Märican Biere Bought and Drunk...

And the last Paulaner, H-P and Spaten Oktos I had here in the U.S. were closer to 24 or 25, so go figure.

Was thinking of something else (talking about color additives), I tried the Paulaner Amber alongside the pale Wies'n Fest a couple years ago and they were distinctly different beers. The Amber was drier in the finish and had bigger melanoidin, the Wies'n was crisp and had good breadiness, but more like a Helles breadiness -- only bigger.

 

International Press Agency Ltd., eh? IPA? I smell a rat!

 

Okay -- got Image Guru to cooperate. Here's a Spaten Okto Märzen from a couple years ago (sorry, not as scenic as some neighborhoods, but I like it):

 

And H-P:


Note at the bottom of the label: Amber Märzen. Do you remember that on any H-P labels MJ?

 

Maybe even 26 or 27?

 

Yep. Another clue, no doubt.

Funny thing I see in translating amber to German, it probably explains why there are so many definitions of "amber" (as Ron and I were discussing in another thread): bernsteinfarben, as you said, orange (German pronunciation, no doubt), and gelb -- which I always understood as yellow. Makes you wonder about all of those vintage reports Crusader digs up.

 

I know this thread is about American beer, but hey -- I bought these in the U.S.

Anyway, as long as I have the image machine working I thought I'd toss these into the discussion. I was doing a side-by-side of the 3 Amber Märzens available in the U.S. (I see Ayinger as being in-between the Amber and Pale versions, so it's not one of these) a few years ago and took some pics:



Can you tell which one is which? Pretty close, eh?

BTW -- they aren't cloudy, that's condensation on the tasting glasses -- often humid here in the Midwest during "Oktoberfest" season.

 

Judge for yourself -- compare the Ayinger Okto to the H-P in your previous post and the Spaten in mine. To me, it's somewhere in-between.



BTW -- these are both Ayinger Okto beers to compare full-liter and half-liter density. I put a white board behind to diffuse any light from brightening it too much.

 

I asked a while back if anyone knew about the St Michelsberg Festbier and no one was able to help me. I decided to take a chance and picked up a 30L for my kegerator. Turns out to be this beer which was contracted by Vejle Bryghus out of Denmark at - get this @herrburgess - a Bamberger brewery (not sure who). I had heard that this beer is no longer being brewed, and it could be a bit old, but I tell you it is fantastic. Reviews on Untappd may not be stellar, but probably because it's not brewed with enough hops and is only 5.5% ABV.

Anyway, I will probably score another one of these kegs before everybody starts talking about Oktoberfest beers so I can enjoy it again and again.

Anyone in the CA region is more than welcome to stop by for a cold Maß.

 

Probably Kaiserdom. They seem to be doing an awful lot of that sort of thing these days.

 

Do you think there is a commercially available beer which has just been differently labeled for the Bryghus?

 

Not sure, but what I have seen coming out of there (and being reported on Bier des Tages and/or Bier aus Franken, for example) seems to indicate they are brewing a pretty extensive set of "styles" (Weizen, Landbier, Kellerbier, etc.) and labeling them differently for different markets. You could write to the guys who run those sites/pages and ask them to investigate, I suppose.

 

SNPA is a world-classic IMO. Cheers.

 

Look forward to your report(s) on those. While I have heard great things, I remain a bit skeptical. If you can get down to NC and the triad/triangle, you should be able to find some Olde Mecklenburg stuff. If you can make it all the way to Charlotte, I will meet you there!