Keesmann Sternla Lager
Brauerei Keesmann

 

 

From the bottle, it pours amber with a modest head, soon reducing to a healthy ring and islands. Some caramel malt in the nose. Agreeable slightly malty flavor in the mouth. Easy drinking lager! Yum!

L:
-pours a clear amber with a big,foamy,offwhite head
-medium carbonation visible
S:
-nutty,spicy,plums,tea,slight citrus
T:
-plums,zesty,tea,raisins
-finishes dry
-medium to high bitterniss for the style
F:
-medium to high carbonation
-light to medium body
O:
Pretty much a textbook franconian Dunkel.Crushable and Hoppy

 

 

 

50cl serving in a branded seidel at Keesmanns, Bamberg

A - Amber/copper body with excellent clarity. Good lacing/retention from the 3 finger creamy tan head.

S - Lots of vanilla and toffee

T - Toasted malt, slight toffee and vanilla coming in. Medium hop bite in a clean lager finish.

M - Medium carbonation/body

D - Tasty stuff, more like a vienna lager. Nice flavour profile with good balance, went down easy.

Half litre at the Sternla, copper colour, clear. Large, thick, well retained head. Smelled some english style hops and some sour fruits but the aroma was on the faint side. Fairly sweet taste, malty with a slightly bitter finish. Smooth, medium body with moderate carbonation. Overall a malty rather than hoppy lager, fairly refreshing but not the best from Keesmann.

Served on-draught into a .5L bierkrug (branded Sterna Lager) at Keesmann in Bamberg, Franconia, Germany. Reviewed from notes taken early June 2011. It was quite affordably priced (around 2.30 euro).

Not paired with food.

A: Pours a 1.5 finger head of slightly nice cream, okay thickness, and well below average retention.

Sm: Caramel and hops. That's all me broken nose detects; all apologies lads.

T: Amber hops with slight cream notes. A bit too simple for the style, but balanced nicely. Not an excellent beer. The caramel comes through only slightly. Some fair layering, but nothing to get excited about. Not complex per se, but it's inspired for the style.

Mf: Smooth and wet, but not overly so on either count. Doesn't quite match the body or its flavours quite right.

Dr: Affordable in Germany, but a bit restrained in flavour even for a lager. That said, it drinks easy and goes down pleasant. I'd get it again. One of Keesmann's better offerings methinks. Give it a spin if you really like the style.

B-

 

After being blown away by their pils, I came back to Keesman the next day to give this a go. The orders seemed split 50/50 (they only had 2 options) at the brewery, so clearly the locals go for it.
From the tap this is a coppery light brown color. Head was a little on the light side, and while the glass definitely got some lacing, it was somewhat minimal compared to most others. I've heard this is unfiltered, but it looked pretty clear to me.
I'd say this falls somewhere between a mild dunkel and an amber Marzen. Munich malts up front and mild, but slightly floral noble hops on the back. Not a whole lot of chocolate or much else going on. On the whole I'd say it's fairly mild across the board. Pretty dry, with minimal sweetness.
Easy drinking (what isn't from Bamberg?) but not really a show stopper at all. There's nothing wrong with it, but it's just a little too mild and simple compared with the complexities you usually find...especially with Keesman's own pils.
Worth trying, but not at the expense of the Herren. Definitely give it a try if you plan on hanging around for a while, as it is pretty drinkable stuff and I can guess it might make a good food pairing with hearty dishes.

Half liter on draft at their pub. Clear, light auburn colored beer with an offwhite head. Not much to smell, but there is a hint of hallentauer. The taste is quite light and smooth. There is some caramel maltiness and a hint of hazelnut, but like a background taste with no foreground. Mouthfeel is medium. Easy to drink since it's so light and smooth.

Sampled on-tap at the brewery pub in Bamberg.

This lager poured a clear, coppery color with light tan, creamy foam that persisted and clung to the glass on the way down. The smell was mildly malty. A rather modest smell, though this glass was poured fairly cold. The taste was a good, clean maltiness with a modest but balanced hop profile. There were hints of darker malt in the finish. The mouthfeel was smooth and crisp and dry with medium body and good carbonation. Relatively clean, but with a dry malty and lightly hoppy aftertaste. This was a very good beer, and I liked it better than their more well-known Pils when sampled side-by-side.