Bayernbiere Bought and Drunk

Igitt!

 

You are probably right. In all honesty, I can't imagine the brewers enjoying having their lagered pilsner cut 50% with sugary water.

BUT, one thing I did notice: in the spirit of "increased refreshment", even the stuck up better-than-thou pilsner snobs enjoy a radler every now and again.

 

I thought that was Scottish for idiot?

 

Let's see if I can catch up a bit on my reporting. There are a few beers I've had but haven't checked in with yet. Today I'll do two quick reviews the dunkels.

First up, an old reliable, Fässla's Zwergla:



Interesting in that this website has this beer listed at 5.2% but my bottle lists 6.0%. That's a pretty big jump! Did Fässla decided to amp this one up a little? I liked this beer, and it got better towards the end IMO. One I would happily drink, but not an overwhelming beer for me. 3.25/5.00

Next up is Faust's Schwarzviertler Dunkel.



Well, this is a delicious dunkel, no question about it. I'm not sure it surpasses the Wilderer for me - in fact, it doesn't, that beer might be my dunkel standard from now on - but it does approach it. Boddhitree has already reviewed this one, and has done a more thorough and knowledgeable job. I defer to his descriptions, but for me this clocks in slightly lower on the scale. 4.00/5.00 Very glad I bought this one.

Cheers all!

 

Not much going on here in the ol' Germany forum lately. Goeller's Rauchbier:



Strong smoke aroma, but it's bark is worse than it's bite. Smells like Schlenkerla, tastes like Spezial. Not that either of those is a bad thing, by the way. This beer is very good. I was a little wary for reasons listed earlier in the thread, but it delivered on many levels. It's a Franconian Rauchbier...what's the worst that could happen? Would happily buy this one again. 3.75/5.00

 

I had a Pyraser Rotbier the other day. Talking about introducing "new" styles like Wit to Germany, it would be nice to see old styles being reintroduced, like this very well made Vienna Lager.

 

Hm, not really, although I see where you’re coming from. Wit is generally much sweeter and has a quite different yeast character, as well as all that unmalted wheat and oats, and the spices.

Anyway, Wiess is rare even in Cologne, so either would be a new experience to most German drinkers.

 

Interesting, this is the first time I have heard of the term Wiess. Below is from Wikipedia:

“Wieß

Wieß ("white" in the Kölsch language) is a cloudy, unfiltered version of Kölsch. It had virtually disappeared from the market during most of the 20th century, but has seen a small resurgence in recent years.”

There is an unfiltered Kolsch beer available from Coast Brewing (South Carolina, USA):

“Unfiltered 32/50 Kolsch

January 31, 2010

So we’ve been wanting to not filter the kolsch for a long time and we’re finally doing it! Why? Not filtering out the yeast and hops gives the beer a bigger profile yet still delicate and not overbearing. So incredibly fresh tasting, pilsner like in my opinion and super clean. We did let it bright out a bit longer to help the yeast drop out so it is only slightly cloudy. This unfiltered kolsch is now my go to beer it’s that good. If everyone agrees we’ll keep it up for a while (so please agree!).”

Cheers!

 

Garrett Oliver's Brewmaster's Table has some mentions of wiess in the Koelsch section. He mentions that it's usually an unfiltered (but not too hazy) koelsch in most cases. I think that term is now common enough that it's just slang for any old koelsch, even if they don't carry an unfiltered version.
That book was published about 10 years ago.
For random historical tidbits, I love that book. The US beer section is already a bit dated, but the sections on Germany, Belgium, the UK, etc. are all wonderful.

 

Another one from one of my favorite Franconian breweries. At least the ones I know and have access to through my local Getränkemarkt. Festbier by Krug-Bräu. Not the Festbier (aka Märzen) you would expect, but rather a typical Franconian/Bavarian Dark Lager. Very süffig.

 

Looks delicious! Are you in the Franconia area, or are you just lucky to live near a good beer store?

 

It is delicious! The other ones I've had from this brewery were convincing as well.
No, I'm not in Franconia, I live in Wiesbaden, so Rhein-Main area. There are a couple of (mostly poor to mediocre) bottle shops, but just the one that's my favorite. It's in a part of Wiesbaden called Bierstadt, very fitting!
If I had just some money to start a business, I would start a decent real beer shop in the Frankfurt/Rhein-Main area. Definitely something that is needed round here.

 

Have you been to Maruhn in Darmstadt? As far as I know, he has the deepest selection in the Rhein-Main area.

 

Yes, I've been there. It's nice, but a bit expensive. And a bit too far just to buy some beer. Most things they have can be ordered online. But it's definitely worth a stop when I'm in the area or pass by Darmstadt.

 

I think I found a new favorite today! Very tasty! Nice reddish color, sweet malt aroma, but well hopped bitterness. Just very nice!

 

Okay, this is a strange one today. The brewer brews this every two weeks more or less naked. It's supposed to be sexually stimulating. I don't feel overly horny now. For me, it's a marketing gag and an ordinary, somewhat stronger Lager, maybe a Märzen.
Here is the link to their own website, including a few videos. And here is a newspaper article on it.

 

This FKK business has gone too far!

Although it could be worse. I guess they could have a picture of the brewer on the label.