally used in herbal teas. It had a powerful aroma, reminding me of pine-scented cleaning fluid (I want to say Jeyes, but my childhood memories are not what they were), and yes, gin aromatics, that reach right back into your sinus cavities. Somehting that strong can't help but be carried over into the flavour, and while being perhaps one of the more unusual beer flavours I've had (on a par with some of the unreleased prototypes from Gruthaus up in Münster), it's bloody fascinating. Woody, for sure, with a camphor-like effect gasping into the finish, but under all of this is a sweet, malty, fudgy base, with surprisingly delicate fruit flavours, evoking peach. I was surprised to be able to pick up anything like that after the aroma, but certainly a good experiment to try.<br />
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I thought a palate cleanser might be in order, so ordered a Eichbaum Enigma Zwickl, an 5% ABV, dry-hopped Kellerbier on draft, using Tettnanger Herkules and Czech Aurora in the kettle and dry hopped with Australian Enigma hops. A good solid beer this, with a honey-melon like flavour, a light vinous highlights, evoking summer berries. It was about this time that I got a bit distracted from the note-taking, as I began talking to the brewer, Tom Majorosi. One of my neighbours did his apprenticeship at Eichbaum, and it turned out is was under Tom, so we ended up having a great chat over quite a few of his experimental brews.<br />
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What was described as a <b>Double IPA</b> was pushed on me, brewed last year using a new, and as yet unnamed trial hop variety that I noted as 08/33 Tettnang. Big fruits on this one, with strawberry, raspberry and apricot to the fore. I was amazed to find it has 13% ABV, which was incredibly well hidden, as was the 50 IBUs. It's more lush than bitter, and with a lingering vanilla finish, it put me more in mind of a barley wine than a double IPA, not that I was complaining!<br />
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During our chat, various bits of information were dropped that were at least new to me, like the fact Eichbaum brew Lidl's craft beer range (confirmed by a quick web search). I haven't even tried those, but I suspect I'll have my eyes peeled next time I'm in a Lidl.<br />
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For fans of wood, the bottled<b> Cabernet Franc Bock</b> probably ticks a lot of boxes, being a dark Doppelbock aged for 14 months in a Cabernet Franc cask. And it really is sublime. Massive vanilla with a smear of raspberry jam on the nose. And either the newer bocks being produced are more attenuated than the older, more traditional types, but the mouthfeel of this was more "<i>spritzig</i>" and light, than the sugary sticky that I often expect, and this served to lift up the barrow-load of flavours, with more raspberry, a bite of cherry, and a lick of tea-like tannins punctuating it. Apparently hopped with just Herkules hops (25 IBUs), the beer seems to be a vehicle for the barrel itself, and was one of my highlights of the festival.<br />
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After all these heavy-hitters, the next beer was somewhat of a surprise. <b>Jean de Wit</b>, named after Jean du Chaine, a Wallonian gentleman who founded "Zum Aichbaum" in 1679, is most certainly a nod to the Belgian Wit style, with 4.8% ABV and infused with coriander seed and orange peel. And it shows. It opens with a zippy, fresh mandarin and lemon sorbet aroma, following through to the flavour, which takes on an additional spicy note, with a sherbet zing. I noted lemon-barley water (does Robinson's lemon barley water still exist?), but also . A refreshing, summery, beer for sure.<br />
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Staying in the wheat zone, but more in the Germanic tradition, <b>Equinox/Nelson Weisse</b> was next. As the name suggests, a Hefeweizen dry hopped with US Equinox hops and Nelson Sauvin from New Zealand. Perhaps taking inspiration from Schneider's lovely Nelson Weisse. In effect, nothing like a traditional German Weizen, but juicy as hell with luscious fruity flavours and "<i>super süffig</i>", according to my notes.<br />
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And so back to the bigger beers, with <b>Eichbaum Barrique Bock</b> on draft, an 8 % Doppelbock dry hopped with Amarillo, Simcoe and Cascade. I'm well familiar with Eichbaum's Apostulator Bock, and while it's fine, it doesn't press so many of my buttons. But I hadn't realised that that was essentially the same beer, just bunged into a barrique and dry hopped. And really, it does alter the beer, to a stage where buttons were being pressed. Vanilla again comes to the fore on the aroma, with the barrel having a loud voice, but the added fruitiness of the hops, and perhaps also the tannin effect from the barrique itself, seems to result in a lower perceived residual sugar. That's just an awkward way of saying it felt drier than the regular bock, which is something i much prefer. Cherry, vanilla, and an oily mouthfeel all added to make a rather comforting drop.<br />
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By this time, my friend, Frank, from back home had arrived, and I did another round of the stalls with him, and stopped taking notes. But we did return to Tom and Eichbaum for one more. <b>Eichbaum Lambexico</b> is a Lambic beer with 8% ABV aged for 14 months in Tequila barrels. I think my little mind stopped working at this stage, so no more notes, just enjoying the last beers and some excellent three and five-year-old cheeses provided by Tom from (I think his friend) Lothar Müller, the Cheese Master at <a href="http://www.xn--ksemanufaktur-bfb.de/" target="_blank">Käsemanufaktur Hockenheim</a>, one of which was washed in in an Eichbaum Experimental. Many thanks to Tom for the hospitality!<br />
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And that's it for Artbrau. There were a few more beers had that I won't go into detail on, from Schneider and Welde, but my memory is not so reliable, other than the fact that I tweeted the <b>Schneider Marie's Rendevous</b> was an awful mess of sweetness. "Liquidised lollipops" was what I actually said.<br />
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I like this festival. It had a decent trade by the evening, but never got uncomfortable, and it had a nice atmosphere, making it easy to strike up conversation with random strangers. My only complaint would be on the food side, as the options were few, and pretty expensive. However, compared to other festivals, the entry cost was very reasonable, and the beer servings generous, so balance is restored. I'm certainly looking forward to next year.<br />
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Barry Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367655129107699025noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943606491780538470.post-39827123794796471872016-04-13T21:11:00.003+02:002016-04-13T21:11:57.605+02:00Artbrau 2016 - Part 1<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It had been over a year since my last beer festival – due to bad planning on the behalf of the organisers, Braukunst Live yet again clashed with something else in my calendar – so I have to admit, it was with great anticipation that last Saturday, I headed off to the 2</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 8.799999999999999px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super; white-space: pre-wrap;">nd</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <a href="http://www.artbrau.de/de/home.html" target="_blank">Artbrau </a>festival, just an hour’s train ride away in Heilbronn.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">First stop, as usual, was to say hello to Thomas at </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Hopfenstopfer</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, to see what was new, and have a bit of a chat. Thomas’s latest creation is </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Höllensud</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, described as a highly hoped pils. With a cutting, fresh lemon aroma, backed by an earthy, leaning towards catty tone, it begs further exploration. Planned to have 45 IBUs, but it ended up at 53, the bitterness is certainly noticeable, but crisp and clean, like one would expect a pils to be. But the choice of hops brings it beyond that. There are fruity tone, recalling pear drop candy, mango and tangerines, with the slight saltiness of digestive biscuits. At 4.8%, it marks a departure for his normal line of beer, and is eminently sinkable.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For those who don’t know, Thomas brews at <a href="http://www.brauerei-haeffner.de/" target="_blank">Häfner Bräu</a> in Bad Rappenau, and Hopfenstopfer was more or less a personal side project. However, it has gotten to the stage where demand means that the volume of Hopfenstopfer beers brewed is exceeding the standard stuff, and the beers are available further afield.</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MPyv_PmJAvs/Vwu-DdCTyjI/AAAAAAAAJiI/o9W-1IVVOQEtXBlcAuKqg9xLE4Ejjt4Rg/s1600/Brewdudes%2BIPA.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MPyv_PmJAvs/Vwu-DdCTyjI/AAAAAAAAJiI/o9W-1IVVOQEtXBlcAuKqg9xLE4Ejjt4Rg/s320/Brewdudes%2BIPA.JPG" width="212" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A few steps away was one of the newer breweries, or perhaps brands, in the region, <a href="http://brewdudes.de/" target="_blank"><b>Brewdudes</b></a> out of Würzburg, an hour north of my home. Brewdudes is a collective of seven young guys, students mostly, who are homebrewers. Tired of the relatively boring beer scene in Würzburg, they made first stops to making their own commercial beer, <b>Brewdudes Pale Ale</b> in July last year. Contract brewed at <a href="http://www.mainseidla.de/" target="_blank">Brauhaus Binkert</a> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to their own recipe, it was described to me as a “beginners pale ale”. Setting expectations low then! Admittedly, the aroma is not much to speak of, offering a hint of caramel and flowery notes. Flavour-wise, it’s more firmly on the malty spectrum, with a pop of juicy-fruit gum, and just a twist of orange peel. The hops are fairly Germanic, with Hercules and Perle, and finished with Cascade (German cascade, as I recall), so perhaps a German Pale Ale, without the baggage associated with what one tends to expect from a pale ale these days.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ll be watching what these guys do with interest. I couldn’t help but wonder if there might be a case of too many cooks, as someone commented to me, sometime two people working together on a beer can have enough disagreements, but seven is a lot. Still, they look like happy chaps, don’t they?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The guys were also serving a beer from Binkert, the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Amber Spezial</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, a beer using only Fränkisch ingredients. Most definitely wearing its heart on its sleeve as a malty beer, with summer fruit flavours up front, evoking raspberry and strawberry jam, there’s a crisp bitterness that creeps up later. A solid enough thirst quencher, but not standing out from many others on the broader market.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As well as the young guns, there were breweries that it would be fair to say were more traditional. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Haller Löwenbräu</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was one such, with a wide offering of very much traditional German beer styles. One that stood out, was </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Mohrenköpfle Landbier</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (which essentially translates as little carrot head). Looking more pale brown, the aroma certainly struck more of the German pils chords, with a crisp, herbal aroma. Up front, the taste hits a crème caramel button, backed with crisp, clean malts, cut by a grassy, herbal hop flavour. Actually, really a rather nice, solid beer for sucking back on a hot day. It wasn’t that hot in a train shed in early April, so it might have been served a tad too cold, but a good palate cleanser also.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Riedenburger </b></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">had a booth again this year, and although I’ve had their beers several times, I stopped by to have a Doldensud. Maybe it was the gravitational pull of all the beards that seemed to have concentrated around the organic brewer. </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Doldensud </b></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is as fruity as it gets. Big tangerine aromas way up front. It’s soft, creamy, with an almost strawberry-cream candy like flavour. Bitterness is low, which pushes is slightly towards the sweet side of things, with a background of banana and bubblegum, but the overall effect is simply juicy, and somehow comforting. I recall trying their beers in 2008, before the craft beer “movement” hit Germany, and being impressed. It’s good to see they don’t just rely on an organic label to sell their beers, but they put effort into it too.</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w49XdMeTO_U/Vwu-GG3jIpI/AAAAAAAAJiI/pdtwVQatraMQ1PAXqC7d6IEyC27S1RsjQ/s1600/DSC06115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w49XdMeTO_U/Vwu-GG3jIpI/AAAAAAAAJiI/pdtwVQatraMQ1PAXqC7d6IEyC27S1RsjQ/s320/DSC06115.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Needing something solid at this stage, I popped outside into the sun to check out the food stalls. Food offerings at Artbrau were similar to last year, with overpriced plates of cheese, and BBQ and grilled goods from “Grill Gott”. The cheaper option of Bratwurt and Pommes was replaced this year with “Healthy Wraps”. I opted for a breadroll with pulled port with Krautsalat, which seemed rather small for the €7.50 it cost, but it was tasty. In fact, I had a second one later in the evening, which brought the food bill almost in par with the beer bill, which is saying something, considering the beers I tried.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But, back into the fray, and to a completely new brewery for me: <a href="http://kuehnkunzrosen.de/" target="_blank"><b>Kuehn Kunz Rosen</b></a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, based in Mainz, so perhaps not so local. From what I gather, this brewery was formed in 2014 by two home brewers coming from the IT industry, which seems to be happening a lot recently. </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">The blackboard looked very inviting, and I tweeted that I would probably have to try them all, which I did!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I started with the </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Kuehnes Blondes</b></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, a Belgian Wit at 4.9%, that was a picture-perfect hazy straw colour. The nose is all apple and fresh lemon zest, with the flavours suggesting almonds, or maybe a touch sweeter, towards marzipan, on a light spicy, biscuit base. The finish is a little flabby, though, with a lingering banana, and slightly soapy flavour, however, I rather liked it overall, and was pleasantly surprised, as other German interpretations of classic Belgian style have not worked too well for me in the past.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On to the </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Caspar Böhmisches Pils</b></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, at 5%. This opens up rather pungently, with a striking aroma that verges on spicy cheese, with elements of blackcurrent. Now don’t leave yet. It sounds dreadful, but actually, it seemed to draw me deeper, trying to figure it out. The flavour is considerably perfumy and spicy, with floral elements, like marigolds, and it has a rather interesting sorbet-like effect on the finish, which I found delightful. It turns out this is hopped 100% with Saazer, which I was amazed by. I don’t think I’ve ever had Saaz used in this quantity in a beer. The “stink” does dissipate as the beer gets some air, and the longer finish suggests more blackcurrent. I began to wonder if there was slight oxidation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Their </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Mystique IPA</b></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> seemed to be doing a fine trade while I was standing there, a 7% pale amber beer with a rich, deep aroma, filled with blackcurrent, mango and pine. On the tongue, it's earthy and oily, with a light fudgey sweetness, candied grapefruit and passion fruit, finishing with orange pith and pine resin. Really quite lush. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hopped with summit, cascade, amarillo and crystal.</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BdEeEmqtsYI/Vwu-KOpdu1I/AAAAAAAAJiQ/CP5XfRbc17wA8oi1XsNJ8SvIj2LS6QRyQ/s1600/Kuehn_Kreuz_Rosen-Festland_Tonka_Bock.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BdEeEmqtsYI/Vwu-KOpdu1I/AAAAAAAAJiQ/CP5XfRbc17wA8oi1XsNJ8SvIj2LS6QRyQ/s320/Kuehn_Kreuz_Rosen-Festland_Tonka_Bock.JPG" width="212" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And finally, Festland Tonka Bock, flavoured, as the name suggests, with tonka beans. But a carefully controlled amount, so the coumarin won't stop your heart! A crystal clear chestnut, it has an almost classic bock aroma: caramel, burnt sugar, with a whiff of herbs. But the flavour goes beyond that, with a light roast, suggesting American coffee, a solid vanilla backbone, lent by the tonka beans, and fruity elements, with dried and tropical fruits. Motueka hops, I was later informed.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The beers are actually brewed at Binkert, as was the Brewdudes beer, but it would seem with considerably more oversight, and perhaps experience, than our young friends from earlier. I was reasonably impressed by them all, and the Wit, flabby finish notwithstanding, was a standout for me.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Palmbräu </b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">impressed me last year with their dark beers, but having bought a six pack of their most recent Black Ale just a few weeks ago, and promptly giving three of them away as I found them way too sweet, I was hoping to be re-impressed with their strangely-named </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Fashion Pale Ale</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Maybe they’re seeing through it all! The back label describes it as an IPA, however, though the aroma is more reminiscent of a conventional Exportbier, with vegetal notes. The flavour is sweet, candy-like, with sugary woodruff. I slinked away, disappointed, but there were plenty more fish in the sea.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">And so endeth part one. Part two is pretty much going to be dedicated to one brewery, and some of the bigger surprises of this small festival. In the meantime, look at how happy the Hopfenstopfer team were with the evening trade.</span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-5240c867-107d-8b84-7ff0-0ced3c40d4af"><br /></span>Barry Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367655129107699025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943606491780538470.post-60813026267165120692015-10-15T21:02:00.002+02:002015-10-15T21:04:23.147+02:00Where do I start?"Where do I start?" was exactly the question I put to my old friend, Kieron, after walking into <a href="https://57theheadline.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">57 The Headline</a>, early last September. It was my first time in a Dublin pub in three years, and there was no better place to head in order to get a decent cross section of the veritable explosion of new beers since my last visit to my home town. To be honest, I've lost count of how many breweries have opened since my last trip to Ireland, but there must be over 50 new breweries since I left for Germany almost 8 years ago, so one can imagine the mountain of new beers to try.<br />
<br />
57 The Headline is run by Geoff Carty, who was formerly bar manager at my old haunt, the Bull and Castle, and in the three years since he took it over, I reckon they can be proud. It was midweek, fairly well crowded with a mix of all ages and types, and scanning the 20 taps on the bar, quite remarkable in that they had no Guinness, no Heineken, well, basically none of the big name brands. Instead, there was a hefty selection of beers from local (meaning Irish) micro breweries, the majority of which I had never tried. So, indeed, where should I start?<br />
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Something low ABV, perhaps. There seems to be a few session pale ales/IPAs on the market at the moment, so I thought I'd dip into a pint of Trouble Brewing's <b>Graffiti</b>, at 3.6%. A fresh lemon and grass aroma (as distinct from lemongrass). Light on the body, it's certainly hop-focussed, with plenty of lemony, pithy flavours, on a biscuity base, but also with a slight metallic bite. A long-lasting, dry bitterness, reminiscent of quinoa/tonic water, I have to admit I found it refreshing, though a tad thin.<br />
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I left the choice for the next round up to Kieron, and he returned from the bar with <b>The Hurler</b>, brewed at Trouble for Four Provinces, a 4.2% copper ale. Quite a detour after the previous hop-forward beer, The Hurler is packed with juicy malts, with a solid backbone of caramel, dried fruits, raisins, with a lick of hops to perk it up a tad. Despite all that fruitiness, it finishes dry, with a rather nice zesty, almost cola-like flavour, lingering. Moreish.<br />
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At this point, Geoff had spotted, via Twitter, that I was in the house, so he came out for a chat, and a break from the kitchen. Being the consummate host that he is, he kindly offered us a sampler rack with six random beers.<br />
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<br />
Although my goal this trip was to drink nothing but Irish beers, an English one slipped into the tasters in the form of <b>Liquid Mistress</b> from Siren. A big, fruity aroma, full of cherry. Chewy mouthfeel. Chocolate-flavoured caramel, dates and dark cherry. Finishes sweet and fudgy with a slight fruity bitterness. A lovely, comforting ale that would be a nice winter warmer.<br />
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Back to Ireland, and <b>Blond</b>, a German-style wheat beer from White Gypsy. If you don't notice the small print describing it as a Weissbier, you'd be quickly put straight by the massive banana aroma. And I really mean massive, like ripe, mashed bananas, with plenty of clovey spiciness. It ticks all the classic boxes, and these come though in the flavour too. Creamy banana weizen, with a shot of cardamom to spice it up. A decent effort, but a slight washing-up liquid, soapy aftertaste somewhat spoiled it for me<br />
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Trouble Graffiti got another showing in the sampler, alongside its (slightly) bigger brother, <b>Sabotage IPA</b>. I found it had quite a rich hop aroma, with plenty of tropical fruit and citrus, and altogether juicier and chewier, with a slightly sweet, caramel backbone, topped by a decent and lasting classic pithy, grapefruit bitterness.<br />
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There seems to have been a rise in Irish contract brewers in recent years, and one company that provides the capacities and skills to such new beer brands, <a href="http://www.craftworks.ie/" target="_blank">Craftworks</a>, have their own label: Postcard Brewery. <b>The Spire India Pale Lager</b> from Postcard was on the taster. Certainly lagery, with a spicy, fresh hay character, evoking Germany's noble hops. Compared to the big brand pils that I'm forced to drink at my village local, this is one I could sink several of quite easily.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uKoyu21Hyuc/Vh9gNMvyhLI/AAAAAAAAJLk/gaIiwiYZ5Ws/s1600/IMG_20150903_202920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uKoyu21Hyuc/Vh9gNMvyhLI/AAAAAAAAJLk/gaIiwiYZ5Ws/s200/IMG_20150903_202920.jpg" width="150" /></a>I have to admit, the craic was taking over at this stage, so I wasn't so inclined to be taking notes while being regaled with storied from Geoff. If you go in, ask him why they finally decided not to have any of the big brands, it's worth hearing from the horses mouth!<br />
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As I digested the very tasty lamb kofta burger (and kept nibbling on the house-made pork scratchings), a few more proper pints were had. Black Donkey RyePA (decent!) and 5 Lamps Lager (ok), and I think there was another Trouble beer as a nightcap.<br />
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First night out in Dublin in three years, and only a fraction of a dent made on the list of beers to try. Luckily, there was another couple of nights out planned, with serious beer aficionados, to help reduce that list.<br />
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<br />Barry Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367655129107699025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943606491780538470.post-50788464115111214032015-07-18T08:00:00.000+02:002015-07-18T09:08:05.054+02:00CRAFT Magazine – An embodiment of the German craft beer zeitgeist?<div class="MsoNormal">
Meininger is a publishing house with a
long-established pedigree in the wine industry, with <a href="https://www.meininger.de/de/publikationen" target="_blank">several publications</a>
targetted at industry insiders as well as the consumer. CRAFT magazine
represents their first foray into beer publications, but it would seem they
have had their eye on beer for a while, as this year they already held their
second <a href="https://www.meininger.de/en/craft-beer-award" target="_blank">MeiningersInternational Craft Beer Award</a> (though most of the international entries
seem to come from the list of imports from Radeberger’s craft label,
Braufactum).</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pl5lUSGxcyk/Val5EBItW7I/AAAAAAAAJCQ/tRax40Q-NEQ/s1600/IMG_20150716_135735.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pl5lUSGxcyk/Val5EBItW7I/AAAAAAAAJCQ/tRax40Q-NEQ/s640/IMG_20150716_135735.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE">So what do Meininger say about their new
baby? From their website, here is my poor translation:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE"><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span lang="EN-IE">“With
Meiningers CRAFT, Meininger Publishing House devotes, for the first time, a
standalone title devoted to the theme of beer culture. The magazine is
published four times a year and is aimed at the entire beer community, so to
the brewers and brewing artists, beer sommeliers, distributors, restaurateurs,
beer keepers and beer enthusiasts and consumers interested in beer, pleasure
and lifestyle.</span></i><i><span lang="EN-IE"><br /></span></i><i><span lang="EN-IE">Three
editors take care of exciting content about beer. The focus is on large
brewers, small brewers, exotic brewers, crazy brewers, brave brewers,
contentious issues, opinions, success concepts, news, trends, events, the
international scene and players, tastings, tips and tricks.</span></i><i><span lang="EN-IE"><br /></span></i><i><span lang="EN-IE">In
short, it's about makers, markets and brands.”</span></i></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-IE"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE">Of course, as a beer consumer with a little
experience behind me, and I hope a broad and open view of the beer world, when
I see a beer magazine with CRAFT emblazon on the top, I have some sort of
expectation on what this magazine might be about. And with craft beer being
quite a hot topic here in Germany, even outside the boundary of the beer geek
circle, it seems only natural that other parts of the community would take
notice and contribute to the dialogue. I mean, the guy that lives behind our
house, probably a couple of years older than me, and most definitely till
recently a dedicated Pils drinker, recently confided to me that he likes trying
these new craft beers. That in a village of 1400 souls in rural Germany is no
mean feat of marketing, so it’s not just the buzz in places like Berlin and
Hamburg, where most of the craft beer action seems to be centered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE">CRAFT is a meaty-feeling publication, with
114 pages of thick, quality paper. The layout, images and styling are of a standard
one might expect for a publisher over 100 years in the business. Plenty of
style, but what of the substance?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE">I have to admit, on first leafing through
it, what struck me most was the amount of full page glossy ads from large
brewers, which also seemed to correspond to a number of articles or interviews
with representatives from the very same organisations. There are ads from
Veltins (using the Grevensteiner brand), Köstritzer (Bitburger Group), Erdinger, Monchshof
(Kulmbacher) and Radeberger, each of which also have articles. Some, like the
Radeberger piece, talk about the history of the brewery. The Erdinger piece
talks about the traditional bottle conditioning they use, as well as an
interesting sidebar where the Managing Director states that they “exclusively brew
craft beer". The interview with the Veltins boss primarily talks about their marketing
innovations, but has some rather telling answers on the topic of craft beer
that could be indicative of the attitude the large German brewers have of the
concept of craft beer. This needs a whole blog post of its own, but Dr. Kuhl
basically says that craft brewers are not selling loads of beers, so they’re
not interested. Fine by me. However, they’ll keep an eye on it to see if sales
volumes start looking interesting. And that’s it in a nutshell. They’ll step
into the market brand of craft beer to keep a stake if they can shift units, but
it’s not so much about the beer at all, and that’s the big difference to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qQdTLeNIr5Y/Val5EBw4q3I/AAAAAAAAJBk/pp--w8XEt9U/s1600/IMG_20150716_140137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qQdTLeNIr5Y/Val5EBw4q3I/AAAAAAAAJBk/pp--w8XEt9U/s640/IMG_20150716_140137.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Craft Beer"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, I digress. This is a first issue,
so I probably shouldn’t be too critical. They are bound to be seeking
advertising to cover the costs, and I’m sure these are relationships that were
long-existing, prior to this particular magazine.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE">The bulk of the content, I am happy to
report, does focus on stories of brewers and brewing, perennial topics for the
German beer industry, both craft and macro, and informative items that educate
or entertain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE">There’s a fascinating feature on Privatbrauerei
am Rollberg, where brewer Wilko Bereit is brewing in the former Berliner Kindl
brewery in Neukölln, Berlin. It’s fascinating as this seems to be a man who
embodies a craft brewer. He wants to expand, but no more than 4000 HL a year,
as he wants to stay micro. He uses only organic ingredients, but does not care
for certification for his beers, as he just does it because he feels the beer
tastes better, not to gain any marketing advantage. He and his partner talk to
every one of their 70 customers selling their beers, as communication and partnership
is key. But I do him a disservice. He don’t like using the craft label, at
least in the German sense, as he considers it a term that is too, well,
unthinking. He just wants to be a craftsman and brew good beer. I’d love to try
his beer, but they only keg and sell it locally, so I’ll have to visit Berlin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tH2NqPibmxU/Val5F9XI5qI/AAAAAAAAJCA/qsMvOklrY5o/s1600/IMG_20150717_234556.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tH2NqPibmxU/Val5F9XI5qI/AAAAAAAAJCA/qsMvOklrY5o/s400/IMG_20150717_234556.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE">Other items cover topics such as a discussion
between Oliver Wesseloh (Kehrwieder Kreativbrauerei, Hamburg) and Holger Eichle
(Deutschen Brauer-Bundes) on the Reinheitsgebot, and what is it good for
(resisting to break into Bruce Springsteen’s War here!), and general interest
pieces such as that about the Köbes of Cologne, or one on a new craft beer shop
chain, Bierothek, with branches in Bamberg, Nurnberg and soon Erlangen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE">For those interested in the small, new
brewers, there is a profile of the four women behind Holladiebierfee, a
self-described “Frauenbier” (I don’t believe in assigning gender to any beer), an
interview with the three behind BRLO, a beer brand based in Berlin currently contract
brewing 80HL per month, a sadly short article on Johannes Heidenpeter, the man behind
Heidenpeters, obvs, and a lovely write-up on Philipp
Brokamp’s Hops and Barley Hausbrauerei, also in Berlin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE">There are a few more “technical” pieces
about raw ingredients: an insight on the effect of yeast strains on the finished
product, and a spread on how the development of the craft beer market has led
to a structural change in the German hop industry, as demand increase for more
and new aroma hop varieties, as well as an article about canning beer and a fluff
piece on correct glassware. I enjoyed a thought-provoking piece on Maibock by
Sepp “Biersepp” Wejwar, and how it could undergo a renaissance with the craft
beer movement (their words), breathing new life into a style that seems to be
fading, and indeed, it is perhaps to beer styles like this that the craft
brewers should be turning their attention, instead of making another IPA.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Bierpabst</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-IE">The magazine closes off with a wrap-up on
Meiningers International Craft Beer Award 2015. 554 beers entered, 50
Biersommeliers and brewers judging and 216 medals awarded. Riegele was named as
National Craft Brewer of the year and the Boston Beer Company as International Craft Brewer of the year. There’s a nice photo of
the Bierpapst (beer pope), in character and presumably deep in tasting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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On balance, once I got past the big brands,
there’s a lot of good content in this magazine, and plenty to read. There are
factual pieces like those on ingredients, and interesting stories about the
people who have thrown their hearts and souls into brewing stuff that they
believe in. There is food for thought, along with fluff pieces that entertain. I’m
far from fluent, but I found this easy to read, so that’s also a bonus,
encouraging me to improve my language skills!</div>
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<span lang="EN-IE">My only gripe is that by naming the
magazine CRAFT, it is clear that Meininger are trying to tap into what has
clearly become a live topic in the German beer industry. However, by having a
relatively large proportion of articles, not to mention most of the ads, coming
from very large producers, that are far from what even I can accept as craft
breweries, they are further clouding the already contentious topic of what German
craft beer is. It’s only about four years since this trend (some call it a
movement) started in Germany, and I can see the struggle to define what exactly
it is repeating, much as I have seen it happen in the UK and Ireland, not to
mention the goalpost shifting, or as <a href="https://twitter.com/totalcurtis/status/621951660026392576" target="_blank">Mr. Curtis diplomatically put it</a>, evolution of the
US Brewers Association’s definition. The large brewers here have been well prepared,
and are reacting quickly and decisively, while the number of small brewers
proclaiming themselves craft seems to be rapidly expanding.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE">To answer my own question posed in the title, I think no, it's not currently a true representative of the German craft beer industry. Having said that, I am however very pleased with my
subscription and the scope and variety of the articles, just not with the naming of the magazine. I'm looking forward to the second issue, sometime around
September, to see what comes. But in the meantime, I will be keeping an eye out
for other German publications that keep the conscientious beer consumer in
mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Barry Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367655129107699025noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943606491780538470.post-63300621593017813232015-07-16T23:40:00.000+02:002015-07-17T08:40:20.126+02:00Lucky for someI've mentioned before on this blog, that I have a mixed relationship with our local, independent regional brewery, Distelhäuser. For as long as I have been visiting Germany, whenever there was a family gathering or other party, the beer shopping instruction was usually not to buy Distelhäuser Pils. At our local, people say don't try the Pils, but the Export is drinkable. High praise indeed. In fact, I do drink the Export when at the <i>Stammtisch</i>, but then the only other choices are Bitburger and Paulaner.<br />
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However, I fear I am at risk of becoming a Distel fan boy, at least since <a href="http://thebittenbullet.blogspot.de/2014/03/bkl2014-kunst-oder-kunstlich-should-we.html" target="_blank">Spring 2014</a>, when they were showing a stout, a porter and an IPA at Braukunst Live! For the best part of a year, I hadn't seen these beers again, but in the meantime I had begun buying <a href="http://www.distelhaeuser.de/Distel-Blond.1079.0.html" target="_blank">Distel Blonde</a>, a dry-hopped top-fermented golden affair that is now a permanent fixture in my beer cellar, and <a href="http://www.distelhaeuser.de/Distel-Spezial.728.0.html" target="_blank">Spezial</a>, an amber beer supposedly harking back to an old-fashioned recipe, but more on them another time.<br />
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So, having thought those three beers were more or less specials done for a beer festival, imagine my surprise earlier this year, when a friend sent me a photo asking "have you tried these beers?", picturing Lucky Hop IPA, Black Pearl Porter and Loch Ness Stout. And he'd bought from a large drinks market only 20km away! Well... what could I do? I went to our local and ordered a crate of each. A crate being the smallest unit of transaction that she'll do for out of the ordinary beers. A week later, two crates of Lucky Hop arrived (the other two were no longer available), and I was the talk of the village. As the crates sat in the drinks markt, waiting for me, people asked what they were, and were told the price. Just over €40 for a crate. I reckoned they thought I was either rich or stupid, or most likely both. I admit, I was a bit shocked, but felt I had to take both (in two installments). But at c. €1.80 a bottle, in hindsight, it wasn't so bad. It's just that people don't normally buy 48 bottles of this kind of stuff in one go!<br />
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So, I've had quite some time to consider Lucky Hop IPA from Distelhäuser. I even started sharing it, experimenting on neighbours, as is my wont. And then I met Jonas at <a href="http://thebittenbullet.blogspot.de/2015/04/artbrau-2015-part-1.html" target="_blank">Artbrau in Heilbornn last April</a>. Jonas is a friend of a friend, lives nearby (said we met before at a <i>Schlachtfest</i>), and works at Distelhäuser. He told me to look out for a new, improved version of Lucky Hop coming soon. I was thinking, what the hell am I doing with a full crate of the old one!<br />
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Fast forward to early June. I'm working in the cellar, and this bloke appears at the cellar door, with bottles of beer in his hands. I welcome him in, but it's 10 seconds before I recognise him as Jonas! Well, of course I'd welcome in anyone standing at the door bearing beer! And what did he bring? The new Lucky Hop, now brewed on the main brewkit in Distelhäuser.<br />
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<b>Lucky Hop</b>, both the old and new version, is 7.7% ABV with 77 IBUs. Lucky number 7, I guess. But it "only" uses 5 hop varieties, Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial, First Gold and Simcoe, with Pilsner, Munich and Caramel malts. Full marks for listing detailed ingredients. Though I was tempted to do a blind tasting, I opted to just got for a side-by-side comparison, and boy, that really did show differences.<br />
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The old Lucky Hop (of which I still have half a crate) is pretty straightforward on the aroma stakes. Classic US-influences worn on its sleeve, with a healthy dose of grapefruit and bitter orange on the nose. It's got a decent enough malty backbone, reminiscent of barley sugar, or perhaps orange barley, now that I think of it, but with a rather interesting tobacco - cedar wood undertone. The finish is uncompromisingly bitter, focussed on that orange pith effect, and long lasting indeed. But it has a rough, twiggy note, that began to grate after the first 20 bottles.<br />
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The new Lucky Hop is a tad less hazy than the old version, but with a less impressive head. The aroma is considerably fruitier than the old. It still has the same orangey foundation, but backed with sweeter elements, suggesting tropical fruits and soft caramel. The body is rounder, smoother. It's still got the orange barley thing going on, but with mango sorbet added on top. The overall effect is somehow more refined, and though the rough edges of the former version may have accentuated the bitterness while drinking, this one also maintains a long-lasting finish, with the pithy, gum drying back-end one might expect, but without the twiggy catch at the back of the throat.<br />
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Quite a decent effort, and although I really quite enjoyed the original Lucky Hop, twigs and all, this puts me more in mind of some of the classic US IPAs I had when first discovering them in what feels like a lifetime ago, which is no bad thing in my book. Now if only they would produce more stout and porter!<br />
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<br />Barry Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367655129107699025noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943606491780538470.post-43194556096951872232015-07-03T00:12:00.003+02:002015-07-03T10:23:11.975+02:00The Session #101 - The material culture of brewing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This month's Session is hosted by Jack at <a href="http://deepbeer.com/" target="_blank">Deep Beer,</a> who chose the topic “<a href="http://deepbeer.com/journal/2015/6/21/announcement-the-session-101-bottles-caps-and-other-beer-detritus" target="_blank">bottles, caps and other detritus</a>”, a topic that seemed strangely apt for me, as Boak and Bailey kindly pointed out via Twitter, considering some of the stuff I had been tweeting about over June.<br />
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I'm not a collector by nature. At least I try not to be, despite a small weakness for beer glasses and bottle openers. When people hear you are a beer geek, they tend to dump their own junk on you, which is fair enough, and I can (and do) filter, and keep what I like, so the “collection” stays manageable.<br />
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However, last month, while visiting a garage sale, when I mentioned I was interested in beer glasses, the owner's daughter asked if I would be interested in a box of beer mats (coasters) from the 60s and 70s. Normally I would say no, but what a box! She said around 1,400 beer mats, and lying on top was a Double Diamond mat, so I said sure I'd take it! She offered to give it away for nothing, as her parents were trying to clean out before moving down to Lake Constance, but with her Dad looking on, I felt a bit bad about that, so offered a tenner for the lot plus a Distelhäuser Maß Krug. I promised to look after them well, and with that, we were off home.<br />
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The box was filled with bundles of mats wrapped in newspaper, mostly dating from 1964, which suggested we were dealing with slightly earlier mats than suggested. My wife, being the archaeologist with archiving experience, pretty much took over at this point, and has since sorted the collection into groupings by country then city/town. Of course, the majority are German, with a few hundred international examples, a large portion of which are from Alsace. But the total number was also higher than expected, with circa 2,200 mats, mostly from the late 1950s and early 60s.<br />
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But what to do with them? My son says this means I have to open a bar, though all agree at least a portion should be put on display somewhere, but for the moment, they will probably reside, neatly sorted, in old, stackable plastic mushroom boxes, waiting for their moment, however, the act of sorting and looking was already a fun excercise.<br />
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I said I was not a collector, but my wife is. I am a beer afficiando, my wife is not. But a collection like this overlaps both interests. I would stand, looking at these mats from breweries long gone, some of them quite local, wondering what the beer was like. Meanwhile, my wife was constantly pulling up facts about the towns where the breweries were located, how many breweries they once had, when they shut down, when they became better known as another name, or when they got taken over. Real, living history, all laid out on our guest room floor.<br />
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There's lots of ways to filter and consider such collections. The obvious is of course the breweries themselves. Indulge me a moment, and we'll taker a look at a local example.<br />
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In the 19th century, my wife's home town of Mosbach had up to 13 breweries in operation. Now, it’s almost hard to believe, as there’s only one in operation now, and <a href="http://thebittenbullet.blogspot.de/2009/06/mosbacher-brauhaus.html" target="_blank">it’s a brewpub</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3DsYzx8oQLI/VZU9-WcMeeI/AAAAAAAAI9s/W2gVP-906Sw/s1600/DSC05182.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3DsYzx8oQLI/VZU9-WcMeeI/AAAAAAAAI9s/W2gVP-906Sw/s320/DSC05182.JPG" width="320" /></a>The biggest one was Brauerei Hübner, which began operation in 1878 when Heinrich Hübner bought out the former Brauerei Heller. In 1896 there were further consolidations, and they subsumed Brauerei Schifferdecker, to form the Mosbacher Actienbrauerei. With that latter takeover, the Deutscher Hof inn was added to their holdings. This building, which I believe was attached to the brewery complex proper, is the only part of the brewery that still exists, now as the restaurant/bar Ludwig, at the end of the pedestrian zone in Mosbach.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A set based on a road sign theme.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fronts of the two series above.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the newspaper wrappings had a Hübner ad.</td></tr>
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By the early 1900s, the Hübner family was clearly doing well. Between 1900 and 1902, they built a large sandstone villa overlooking the town, with large gardens behind it. In 1908, the massive malthouse was constructed. This remained in operation till the 1960s, when it was producing up to 4000 tonnes of malt annually.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">20th Anniversary celebrations at Hübner. Heinrich Hübner is 2nd from left.</td></tr>
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In 1928 they renamed back to Brauerei Hübner, and continued operation till 1983. After the closure of the brewery, the malthouse was abandoned, and since 1997, this protected structure has been used as a cultural and conference centre. The villa is still standing, although the gardens are now part of a shopping centre, and the brewery site has largely been replaced by a multi-story car park, apart from the Ludwig bar, as mentioned above.<br />
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Hübner is certainly not so long gone that it doesn’t survive in living memory. My wife has clear memories of them as a teen. But now, it’s just those memories, and the physical remnants. We've plenty of documentation to sieve through, so I hope to find out more about what they brewed, and how much of it.<br />
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Another way to filter the view on such a collection of beer mats was discovered when we unwrapped one particular bundle, where most of the mats were from the 1958 World Expo in Brussels. This little package was like a time capsule, capturing a distinct moment represented by several breweries and indeed other companies like Sebena Air, that were most likely all exhibiting at this world event. It was like a horizontal tasting of beer mats, as opposed to the vertical view given by a single brewery over time.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bunch of mats from the 1958 World Expo in Brussels.</td></tr>
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These mats – and the glasses and signs that still decorate bars around the world – all represent a material culture of breweries, many long gone. They have a permanency that the beer, the lifeblood of the breweries that they represent, could never have. Thinking about it this way, they are definitely worth keeping and documenting. If nothing else, it's just a wonderful way to learn the story of breweries, past and present, and it's down to individuals to help preserve the knowledge of their local breweries.<br />
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The next time you are sitting in a bar with the walls festooned with signs, labels and beer mats from old breweries, just consider the heritage that forged them, where they came from, and the giants upon whose shoulders our current beer culture stands.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Postcard beer mat from the 1958 World Expo</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another postcard beer mat.</td></tr>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Addendum: the collection currently represents 501 breweries</span></i>Barry Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367655129107699025noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943606491780538470.post-14408821125539732812015-04-29T20:00:00.000+02:002015-04-30T09:00:59.250+02:00Artbrau 2015 - Part 2I hadn't eaten since breakfast, so at this stage something was needed to act as a buffer. Outside, they had <a href="http://www.grillgott.com/home/" target="_blank">GrillGott </a>serving up small plates of random grilled goodness, but we opted for Bratwurst in a bun at the cheaper stall. We weren't that long outside, but the crowd had increased noticeably when we went back in. There was still plenty of space to move around in comfort, though.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SkhP1FGgCQc/VT6O_qF7kzI/AAAAAAAAIv4/MR9ZMPYuYuM/s1600/DSC04103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SkhP1FGgCQc/VT6O_qF7kzI/AAAAAAAAIv4/MR9ZMPYuYuM/s1600/DSC04103.JPG" height="320" width="212" /></a>The first stop was <a href="http://www.faust.de/index.php/brauhaus/ueber-uns/brauhaus-start" target="_blank">Faust</a>, based in Miltenberg, a 45 minute drive north of where I live. I've had quite a few of the standard Faust range, not to mention a few of their more expensive limited edition brews, and it was to a few of these we were drawn. The <b>Faust Eisbock</b> sounded good, and at 11% ABV and a cost of two tokens (so two Euro) for the 100ml sample, I reckoned - or at least hoped - it had to be good.<br />
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It's massively fruity on the nose, mostly of the dried, sweet type, suggesting prunes, figs and sticky <i>Pflaumenmus</i>. It's not afraid to show off its alcohol either, with a definite warmth creeping behind a sherry-like foreground. It's got a firm fruity foundation to support it, all of the dried fruit complexities apparent in the aroma, with a slight apple-like acidity cutting through and lending a counter note. It's not without hops either, with a floral, perfumy bitterness, finishing off in the direction of pine needles. Licking sticky lips, I reckoned it was worth the extra token.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Faust Eisbock</i></td></tr>
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Chris tried the Hochzeitbier, which is also a fruit and caramel bomb, but lacking the warmth and slight acidity, so a softer experience altogether.<br />
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Right next door was the Welde booth. I have to admit having mixed thoughts about Welde. Their Pils is really easy to recognise in the green, twisty bottle, and for the past few years they've brought out something like a pale ale with a single hop at the end of the year. But there's just something about their "Garden of delights" flyers that come in our door now and again that makes me think of them as all style and no substance. Imagine my shock to see them touting a Badisch Gose and a Bourbon Barrel Bock! I had to try them.<br />
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On ordering the <b>Welde Badish Gose</b>, the guy serving warned me that it was an unusual beer and not to everyone's taste Disclaimer duly noted, but I knew what I should be expecting. And boy, you could have knocked me down with a feather. Massive, juicy mandarin and lemon aroma, very appetising so far, but on the tongue, it's big time earthy lemon curd and seawater, finishing with a surprising tropical fruit edge. Saline and oily. Sounds dreadful when you see it described like that, but it worked very well. Checking the bottle after confirmed they do indeed use salt and coriander, not to mention saphir hops.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Welde Badisch Gose</i></td></tr>
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There seems to be a generic sugary signature aroma to the vast majority of German bockbier, and <b>Welde Bourbon Bock </b>was no exception, despite having been barrel aged. But perhaps the flavours had a bit more than the generic stuff. Malty caramel, of course, with an edge of strawberry, raspberry and vanilla. The finish is somewhat dry, with a woody undertone and a hint of cherry. Not a bad effort, but not markedly different.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G_MnP1M7vgc/VT6PDY0oiNI/AAAAAAAAIwY/Logvl59HjNc/s1600/DSC04111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G_MnP1M7vgc/VT6PDY0oiNI/AAAAAAAAIwY/Logvl59HjNc/s1600/DSC04111.JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Welde Bourbon Barrel Bock</i></td></tr>
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Staying within spitting distance of the table, a quick lurch over to the organic-looking Neuenstädter Bier Manufaktur.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9c5KiRtOP-I/VT6PFAvc3MI/AAAAAAAAIwo/m1kmkwti4wg/s1600/DSC04114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9c5KiRtOP-I/VT6PFAvc3MI/AAAAAAAAIwo/m1kmkwti4wg/s1600/DSC04114.JPG" height="200" width="132" /></a>The beer list looked respectably German, but of course, the stand-out appeared to be the <b>Starker Peter IPA</b>, with a quoted 65 IBU and some C-hops. After the bock, a hop injection sounded good. However, it was the first real disappointment of the day. A big Bazooka Joe bubblegum aroma served as a warning, and the flabby, fruity/malty mix of the flavour was a complete let down when expecting a big, bitter IPA. Band-wagoneering much? Probably. My notes say "Crap. Like Malzbier, but less tasty".<br />
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And so it was back over to Eichbaum, where the <b>Spicy Oak </b>was now available. The body language of the brewer should have warned me, as he seemed almost apologetic when telling me it was aged on oak chips And to be fair, he was probably right to be apologetic. Thin, woody, and like chewing on a toothpick too long. A shadow, compared to the Eichbaum beers tried earlier.<br />
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Third time lucky, I guessed, heading over to Braukunstkeller. I'm quite a fan of what they do here, and hadn't had any of their beers in close to a year, so the Braukunstkeller Mystery IPA on the board sounded intriguing. Mystery, because it's a new hop with no name yet, just a number, although I wasn't given the number either. This was the second beer that cost two Euro for 100ml, so when I was short-served, I felt I had to ask for the full 100ml. But what a disappointment. Another mess of bubblegum, strawberries, fatty, and hardly any discernible bitterness. A nearby brewer (actually, two) had a sip and also said "that's not an IPA". Things were really not looking good here! Three duds in a row! I had to get a rescue shot of <b>Hopfenstopfer Incredible IPA</b> to restore my faith in German IPAs!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mystery IPA. It would have been better with a short measure.</i></td></tr>
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After chin-wagging with some friends of a neighbour, who are in the industry, for probably too long, it was getting time to leave, and pick up my son. But time for just one more, to spend the last token. A quick run over to Riedenburger.<br />
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The temptation is always towards the IPA, but I opted for the <b>Dolden Dark Porter</b>. It was good!<br />
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And so, we headed off away from the growing crowd, past the steam engines, with a 90 minute train journey ahead.<br />
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I liked this festival. It might be a bit selfish to like the fact it was not overly crowded, like Braukunst Live seems to get, but I hoped that it got a decent showing later in the evening and on Sunday. There was plenty of chat, and despite a few duds, some really decent beers, some from unlikely sources, which is always a delight. If it's on again next year, I'll definitely return, sans son, and maybe overnight with the in-laws, to get the full experience.<br />
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<i>After writing this, I found I had a bottle of Faust Eisbock in the cellar. 750ml of it! Oh my...</i>Barry Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367655129107699025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943606491780538470.post-46141354833482428952015-04-27T22:56:00.002+02:002015-04-27T23:21:49.700+02:00Artbrau 2015 - Part 1<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cTUhTAZiFzw/VT6Shbbua2I/AAAAAAAAIxg/oyiB65TcS-k/s1600/csm_artbrau_c170ff68f1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cTUhTAZiFzw/VT6Shbbua2I/AAAAAAAAIxg/oyiB65TcS-k/s1600/csm_artbrau_c170ff68f1.png" /></a>I'd read about <a href="http://www.artbrau.de/de/home.html" target="_blank">Artbrau </a>a few months ago, the latest craft beer festival for the German beer calendar, this time in Heilbronn, an hour's train ride away. But in the stress of <a href="http://thebauernhaus.blogspot.de/2015/02/and-breathe.html" target="_blank">moving house</a> earlier this year, I completely forgot about it till my brother-in-law, Chris, phoned me to invite me to it as a birthday present. Living in Heilbronn, he'd heard it mentioned on local radio, and thought it'd be right up my alley.<br />
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I have to admit, when I first read about it, the similarity to <a href="http://thebittenbullet.blogspot.de/search?q=braukunst" target="_blank">Braukunst Live</a> really struck me. Artbrau - Braukunst, the names of both playing on the art of brewing, but both also located in transport museums? The finest form of flattery, I guessed.<br />
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Looking at the website, the lineup seemed small, but that's no bad thing. The usual suspects, or rather friends, were there, as well as a few surprises, which I'll come to later. Poking about the web in advance, it was also <a href="http://www.bier-entdecken.de/artbrau-im-interview/" target="_blank">interesting to read</a> that the whole thing was organised by a trio who come from the gastronomy side of things, and indeed, had Braukunst to thank as an influence, wanting to have something similar in Heilbronn. Well, living in Baden-Württemberg, I certainly wasn't going to complain!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There weren't exactly fights to get in...</td></tr>
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So it was that we arrived at the <a href="http://www.eisenbahnmuseum-heilbronn.de/" target="_blank">Süddeutsches Eisenbahnmuseum</a>, shortly after opening last Saturday afternoon. I had somehow expected lines of people, but the crowds were sparse. We picked up our festival glass (€4 deposit) and ticket with three tokens (€6), all at a reasonable price, I thought, and sauntered on past a line of old steam locomotives. Coming around the corner, the setting was also certainly impressive.<br />
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The outside part, where there were some food stalls and the Riegele booth, were beside a great big turntable beside a railway engine shed, where the main, inside part was. I'm not a railway buff, but seeing big steam locomotives actually running, which they were later on, was pretty cool, and definitely added to the atmosphere. Inside was cosy, yet spacious, with benches and tables dotted around the place, so you could sit and chat with your selected beers (take note, Braukunst Live!). Given that the crowds were not that big, it made for a relaxed setting, with plenty of time to have a chat with the brewers/sales people manning the stalls.<br />
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It seems to have become tradition that I'll stop by to say hello to Thomas at Hopfenstopfer first, to see if there's anything new to be had. Unfortunately, they were out of the new <b>Monroe Pale Ale</b>, so I settled for an old favourite, the classic <b>Citra Pale Ale</b>. While catching up a little, Thomas told us of some plans for a dry hopped Pils and Weizen, which I'm definitely looking forward to sampling this summer.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Thomas "Hopfenstopfer" Wachno hawking his wares.</i></td></tr>
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Across the way, one of the surprises waited. Eichbaum, out of Mannheim. Eichbaum is incredibly popular in some of the circles I hang out with in the village I live in. Ur-Eich is ever-present at events run by the volunteer fire fighters, and a fellow home brewer in the village did an apprenticeship there. But I think it's pretty fair to say that Eichbaum has always been relatively... well, safe in what they do. So to see a list of what they describe as experimental brews was somewhat of a shock, albeit a pleasant one.<br />
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Barrel ageing seems to be their thing, with a couple varieties in Chardonnay casks, and one in a Tequila cask However, on probing deeper on the how and why they were doing this, it was a little saddening. It was clear that there are a handful in the brewery who love beer, and wanted to experiment. But having only a 50 litre test rig, meant that quantities were small (5x50 litre for one run). That, plus, I heard from other sources that they didn't seem to hold much hope of doing more with the ideas, as it was being treated as a marketing thing. But even so, the labels are quite attractive, but what about the beers?<br />
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<b>Eichbaum Paradiso</b> is a Zwickl aged in a Barrique Chardonnay. On the nose, it's all fruit: peaches, sweet lemon, and a vinous undertone. It wears it's cask heart on its sleeve, somewhat, with definite Chardonnay influences. Slightly thin, but leaving an oily feel, it's low bitterness enhances the nactarines, ripe peaches and stone fruit flavours. All in all, a decent experiment, but I would have loved to try that Zwickl before it was bunged in a Barrique.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Eichbaum Paradiso, Barrique Chardonnay.</i></td></tr>
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I was fascinated with what they were doing, and wanted to try the Spicy Oak Bock, but it was warming in their van, so I opted for a stronger Chardonnay experience, the <b>Chardonnay Bock</b>, which was also dry hopped with mosaic. This was getting interesting. Really vinous, as one might expect, with big vanilla and tannic wood. A decent amount of residual sugars, but finishing dry all the same, making it terribly easy to drink. An amplified version of the Paradiso, if you like, but deeper too.<br />
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I'd seen Palmbräu on the list, and recalled with pleasure bottles of their Zornickel Doppelbock, which I haven't seen for probably 13 years. But what a surprise to see them with craft stout and pale ale, not to mention craft Märzen, on their list.<br />
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I was equally fascinated by what these guys are doing. Since April last year, they have produced a beer of the month that is changing constantly. It's now coming full circle. I opted for the Stout, being the good Irishman that I am, to be sure. Like Guinness, the man said, I assume in an attempt to be reassuring to someone who might not have a clue what stout is. I assured him it was not like Guinness, and that was to it's advantage as far as I was concerned. It's sweeter, for one, with a pleasing caramelly backbone, but redolent of blackberries, liquorice and milk chocolate. A pretty fair beer, and given other German stouts I've tried from non-craft breweries (and I would have put Palmbräu firmly into the traditionalists tribe), a minor miracle in not being a mess of sugar.<br />
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Palmbräu produce 150HL of beer of the month, and as they seem to stay local, there's surely enough to go around. I was told I should be able to pick up crates and sixpacks from Rewe in Mosbach, 20km away. I'll be looking forward to going shopping soon!<br />
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In the next post, I'll finish off the beers tried, some excellent, and some serious disappointments, and a wrap up of my impression of Artbrau.<br />
<br />Barry Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367655129107699025noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943606491780538470.post-90430462706929971182014-07-23T22:34:00.001+02:002014-07-24T09:16:36.639+02:00Stone Tap Room, San Diego (not Berlin)My annual trip to San Diego had a new target this year, the new Stone Brewing Tap Room on 795 J Street, within spitting distance of Petco Park, and just beyond spitting distance of our hotel. Given that trips out to Escondido have never been on the cards (apart from <a href="http://thebittenbullet.blogspot.de/2013/12/san-diego-2013-best-laid-plans.html" target="_blank">last year's ill-fated visit</a>), it was great to learn of this new venue close to the heart of San Diego, supporting the Liberty Station venue just to the north of San Diego city proper.<br />
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The Tap Room is set off the street, in a recently restored, attractive 1927 Simon Levi Company building, shared with a restaurant on the other side of the foyer. As with all Stone bars and restaurants, there's a slightly industrial feel, which I like. It's classy and understated, seemingly in contrast with their almost Messianic marketing, and the same goes for their two other locations I've visited. With just a few tables, a bar and a wall with merchandise, it's an intimate kind of surrounding, and had a chilled atmosphere.<br />
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Our small group arrived shortly after 8pm, with a bit of a hunger and thirst from working at a conference in the SDCC. First a beer! There's quite a choice, many of which are available in bottle form in Europe, so straight into the fray.<br />
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At a mere 4.5% ABV, Stone's <b>Go To IPA</b> is almost an oddity compared to the rest of their range. Intended to be a "session IPA" that delivers the hop levels we all know and love from Stone, but at a strength you can have two of. Well, not that strength has ever stopped me having two if I liked it!<br />
Big, clean grapefruit and lemon aroma, backed up with freshly mown grass and herbs. Lovely fruity backbone, with notes of old-fashioned pear drop candy and sorbet kicks. It finishes with an assertive grapefruit sorbet finish, somehow gentle by stone standards, but nicely rounding it off. Certainly a beer one could have more than two of!<br />
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The <a href="http://www.stonebrewing.com/visit/#taproom" target="_blank">menu </a>here is thankfully short, looking a tad healthier than what we'd been eating to date in San Diego. Although having said that, the spicy Thai curry chicken flatbread that I ordered , which to my mind was a pizza, was quite large and definitely filled me up, as well as giving me a good sweat. Went well with the Go To too.<br />
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While pondering on what to drink next, the right side of the board was a real draw, featuring seasonals and one-off brews that's I'd have been stupid not to try.<br />
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The <a href="http://blog.stonebrew.com/index.php/stone-spotlight-series/" target="_blank">Stone Spotlight Series</a> (auto-corrected on my phone to Schöne Spotlight Series) is a nice idea, allowing the creative juices to flow amongst Stone staff. The first winner and release from this internal competition is <b>Spröcketbier </b>(that's definitely a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_umlaut" target="_blank">metal umlaut </a>there), a Black Rye Kölsch-style beer using carafa malt to get the colour and more hops than a true Kölsch has any right to.<br />
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At 5.4% and 40 IBUs, it's by no means a monster, and indeed, the auto-correct had it right. Sehr schön. Roasted malt and light coffee aroma, backed with a sweetness suggesting dried fruits, prunes, and a touch of grass. I'm beginning to think Stone should be doing more of these sub-6%, "low" IBU beers, as Spröcket was a revelation of easy drinkability. Creamy, with dark caramel, a light roasty/toasty bite, meshed with a grassiness and a touch of spice that lightens it. It leans towards a porter, really, so I would not have been able to tell if it had been lagered, but whatever it is, it's a fine tasty beer, and another one I'd happily have had several of.<br />
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Having recently brewed my own Saison for the first time, I had to try Stone's take. The <b>Stone Saison</b> comes in at 6.3%. It's got a light, sweet vinousness nose, reminiscent of a sweet dessert wine, like a Gewürztraminer. With a sweetish lemon and lime overtone, on top of a biscuit and fruity base redolent of lychee, and just a nip of grapefruit. An earthy, yeasty trace runs through all of this, delivering a satisfying, hearty beer. Another like from me.<br />
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The main problem with this place on a week day, is that it closes at 10pm, which put a bit of pressure on the drinking pleasure. So with limited time, and not neing sure if we'd get back again, what with our overly full confernece schedule, it had to be the <b>W00tStout 2.0</b>. Our own <a href="https://twitter.com/11pmSomewhere" target="_blank">Ian Bergin</a> had mentioned this in a tween the week before I left for San Diego, and having looked at the Stone website, it said it would be available soon. That soon was now!<br />
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W00tStout 2.0 comes in at 13%. Bound to be a heavy hitter. First thought: Woah! It exudes masses of dark fruits, molasses and vanilla. "Oily as f***", I wrote. As it goes down, it's like melted dark chocolate, with oak and vanilla. Long roasted bitterness, but predominantly heavy caramel, cut with an alcohol warmth. Really quite wonderful.<br />
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A couple of days after returning to Germany, they finally announced their Berlin location. I'm not sure what to make of it (especially the crowd-sourcing), but the selfish side of me is hopeful for beers like this fresh on my doorstep (or as close as be damned).Barry Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367655129107699025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943606491780538470.post-67561048554706014992014-04-27T23:51:00.001+02:002014-05-04T22:35:30.757+02:00Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPAI don't exactly know how long I've had this bottle, but I'm pretty sure my mate Rüdiger brought it back from the US while I was still living in Münster, as I seem to recall it living in the cellar there for a while. That''d put it at over 4 years. At something like 18% ABV, I always left it to one side, thinking to have it for a special occasion. You know, the special occasion that never comes up, so the bottle gathers dust at the back of a cellar shelf.<br />
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At the prompting of <a href="http://thebeernut.blogspot.de/" target="_blank">TheBeerNut </a>("get it down ye", which I'd not heard in some time), I threw caution to the wind and popped it during my week of "<a href="http://thebauernhaus.blogspot.de/2014/04/putting-wall-back.html" target="_blank">holiday</a>".<br />
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Despite it's age, hop aromas exuded as soon as the cap was popped. It poured a clear, deep garnet, with a thick tan foam, and exuded rich, fruity aromas, suggesting mango sorbet, candied pineapple and hot caramel sauce, dark touches of plum mousse and hints of ginger spice.<br />
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Every sip revealed something new. While it started off sweet and fruity, it gradually yielded spicy elements, a ginger warmth, a cinnamon sweetness, then red wine tannic notes with autumn apples starting to decay on the ground. Then the heat comes. More spice, peppery and alcohol warmth. There's a bitterness, like warmed up grapefruit juice, but tempered by a sticky sweetness. Or perhaps it was the other way around. The finish is long and sticky, as expected, like having Seville orange marmalade on buttered toast with a cup of milky tea beside a pine-log fire.<br />
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I'm really curious what this is like fresh, but I'm just as happy having tried this with a bit of age. Sumptuous and very enjoyable.<br />
<br />Barry Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367655129107699025noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943606491780538470.post-67879983114032398392014-03-26T17:58:00.003+01:002014-03-26T17:58:56.382+01:00Not out of the woods yetAs a short appendix to my BrauKunst Live 2014 posts, there were a couple of beers that didn't fit into that series, being foreign and somewhat random, but worthy of mention. <a href="http://www.bierkulturhaus.com/page.asp/-/index.htm" target="_blank">Kiesbye's</a>, from Austria, had a booth doing a steady trade, with a rather interesting blackboard of beers on offer. I'd already read about them regarding the annual Waldbier (Woods beer) they brewed using <i>Tanne </i>(fir) in 2011, <i>Zirbe </i>(Swiss pine) in 2012 and <i>Lärche </i>(larch) in 2013. I went with the latter.<br />
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<b>Kiesbye’s Waldbier 2013 (Lärche)</b> has a soft, spicy aroma, (a mild curry came to mind!) with an underlying fruitiness that I found hard to define (honey melon?), with highlights of green apple skin and a gentle citrus element. While I'd been expecting something <i>very </i>resinous, it was instead a soft, cosy, pillowy kind of experience, with soft pine-ish warmth (I can't say I know what larch tastes like). A mild bite at the finish wraps it up nicely. An interesting beer, so much so, that I'm now looking for larch trees in my area to brew one of my own!<br />
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Over at the BrewFist booth, they had a beer that was probably my favourite beer name of the festival: <b>Czech Norris Pils</b>. At 6.7%, a bit more than a Pils, but what kind of punch did it pack? With a surprisingly delicate nose, suggesting lemon meringue and spices, not the tough guy beer you might expect, following that with a lovely, creamy mouthfeel, nutty, toasted bread, and summer fruit flavours, it's rather nice and well made, I thought.Barry Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367655129107699025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943606491780538470.post-74656340850224782282014-03-21T22:14:00.002+01:002014-03-21T22:18:47.119+01:00Braufactum Progusta Harvest Edition 2012When it comes to Braufactum, the craft beer branch of Radeberger Group, I am more than aware that I sometimes <a href="http://thebittenbullet.blogspot.de/2014/03/bkl2014-kunst-oder-kunstlich-should-we.html" target="_blank">seem to have something against them</a>. I don't like the "gourmet" pricing, yet I love the branding. I don't like that the backing of the company is not so transparent, but I guess I like that they can brew their beers in all sorts of places now owned by Radeberger (even if they don't always say where). But, credit where credit is due, they do <a href="http://thebittenbullet.blogspot.de/2011/04/braufactum-darkon-roog-and-indra.html" target="_blank">some pretty mean beers</a>. Case in point, the <b>Braufactum Progusta Harvest Edition 2012</b>, which I had last weekend, a beer brewed with green hops, within a couple of days of the harvest.<br />
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An inviting-looking, reddish amber with a rocky, off-white foam, probably helped along by the glugging induced by the long neck on that 750ml bottle. Although the aroma was not jumping out as much as I expected, perhaps due to the fact it had been in my cellar for about a year, is was deep and rich, with warm spices, earthy, tangerine all on a caramel digestive biscuit base. First impressions on tasting is the creamy mouthfeel. A really superb body. Front-loaded with dried apricots, creamy vanilla fudge and hints of marzipan that lead to a lemon and mango sorbet finish, prickling on the tongue. There's a lasting bitterness, reminiscent of Seville orange marmalade and just a twist of pine resin to spice it up. A really lovely, luscious beer. I polished the bottle off easily, and would gladly have had another in the same sitting.Barry Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367655129107699025noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943606491780538470.post-42409635871572956892014-03-14T08:00:00.000+01:002014-03-14T14:12:05.654+01:00Reinheitsgebot AND Organic? Must be good!Last year, my wife and her mother paid a visit to Abtei Neuburg (also called Stift Neuburg, or Neuburg Abbey), just outside Heidelberg, and being the decent human beings that they are, brought back a selection of beers from Brauerei zum Klosterhof, within the Abbey complex<br />
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<a href="http://brauerei-zum-klosterhof.de/" target="_blank">Brauerei zum Klosterhof</a> brew organic beers, identifiable by the Bio badges on the neck labels. I've had both good and bad experiences with organic beers in the past, and firmly believe that organic, or the <i>Reinheitsgebot </i>for that matter, is no guarantee of a good, tasty beer, as even the best of ingredients can be used badly. But I'm always happy to try anything new!<br />
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Greenish-gold, with a slight haze and thick, frothy head, <b>Klosterhof Heidelberg Pils</b> has a somewhat yeasty/bready aroma, spliced with a cut of sulphur and lemon. Lightly grainy, with an underlying lemon and lime flavour, with green apples, that might start looking good on paper, however, it is predominantly sweet, with cabbagey undertones, rendering it soft and dull, if unoffensive.<br />
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<b>Klosterhof Heidelberg Helles</b> has a sourish, sweet almond aroma, and a flavour that suggests amaretto diluted with 7-Up and boiled cauliflower. Overly sweet and unpleasant, I have to admit that it went down the drain after half of it was consumed.<br />
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<b>Klosterhof Heidelberg Weizen</b> starts promising, with nice cloves and the classic banana aroma. Oddly, not much of that comes through in the flavour, which is thin, despite a pleasing creamy texture. Lightly metallic, with a cardboardy underbelly, another dull, unpleasant experience.<br />
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<b>Klosterhof Heidelberg Bernsteinweizen</b> was a little darker than the standard offering, and not quite as dark as a regular Dunkel Weizen. Quite nice fudge aromas show up, with a warming clove element, as one would expect. Also a tad thin, lie its sister, but with an interesting acidic edge that freshens things up. Caramel malts, sweet apple, soft cloves. The best of the lot.<br />
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And finally, the <b>Klosterhof Heidelberg Dunkles</b>. I have a soft spot for Dunkel beers, so hopes were high on this one. With light, fruity nose, suggesting summer berries, it gets off to a lovely start, but on swallowing, it suggests nothing more than thin <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribena" target="_blank">Ribena </a>that has been infused with old cornflakes boxes. Poor.<br />
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I feel it's only fair to state that at the time of writing these notes, all of these beers were just after their best before date. But would that render them so bad? My experience tells me not, unless their bottling plant is sub-par. I should also point out I've had multiple bottles of some of these (Dunkles, Helles, Pils), when fresh, and frankly, I had the similar thoughts then. I feel a bit bad about slating these so completely, and I see from their website that they are also seasonally brewing IPAs and other ales. Cashing in on the latest trends? Perhaps, but I've <a href="http://thebittenbullet.blogspot.de/2014/03/bkl2014-kunst-oder-kunstlich-should-we.html" target="_blank">no problem </a>with that, and would love to try them.<br />
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In short, the lesson to be learned is that organic ingredients do not translate to better beer, any more than a <i>Reinheitsgebot </i>or craft label does. It's the ingredients combined with the brewer's skills with the art and science of brewing that makes good beer. But I guess most readers here already know that.Barry Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367655129107699025noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943606491780538470.post-26247783701038257852014-03-06T22:52:00.000+01:002016-04-22T07:01:23.188+02:00Braukunst Live! 2014 - The Nøgne Ø SessionAs with the previous two years, BrauKunst Live featured a full programme of masterclasses and talks. I hadn't planned to attend any of the paid ones, but was talked into the Nøgne Ø session by Gerrit, and yeah, it was worth the extra fiver. Not just for the drinks, but to hear Kjetil Jikiun speak for a while about the principles on which Nøgne Ø was built.<br />
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Now, I have to admit, this was nearing the end of the evening, and there were seven drinks served in rapid succession, with Kjetil talking the whole time, so my notes are patchy, as it was hard enough multitasking to drink and listen attentively!<br />
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For a beer tasting, I was surprised we were to start with a Sake, I <i>think </i>the <b>Nøgne Ø Sake Yamahai Motoshibori</b>. Apparently they got it into their heads to just try making it, then couldn't sell it locally, as it was so unlike the usual bland Sake that people were getting in restaurants. Craft Sake? I guess so! I'm not an expert, but I liked it. Tart, with tinned pears, almonds, gooseberries. Quite unlike any Sake I've had, though in fairness, that's not saying much.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Sake</td></tr>
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<b>Nøgne Ø Pale Ale</b> brought us gently into the beer round. With Northern Brewer for bittering and Centennial for the rest, it was a good opener. Nutty, creamy, orange pith and grapefuit bitterness. Fairly straightforward.<br />
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<b>Nøgne Ø Two Captains Double IPA</b> originally stemmed from a homebrewing competition winner, in fact, a former Scandinavian Airlines friend of Kjetil, so when it was brewed at Nøgne Ø, it was called Two Captains. Did I mention, Kjetil was an airline pilot and homebrewer, who used to bring back 25kg sacks of malt in his suitcase, because he couldn't get the supplies he wanted in Norway? Apparently, and I'm not sure this should be put in writing, but <b>Two Captains </b>was originally homebrewed as a Pliny the Elder clone. Piney, with masses of orange pith on a creamy caramel base, it's chewy and bitter, and rather delicious.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For the next one, I wrote down <b>India Saison</b>, which must mean it was the <b style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;">Nøgne Ø / Bridge Road India Saison</b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222;">, as I also noted it was brewed with Australian hops and Belgian yeast. And very nice it is too. Snappy, fruity, with hints of tropical fruits and citric leanings, just a little funkiness and a mild, nutmeg-like spiciness to keep it interesting. I like Saison, and I like IPAs, and this blends the two rather well together.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;">Moving into more experimental territory, was </span><b style="color: #222222;">Nøgne Ø </b><span style="color: #222222;"><b>Tindved</b>, They don't do things in half measures at </span><span style="color: #222222;">Nøgne Ø. This experiment was an 18.000 litre one, where they added lots of juice from pressed sea-buckthorn berries, thinking it woulfd ferment out and give them a sour edge. As it turns out, it did not ferment out, so they had somehting a lot sweeter than planned. So what did they do? They added Brett, as that'll eat anything. Sure enough, it dried it up, resulting in quite a tart beer, with red currants, just-about-ripe strawberries, and a definite horsey layer, nicely showing off the Brett action.</span></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;">The beer I noted as being" the one with the Eskimo with shades on the </span><span style="color: #222222;">label", turned out to be </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><b>Nøgne Ø Sunturnbrew</b>. At least I knew it was a smoked barley wine! Butterscotch, sweet, light phenols, suggesting pipe tobacco, lovely oily texture melding that with a thick caramel base, and a reasonable bitterness. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The final beer was the </span><b>Nøgne Ø </b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Imperial Stout</b>, which </span><span style="color: black;">Kjetil</span><span style="color: black;"> said was probably their most famous beer. My notes just say "Mmmm...". Enough said.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looks like somebody asked a stupid question.</td></tr>
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It's nice to get a concentrated look at beers from a brewery, and even better when they are hand selected by the brewer. One of their core values is that they want that when a person finishes a bottle of their beer, that they'd like another. I think they're succeeding on that count.Barry Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367655129107699025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943606491780538470.post-59662035690351099092014-03-01T22:43:00.000+01:002016-04-22T07:01:00.183+02:00Braukunst Live! 2014 - Kunst oder Künstlich? Should we really care?The craft versus crafty debate (or in my poor German, above, art or artificial), and the ensuing attempts to define craft, also washed over Germany recently. Or at least for a period. Don't worry, I'm not going to enter that debate now, but what did interest me is how some of the biggest, and indeed some of the more modest sized, private regional brewers, are adapting to the apparent change in tastes amongst a small part of the German beer drinking population. At a time when the number of breweries seems to be increasing, while beer sales are falling, I've noticed in the past few years an increase in the so-called Gourmet beer segment, which to my jaded eye seems like a desperate attempt to get more cash for less product, trying to catch those with more money than sense. Thankfully, most of the smaller brewers producing interesting beers are doing so at reasonable prices, even compared to the wonderfully low prices of perfectly decent table beer in German, which still has me cackling to myself with glee, when I consider beer prices in my native Ireland.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Braufactum at BKL2014.</td></tr>
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Braukunst Live! 2014 gave me an opportunity to sample from the craft-styled offerings of one of Germany's biggest brewing concerns, as well as some surprise brews from a relatively local, medium-sized brewer.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_MQQX2YPmTM/Uw0P3CHHOWI/AAAAAAAAIGQ/nZD75_6kt34/s1600/DSC02291.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_MQQX2YPmTM/Uw0P3CHHOWI/AAAAAAAAIGQ/nZD75_6kt34/s1600/DSC02291.JPG" width="265" /></a>Bitburger (3.86 million hectolitres in 2008) is one of those breweries I have mixed opinions on. Well, kind of. If it wasn't for them, Köstritzer might have disappeared, but I'm not a big fan of Bit as a beer, and can't say I approve of the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25721119" target="_blank">price fixing news</a> from a couple of months ago. Last year, they launched a new range of beers under the <a href="https://www.craftwerk.de/" target="_blank">Craftwerk</a> brand, which is based out of their pilot brewery. Given the name, it is almost certainly cashing in on the craft beer trends in Germany, but from what I understand, the brewer here has pretty much complete control over what is brewed, but who can say what the Bitburger marketing machine does after that? But the thing that I have respect for here, is that they are not touting Craftwerk as something <i>completely </i>separate, as it's very clear on all the printed material and labels that it is a part of Bitburger. Compare that, for example, to Braufactum, owned by the Radeberger Group, which in turn is owned by the behemoth Dr. Oetker. There is zero mention if its provenance anywhere obvious. The only giveaway on their website is if you look up the business address, which is shared by Radeberger. That's not to say that Braufactum don't do <a href="http://thebittenbullet.blogspot.de/2011/04/braufactum-darkon-roog-and-indra.html" target="_blank">very tasty</a>, interesting beers, but the lack of transparency is something that, as a beer consumer, I don't like so much. Well, that and the "gourmet" pricing, though one has to say, the marketing and presentation is really beautiful, and why wouldn't it be?<br />
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But back to Craftwerk, and their three offerings. <b>Craftwerk Tangarine Dream</b> is a single hop IPA using Mandarina Bavaria, and bears all the hallmarks of that on the nose (does what it says on the tin). Slightly buttery, with light orange (so tempted to say tangarine) and salty caramel, it's got quite a tart hop bite, verging on aggressive, not helped by a thin, biscuity base. It's fine and fruity, but could benefit from a bit more body to round it out.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty clear where this came from.</td></tr>
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<b>Craftwerk Hop Head IPA⁷</b> has quite a list of hops going into the brew. Herkules, Magnum, Taurus, Cascade, Centennial, Chinook and Simcoe. Quite a few of my favourites in there, so looking good on paper. Served on tap, Hop Head is a hazy gold with a pleasing aroma, rich with melon, honey, lime and fresh-cut grass. Fruity and fudgey, with a creamy mouthfeel, it strikes a nice balance , while a warming, spicy hop hit brings up the rear. Long-lingering peppery heat and a pithy bitterness left me thinking they might be on to something good here.<br />
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And the last of the three, <b>Craftwerk Holy Cowl</b>, listed as a Belgian-style tripel (but brewed after the Reinheitsgebot, so none of those evil sugars here). The nose is spicy with cloves, fruity with hints of banana and dried apricots, and a tad yeasty. Most of this comes across in the flavour too, with an added dose of earthy hops. It's very spicy, with a gum-tingling carbonic bite, or perhaps it was an edge of sourness, but it's certainly well-carbonated. I got the impression of it being more like a Weizen Doppelbock, with added zest and spice, not that that's a bad thing!<br />
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Overall, not bad efforts, and certainly packing a lot more flavour in than a Bitburger Premium Pils, and at prices like €2.35 for a bottle of the Hop Head IPA, well, more than double the price of a regular beer here, but definitely not breaking the bank.<br />
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Having completed that bit of research, it was around to visit Distelhäuser (ca. 190.000 Hectoliters per annum). I'm on the record of having said I was never a fan of Distelhäuser Pils, but quite like their Export, and have always thought of them being fairly traditional. That was until I came across their Blonde and Special in my local, tiny drink store, and came away with two six-packs filled with surprises. I'd also seen they had some porters and IPAs at the Grünen Woche up in Berlin, so my curiosity was killing me, what with them only being a 50km drive from where I live.<br />
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<b>Distelhäuser Lucky Hop</b> was served from the tap, a 7.7%, 77 IBU concoction with 5 hop varieties. Dark amber, unfiltered, with a pretty stable foam crowning it. Soft caramel, mandarin, strawberries. Big, hop-forward bitterness, but tempered by a fruity sweetness and soft, creamy carbonation. Quite a good effort!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Distelhäuser Lucky Hop IPA</td></tr>
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<b>Distelhäuser Loch Ness Stout</b> weighed in at 4.7%. Completely opaque, black as night. On the nose, it's chocolaty, yeasty, toasted rye bread and a suggestion of wood, while on the tongue, it's creamy, fruity with blackberries, a touch of vanilla and wood, with a dark chocolate bitterness rounding it off. I have to admit, it was a lot more than I expected. My views of Distelhäuser were continuing to sway.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Distelhäuser Loch Ness Stout. I think.</td></tr>
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And finally, <b>Distelhäuser Black Pearl Porter</b>, a slightly heavier 5.6% with 28 IBUs. This was a surprising fruit bomb. Big berries, and fruity as hell, with vanilla, and a deft touch of sourness cutting a soft toffee maltiness. I've had some god-awful German porters in the past (<a href="http://thebittenbullet.blogspot.de/2009/08/lousy-lausitzer.html" target="_blank">Lausitzer</a>, anyone?), and a few really excellent examples, and while this might not check all the BJCP style guide boxes (did I really just type that?), I really enjoyed the surprise of it all, and would happily drink a pint.<br />
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I don't know if these Distelhäuser beers are going to be hitting the stores around my area, or if they are just experiments shown at festivals, but I do rather like that they haven't tried to market these under any other label than Distelhäuser or the diminutive Distel. No mention of the C word anywhere, they're just trying stuff out, which I can certainly respect, as in a medium size brewery, that could be seen as a bit risky in some circles (till now, they've brewed local beers for local people, nothing for you here!). I had a nice chat with the manager/brewer, and hope to visit sometime later this year for a closer look, but I certainly hope that I see beers like this in my local drink store.<br />
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So, that's a small look at a huge and a medium-sized brewer, doing stuff in my playground. Is it crafty, in the sense the Brewers Association described? On reflection, I'd have to say no, or at least not in these cases. Despite calls for some sort of global definition of what craft is, I think the benchmark varies so widely from country to country, that it's simply not possible, or at least not in any meaningful way. Even the BA seems to be in the habit of changing their own definition to suit their members. In Beoir, we set Irish Craft Beer as something very easily defined, based on volume, place of production and ownership. No mention of passion as an ingredient whatsoever, but then drive is a given with the Irish craft brewers. While Craftwerk might be playing the craft card, at least it completely transparent where the beer is coming from, and as a beer consumer, that's something that I can use to make the right choices for myself.<br />
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Next up... hmmm, maybe the Nøgne Ø tasting.Barry Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367655129107699025noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943606491780538470.post-66214609722728207712014-02-28T12:00:00.000+01:002016-04-22T07:00:38.172+02:00Braukunst Live! 2014 - The TraditionalistsCan you teach an old dog new tricks? How do the long-standing, traditionalist breweries react to new trends in the German market? I sampled a couple at BrauKunst Live! 2014.<br />
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<a href="http://www.auer-bier.de/index.php" target="_blank">Schlossbrauerei Au</a> has been around since 1590, so I think it's safe to say that it has a long tradition, and still with a Baron Freiherr at the helm. So it was interesting to see their beer list with a few oddities. First up, the <b>Schlossbrauerei Au Grätzer</b>. At 4.4% (12,2° Stammwürze), <a href="https://twitter.com/geo21481" target="_blank">Gerrit </a>and I were not sure if it was "to style", but frankly, neither of us really gave a crap. What it is, however, is an unfiltered dark straw, with a big, pillowy, banana aroma and a light clove touch. Same on the flavour, but cut with a delicate sourness, like a squeeze of lemon, finishing dry and long. The ingredients listed Weizenmalz, Rauchmalz and Spitzmalz, but there can't have been much in the Rauchmalz department, as that was quite subtle. Have to say, though, I quite liked it!<br />
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What I had visited the booth for, however, was to try the <b>Schlossbrauerei Au Eiskeller Rotweinfaß</b>, aged, as the name suggests, in red wine casks. Pretty much a Doppelbock that was either going wrong or out of date (I'm not great with that dialect), they decided to experiment and put it into Italian oak wine casks for 12 months of aging. The result is quite remarkable. Big aroma, redolent of red berries, oak and vanilla, likewise, the flavour is bold, with raisins, raspberries, cherries, vanilla, with a gentle woody touch in the background. A sweet, marzipan-like finish wraps it up nicely. With only 1600 bottles made, I'd be quite hoping they try it again!<br />
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And on to Fürst Wallerstein. No simlpe Barons here, but a proper Prince! Presented at the <a href="http://www.biertraum.de/" target="_blank">BierTraum </a>booth, I asked to try the <b>1598 Fürst Wallerstein Edition Privée</b>. I was told that this beer was expensive and that, normally, they'd ask for 10 tokens for a 100ml sample (that's €5, I think), but they made a deal with the brewery to let it go at just 5. It normally retails at €90 a bottle. I wish he hadn't told me all that before trying it, as that set expectations high. Though I'm glad I didn't read the description on the <a href="http://www.1598.fuerst-wallerstein.de/" target="_blank">1598 website</a> either, or I would surely have felt unworthy to request a sample. Be that as it may, I got my sample and retreated to a safe distance, clutching business cards of the reseller and the Fürst Wallerstein sales manager, which I felt obliged to accept.<br />
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Clear amber, with not a trace of carbonation, it has a pleasant cherry, caramel and bitter almond aroma. Flavour-wise, well, rather dull, given the price tag. Slightly syrupy, with sweet caramel, soft fruits and a taint of cardboard hovering at the edges. Shame, really.<br />
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And so to an old hand at the game, both in traditional and not-so-traditional brews, our friends at Schneider Weisse. I have to admit, I love Schneider beers, and spent several happy hours in the Weisses Brauhaus<a href="http://thebittenbullet.blogspot.de/2013/03/the-munich-beer-hall-tour.html" target="_blank"> last year</a>, not to mention them being regularly on my cellar shelves. And looking below, you'll see they are well loved by the crowds at BKL.<br />
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There was only one beer that needed sampling, and that was the new <b>Schneider Tap X, Meine Porter Weisse</b>. With an aroma that hinted rather heavily at the Weissbier components, there wasn't much portery going on, apart from a hint of milk chocolate. Neither was much in the way of dark malt roastiness to the flavour, but there was certainly lots of tasty dark berry things going on, mixing well with the juicy, Weizenbock-like flavours. I have to wonder why bother calling it a porter weisse, when it nods vigerously in the direction of a Weizen Doppelbock (and oh, how they do that so well). I'll be sticking to the Aventinus, which is also more suited to my price range.<br />
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Next up, craft or crafty in Deutschland? Or do we really care?Barry Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367655129107699025noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943606491780538470.post-12504034755075999342014-02-26T12:00:00.000+01:002016-04-22T07:00:18.316+02:00Braukunst Live! 2014 - The BrewpubsI had fully intended to sample broadly from the smaller German breweries at Braukunst Live! that I'd not heard of before, but somehow got waylaid. But at least I tried!<br />
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<a href="http://www.maxbrauerei.de/" target="_blank">Maxbrauerei Biermanufaktur</a> is a small inn and brewery, opened in 2010 in a renovated stables in Altenstadt, Oberbayern. What I found interesting about these guys, is that as well as their regular range of two, they have a monthly beer, that they have planned a year in advance. The 2014 calendar features beers like a Russian Imperial Stout (December), a Saphir Weizen (November), a Rogger Ale (June), and so on.<br />
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At Braukunst Live, they had the January and February offerings. January's was <b>Maxbrauerei Böhmisch Dunkel</b>, brewed with Saaz hops. Reminiscent of rye bread and toast, with a pinch of graininess and a green apple edge. Nothing to shout about, but fairly drinkable.<br />
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Their most recent offering was the <b>Maxbrauerei Indian Pale Ale</b> (their Indian), a yeasty, amber affair, with fruity overtones, the expected citric bite, but suffering from a butteriness that left it flat. Shame, but then there's something else coming next month!<br />
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Just an observation on the name of the brewery including the "Manufaktur" element. This seemed to be a bit of a trend, as there were at least a handful of breweries now sporting this moniker, leaving me wondering if they were trying to take a leaf out of the Braufactum handbook, using Manufaktur as an indicator of something crafted by hand. Let's see.<br />
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And speaking of playing the craft card, the next beers were from <a href="http://www.kraftbraeu.de/" target="_blank">Kraft Bräu</a>, from Trier, way over by the Luxembourg border. These guys, based in the Hotel Restaurant Blesius Garten, have been around since 1998, but I can't say if they had the name Kraft Bräu, or the sub-title <i>1. Trierer Hausbrauerei</i> first. No matter, it's the beers that count.<br />
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Starting with <b>Kraft Bräu Seb's Pale Ale</b>, served by Seb himself, I tried to ignore the questionable label and concentrate on the contents. I was told they wanted to aim for drinkability, and model this more towards an English style, rather than the fashionable American Pale Ales, despite being brewed with Willamette and Cascade. And you know, I think they succeeded. Balance is the name of the game, with sweet, fudgy malts, floral, herbal hops, and a light, orange-tinted bitterness. Unoffensive (at least the beer was) and decently sinkable, so I can't complain too much.<br />
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I said I'd like to try another of their "normal" beers, and was offered the <b>Kraft Bräu Helles Saphir</b>, which, as the name suggests, was dry-hopped with Saphir. I can't say I'd call it normal, in the sense of a German Helles, what with the big floral, resiny nose, and a lovely honey/melon flavour in the midground, and a light carbonic bite cutting through to passion fruit and a soft, chalky dryness. Really refreshing and one I could happily drink all day.<br />
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Moving up the scale to the <b>Kraft Bräu Edition IPA</b>, at 7.5% ABV. Creamy, soft citrus notes, solid caramel base and a full body, I think this was another winner, and a far classier label.<br />
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On a separate board, they had a barrel-ages <b>Kraft Bräu Treverer Porter</b>. Lots of berries with lashings of vanilla, a deft touch of sourness, mild chocolate and roasted edge, and a lingering raspberry and chocolate finish. I was starting to like these guys, but thought I should be moving on.<br />
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Well, just one more. The <b>Kraft Bräu Bourbon Chocolate Stout</b>. With a port-like, vinous notes, vanilla chocolate, mild coffee and toffee, and deceptively light and creamy for a 9% imperial stout. Very good.<br />
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I'd like to find out more about Kraft Bräu, and what is behind the brewery, and how a hotel brewery (albeit quite a fancy-looking hotel and spa) can take the risks to make such a range of beers, and I wish Max & Co. luck with their ongoing project, as I like their ideas and guts starting something like that.<br />
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Next up, a look at a few breweries I would call "traditionalist", or certainly with what seems like a long pedigree, and a fair few "vons" in their history!<br />
<br />Barry Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367655129107699025noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943606491780538470.post-74646765473013409252014-02-24T21:59:00.000+01:002014-03-03T22:05:24.170+01:00Braukunst Live! 2014 - The New SchoolA year in the German beer calendar seems to have gone by very quickly, with Braukunst Live! creeping up almost unexpectedly. After a fairly slow festival last year, from a personal perspective, this year I decided that two days was needed to do it any sort of justice. The final published, and most certainly incomplete, beer list for this year listed 431 beers from nine countries, 252 from Germany alone, so there was a lot to bite off.<br />
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While the general format remained unchanged, being somewhat of a mix between beer festival and the feel of a trade show, it felt to me like there was a certain maturity to how everything was presented. At least the presentation at the booths was of a generally higher standard compared to even last year, feeling somewhat more polished and professional, while retaining the character of each brewery presenting. However, there was a lot to cram into the MVG Museum, and Saturday got particularly crowded both out on the floor, and definitely at the woefully inadequate toilet facilities, despite the addition of portaloos outside the venue. If they continue to expand and attract the growing attention, I'm really hoping they choose a bigger venue (also with more seating and better catering facilities) for next year.<br />
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But, on to the more important aspects, the beer! I had an unwritten agreement with myself to try and focus on the German breweries, and beers I had not tried before, but of course failed on both counts, not that I'm complaining. So first, beers I tried from what I might loosely describe as the new school of brewers, ranging from some relatively new, to those with a longer brewing heritage, that took the leap to Craft several years ago.<br />
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First stop, straight to see Thomas at Hopfenstopfer, to see what new creations he'd brought. Taking a departure from the excellent pale ales I'm used to seeing from Hopfenstopfer, he had a red ale, <b>Hopfenstopfer Dark Red Temptation</b>, on offer. An unfiltered amber, Dark Red Temptation has a banana-y, fruity nose, with bready, doughy malts in the back. The 9% alcohol comes through with a warming sensation, complemented by a soft, chewy body. Lots of toffee, a slight graininess, and a strawberry, minty-hop finish. Quite heavy after a while, but it does finish relatively dry, though a little floppy.<br />
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Hopfenstopfer were at a joint bar with a collective of independent small brewers, including Braukunstkeller, Paxbräu, Kehwieder, Schoppebräe and Ale Mania, formerly known as FritzAle. So, it was a quick step to the left to sample from Hamburg's Kehrwieder, of who I'd heard good things. Their new single hop IPA <b>Kehrwieder Hüll Melon</b> showcased the hop of the same name. Remarkably fruity on the nose, it shouts strawberry jam. Loudly. Less so on the flavour, but it's a tour-de-force of exotic fruit flavours, coupled with light honey notes, grassiness, and a bunch of other stuff to keep you chewing over. Lovely stuff, that is dangerously deceptive, given the 7.5% ABV tag.<br />
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<b>Kehrwieder Prototyp</b> is not quite a prototype, being their first commercial beer produced over a year ago, which kept its moniker. A dry-hopped lager, using Northern Brewer in the mash, Perle in the kettle and Simcoe and Saaz for the dry hopping, Prototyp is juicy-fruit all the way, with a deft touch of fudge for good measure, and a drying smack of grapefruit to the finish. Very pleasant and refreshing, and a safe 5.3%<br />
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I'm not such a fan of the name of <b>Kehwieder Feuchter Traum</b> (wet dream), but it's named so on account of it using undried, fresh "wet hops", namely German cascade. A clear, pale amber with a fudgy, mandarin aroma, it has a wonderfully light fruity flavour, bitter orange and toffee, with a sudden, dry finish, almost chalky and lingering orange pith.<br />
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I'd been informed that all six of the breweries listed above had made a collaboration brew for the event, something they did via a FaceBook group they set up after last year's Braukunst Live. <b>Triple Nipple</b> (or maybe Tripel Nippel?) might have been a case of too many cooks spoil the broth. I found the aroma muted, with just a touch of grapefruit pith, but then it was served too cold. A little more came out when heated in the hand. But still, a bit of a one-trick pony, being all about the orange and grapefruit, and not much else for me.<br />
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Later in the night, I returned to Hopfenstopfer to hit the rest button with a Hopfenstopfer Comet IPA, which I <a href="http://thebittenbullet.blogspot.de/2013/03/braukunst-live-2013.html" target="_blank">noted on last year</a>. Still a great beer, and the best rated beer (and best rated brewer!) out of Baden-Württemberg on ratebeer!<br />
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There's one thing I'll say about this little group. While they don't appear to have the marketing budget of some of the other newer German craft breweries, who seem to spend a lot of time advertising their dedication to the craft beer cause, living the craft beer life and looking more like it's a lifestyle than a drink, these guys just quietly go and brew great beers, and I've a lot of respect for that. Actually, respect, and lack of in some cases, was a recurring thought through my two days at Braukunst Live.<br />
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But moving along to another old hand, up the other end of the hall, whose beers I've certainly enjoyed in the past, Sebastian Sauer, and Freigeist Bierkultur. I have to admit, the randomness of the selection available gave me pause, but the <b>Freigeist Dark Jester </b>(or was it The Monarchy Dark Jester? I'm not sure now), with juniper berries and bay leaves sounded intriguing. Sour and a little band-aidy, the latter left me a tad undecided, and while I enjoyed the herbal elements, and the sour bite, it hit so many buttons. A brewer, who shall remain unnamed, gave me his opinion that most of these beers were random creations with crazy stuff just to sell in the US. He might say that, but I couldn't possibly comment. However, I can say I've immensely enjoyed pretty much everything I've tried from Freigeist up till this point.<br />
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And so, close by, to Maisel and Friends. I've put them in this post, because I saw them last year, and I think I even tried the Bock. While they might not rate as particularly "new school", given that they have the same selection of three core beers as last time, they are at least on trend, and their beers in 750ml bottles are fairly priced, which is more than I can say for some out there. <b>Jeff's Bavarian Ale</b> was the choice, a 7.1% wheat beer with a strong fruity aroma, dishing out blackberries galore. Quite decent on the swallow too, with a mildly solventy alcohol hit, but creams, with more dark berries and mild clove spiciness.<br />
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That'll do for this post. Coming next, some brewpubs doing something different. In the meantime, some shots of post-Braukunst Live beers at Camba Bavaria's <a href="http://www.tap-house-munich.de/en/" target="_blank">Tap House</a>. No note-taking here!<br />
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And the post-post-BrauKunst Live beers in the hotel lobby!<br />
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BKL2014 Part 2: <a href="http://thebittenbullet.blogspot.de/2014/02/bkl2014-brewpubs.html" target="_blank">The Brewpubs</a></div>
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BKL2014 Part 3: <a href="http://thebittenbullet.blogspot.de/2014/02/bkl2014-traditionalists.html" target="_blank">The Traditionalists</a></div>
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BKL2014 Part 4: <a href="http://thebittenbullet.blogspot.de/2014/03/bkl2014-kunst-oder-kunstlich-should-we.html" target="_blank">Kunst oder Künstlich? Should we really care? </a></div>
Barry Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367655129107699025noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8943606491780538470.post-75598216032976043302013-12-30T00:28:00.001+01:002013-12-30T00:28:29.988+01:00The last days of AdventI soldiered through the last of the advent beer calendar last week, so here's a final push of the last lot. Sorry, this is going to be quite a lot in one go! :)<br />
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Door 15 hid a <b>Schönramer Bayrisch Pale Ale</b>, one that i was eager to try, given the Schönramer beers I'd tried at BaruKunst Live 2013. A pleasingly sweet aroma, cut with pineapple cubes candy and a touch of grapefruit pith. Quite light on the body, verging on thin, with a grapefruit-like bitterness hitting right on the first sip. It's full of zesty fruit flavours. Pineapple, light raspberry, apples, all on a clean rye bread base. The finish is dry, reminiscent of tonic water, with a long orange pithiness remaining. Light (even at 5.5%) and refreshing, but would love to try it with a tad more body.<br />
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Day 16 was a pack of beer-related cards. Well, cartoony, and would have been nice apart from the crap sexual innuendo jokes on some of them, otherwie my son would have got them.<br />
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17 Was <b>Zötler Gold</b>. Looking like standard fare, aroma-wise it delivered pretty much simple pale malt aroma, with a touch of sulpher and a mildly vegetal underbelly. Nutty, salty, a little cabbagey, grainy and watery. Enough said so.<br />
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18 was a nice surprise. I've had a metal Schlappeseppel sign, given to me by my Father-in-law, for years, but had never tried their beers, so seeing a <b>Schlappeseppel Kellerbier</b>, was quite welcome. Pale and hazy with a good strong head, this had a decently crisp noble hop aroma, all pine, grass and softly herbal. Surprisingly creamy-textured, with a lemony bite, not far from lemon meringue pie, and biscuity to boot. A tasty drop!<br />
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<b>Maxlrainer Zwickl Max</b> was the delight for day 19, a helles with a light haze and short-lived head. Aroma-wise, is suggested nothing more than apple juice, which may not be a bad thing. Sweet and fruity, with a candy-like edge, tempered by a zesty cut. Slightly sharp on the finish, verging on acidic, but with a lingering grassy and digestive biscuit flavour. Overall, a nice combination, and another hit as far as I was concerned.<br />
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Day 20 was Hofbräuhaus Traunstein Weißbier, a hazy orange affair, with a fine-pored, creamy head. This has a lovely, highly spiced aroma, with classic Weißbier cloves abundant, ripe pears and banana. A little thin and tinny, yet has a pleasing creamy/cream soda flavour, mild banana and a surprising pithiness that sharpens the finish. Overall, a fine summer refreshed, I'd say.<br />
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21 was a <b>Tegernseer Hell</b>. I don't know what it is about this beer, but I just fond it boring, so I didn't even bother making notes.<br />
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Day 2 was the biggest surprise, mostly because I didn't expect to find a <b>Distelhäuser Winterbock</b> in a Bavarian beer calendar. Distelhäuser is not far from where I live, and although a mere 10 kilometres from the Bavarian border, is most definitely from Baden-Württemberg. Having said that, my "local" regional brewer is one that I have a mixed relationship with, but some of their newer offerings have certainly sparked my interest. Their Winterbock has a muted aroma, gently candy-like and nutty, with soft caramel. On the tongue, it's grainy, with burnt caramel, a touch of dried fruits and bitter almond. Despite a creamy texture supporting all of this, it nevertheless feels somewhat threadbare.<br />
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The penultimate beer was a Karmeliten Brocardus 1844. It's rather fancy-looking, what with that red foil on the neck, and certainly fit the festive season. As did the lovely rich amber of the beer itself. Not much aroma to speak of, however it did give caramel, strawberries, blackberries and a touch of old straw on the flavour. The finish is sweetish, yet dry, with hints of honey and a very mild herbal bitterness. Ultimately, it looked better than it tasted.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5P8j018fIAs/UsCfUG-KxaI/AAAAAAAAIAM/ye0gboPCmug/s1600/Karmeliten+Brocardus+1844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5P8j018fIAs/UsCfUG-KxaI/AAAAAAAAIAM/ye0gboPCmug/s1600/Karmeliten+Brocardus+1844.JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></div>
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And so to the final door, with much anticipation. Did they leave the best till last?<br />
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I like proper Märzen, so the sounds of <b>Brauerei Irlbach's Goaßkopf Halbe Original Ur-Märzen</b>, which the label says was almost a forgotten style, really was right up my ally. A sliughtly hazy old gold with a persistant head, this Märzen had a sweetish, floral aroma with dried grass. Certainly malt-driven, it has a clean caramel backbone with some fruity highlights suggesting sweet apples, but predominantly a dusty old hay and grass flavour. With a fullish mouthfeel, it's not so bad, so wile a little dull, it's almost comforting.<br />
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And there we are! At times, i was thinking i was glad i didn't buy this beer calendar, having won it and all, but there were quite a few decent beers in the box, and the vast majority were completely new to me, so it was absolutely ideal in that regard. They do have some other variants, and I think I'd quite like to try the general German one, as there's sure to be some nice surprises in there.<br />
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Thanks again to Felix for running the competition!<br />
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<br />Barry Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07367655129107699025noreply@blogger.com0