Märican Biere Bought and Drunk...

This seems like the best thread to post this (apologies if there was a better one and I missed it)-

Paulaner recently opened up a Brauhaus in NYC; I haven't been there yet, though it was written up on Serious Eats. You can see photos at this link:
http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2013/...view-beer-bar-lower-east-side.html?ref=search

The question I have is with the haziness of the beers pictured (a helles and a dunkel), and I ask it of those in the know- would they be able to get away with this sort of thing in Munich, or are they just rushing things for our 'benefit'?

I haven't been there yet, and will definitely go at least once for curiosity, but at this point they remind me of the old Zip City days (whose beers always did seem a bit unfinished to me).

 

Seriously ? They used that as a name ?

 

Yes. Pivo Hoppy Pils.

And it's supposed to be a German Pils.

 

*censored incoherent swearing*

 

But Pivo is so fun to say!

 

I don't know if Germans have much ground to stand on misappropriating words. I can't even tell you how many shirts with random English words and phrases on them I've seen in Munich.

 

Yeah, but did you see any shirts with random Polish words on them?

Cheers!

 

First, a huge shout out to @steveh for this sample of SHELL'S CHIMNEY SWEEP. Notes from New year's Eve (I have two kids, my New Year's Eve's have slowed down considerably).

Appearance: a beautiful reddish/brown hue, clear as a bell, looks so very enticing. Sounds slightly odd, but I have always liked beers that have a reddish-ness to them. Decent head-build, but it collapsed much faster than I would have liked. 4.5/5

Smell: great malt backbone, slight smokiness. Let it be now known that I am not a huge fan of smoked beers, but I understand why many are. It's a unique component adding an additional "level" to any brew as long as it's not too overpowering. This is quite pleasant. 4/5

Taste: This is where smokiness is more up front, it actually works well with the medium IBU-level and mid-sweetness of the brew. Some cherry notes, correctly carbonated and decent mouthfeel. Not cloying, so I am OK with drinking more of a style I am not always keen about. Towards the end, it becomes drier, and the hop "bite" comes trough on the finish. 4/5

Fazit: Again, I am not a huge fan of the style, but this is well executed from many levels. A pleasant amount of smokiness so that you're not drinking liquid ham. If you like smoked beers, this is a very quaffable version. Personally I could only handle one of these, but I am very glad I tried it. Prost ihr Säcke!

 

Found this on their website:

 

Glad you enjoyed it -- I have 2 left over from the 12 pack I bought, been waiting for a good time to finish them off. Here's my own review of the beer.

Kind of surprised that the head died on yours, maybe shipping cross country via UPS had something to do with that?

 

Thank you for your review of Chimney Sweep!

I thought some folks might be interested in knowing that on BA this beer is classified as a Schwarzbier. Below is the description from BA for Chimney Sweep:

“Notes/Commercial Description:

Dark and mysterious, with an intriguing wisp of smoke, a chimney sweep has long been considered a source of good luck. Schell’s Chimney Sweep draws its inspiration from these lucky individuals and the rich dark lagers of Upper Franconia in Germany. Expect a black lager with a roasty maltiness, sturdy hop bitterness and an underlying subtle smokiness.

31 IBU”

Last night I drank a bottle of Jack’s Abby Smoke & Dagger and I absolutely loved that beer. To my palate it was a Schwarzbier with a Smoky aspect to it. I went to BA this morning and I was somewhat surprised that BA lists this beer as a Rauchbier. Below is the BA description of Smoke & Dagger:

“Notes/Commercial Description:

Cloaked in mystery, this dark black beer skirts the line between a schwarzbier and smoked porter. The use of a small percentage of traditional Beechwood smoked malt adds complexity and balances the liberal use of chocolate malt. Notes of roasted grains, beechwood smoke,and coffee accompany a full bodied-and sweet chocolately malt character. Smoke & Dagger uses locally grown unmalted barley from MA.

25 IBU”

I am guessing that Smoke & Dagger and Chimney Sweep are similar beers.

Are there German brewed beers similar to Chimney Sweep/Smoke & Dagger (what I would call a Smoky Schwarzbier)?

Cheers!

 

@steveh I was at a friend's house and I cleaned her glassware as well as I could. We have terrible water in the area, so looking back I am going to attribute foam problem to glassware.

 

I saw that too. I know some brewers who do package their lagers after 3 weeks or so, maybe a few days less, but those are destined to become filtered. Personally, I have made crystal clear unfiltered lagers, so I know it could be done given enough time. I was just wondering if 3 weeks would be considered normal in Europe for lagering time and clarity. Ultimately, the taste will tell the tale- so I'll have to get myself over there once the weather warms up a bit and report back.

 

Breweries tend to be less than forthcoming about lagering times, unless they lager for an unusually long time which they want to advertise (such as Budejovicky Budvar which claims to lager the beer for 3 months).

 

I can't recall where I learned this, but apparently Augustiner scaled back their lagering times from 6 weeks to 5 and it was big news at the time. I think that was maybe 10-12 years ago.

From what I understand - with the right equipment and approach you can get the same results with less time now. I know a few Denver breweries that have spent a lot of time and effort to get 6-week results in 4-5 weeks.

 

I read a column a while back written by some ex-Anheuser Busch guy who was saying something similar, and saying that there's no point in the beer just sitting there if the purpose of the lagering period has been achieved and there's not much more that can be gained. I can't seem to find it though, it was an interesting piece.

 

Do you think it works?

Makes sense. This is why good brewmasters check their beers in secondary often.

 

Part of the AB lagering process is that utilize beechwood strips in horizontal lagering tanks. The purpose of the beechwood strips is to keep the AB lager yeast from settling out and by having the yeast in suspension (so to speak) hastens the lagering process. So, AB can lager for a shorter period of time and obtain the results of lagering due to a unique lagering process.

Cheers!

 

I would say that it can/does work if the parties involved are diligent. For example Danny Wang who runs CAUTION brewing recently got Bill Eye's help to get his lagering times down. Both of them are very serious about QC and Danny has his entire system monitored as well as the big boys do. In the case of his beer (Lao Wang Lager), I think it's better than ever. I don't know if I'd trust everyone to do that.