BEERS #2 - Beyond the Pale

[Ferris]

2 tins of this bastard tonight, loving it.

[purlieu]

And it has Goller thanks! The 'original' is what I've been looking for, not sure how similar the 'premium pilsner' is to that

Oh, picking up a bottle of that from my local tonight, always wary of German pilsners but curious.

[chutnut]

Oh, picking up a bottle of that from my local tonight, always wary of German pilsners but curious.

The original is potentially my favourite lager tbh, the description for this one on the Raynville site says 'Attention bitter!' though which makes me a bit hesitant

[purlieu]

The "original" seems to be exactly the same as the "pilsner"; according to Untappd, the "premium pilsner" is 5.2%, but the bottle I had last night was 4.9%, the same as the "original" and "pilsner". I'm pretty confused, to be honest. It was pretty much what I expected from a German pilsner, fine but not really my thing.

[itsfredtitmus]

No fannying about fellas what's the most I can get pissed for with a tenner

[king_tubby]

So, which of these should I try first next time I'm in the Cardigan? Mainly looking at Shoulders here.

Chose the cowards option just now and had a pint of Dissolution.

[purlieu]

Andechs Vollbier Hell is a beautiful pale lager, possibly my favourite helles, definitely grab one of those. Their weiss dunkel is also beautiful, that's a dark wheatbeer, a great example of the style. The Schlenkerla Marzen is superb, but it's a smoked beer so a very much an acquired taste. If you want your beer to taste like smoked ham, though, it's the perfect place to start.
The Hacker Pschorr - if that's the Oktoberfest Marzen then it's the best beer on there, a stupidly nice drink. If it's just the Festbier then it's a lot less exciting.

The Tegernseer Hell costing more than the Celebrator is an absolute joke, it's fairly middling as helles lagers go.

[king_tubby]

Thanks! Yeah, not sure about trying the smoked one as it's nearly 7 quid and I might not like it.

[Chedney Honks]

You're only here once and it's fucking amazing

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

The Hacker Pschorr - if that's the Oktoberfest Marzen then it's the best beer on there, a stupidly nice drink

Yes it's Oktoberfest and that's the Oktoberfest beer and it's the best mainstream one. Lovely beer.

The rest are German beers wholly unrelating to Oktoberfest but they are cynically calculating that no-one will greatly care.

That Schlenkerla is a ripoff. If that's from bottle that's embarrassing for them to be putting that on at that price. I was in central London and found it on for £4.50.

[purlieu]

Thanks! Yeah, not sure about trying the smoked one as it's nearly 7 quid and I might not like it.

Wise choice - you can pick up bottles for less than half the price online / in the right shops, no point in spending that amount of cash to try something so niche.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Was at Pivo this weekend in London and they had the best range of pale lagers I've seen.

1. Matuska 12°
2. Regent President
3. Budvar
4. Albrecht 12°
5. Zahora 11°
6. Cvikov Sklar 8°
7. Kutna Hora Nefiltrovany 12°
8. Muflon Polotmavy 12°
9. Jaroslavsky 12°
10. Falkenstejn 11°
11. Regent 12° Nefiltrovany
12. Cvikov Luz 10°

Far too many for 1 sitting but I had the number 1, 5, 8 & 10

Matuska are known for their craft beer primarily but knowing they can produce such a ridiculously good traditional unfiltered 12° makes a tiny bit of difference for me, respect wise. They aren't hiding behind any gimmicks. That style leaves nowhere to hide.

The place also pours the beer using old fashioned side pull taps so you get a very thick creamy head.

That range would be very good even in Czechia so I recommend popping down if in the area.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

https://twitter.com/CafeAmsterdamWB/status/1439320009541554186?s=19

For anyone around North Shields, this looks pretty special.

[Jerzy Bondov]

https://www.tremblingmadness.co.uk/?store-page=Kutna-Horska-Loreck%C3%A1-14-Marzen-Lager-p268247275
Fucking banging bargain alert


edit: Gone now

[Norton Canes]

The Hacker Pschorr - if that's the Oktoberfest Marzen then it's the best beer on there, a stupidly nice drink

I remembered last night I'd actually bought one of these from Booths the other day, along with an Ayinger Festmarzen and a Weihenstephaner Festbier. Drunk it while watching Between the Lines S02E03 - a very savourable 330ml.

[king_tubby]

I had a half of it last night, the barman said it was very malty but I didn't get that. Enjoyed it though.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Didn't realise Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest Marzen came in 330ml bottles. Always seen it in the one swingtop 500ml bottle format. Either way, it's delicious.

Hacker-Pschorr also seem to be starting cans, as do Schneider, trying to fasten themselves to that wave a little.

[Jerzy Bondov]

Got a couple of bottles of the Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest Marzen coming with my bargain Kutna and a few other bits. Fucking buzzing

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Along with their pretty decent German selection, some of the Czech stuff Tremblingmadness.co.uk stock now is such a surprise to see on these shores. Pivovar Clock and Hostomice especially. Genuinely eye-popping to discover.

Thanks to Martyn Railton/Euroboozer & Czech Beer Alliance for the distribution link. That guy must be absolutely determined, the amount of work that goes into cracking what, let's face it is a tough niche market. I'm not even sure 40-somethings who like premium lager like Budvar, Pilsner Urquell, Paulaner etc are ready for the likes of Vinohradsky 12° which is quite a bit different, unfiltered and with the hops turned up high with long, long lingering aftertaste.

Then there's the wider craft market. There are a million niche brews but hardly any awareness in the UK of the hoppy unfiltered rawness of true 12° svetly lezak, and only half dozen or so established players who specialise in lagers, none of which do anything of that sort. It's weird because when I was sitting enjoying these in Pivo it felt absolutely baffling why anyone who likes a hoppy/hazy pale wouldn't love this style (albeit that the tropical element is absent).

Helles? Mmm, It can hit the spot but not as often.

[Chedney Honks]

Fuck me just to realised it's Oktober a gain already fuckkkkk

[Ferris]

Fuck me just to realised it's Oktober a gain already fuckkkkk

You feeling alright Chedz? Still in quarantine or what?

[purlieu]

I had a half of it last night, the barman said it was very malty but I didn't get that. Enjoyed it though.

It's not malty in the way English ale is, but there's a kind of nutty richness to it which isn't present in paler lagers.
Brown / amber Märzen is possibly my favourite style of beer. The two that Klosterbrauerei Weißenohe do - the Altfrankisch Klosterbier, which is a Märzen on Untappd at least, and the Eucharius Märzen, which is one of the absolute rarities I've rated 5/5 on there - are astonishing drinks. The Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest comes close behind. Some Märzens are pretty much just Festbiers brewed in March, but the darker style is just incredible.

Helles? Mmm, It can hit the spot but not as often.

Yeah, for a more traditional lager flavour - light and crisp - a helles does the job better than any, but for something with more complex flavours, you've got to turn to Czechia.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

For Czech Beer Days, (23/09/2021 - 26/09/2021) you can get a 15% discount at www.beerdome.cz.

They always seem to deliver well, at good prices and in about 9-10 days (UK). Customer service is very good. Obviously customs is a bit slow at the moment but limited what they can do. I can vouch for their integrity as a company.

Well worth a look! If you keep your order below £80 there won't be any issues with extra taxes added through customs.

[Chedney Honks]

 Cheers for the reminder guys, got a load of OKTO cunners on the doorstep today. Gonna drink Covington away 😂😂😂

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Yikes, absolutely frightening what Heineken are charging for their shitty faux microbrew style pale ales in Ireland. Almost daren't admit what I paid for this.

[Chedney Honks]

You feeling alright Chedz? Still in quarantine or what?

Sorry Fez, missed this. Still got a few more days. It's evolved to sinusitis but hopefully swerved vent or fondant lung.

Drinking a Hacker Schorr Oktoberfestbier as mentioned by purlieu up the page. Very nice beer. I like rather than love HS stuff but this is one of the best I've had from them, I reckon. Got a nice slightly salty bitterness at the very end which makes it extremely drinkable. Marzen and the like can be a tiny bit sickly sometimes but this avoids all that. Maybe my taste buds are fucked from the Vid but I'm enjoying what it appears to be. Pushing 6% though so just sipping, watching Duel to the Death, a brilliant swordplay kung fu movie. Perfect Saturday afternoon fodder before a Thai curry.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

One of their best. I didn't really enjoy their Kellerbier last time yet have in the past.

At Killarney Brewery this aft. Got 6 1/3rds lined up. Saison and Helles have been impressively competent and mega fresh.

Red ale, Old style ipa, Blonde and Oatmeal Stout to come.

[purlieu]

I tend to find Hacker decent on the whole - definitely my favourite of the big München breweries - but the Märzen is a highlight. That said, I found last year's batch slightly less rich than usual. But yeah, a must-have for Oktoberfest. After a summer of having at least one bottle of Weißenohne Eucharius Märzen a week, I wonder how it'll fare on my tastebuds this year.

[itsfredtitmus]

Dark fruits are good lads

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Cannot be complimentary about the Irish brewing scene or appearance of anything approaching interesting in pubs. It's like being in Croatia, fucking barbaric