Grandauer Festbier
Brauerei Grandauer - Wildbräu Grafing vor München

 

 

 

Hadn’t seen this beer before so decided to try it! Clear tawny/ amber, had to be poured a bit vigorously to generate sufficient head that quickly dissipated. Taste was malty, nutty, clean, refreshing. Pleasant, and scent was nice, might try again but not likely to rush out to get it again.

 

Poured a 500ml bottle into a pint glass. A one finger tan head on a clear light copper. The head diminishes to a thin layer . Moderate lacing to the end.
Malts in the nose.
Malts are present in the taste. Very smooth.
Creamy mouthfeel. Light body and moderate carbonation.
A fine Marzen. Smooth and well balanced. Don't hesitate to give it a try.

Moderate head that settles away quick quickly. Clear golden amber. Malty, bready nose. Low key flavour profile, dominated by malts and some grain. Watery mouthfeel. Drinkable, but quite ordinary.

500 ml bottle served cool into a beer mug. LCBO purchase for $3.35 CDN. Best before 1/11/2024.

Appearance - Clear coppery color with a small half finger of white head and a plethora of bubbles.

Smell - Sweet bready aromas, a hint of spice, light nuttiness and definitely some honey.

Taste - Bold and grainy, liquid bread. Light bitterness and traces of nuts and honey. A smattering of roasted veggies in the background. Great depth of flavor.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied, modest carbonation and very easy to drink. Eminently quaffable.

Overall - One of the easiest drinking and most delicious Festbiers I've had the pleasurer of experiencing. With the great price, I plan to purchase many of these while they are in stock.

500 mL bottle from the LCBO; best before 1/11/2024 and served slightly chilled.

Pours a crystal clear golden-orange colour, graced with an inch of foamy, frothy off white head that lasts for a couple of minutes. A bubbly collar is left surrounding a wide patch of film on the surface, with good lace generation as the level drops. Clean, enticing aromas of freshly baked bread and toasted grains, with subtle hints of nutty malt, caramelized sugars and earthy, herbal hops.

A very tasty, high quality strong lager - I'm getting melanoidin-laden flavours of bready malts, toasted grains & nuts, with hints of honey biscuit and caramel also present. Mild notes of herbal, earthy hop bitterness and orchard fruit on the back end, finishing malty and a little fruity, fading into a mildly sweet aftertaste. Light-medium in body, with moderate carbonation levels; this gives the brew some bite, but the mouthfeel is mostly smooth, especially later on in the glass when the bubbles have largely exhausted themselves.

Final Grade: 4.02, an A-. I have reviewed a vanishingly small number of authentic German-brewed festbiers over the years, which may be the biggest reason I was so thrilled (and shocked) to see Grandauer Festbier pop up on shelves. A brilliant strong lager that showcases German malts at their finest - I think it's fair to say that this is the finest festbier I've ever had. Needless to say, I will be buying these bottles by the armful for however long they remain stocked locally - other lager-loving Ontario BAs should seek this out and try it as soon as possible.

From the half liter bottle, it pours a clear sparkling golden amber color with trails of bubbles coming up to the white head that is modest, but remains a while and leaves some lacing. The nose is malty and a bit grassy. The taste is a nice malt, possibly with a bit of dark fruit in it.