BEERS #2 - Beyond the Pale

[phes]

Was good value for me. I'd get 6-10 x 440ml cans at a bottle shop for the price I paid for 12 x 500ml bottles. Supermarket obviously much cheaper but as you'll never see any of these beers there...

Now if they'll just arrive by next Friday the weekend won't hinge on the inevitable disappointment of the premier league which I am both looking forward to but couldn't care less about

My order has been dispatched with 'Greetings from Franconia'. Greetings is underrated and underused

[Sheffield Wednesday]

Feel like pure shit just wanna go to Framconia

[Ferris]

Feel like pure shit just wanna go to Framconia

I always laugh at the repurposing of "feel like pure shit just want XYZ" for some reason.

[Sheffield Wednesday]

I'm glad it's not just me. I don't know even know why I find it funny.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Aufsesser Dunkel (4.7%, Kellerbier) - **** and a half
Familienbraurei Rothenbach, Aufsess

The keener-eyed (or very bored) will note that I reviewed the Aufsesser Zwickl a month or so ago. It was probably the best beer of the first batch, and so seeing that they do a Dunkel, it had to be bought.

This is classed as a Munich Dunkel, however tastes more like many of the kellerbiers to me. The brown, roasted malt flavour is familiar with several in this style. The rear label states this has Munich, caramel and roast malt while the hops are Spalter Perle and Spalter select.

What makes this beer stand out, a bit like their Zwickl, is the full texture and faint farmhousey type funk which is unusual to find in a supposed Dunkel beer. The recipe for both these beers must be reasonable close together as it is to all intents and purposes a darker version. The hops are mild, the kind of stuff you expect in Helles lager, and only really there for balance. Yet something about the hop character is integral to why this works. The interplay between the brown beer elements and the almost wheatbeer-like mouthfeel which is elevated by those bright hops in the finish makes this one really enjoyable.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Meister Vollbier - (4.9% Vollbier) - *** and a half
Brauerei Georg Meister, Unterzaunsbach

One can only assume Meister is Georg's family name rather than some Renegade Master-level affectation once he got his brewing badges, like those strange group of people who add BA or BSc as an official title once they get a degree.

Another tiny Franconian village in the heart of the countryside, another brown unfiltered kellerbier, this one made using the local spring water. I seemed to pour this one near perfect as it produced this gorgeous (Georgous) consistent foam about an inch and a half thick. Very enticing.

This brown going-on ruby coloured beer is full of nuts and roast malt in the aroma, the kind of elements you associate with autumn and winter. Its branding is certainly happy to play to that type, as you can see above. If you really dig your nose in there is almost a fireside quality to it.

The tasting, well this beer has a full thick texture in the mouth with a lovely easy drinking softness in the aftertaste that may offer pause for possible misconceptions about lager. The hops and malt flavour reach a harmony which is as difficult to describe as it is easy to enjoy. Unfiltered lager has a particular aftertaste but good brewers can play with that, as this one has done, to create different effects. Roast malt adds a certain stiffness and dryness, while the hops give it that tingle on the tongue.

Edit - Just to add that while the brewery is open their Gasthof/restaurant has closed, as they can't get any staff. Who would have thought hollowing out nearby small towns into places only wealthy retirees could afford to live in would have an impact?

I commit this review to the thread.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Hutten Zwickl (5.1% Kellerbier) - **** and a half
Brauerei Hutten, Warmensteinach*

I reviewed Hutten Zoigl which happened to be one of the best of the last batch, a truly wonderful rich and enjoyable beer. It made sense to order their Zwickl in this to try.

It's a lighter shade of beer (sorry about the pic above, the only real illustrative one I could find) with more of an amber bitter type look. In comparison to the last beer the aroma is really faint. A hint of spice perhaps, though that could be a mis-smelling or just desire to say something half-useful.

As soon as you think you've figured these beers out, one comes along to fuck you back to square one. As far as my understanding of Zwickl goes, this one has achieved a reset. The Zwickl so far has been lighter, paler, really cloudy perhaps more herbal with pastoral/agricultural hints (like golden ale but better). Yet this one is 5.1%, full flavoured with a lovely sweetness, perhaps a hint of honeysuckle but packaged together in the brew so well by being spicy (think Belgian Tripel levels of spice) with hops that are lively in the mouth but don't leave a burn down the hatch, just enough of a crispness to keep you interested. Who cares what style it is to be frank.

I wouldn't care to say whether this or their Zoigl is better but they are supreme. These kind of brews are what it's all about for me. Happy to enjoy a bottle like the last one but this is one a whole other level and compete with any beers of any style at what they do.


*_{amusingly awful brewery website}

[Dex Sawash]

Meister Vollbier - (

[Head Gardener]

[Sheffield Wednesday]

I've had that, bit yeasty.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Nikl-Brau Helles Zwickelbier (5,1%, Kellerbier) - ****
Brauerei Nikl, Pretzfeld

I picked up this one due to the lack of pale kellerbiers in the first shipment. If I could have put my finger precisely on the type of beer I was hoping and expecting for from it, I'd have touched a bottle of this.

There is the most faint clean aroma which is virtually neutral, but what comes across strongly in this beer at first is lively spice, apparently using Tettnang hops, normally not from this region.

The page describing the hop makes me relieved I'm not talking out of my arse as it too mentions spice. The quality of the spice is such that if I poured you some in a tulip glass for a blind tasting you might initially mistake it for a Belgian blonde or pale. However ultimately the backnotes have that more solid agricultural feel that people associate with lager, especially Germany lager. As the carbonation dies down you start picking up delicate floral qualities in the mouth that feel just right.

This is the right beer for the day too. It's warm and sunny outside, just a hint of breeze. I could be transported to a Franconian biergarten somewhere, reclining and soaking in the sun. Hazy, beautifully floral and spicy and enormously drinkable. It's a beer that follows Eno's philosophy of ambient music, a style that doesn't demand that you focus on it or that you let it drift into the background. You can do either and it will be similarly enjoyable.

[Sheffield Wednesday]

Another supermarket classic:



Took a punt because my now regular Hefeweissbier was sold out and this is also really nice stuff. Pretty standard fayre I imagine but I think it's lovely, very drinkable and without a single off note for £1.80. Bit tangier and less banana and clovey. More like Schneider Weisse 01 than 07, to give that comparison. OK, it's no Schneider Weisse or La Trappe/Barnardo Wit (and obviously they're rather different) but it's a winner for the price and availability.

LGC

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Definitely a notch above Erdinger and notch below Schneider Original. Franziskaner is a decent reflection of the standard hefeweizen flavour (whereas the former 2 are slightly unusual).

You might find Weihenstephan at Sainsbury's which is a slightly better version of Franziskaner.

[phes]

One of those beers that in the hundreds of times I've been into supermarkets I've never yet seen anyone buying, but most supermarkets sell it. Is there a bigger gulf in quality between the average macro lager and any other drink that's available in every supermarket?

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Is there a bigger gulf in quality between the average macro lager and any other drink that's available in every supermarket?

I was just trying to work out what you meant by that and falling short, sorry.

[phes]

Yes it's a terrible comparison and wording. It amounts to is there a better drink that you can buy in almost every supermarket in the country.

[Sheffield Wednesday]

Duvel?

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

If we're talking about good beer with really widespread availability in supermarkets, then you're looking at a short list

Probably: Guinness, Hoegaarden, Franziskaner, Duvel, Budvar, Staropramen, Brooklyn and yes, I'll say it, Punk IPA. Of the real ale ones I guess London Pride, Hobgoblin, Landlord, Bishops Finger?

To pick one, probably Hoegaarden in my opinion. Franziskaner is a nice enough example of the style whereas Hoegaarden more or or less defines it's style.

[phes]

Would love to be able to add an ipa to the list but the last two times I've had punk it has been very poor indeed. Has anyone had Lagunitas lately? I wonder if that's better maintained its integrity

[Ferris]

Would love to be able to add an ipa to the list but the last two times I've had punk it has been very poor indeed. Has anyone had Lagunitas lately? I wonder if that's better maintained its integrity

I had one on draft about 6 months ago (in a boring bar, it was that of a macro lager) and was very disappointed. Subsequently found it had been sold (and probably why it was being distributed in a bar that only sold macro lagers). I was never a huge fan before, but it has definitely gone down the tubes. Sorry :(

I don't know enough about UK breweries or what American stuff (wont even bother saying Canadian stuff as byzantine Canadian law means fuck all can be exported for some reason) you'd get over there so I can't even recommend a replacement. Useless comment. Sorry again.

[holyzombiejesus]

If we're talking about good beer with really widespread availability in supermarkets, then you're looking at a short list

Probably: Guinness, Hoegaarden, Franziskaner, Duvel, Budvar, Staropramen, Brooklyn and yes, I'll say it, Punk IPA. Of the real ale ones I guess London Pride, Hobgoblin, Landlord, Bishops Finger?

To pick one, probably Hoegaarden in my opinion. Franziskaner is a nice enough example of the style whereas Hoegaarden more or or less defines it's style.

B&M are selling 12 packs of Brooklyn for a tenner. Not sure if it's the same selection that Shoulders got from Home Bargains at the start of the thread, this one had 4 each of Lager, Pilsner and Naranjito. 84p a can is pretty good. Unfortunately, I'm knocking beer on the head for a few weeks now. I've been drinking (in moderation) every night for ages and have been trying to refrain for ages without success. Poor me.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Walkurentrunk, (5.2%, Helles Lager) ** and a half
Brauerei Glenk, Bayreuth

Firstly I am not sure what the person who took the photo did to produce even that much head. I can't think of any other lager where the head disappeared so aggressively. I started really chugging the beer into the glass yet the froth produced just vanished as soon as it was created. Shocking.

I bought this on a wing and a prayer (woman with big tits on label seemingly pole dancing - but classy this time, not vulgar like you thought) but unfortunately it's the first one I've had that's a bit mediocre too. Especially unfortunate as the rear label claims Bayreuth is synonymous with beer and Richard Wagner. So its contribution to global culture is a fascist and this beer. Cheers guys.

Part of the problem comes from the lack of head to be honest. There's a lively hop and pleasant sweet and crisp helles style finish which shows it isn't all bad. If you concentrate solely on that there's some good stuff there, but also the first hint of gloop in the texture, which pretty much none of the previous beers have had. The entire lack of foam is permanently distracting.

It's the kind of beer that can be absently drunk without any real remark to the affirmative or otherwise. Have had many such beers in bars while pining for the good stuff. A significant step down from the previous ones, sadly.

[phes]

I've not had a drink in six weeks so I'm going to be hammered after two of these German beers once they arrive.

Vocation do some reasonable ipas and are fairly widely available but as their can designs and naming follow such a similar formula, I couldn't tell you which beer is which. Sierra Nevada despite being a pale ale probably takes the award for IPA/pale. Brewdogs Mr President is very good but not as widely available as punk and elvis

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Schlossbrauerei Stelzer Zoigl Bier (5.0%, Zoigl bier) - ****
Schlossbrauerei Stelzer, Oberkotzau/Fattigau

The comfortable winner for my favourite label - and one Bosto will like - gothic!

Brewed just south of Hof in the Oberpfalz/Upper Palatinate near the Czech border. This is a brown/amber (darker than pictured above) unfiltered and unpasteurised lager with a faint aroma of prunes, woodchips. This one kind of tastes like a Vienna Lager to me. The texture in the mouth is full, fairly thick and sweet with some caramel malt but well balanced with a lively fizzing tingling hop which leaves a bitter finish and prevents the beer from becoming cloying.

I can imagine this being especially good on tap with a more natural carbonation but it works in this form reasonably well.

Not a style of beer you can easily find and well worth a try.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Heiner's Original Spezialbier - (5.2%, Pale Lager) - ****
Honicka-Brau, Wunsiedla

I was intrigued by a beer bottle with a screwcap! Unusual experience. Not sure why I was expecting it to be more flat. It certainly isn't! Pours with a nice frothy head that maintains well over the drink.

I didn't have high hopes for the beer itself yet it's a really good example of a 13° lager (these usually end up between 5.1-5.8% strength). Most of these I'm used to in Czech Republic and Poland but German hops (of course) are used here which changes its character.

Higher strength means sweetness, yet this is combated by use of a strong floral bitterness that sits really well with the soft, full mouthfeel. It's highly drinkable and ought to placate more forgiving hopheads with its beautiful notes. Imagine how much better standard industrial quantity lager would be if it followed this template. It's harmony in every mouthful, you can almost sense the Creation of Adam style bridge between the two worlds of flavour and its met in this beer.

Really nice that a beer I had the lowest expectations for was this tasty. Gutted I only got 1 bottle.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Leikeim Steinbier (5.8%, Steinbier) - **** and a half
Brauhaus Leikeim, Altenkunstadt

Steinbier, what's that Alan? I didn't know, so I picked this up to try. Home brewers take note:

Steinbier (pronounced [ˈʃtaɪnˌbiːɐ], German for stone beer) is a type of beer that was predominant in Carinthia until the beginning of the 20th century. It was also common in Scandinavia, the Baltics,[1] Franconia and south-western Germany.[2]

Steinbier is not mashed in kettles, but in wooden tubs. Its name is derived from the hot stones that were put into the mashing tubs to achieve the required temperature for production. Due to the contact of the glowing, hot stones—often heated directly in the fire—with the malt, the resulting beer has a taste of caramel and soot. This was a traditional brewing process; top-fermenting yeasts and a taste of fruity ester were usual and there was no emphasis on long term storability. Steinbier was usually not filtered

So, brewing with hot stones!

Caramel and soot? Hmm. I don't know about soot but this is very cloudy and thick with a marzen/dunkelweizen quality, but yes, also a malty, spicy dry finish. The aroma is packed with cloves and has a sort of forged-in-fire aroma that's a tad different from most without being off-putting or alien. It's a strong one - 5.8% but goes down similar to wheatbeer, I guess. Ie- very easily.

Am I a fan of this? Fuck yes! It's tasty stuff. Imagine marzen, brown wheatbeer and kellerbier combining with some hints of firey stoney blacksmithery thrown in there.

[phes]

My beer arrived today, in under one week as Shoulders' also had. All present and correct except for the Nordek Trunk, sadly. No fear, I'll cool them for tomorrow night and then pop back here to drunkenly complain they're too malty. Kaiser Henrich Urstoff chilling first as the thirst quencher!

[Cuntbeaks]

Just started on my BIAB order that arrived last week. Really impressed with the Corsendonk Wit and Dubbel Kriek. The Wit was wonderfully smooth and creamy, much more depth and flavour than Hoegaarden.

The Dubbel Kriek doesn't have as much carbonation or tartness as a Liefmans Kriek but is funkier and more rustic. Nice, but at 8.3% the alcohol makes itself apparant in the after taste.

10 different types in total, looking forward to getting through them, plus the free glass is also lovely

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Nothelfer Bio-weisse (5.3%, Hefeweizen) - ****
Brauerei Trunk, Bad Staffelstein

I ordered a few wheat beers to try in this shipment. Brauerei Trunk is the operation of Mr Andreas Trunk (who seems to be smaller and thinner than such a surname deserves) based in a small village outside Bad Staffelstein, a lovely spa town north of Bamberg.

This is a straight down the line attempt at a traditional cloudy German wheatbeer. Huge fresh banana aroma greets you, which stays throughout. Thickness is spot on, as you'd expect.

The beer is quite clovey and spicy with a bit of a hoppy kick to its aftertaste, a tad more than we get with some from this style. That is at the core of the appeal here. It's strikes a really nice balance, and when you let it linger in your mouth a bit there's more going on than you'd initially gather. Some times you can pick up an orange fruit tang, other times the spices stick out.

Wheatbeer seems to be a subtle art, a bit like lager in that's it's possible for a large operation to churn out a competent one to order but really tricky to make one that's interesting but retains the same drinkability. Heaven knows I've tried enough of them to know which ones fail at that. This one is a delicious, near-completely successful wheatbeer that jumps above Franziskaner (a reasonable baseline of the style) and competes, possibly is better than Weihenstephan's.

Out there with the sun shining and a fresh pint of this would be bliss.

[Sheffield Wednesday]

Isolating to fuck so guess what.

My wife's dads brought me over a load of English ales. Fair play old bean. Haven't had this stuff in a long time but actually quite nice and I can probably have about eight nowadays because I'm used to cunting the Trappist shit from about 4pm.