Öko Urtrunk
Rother Bräu

Keller and Helles have been my go-to for these two weeks in Germany when I eat... and it has usually been a cheese sandwich. Comfort food matched with comforting styles. With Oko, lunch was just a heavy unleavened brot bread and it was fine. Oko washed down the brot, which was heavy and a bit dry. Also Oko was medium-mouthed and cleansing enough. The nearly-raw bread grains (which has lots of barely in it) actually go well with the beer adding its complementary grain. Oko's hop profile lingered a bit too much for my tastes. Looked good in the glass.

My first from Rother, I went on their website and found out not much. They are in the northeast corner of Bavaria, as far north of Nurenberg as it is north of Munich. So I suppose Rother is not as culturally Bavarian as some. Other than that, give me an English button if you want a micro-review from me as my German is not to be trusted.

Pours a slightly clouded amber-golden color with a huge, froth white head.

Smells of wheat, crackers, dried grass and a hint of caramel among toasted grains.

Has a light and refreshing mouthfeel with a light, well carbonated body.

Tastes of bitter, dried leaves, together with white bread dough and lighter straw. The beer turns a bit sweeter then, with prevailing, bitter hops and an upcoming, rustic caramel backbone. Finishes crisp, light and bitter, with a bready, well nuanced malt balance to it.

Very well made, light and refreshing Lager with a well executed balance, featuring a prominent, noble hop profile which works great in this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bio weissbier with a bit of a lemon-like aftertaste.

 

 

 

 

Catch up rating from notes, 2012: 500 ml flip-top bottle from Wasana's. Poured into .5l tumbler, pale golden, slight haziness, thick head. Aroma is bready, pale alts, typical German hop character. Taste comes in with more of the malty notes, a bit of sweetness, hops more pronounced with a grassy, herbal taste. Medium weight, smooth.

50 ml. bottle. Hazy pale yellow colour, small head with no retention. Grassy and grainy smell, with hints of lemon. Medium body, moderate carbonation. Taste of lemon, herbs, and nothing more to add. Bitter end. Drinkable, but nothing special, rather dull.

500 ml bottle from a supermarket in Bamberg

Pours pale yellow with large white head, excellent retention. Aroma is faint pale malt, hints of grassy hops and soap.

Taste is sweetish malt, notes of honey and a bit sharp herbal spicy bitterness; these flavours do not seem to mix well together or complement each other. Mouthfeel is light-medium with below moderate carbonation.

Overall, the beer did not seem to be too pleasant and worth searching for again.

Brown flip-top 0.5 litre bottle brought back from Berlin (bought at Ambrosetti) along with 9 other different bottles. This is the second beer in my German Reviewing evening.

Poured into a 0.5 litre 'Shultheiss' straight sided glass (like a UK sleeve pint glass).

Hazey grapefruit yellow/orange body with a white head. There was some small items (yeast and other sediment bits) suspended within the body, the carbonisation bubbles just ignored them, as they headed for the top to replenish the head.

The aroma was of yeast and a hint of Sweet Pea Flowers, so a floral smell I suppose.

Not sure I can pin down the flavours, but this beer has a presence. Sharp and crisp, tangy and a kind of bitter orange, or at least some sort of semi-sour citrus taste. Would love to have this fresh from a barrel (cask style).

Very impressed, I have tasted and reviewed a number of Zwickel/Keller biers over the years and this is a fine example.

Towards the end of the tasting I had some strong English Farmhouse Cheddar, they went together very well indeed.

500 ml swingtop bottle ("Bügelflasche"), bought at KaDeWe, Berlin. Organic. Pale golden colour, slightly hazy, large white head. Unfiltered, "hefetrüb". Strong flowery aroma with notes of honey, very nice. Moderate carbonation, soft mouthfeel. Flavour has very good hops on a background of slightly sweet and mellow malts. Hoppy bitter aftertaste. This is a good Zwickel/Keller/Landbier!

Comes in a tall swing top brown half liter bottle with parchment like label featuring a king in red robes holding a beer. Purity law applies. Best before 10/06/04 (such a long shelf life is a bit of a contradiction for a Zwickel), I opened it on 4/14/04.

Nice rendition. Pours a cloudy yellow gold under a big three finger white head that displays a good bit of body before fading to film, leaving some spots on the glass. Nice malt and flowery hops nose. The mouth is very well carbonated and quite light. The taste is clean and crisp, with a slight sweet fruitiness mixing with a bit of yeasty malt, followed by a good unvarnished hoppy bitterness. The bitter lingers well into the aftertaste, leaving a nice edge in the back of the throat that calls for more. Yup - good product.