Veldensteiner Zwick'l
Kaiser Bräu

Veldensteiner Zwick'lVeldensteiner Zwick'l
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Kaiser Bräu
 
Germany
Style:
Kellerbier / Zwickelbier
Ranked #111
ABV:
5.4%
Score:
83
Ranked #24,244
Avg:
3.63 | pDev: 14.88%
Reviews:
44
Ratings:
78
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jul 13, 2022
Added:
Apr 09, 2006
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  4
No description / notes.
View: More Beers
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by KillaB:
Photo of KillaB
Rated by KillaB from Illinois

3.75/5  rDev +3.3%

Mar 05, 2013
More User Ratings:
Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

3.08/5  rDev -15.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3
500 ml swingtop bottle, from Rewe Getränkemarkt, Erding. ABV is 5.4%. Cloudy straw coloured beer, big white head. Fairly strong aroma of grassy hops. The flavour is sweetish, moderately malty and grassy, but lacks a sufficient hoppy bitterness.
Jul 13, 2022
Photo of Bouleboubier
Reviewed by Bouleboubier from New Jersey

3.33/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25
(500 ml flip-top bottle, best before L048H054 - before 17 Feb 2017... poured into simple glass mug)

L: mid-range amber colored liquid, swirling of bottle popped out some (speckled) sediment to add haze; tight, off-white foam

S: nuts and honey, sweet rolls; hints of herbs, flowers, and minerals; vaguely caramel/honey toasted sugars at its core... after it's been sitting, it takes on a stale lemon tea aroma

T: medium-golden honeyed bread crust with dusting of toasted flour; mild earthy/meaty yeast note in the finish; lightly dry and rather dull in the aftertaste... hop flavor tastes ragged, no vitality, no brightness - bruised lemon, cheap tea

F: creamy, silky-foamy, smooth... drinks wonderfully, but dull, though with a nice light bitter bite mid-palate

O: wouldn't recommend this at this age (2+ years)... just tried ~1.5 year old bottles of their Pils and Landbier, which seemed to hold up alright, but this is well past due... at least I got a flip-top bottle out of it
Dec 15, 2018
 
Rated: 3.77 by nasharm from New York

Jun 09, 2018
 
Rated: 4.23 by MacStinson from Michigan

Oct 22, 2017
Photo of BeerAndGasMasks
Reviewed by BeerAndGasMasks from Virginia

3.88/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
From the bottle, it pours a hazy amber with a vigorous, dense, head. Lacing as you enjoy it. Scent is pleasant, with a slight breadiness and fruitiness. Taste is very respectable, slightly bitter and easy to drink. I like it!

2023 update: Yum!
Aug 04, 2017
Photo of strohme2
Reviewed by strohme2 from Michigan

3.72/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Pours a murky, brown with chestnut highlights. Big fluffy off white head with lacing. Smells like rice and maple syrup, toffee, raisins. Taste is full and smooth, toast, honey, dark fruits, some light banana. Good body, easy drinking. An enjoyable beer.
Apr 02, 2017
 
Rated: 3.55 by anthony-s from New Jersey

Feb 28, 2017
Photo of VoxRationis
Reviewed by VoxRationis from New York

3.63/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Decanted from a porcelain capped bottle into a 16.9 oz (500 ml) into a tasting pint; mindestens haltbar bis (best before): L125I054, reportedly May 5, 2018.
A: Pours a hazy copper color with a less than one finger, off white head, rapid reduction to no more than a rim, and little or no lacing.
S: Aromas of milk chocolate, toast, molasses >> caramel, honeysuckle, and brown sugar.
T: Semisweet. Flavors more brown sugar, cola, molasses, cocoa powder, toffee. Bitterness so far in the background that it is hard to appreciate.
M: Medium bodied with low effervescence.
O: Enjoyable. Rated on the second try (1/23/2019), which explains the disparity in dating. Lighter colored and sweeter than many Zwicklbiers I have tried. I have to suspect it would have been livelier if I had acquired it earlier, but still very drinkable.
Feb 09, 2017
 
Rated: 3.84 by OompaMentor from Georgia

Jan 07, 2017
 
Rated: 3.5 by edificio5 from New York

Jul 31, 2016
Photo of aleigator
Reviewed by aleigator from Germany

3.49/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.5
Pours a clean amber color with a froth, big head.

Smells of straw, old leaves and white bread malts, which got a nice sweetness to them.

Drinks very refreshing, with a bubbly carbonation among a light bodied beer.

Drinks utmost smooth with a slowly evolving straw quality coming up from the softness of the beer. Straw gets enriched by a pleasantly dry, grassy hoppiness with more and more prominent toffee malts.

Turns a tad too sweet during the finish, overwhelming the hops by overly prominent malts. Apart from that the mouthfeel in this turns out to be awesome.
Jul 23, 2016
 
Rated: 3.5 by cryptichead from Illinois

Feb 07, 2016
Photo of biegaman
Reviewed by biegaman from Canada (ON)

3.77/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
There's enough densely packed sediment at the bottom of the bottle that it's not possible to see through it, even when held head-on into the light. The beer itself, curiously, has not a single flake of yeast and is only as cloudy as is normal for this unfiltered style. Veldensteiner Zwick'l also has the standard amount of carbonation for a Kellerbier (which is little) but that's not surprising given the 'pop-top' bottle.

The deep gold, faintly orange colour can be attributed to slightly caramelized malt, apparently used generously - butterscotch-like notes in the aroma gives it an almost "sticky" smell. This impression is furthered by a whiff of raisiny fruit esters, those more likely stemming from the bottle's age.

It's not hard to believe this poorly sealed bottle isn't at its best after the 7000km journey and then being neglected on the shelf where I found it. But even at weakened strength, I still feel Kellerbiers offer more than the typical German lager. The style is a perfect combination of flavour and quaffability. Far more hoppy than the national norm but every bit as malty, it is a style of both substance and character.

Veldensteiner Zwick'l will never be top of its class but it does prove what I'm talking about. On the palate a mild but earthy, briefly pungent and lemon peel-accented bitterness ultimately cedes to a powerful maltiness that is at once grainy and raw as well as toasty and lightly sweet, with a bit of fruitiness.

It's a delicious and refreshing beer even at less than one hundred percent. This not only speaks well to the fine Männer und Frau at Veldensteiner but is also a testament to the verwunderlich quality of German brewing overall. If you ask me lagers like this one are probably the least appreciated of all styles.
Dec 18, 2015
Photo of drmeto
Reviewed by drmeto from Germany

3.91/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
L:
-pours a hazy golden-orange with a big,frothy,white head
-medium carbonation visible
S:
-bready,spicy,nettles,lemon,honey,floral,bubble gum,faint banana
T:
-bready,bubble gum,honey,floral,spicy
F:
-medium to high carbonation
-light to medium body
O:
A Fine Kellerbier
Aug 19, 2015
Photo of Ozzylizard
Reviewed by Ozzylizard from Pennsylvania

3.39/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Bottle marked L028E054 at 40 degrees into shaker
Aroma weak, malt
Head average (4 cm, aggressive pour), off white, fizzy, rapidly diminishing to 2 mm ring and layer
Lacing none
Body medium yellow, very tiny particles in suspension, thick layer of sediment on bottom of bottle
Flavor somewhat maltier than a regular lager, more like an amber ale, with hops bitterness apparent. No alcohol, no diacetyl.
Palate medium, watery, soft carbonation

Appearance 4, Aroma 3, Flavor 3.5, Palate 3.5, Overall 3.5. Not a bad example of a kellerbier – the yeast has mostly settled. I have had some in Germany that looked like specimens from urinary tract infections.
May 22, 2015
Photo of KTCamm
Reviewed by KTCamm from New Jersey

3.64/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
3/11...pours medium light to dark with 1/2 inch white foam. Sits fluffy. Soft pilsy wheat nose. Light banana too. Clean light taste smooth soft wheat. Very wet. Fast finish, almost watery. Too clean?
Apr 04, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by FinchSCF from Michigan

Jan 10, 2015
 
Rated: 4.03 by brandonld23 from Massachusetts

Dec 24, 2014
 
Rated: 3.6 by Oidmoe from Austria

Sep 13, 2014
Veldensteiner Zwick'l from Kaiser Bräu
Beer rating: 83 out of 100 with 78 ratings