Advent beers 5-7: old friends, and new

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

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

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

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

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

Advent Beers 2-4: a mixed bag

Day 2 brought Meckatzer Weiss-Gold, which at least does what it says on the bottle insofar as it's a nice buttery gold. Aroma-wise, it shared some traits with day one's beer, with honey notes, but with added natural rubber and grass. Disappointing on the flavour-stakes, being dull and flabby. Held in the mouth, it's grainy and sweet, and it only releases a spark of life just on the swallow, with a flash of citrus which quickly devolves into something resembling washing up liquid. The finish is unpleasant. Sadly, I had been expecting more from this, as the back label declared it to be an "independent beer type in the premium class". Well, OK, I guess I got what I deserved if I believed that kind of marketing.

Day 3 was a nice surprise. Riegele's Augsburger Herren Pils.. I'd had only one experience with a Riegele beer at BrauKunst Live! 2013, but had heard many good things about them in general. Another golden beer, with a long-lasting, rocky head. A bready, mildly spicy aroma is followed up with a grassy, lightly fruity )pears came to mind) flavour. Despite that, the word crisp came to mind. It finishes long, with an assertive, clean bitterness and a warming pepperiness. A touch metallic, perhaps, but that didn't detract from a well-made, properly refreshing beer experience. I've said it before, I have to try more from this brewery.

And on to the 4th of December, and Weltenburger Kloster Asam Bock. With a back label swathed in several languages, all of which make a big deal of it being a Bayerisches Bier )and of course the obligatory Reinheitsgebot proclamation), I'm guessing they export a lot. A deep mahogany with ruby highlights, it's an attractive beer for a cold December evening. Fruity (Pflaumenmus, blackberries), dark toffee, husky and a touch vegetal, the aroma both pleased and worried me, but the huskiness was at least muted on the flavour. Predominantly tasting of burnt sugar, or maybe golden syrup, caramel, dried fruits and a bit woody. The finish suggests demerara sugar, with a pinch of cinnamon, which all sounds like a wonderful Christmas treat. I have to admit, I liked it fine, but it got a bit dull and monotone, with the sweetness creeping up a bit, like many (but I stress, not all!) German Bockbiers do.

So a mixed bag indeed for the past three days, but in balance good! 20 more to go!

San Diego 2013: The best laid plans...

Note: this post is from the notebook archive, as it should have been written and posted last July! :)

I've been a fairly regular visitor to San Diego for the past 11 years, having attended a large, annual conference there probably 8 or 9 times in that period. Busy conferences, being as they are, has always meant that the group I was with stayed relatively local to the San Diego Convention Center, and the hotels, which essentially means the Gaslamp District. Not that I should complain, as despite Gaslamp seeming like a tourist hellhole, there's always plenty of places to find decent beer anywhere in San Diego, and a few breweries within spitting distance. But it was always with a pang of guilt that I never made it a bit further north, to the likes of the Escondido or Miramar areas, which on the map, seem like veritable hubs of brewing activity, even ignoring some of the most talked-about breweries on the west coast.

So it was, earlier this year, that my friend and colleague, Rüdiger, and I began to plan this years trip. Instead of the usual flight to LAX or Houston, followed by a flight directly into San Diego, we planned to rent a car at LAX and drive down to Escondido, to stay there overnight, visit The Brewery most associated with that location, and continue our drive to San Diego the next day.  We'd checked everything online. Should we reserve a table or not? Their booking system suggested it was busy, but not at the times we hoped we'd be there by, so we decided to take a chance.

Thursday, the 4th of July, we arrived at LAX, wrecked after a 9000 kilometer flight. Well, I was, but Rüdiger possesses that rare skill of being able to sleep in a giant cigar tube. Pleasant drive down to Escondido. Checked into Holiday Inn, got some supplies, then off to get cash and take the bus. FIrst problem. I had a few dollars in cash already. Rüdiger had none. The ATM refused both our cards, whether our regular bank cards of credit cards. Shit! No cash! Just enough to get the bus and back, so no problem, we can pay for everything else with credit card.

We got the right bus and, not long after, were standing outside the HQ of the Stone Brewing Company. Finally, after all these years! But it seemed awfully quiet. We snaked our way around to the main entrance, guided by an employee who was having problems getting his swipe card to let him in a side entrance. Nice place. Stone walls guiding us to a leafy entrance, an entrance hall, off of which was the closed store, and then into the main room, with glass walls showing the heart of the brewery on one side, and the other being open to the Stone Gardens. The hostess welcomed us and told us that the Bistro was closed today and that the bar would close at 8pm, with last orders at 7:30. It was 7:15. You might think, dear reader, that we'd made a stupid mistake, visiting such a place on the US national holiday, but nowhere on the website, or their booking system, had it given any such warning. "SHIT!" was my first reaction, followed swiftly by "how many beers should I order in 15 minutes?". Of course, we had to to take the situation as it was, though desperately disappointed. We planted ourselves at the bar, where a handful of punters, or possibly staff, were finishing off beers, and trawled the menu. Despite being a few minutes away from closing down for an early evening, the bar tender was friendly, offering gentle guidance when posed a few questions. We both went for the Smoked Porter.

The main room, complete with gargoyle.

Part of the brewery.

I quite liked the Stone Smoked Porter. Rüdiger did not. A decent level of smoke, with a pronounced bitterness made it interesting for me, but for Rüdiger, it clashed. Perhaps not finely balanced in that regard, but the fullness, the underlying caramel and dark chocolate bite, was hitting the spot for me. Although in fairness, after the journey we'd had, a hell of a lot of beers would have been like the nectar of the Gods!

Stone Smoked Porter.

On to a next round before last orders! Being torn between Cali-Belgique and a RuinTen, the bartender sensibly told us that we could get the Cali anywhere, and the RuinTen on tap was the thing to go for. I duly did so. A big beer in a smaller glass, Stone RuinTen IPA wears its heart on its sleeve. Pineapple chunks (the old sweets/candy from my childhood), pine resin, heavy duty Seville orange marmalade. That's it, as far as I'm concerned, and it worked.

Stone RuinTen IPA.

 And that was it! All our planning to be able to order two beers at the Stone Bistro. But there was always tomorrow. The bartender told us about the brewery tours, and recommended we should get there early, as on a holiday weekend, t could book up quickly. We took it on board, and set off to find something to eat, with about $4 in my pocket. I won't bore you with the details, but it involved one bus ride, a sit at a fastfood restaurant with a view of some pretty crap fireworks, followed by a loooong walk through tramp-infested streets, till we crashed at the hotel.

Next morning, awake bright an early, despite all efforts to sleep longer, we had a large breakfast and drove to Stone again, determined to salvage something from the previous day's disaster. We got there shortly before 10am, and already the tours were full till 1pm. We thought we'd do a little shopping in their store, but due to some power issues, it was not open, resulting in a line of growler-owners seeking refills being let in one at a time. We had a drive ahead of us, so were not inclined to just sit and skull back pints of beer, so we had to settle for a walk though the gardens, before bidding good riddance to the Stone experience. Maybe next time...

The Stone Store. You shall not pass!

Part of Stone Gardens

Bye bye!

Our next appointment, at an outlet mall, was considerably more successful, what with the holiday sales on. I'm not a keen shopper, but that was just great. So, all there was left to do was point the car towards San Diego, where we'd have to start work the next day at 8am. But there was still a list of potential breweries on the way. We had to at least pick one...

Advent Beer 1: Käuzle

Last week the postman struggled to hand over a package, once he realised what was in it. Thanks to a competition run by Felix over on Lieblingsbier, I was the lucky winner of a Kalea Bieradventskalender! 24 doors hiding Bavarian beer stuff (I got the Bavarian edition, but I have to say, their Bad Santa edition sounds very intriguing!). Free beer! And free beer surprises! Needless to say, I was well chuffed.

This morning, my son was super-excited to be opening his Advent calendar, so much so, that he wanted to share the excitement at shortly before 8am, by opening my beer calendar and bringing a bottle in to my bedroom (unopened, I hasten to add!).With bottle number one comes a leaflet about how to assess beer, and a sheet for putting down your own ratings, with an address on the other side to send it as feedback to Kalea.

Kauzen Bräu Käuzle was beer number one, a Pils-style beer described as a cult beer on the label, and as a Szenegetränk (a "scene" drink), on their website. Pouring a pale straw shade, with a fine, but short-lived head, Käuzle has a sweet nose, suggesting marzipan (hey, it's getting near Christmas), white bread, a twist of pepper, mandarin peel and a vaguely vegetal undertone. I have to admit, the first sip registered disappointment, being predominantly grainy, with  a honey-like sweetness dominating. The hops bring a mild citrus, mandarin edge which cuts the honey sweetness, and it the finish is mildly peppery, in quite a pleasant way. Quite an easy beer to just knock back, rather swiftly, but a touch dull around the edges for a Pils.

The beer blog has been dormant for a while due to other pressure, but I hope to at least blog the entire calendar, as a way to get back into training. Probably not every day, but at least every beer!

Save the Date: Braukunst Live! 2014

A year goes by very quick when you're slaving on a house restoration, but now and again, it's good to lift the head up and look for the light, this time in the form of BrauKunst Live 2014. Having been to the first two events, and seeing the 2013 one expand hugely on the 2012 inaugural event, I'm definitely looking forward to 2014. A little earlier than the previous two, BrauKunst Live! 2014 will be held on February 21st to 23rd. If it grows the same way as the last one, I'm wondering if they'll fit in the MVG Museum!

A pretty good event for gauging the growing "craft beer" (and I use the term advisedly, given recent discussions on the blogosphere) scene in Germany, it at least gives the visitor a taste of the changing face of German beer culture, not to mention a decent smattering of international brews. Last year there were over 400 beers listed, so gird your loins, put the dates in the diary, and pop over for a good session.

On an aside, and for clearly selfish reasons, I'd love to see some Irish breweries present, and definitely some more Beoir members, for old-time's sake.

Allgäuer Büble Bier

Allgäuer Brauhaus, another part of the behemoth Oetker Group (under the Radeberger stable) has a much larger range than I previously thought. I got to try a tiny part of their range recently, beginning with their Allgäuer Büble Bier, the Edelbräu version. I'm guessing that Büble is Allgäur dialect for a little boy, similar to the local dialect in my village calling a boy a Bub, or a girl a Merle, and the picture on the label would reinforce this. No problem with little boys carrying foaming tankards here!

A sparkling, clear gold with a frothy white head, Büble Bier struck me as having classically German hop aroma, all grass, hay and pine cones in spades. All good so far. The first sip is remarkable fruity, in a raspberry, gooseberry way, but it's just a flash, replaced swiftly by a sugary sweetness which then moves directly on to a lingering bitterness that smacks just a little too much of burnt plastic for my taste. Simple and unpleasant. Looks nice, though, doesn't it?

Badger, badger, badger

For years I've been fascinated by the labels on the Dachsenfranz beers, with that photo of an old geezer, Der Dachsenfranz on the front. Originally Italian, legend has it that Francesco Regali arrived in this region in the latter half of the 19th century, after killing a man (assumed to be a superior in Garibaldi's guerrilla forces) during the Italian wars of independence, from which he fled. He settled in the area around Kraichgau, and made himself useful as a trapper there and in the Odenwald area, not too far from where I live. Kind of like a Grizzly Adams, but with badgers and stoats instead of bears. Hence his name, Badger Franz. At the outbreak of the First World War, he simply disappeared.

The folk at the Adlerbrauerei in Zuzenhausen clearly found this character interesting enough to create a whole brand and range of beers bearing his name. I've had a few of these before, but hadn't made notes till recently, when these two appeared in a mixed crate my wife bought as a pre-birthday present.

Dachsenfranz Kellerbier is a pale, greenish straw, and is, frankly, a little insipid-looking, but with an impressively creamy-looking head. Quite a strong aroma too that initially shouts, well, "beery", if you know what I mean. This resolves to a strong pine resin with a twist of lemon zest. It's pretty much the same description or the flavour, on top of a white sliced pan breadiness, and a cabolic tang amplifying a tangy zing to the finish. It;s not bad, and the zesty finish lifts up what could have been a rather standard Kellerbier. Gassy, though.

A clear, dark amber, Dachsenfranz Dunkel exudes a rather fruity aroma, with raisins, strawberries and an ever-so-gentle choclatey backdrop. Compared to some vlassic Munich Dunkels I've tried recently, this hits far more buttons in the flavour stakes. Sure, it's relatively sweet, but in a maltose rather than sucrose way, with healthy doses of berries, light chocolate, creme caramel and a small nip of cappuccino. FInishing with blackcurrent sorbet cut with caramel, sueffig would be the right German word to describe it going down. Rather good, and one I'd happily buy a crate of.

Of course, it's impossible to drink these without having this playing in my head!