Faust/BA German Meet-Up Report(s)

Very, very jealous! Wish I could have made it! Perhaps next time... Either way, I am quite enjoying the photos and comments!

 

First, thanks all for posting all the good pics of the meet-up. Nate's and MJ pics are spot on. Wonderful, but by the way, I've first got to reveal that MJ's real name is Matt, and look above for the guy in the blue baseball cap, and that's him. He can't go through BA any more without us knowing what he really looks like.

Also, since I'd taken the brewery tour in 2012, I thought y'all might want to see what pics I took then. I posted them way way back, but I'll post them again.










This is spent, lager/top-fermenting yeast. They said they only use the yeast 4 or 6 times before it is too tired. This yeast was harvested from the bottom of fermenting square and allowed to sit open.


These barrels weren't there during our tour on Saturday. I guess they got too moody to keep any more. The tour guide in 2012 said these were the actual barrels that the beer was sent off in.



Above, an old lagering barrel that was used over 100 years ago. The cellar was used for 100s of years and is still directly behind the brewing area. Notice the tiny moss growing on the iron bar.

The same moss 2 years later. Wow, it's grown without even seeing the sun. Also, notice in this year's pic the room is lit with electric lights, whereas in 2012 they used gas torches.


The Eisbock layering in 2012.


Notice the Wild Turkey stamp on the barrel?


Faust beer was originally Löwenbräu, Miltenberg. They have continuously brewed in this place since 1654, or so they say. The bottle was hanging from the ceiling as the guide explained the components of beer and showed us hops, hop pellets, pilsner and black malts, and unroasted wheat.


This bottle filler was gone when we took the tour this week. Too bad, I thought it looked cool then... notice the CO2 filler to the left.

Now a few pics of Miltenberg.

zum Riesen.


The local central fountain decorated in Easter finery this year.

And here's the hotel (in red) where Nate stayed. I didn't know it was a hotel (or Pension?)

 

I had to post this is 2 parts, due to the 20 pic/post restrictions of this site.

Now for pics of this year's tour:

Inside the mash tun. Despite it's inefficiencies, decoction is still the brewing method at Faust, and it was great we got to view inside them this time. These were still hot, very hot, inside as they'd recently been emptied and cleaned. And the aroma was pure malt.

Below is another part that we got to see thanks to Matt that's normally not on the tour.

We are on top of the lager tanks, not only to get the view of the Miltenberg Altstadt, but also to see really from above how big the tanks were.

Now those same tanks from below:


Matt said another of the things that makes Faust different from many other German brewers, especially the Fernsehbiere, is that the beer is layered a full 6 weeks, which is then pumped out to trucks and bottled in a bottling plant across the Main river.


Matt dropping his knowledge on us. Notice the flasks behind him.


I think Matt said this beer was 3 weeks in the lager tanks, not yet unfiltered and pasteurised. Wow, was this good! I hate to say this, but anyone wants to drink this kind of beer everyday, come to Braustil in FfM to drink wonderful unfiltered and 3 week old, super fresh beer.


The lager tank schedule. I think the numbers 4,0, 3,7, etc. are the measurements of the Stamwürze (Platoº) as it lagers, losing each week a little more. Matt, can you correct me on this if I'm wrong?


Finally, going in the "treasure room" where we got to see the barrels of ageing Eisbock.

Again, Matt (MJ) is in the Blue cap.

Overall, a great time. Thanks Matt for taking your time and patience with us. And thanks also for letting us drink practically for free at zum Riesen because he let us use his free beer tokens that he gets from Faust. Good luck in your beer-studies in the future! And for allowing us to meet and share our home-brew.

 

Damn auto-correct.

Names to faces? Or was this just a random group at a table?

 

Names redacted to protect the guilty.. lol

 

Cowards.

 

It's ether a really super nice Pension or a hotel.

 

aint skeerd:

The Party People are:
Upper photo (L-R): Janine, Caroline, Matt, Markus, N8, and Matt

Bottom photo: Sans Caroline, plus my wife Mary.

 

I am glad that y'all (Tony, do you like how I used that word?) had a great time this weekend and I thoroughly enjoyed reading all of those posts.

@mjtierney2 er, I mean I mean Matt, it would appear that you have now lost your superhero status since Tony has dropped the dime on you. Don't worry, you are a hero to me. And I liked that you 'celebrated' the start of baseball season by wearing a baseball cap. Does the fact that it is blue mean your a Dodgers fan!?!

Cheers!

 

Whazzup with that? You still listed yourself as "N8" instead of Nate!?!

Cheers!

 

Whew! That is a big relief!

I was really starting to worry!

Cheers!

 

I gots to gets there....

Prosit!!!!

 

Hey BA'ers who made the Faust trip..

How was the 11+ month old La Cumbre Elevated IPA..? We all know BA experts say an IPA can't possibly be any good if it's more than, say 2 minutes old.

 

I'm trying to get some Project Dank over - we'll see

 

Ditto Matt*. Before I left zum Riesen, I noticed a lonely bottle of La Cumbre Elevated IPA that hadn't been drunk and looked like it needed a home. After I got home and let it sit two days, I say it was still the same as I had it in the end of February,... lots of aroma and lots of C-hop flavors, but still a bit over the top bitter. IMO, being in an aluminium can helps keep freshness A LOT better than a bottle, and a 11 month old canned beer maybe like a 3 month old bottled beer. The high amount of alcohol also helped preserve it slightly. Anyway, my girlfriend was very happy she got to taste it a second time. Thanks Nate for dropping them on us.

*MJTierney2

 

Again, the next meet up for me seems to be in Köln for the Festival der Bierkulturen on May 31 and June 1.

These are, according to their webpage, the breweries which will be there:
Ale Mania, Alzeyer Volker-Bräu, Bayerischer Bahnhof, Black Isle, Brasserie Trois Dames, BrauArt, Brauhaus Riegele, BrauKunstKeller, Braustelle, Brouwerij DeMolen, Emelisse, Freigeist Bierkultur, Heidenpeters, h.ertie, 't Hofbrouwerijke, Hof ten Dormaal, Lahnsteiner Brauerei, Mein Sudhaus, Monarchy, Siegburger Brauhaus, Truman's, Vormann Brauerei

Unfortunately, I will not be there. I'm catching a plane on May 29 for my annual pilgrimage back to the family in Dallas, TX.

 

I split a La Cumbre Elevated IPA with a coworker today over breakfast. We both agreed that the remaining malt profile and hop bitterness were pretty much perfect, which is a testament to the brewer as well as to the aluminium can. I'm going to press my last can through a randall next week to see if that'll help revive the hop flavor and aroma. @-N8 do you know what their hop bill looks like, especially the dry hop? I'd like to try and replicate it as closely as possible.