Ungespundetes
Brauerei Spezial

 

L:
-pours a mostly clear golden with a small-to-medium,foamy,white head
-medium carbonation visible with visible particle floaties
S:
-lemon,lemon zest,spicy,grassy.herbal,faint smoke
T:
-lemon,lemon zest,grassy,cereals with a mineral,chalky finish
-medium-to-high bitterniss
F:
-medium carbonation
-light-to-medium body
O:
A really good franconian Zwickl

On tap at the Franken Bier Fest (14-16 April 2023).
Poured into my Steinkrug I can't admire its color, which from above looks like a blond tending towards copper, a little amber.
Abundant and soft foam.
Slightly smoky notes on the nose, but also soft malty notes and something spicy / herbaceous.
In the mouth a medium / light body with a light but perceptible carbonation.
In the mouth, a very delicate and elegant smoky taste, with honey and caramel reflections that emerge immediately after the smoky note and immediately before a dry finish, with simply herbaceous and slightly spicy hints of noble hops that cleanse the drink.
Present, after the smoky note and before the dry finish, notes of bread crust and cereals but without being excessively rustic.
Smoked note - sweet notes (honey caramel) - cereal notes - dry finish with herbaceous notes, all without excesses or predominance.
Truly harmonic and balanced beer, even of a higher level of elegance than one might generally expect from a beer from a Franconian inn.
A great example of Franconian beer.

0,5l on draft at HopDog in Munich. Never thought I’d see this on tap, let alone outside of Bamberg! This is a funky beer. Almost like a wild ale. Super barny with lots of hay and farm funk. The malt character is special here. Just faintly smoked. This defies classification. Has the nose and flavor of some kind of spontaneously fermented beer but with the backbone of a strict German recipe. Drinks super easy, too. This is the kind of beer that goes on the “island beer” list.

Update: brought a 0,5L bottle home from the brewery dated 17.08.23. Very carbonated, bottle conditioning seems to have worked well. Unfiltered and thick and heady. As good as I remember vom fass/on draft. Aroma and flavor is slight funk, mellow smoke, an earthy and woody quality, a bit fruity. This is such a unique beer and so complex. A true joy to drink.

 

 

Pours a glowing, unfiltered golden color with a huge, stable and froth head.

Smells of dried grass, wet, almost funky hay and crushed grains. Offers a well nuanced note of caramel, gently wrapped into leaves and a floral grassiness.

Tastes utmost refreshing with a heavenly smooth and light mouthfeel, revealing a surprising creaminess making this go down all too easy.

Tastes of white bread dough, rustic, sweet caramel and a hint of earthy toffee, immediately toned down by a prominent, yet gentle dry leaf appearance. The dryness in this prevails and even gets more prominent then, with a well balanced bitterness, which works out great in this, due to its daring, uncompromising nature. Finishes rustic, grainy light and sweet with a late crispness, resulting from the noble hops in this, forming a long lasting, dry and grainy aftertaste.

Oh my, this might be my favorite Pilsener ever. One of the few positive side effects of the pandemic is this getting bottled and I can not thank Brauerei Spezial enough for doing so. There is nothing left to desire in this really, the beer just hits all the marks and manages to include a fantastic southern Germany sweet and rustic interplay as well, which then gets balanced by the strong headed hops in this perfectly.

 

 

Brauerei Spezial "Spezial Ungespundet"
2,80€/0,5l on tap at the brewery on 13 September 2017

Notes: This is Spezial's only beer brewed without Beechwood smoked malt, and it has a lower carbonation level because it's left unspunded until it's completely fermented and aged a bit. It's a hazy golden-amber beneath a full head of pillowy white foam. The head retention is very good but it offers surprisingly limited lace. The aroma is clean and fresh with a lightly bready maltiness and mild noble hops. The flavor delivers that same grainy maltiness with a hint of light caramel to it, a touch of apple, and some spicy and lightly herbal hops. A firm bitterness balances it and brings it to a dry finish that lingers with some spicy and herbal hops. It's medium bodied and gently crisp-then-smooth across the palate. Very nicely balanced and highly drinkable in quantity.
Review# 6,024

 

 

What? A Spezial bier without rauchmalz? Yep. Low carbonation as it is stored "unbunged" as it ages. Excellent Kellerbier. Try it if you can find it. Highly recommended! From the half liter bottle, it pours slightly cloudy with a very nice, inch high, thick white head that slowly reduces. Yum!

2017 Update: Yum!
2025 update: Yum!

 

 

 

Had this at the Spezial Keller in 06/11.
Arrived in a round 1/2L bubbled mug. Unlike some other kellerbiers, this one is a deep gold color with only a bit of haze to it. At first glance you might not know it's unfiltered, but the haze never settles. The gold color is great. The head on this was rocky to start with and the lacing turned out to be pretty massive as well.
Bready, malty flavors are more potent than expected. Pale malts cross-cross with bittering hops evenly. Lager yeast gives everything a faint honey character. Spezial has made the hops more of a balancer rather than the star of the show like in other kellerbiers further south. I like the sweetness going on, especially because the lager yeast gives it a bit of honeycomb character.
Tons of flavor, and it's still only around 5%. You have to like that.
One of the best kellerbiers I've had and nearly on par with the Mahr's example, which is my favorite. I really like their approach with it. In a brewhouse known for great smoked beers, give this one a go first!
Oh yeah - as an FYI, there's no smoke here. I'm pretty sure the kellerbier from Schlenkerla has none, too.

Had on tap @ Armsby Abbey.

A: Poured in a huge mug ala Oktoberfest in Germany. It holds not only the beer, but the large 3 finger creamy head that rises up, which also has great retention. The beer is pretty clear with touch of cloudiness golden yellow honey colored.

N: Very German lager like, with malty aromas, little Munich, lots of wheat, banana, some malty sweetness, little toastiness, touch of yeasty fruit, very light hops, and hint of lager aroma.

T: Lots of toasty malts, with wheat. Then a little tangy fruit flavors (?) hmm, a little weird at this point. But it gets a little more normal with lots of wheat, banana, some Munich malt flavors, etc. Then a semi strong bitterness comes about, not as much hop flavor, more bittering. Some light noble hop flavor, but lots of hop bitterness. Slight yeasty lager flavor with a little fruitiness. It has a slight sweet and sour like yeasty minerality that I can't really explain. It's really unique.

M: Medium body with good carbonation.

F: Bitter still with long bittering hops, some noble hop flavors linger but mostly just bitterness. A bit more of that strange sweet and sour minerality flavor. A little sweetness from the malts but mostly dry. A touch of wheat hangs out on the finish as well with hints of banana and some fruity yeast. With that is a very little sweet stickiness.

Overall and interesting German style beer. It has some nice bitterness, and some nice lager and wheat flavors, but also has some interesting and unique flavors. It's no Weihenstephaner, but a decent beer nonetheless.

A- Poured a honey color with a slight yeast haze and a frothy thick head.
S- Floral aroma with sweet honey and a touch of grassy noble hops.
T- Slightly tart up front, perhaps from the yeast, with a healthy hop contribution as well. As these flavors dissipate, the clean malt profile--slightly dry--comes through with the taste of bread crusts and perhaps just a hint of smoke. It then finishes with a moderate hop bitterness.
M- Not as flat as a real ale but certainly not as carbonated as your typical German lager. Seemed to enhance the flavor.
D- Definitely a sessionable beer.

Overall: A great example of a Kellerbier; it's just too bad the brewpub only had it in bottles and not on tap. Nonetheless, this is a beer that will straighten out those who think that lagers lack flavor. Definitely try this one if you get a chance.

Sampled on-tap at the brewery, July 2006. € 2.00 for 0.5 L

This U Bier poured a hazy, golden color with fluffy, white foam that persisted. There was no carbonation apparent from the bottom of the glass. The smell was slightly malty with a light floral hoppiness as it warmed. The taste was lager-malty with a hint of sweetness. There was a low hop presence overall (and no smoke). The mouthfeel was very smooth with medium body and low carbonation. The light but pleasant hoppiness lingered in the aftertaste. This was a very drinkable and enjoyable beer.