Bayernbiere Bought and Drunk

I wouldn't mind buying one of those mini-kegs of the Maerzen...but I'm not sure I could handle that much of the Urbock, even with a fair amount of help.

 

It doesn't seem like a fun beer to get sick from, I'll say that. FWIW, I liked it straight away after beer #1.

 

Göller's Rauchbier might be right up your alley. Mahrun's in Darmstadt has it.

 

The owner of a local brewpub here in Columbia came and visited me in Bamberg back in 1993. At the time, he was working for Hales in Washington State, and they were paying for him to tour the UK, Belgium, Germany, and the Czech Republic (yes, U.S. "craft" brewers used to revere tradition that much ). We went out to Schlenkerla and he fell in love with the stuff at first sip. But he fell a bit too deeply and ended up getting sick that night. To this day, he can't even smell Schlenkerla without getting a bit queasy.

 

I'm like 90% certain I've been to Hales!

 

Only one way to find out. I'm off work in an hour.

 

I know someone with the same problem involving Irish whiskey, but I've weaned him back into it a little.

 

I have a similar relationship to tequila - but every so often I forget and it has to remind me.

 

I bought these today in Straousbourg, France. I'll sample them soon.

 

Ayinger Urweisse is one of my favorite hefeweizens! It has a very nice, subtle lemon flavor that I greatly enjoy (along with the typical hefeweizen flavors).

Cheers!

 

Meh... Vitus is head & shoulders better in my opinion...

 

I am of the exact opposite opinion, but thank you for sharing!

 

No worries, that's why are so many flavors and choices.

I found this brew to be too subdued/muddled, no flavors stood out on my tongue.

 

To me it drinks almost like a Belgian Quad. The Vitus seems like someone poured too much alcohol into my Weihenstephaner. That is probably because I drink the "regular" wheat beer all the time and only have the Vitus when I can find it (not too often around here). Diff'rent strokes, though, I'm glad you tried it!

 

I can kinda see the quad-esque relationship.

I also mostly enjoy regular hefeweizens, but when I accidentally stumbled across the Vitus - I was hooked.

 

It's a shame one has to cross the border to Strasbourg to buy some Ayinger. Haven't ever seen them in any shop here, only in online shops.

 

Out of curiosity I just checked my local Getränkemarkt and it looks like I may have quite a few options!

http://www.heinrich3000.de/bier-biermixgetraenke.html?isorc=&keywords=Ayinger

 

I can definitely see both of those. Aventinus is unique and it has a lot of flavors I get in quads. My favorite Quad is De Struise Pannepot and I think fans of it would probably love Aventinus. Chocolate, dates, raisins, and banana yeasty notes without being overbearing. I love them both.
Many of Schneider's hoppy experimental beers (starting with Hopfenweiss) also taste a bit like Belgian pale ales to me. The Eisbock version of Aventinus even carries some of the (good) oxidation character found in English old ales.
On most of our Munich trips we have gone to the Weissesbrauhaus a lot just because their flavor profiles make for a great change-up.

 

Yeah, far from meh. Every time I have an Aventinus it reminds me of how good beer can be. Vitus is good, but given a choice, Aventinus is my pick.

 

Having my first Schlenkerla beer (Urbock) today. Damn, is this tasty. I didn't think I'd like it because of the smokiness- I remember trying some in Germany and thought it was like drinking a smokestack, but my palate has expanded since then and I am really impressed with this one.

Some nice underlying sweetness and a solid, though not overpowering, assertion of smoke. I think I might just be a Rauchbier guy after all...