Stowe Style - Zwickelbier
von Trapp Brewing

Appearance - hazy straw body with white head

Smell - grains, toasted bread, biscuit, lemon rind

Taste - fresh cut grass, biscuit, toasted grains, herbs, cracker,

Mouthfeel - medium bodied, medium , sharp carbonation,, bready upfront, nice bitterness on the back end. Herbaceous

Overall - this was a really enjoyable beer, easy drinking, good balance and good flavor. I hope Von Trapp keeps pumping out these collaboration beers - the majority of them have been damn good!

 

 

Look: Light golden and nearly clear with a silky white head that quickly swells, slowly settling to a lid and leaving good lacing behind

Aroma: Straw, soda crackers, cut grass, floral notes, pilsner malt, some spicy hop notes, and light sweetness

Taste: Opens up with a quick hit of cracker-led pilsner malt before the floral bouquet ensues. Jasmine, honeysuckle, and sweet box in the fold as some spicy hops peek in as well. Malt and hops go back and forth through the close

Mouthfeel: Light but full, clean, medium-high carbonation, and clean and crisp on the finish

Overall: I dig it. This is a good Zwickelbier and one of only a handful I’ve ever had so had to score it. A ton of pilsner-like flavor in both the malt and hops throughout but seemingly even more so that a standard Pils. Tasty and worth the 4-pack purchase

 

Clear, golden body; sparse carbonation; thick, frothy head with a rolling, creamy texture on top; fine flecks and globs of foam inside the glass. Beautiful nose; delicate biscuit malt base with an excellent herbal quality; mint and thyme. Fantastic taste; balanced and clean; bread-like malt backbone with a zesty hop bitterness; grassy. Medium body; crisp with a soft prickliness on the palate; quietly dry overall.

This extraordinary beer really shines with its balance, flavor, and depth. It's looks are great and everything else that follows steps up its game. A fantastic, traditional German styled beer that honors its collaborator roots.

ABV: 5.2%; pouring temperature: 43.9 °F; canning info: Best by 04/14/25
Source: local purchase (Coaltrain Fine Wine, Craft Beer & Spirits)

 

Hazy gold, with one finger of coarse white head.

Smell is lightly-toasted grain, including some corn, a touch of honey, biscuit dough, a bit of fresh straw and a fall-ish floral scent (goldenrod/asters/bedstraw).

Taste is dry bread crust, light toasted cornbread, though less sweet than that, light herbal flavor [sage + ....horehound?]* , finishing with a brief lightly-sweet element, then moderate drying bitterness that lingers. There's a light sourdough+ green onion flavor in the aftertaste.

Feel is medium-light, lightly creamy, with a slightly abrasive , drying finish.

Overall, a pleasant, easy-drinking brew. I like the bitterness and dryness. The herbal flavor and Amarillo-like scallion flavor in the aftertaste took a little getting used to, but it grew on me. I do like IPAs with *Michigan Copper hops, so this brings that to mind, albeit in a different sort of beer.

 

From a 16oz can dated "Best By" 4/14/25 into a pint glass.

Pours a somewhat hazy, golden yellow with about one finger of white head. Very good retention and moderate lacing.

Pretty strong aromas of sweet corn, fresh cut grass and herbs.

This beer is remarkably bitter. Some peppery spiciness, grass and bread in the flavor as well.

Medium-bodied, dry mouthfeel. Medium carbonation. Spicy, bitter aftertaste.

Another very interesting beer in this series.

 

 

 

Stowe Style Zwickel Bier from von Trapp Brewing. 16 fl oz can. $ 3.00 (Including tax), $ 0.188/fl oz. Picked up at Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA, 08/01/25. Reviewed 12/01/25 (Review 3444). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottom rim of can stamped “BEST BY 04/14/25.” Stored in reefer at the distributor, at 39 degrees F at home. Served at 41.9 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 54.8 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Pale Straw (SRM 2), clear.
Body – Pale Gold (SRM 4), clear. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, transparent pale gold.
Head: Large (Maximum 4.8 cm, aggressive center pour), white, high density. Quickly drops to a1.5 – 2.0 cm jagged crown fed by spotty carbonation, and a rocky partial cap.
Lacing – Good. Forms a band of tiny to near-microscopic bubbles, with many stalactites.
Aroma – 4 – Begins grainy with light herbal hops. No malt, no yeast, no ethanol (5.3% ABV, as marked on label). No disulfide or diacetyl.
Flavor – 4 – Slightly bitter and grainy. No yeast, no ethanol. No disulfides, no diacetyl. No gastric warming.
Palate – 4 – Medium; watery; lively but soft carbonation.
Style: Sort of follows the style guidelines as condensed by BA.
Final impression and summation: 4 Decent lager, but not to my taste. There is a QR code on the label which tells of the special strains of Austrian malt and hops used in its brewing.