Bayernbiere Bought and Drunk

Discussion in 'Germany' started by boddhitree, Dec 15, 2012.

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  1. Gutes_Bier

    Gutes_Bier Maven (1,363) Jul 31, 2011 Germany

    Good luck with your next step!
     
    #1461 Gutes_Bier, Aug 15, 2014
  2. boddhitree

    boddhitree Pooh-Bah (1,839) Apr 13, 2008 Germany
    Pooh-Bah

    Too bad I can't view it... damn GEMA!
     
    #1462 boddhitree, Aug 15, 2014
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  3. digita7693

    digita7693 Initiate (0) Jan 19, 2010 Germany

    proxy server? or proxy server add-on for firefox, it's easy.
     
    #1463 digita7693, Aug 15, 2014
  4. steveh

    steveh Grand Pooh-Bah (4,174) Oct 8, 2003 Illinois
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Was that really a Casio digital watch? :grinning:

    Brewery Ressman? :grinning: And that was only #2!
     
    #1464 steveh, Aug 15, 2014
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  5. boddhitree

    boddhitree Pooh-Bah (1,839) Apr 13, 2008 Germany
    Pooh-Bah

    Just arrived yesterday, a new beer from Pax Bräu, a Smaragd Pilsner. The beer is new for him. Last year he made a Admiral Nelson Pilsner with Nelson Sauvin and in 2012 a Saphir Pilsner. Smaragd, if you're not in the know, is a relatively new hop from the Czech Republic and now in Germany, 8.7% Alpha Acid. Here's what I got from the internet:

    8.5% Alpha Acid. This is a new breed from Germany developed in the last 10 years and virtually unknown by American brewers. With a distinct fruity nose balanced with flowery hoppy notes, Smaragd is the European response to varieties like Simcoe and Amarillo. It has a more prominent nose than most European varieties, but the fruitiness is more subdued and the overall impression is balanced and refined with a slight nuance of spice. The bitterness is of medium intensity allowing generous (but not excessive!) use in the boil kettle. A good choice for dry hopping. The hints of lemon and orange marmalade work well with Belgian Pale Ales or Imperial Pilsner.​

    Smaragd is Czech for emerald, a green one, so I get the name.
    [​IMG]
    Cool label, eh? A quick Google search showed that Smaragd has some meaning in the gaming community, like Minecraft, and Pokemon, at least the German versions. Maybe that's what the "goddess" image represents. I'm too old to know exactly and too unhip, so I'm guessing that the allusion is with the graphics novel variety because the artist used is a graphic artists that makes wild comics/graphic novels. Either way, it's a cool way to say we worship the hop we drink.

    So the beer...
    [​IMG]
    It's 4.8%.

    Appearance: Slightly cloudy, and I bet after a few weeks lagerzeit it'd be 98% clear. It's golden color, but not bright, more a dull, darker gold. It's on top of a huge snow white head that leaves a pretty lacing behind, which unfortunately disappeared after a few minutes.

    Aroma: Wow...lots of Pils malt sweetness, bready, toasty, mixed in with hay, grass, a hefty amount of spicy pepperiness, and a slight yeasty undertones, after all, it's only about 10 days old.

    Flavor:

    Front: mmmm, delicious... a nice, light but awesome bitterness. It's an interesting sort of bitterness, for it's quite noticeable but mild at the same time... yeah Smaragd. I also get some tartness here, some pure sweetness, a grassiness.

    Mid: Again, a nice but steady bitterness, coming off like a dull throb of bitterness above the tongue that mesmerizes and almost hypnotizes. In addition, you get large amounts of citrus and tartness, grassy flavors, a hint of hay but a nice but light peppery spiciness.

    Back: Wow, got some black pepper spiciness, grass, lots of hay, got some slight lemon but it's more in the citrus area. On top of that, I'm really surprised to get a decent punch of orange marmalade here, even wow-ier., just as mentioned above... I sure didn't expect that. And then there's a little bitterness to keep the tongue happy. All this is over a sweet, bread, toasty sweetness from Pils malt.

    Aftertaste: Bitterness and Pils malt sweetness is what's left after you swallow this beer.

    Mouthfeel: Not as thick as I prefer my Pils. Just a little on the thin side, but it's still not bad. It leans toward a dryness but not overly so. Not bad but maybe the only part of this beer that's not wonderful.

    Overall: WOW lis simply all I got. It's a homage to a single hop that has a lot of complexity but doesn't pummel you with bitterness or citrus flavor or fruit flavors. First, you have a Pils that all the goodness of it's eponymous malt, but it's overlaid with a multitude of luxurious, like above "refined" that leaves you aware it's bitter but slap you with bitterness. It gives you really wonderfully balanced Pils but one with lots of other flavors normally not found in one, such as citrus, orange marmalade, hay and a mild spicy pepper. Again, WOW, I love this beer. I have this hop in my inventory, and I haven't used it yet, and now I know exactly how it will taste in my beer. Again... WOW.
     
    #1465 boddhitree, Aug 15, 2014
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  6. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Tony, that beer sounds AWESOME!

    One of my favorite Victory Braumeister Pils beers is made with Czech Sladek hops. Have you had a European brewed Pilsner that features Sladek hops?

    Cheers!

    Jack
     
    #1466 JackHorzempa, Aug 16, 2014
  7. einhorn

    einhorn Savant (1,175) Nov 3, 2005 California

    I was offered some Smaragd hops years ago by a hop exporter, and when I asked supplier, brewers and colleagues about this hop, all I got was *shoulder shrug*. I never did try brewing with them, maybe the name turned me off (weird, I know). With the market changing so dramatically towards highly aromatic brews, I am sure that German hop growers will get deeper into aroma varietal (other than the Mandarina, Polaris, Blanc & Co) hops, if they are not already planted.

    I tried brewing a small batch of IPA with Mandarina hops (you must admit the name is more appealing than SMARAGD), and was underwhelmed. Maybe it's still early, but as mentioned the German hop growers will surely not sit back and watch the show.
     
    #1467 einhorn, Aug 16, 2014
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  8. Bierman9

    Bierman9 Grand Pooh-Bah (5,313) Dec 20, 2001 New Hampshire
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader


    Your review has me hoping I can get this at Liebick near Muenchen in September when I am there, high cost be damned!

    Prosit!
     
    #1468 Bierman9, Aug 16, 2014
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  9. digita7693

    digita7693 Initiate (0) Jan 19, 2010 Germany

    Think theyll have this at PM in Bonn?
     
    #1469 digita7693, Aug 16, 2014
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  10. boddhitree

    boddhitree Pooh-Bah (1,839) Apr 13, 2008 Germany
    Pooh-Bah

    Anything is possible. As i've never been to Bonn other than easing on through the train station in the Deutsche Bahn, how would I know?

    No. Never seen it on sale in German homebrew websites.
     
    #1470 boddhitree, Aug 16, 2014
  11. boddhitree

    boddhitree Pooh-Bah (1,839) Apr 13, 2008 Germany
    Pooh-Bah

    Thank you for the compliments. The beer is great. I get 2 L every month and I paid a pretty penny for it, but there's no other way I'd have access to what I still think is the absolute best brewer in Germany.
     
    #1471 boddhitree, Aug 16, 2014
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  12. digita7693

    digita7693 Initiate (0) Jan 19, 2010 Germany

    Well you seem to be the Pax Brau expert and I have seen some of the Pax beers there, so figured I would ask. Easy:wink:

    Really? I am not saying they are bad, far from it, but I also dont know if id put them on a pedestal. The Vollbier is nice, but not mind blowing. Best Bitter, is a solid beer, but perfect? I love low abv beers and this one packs in some great flavor and is easy drinking, but a perfect beer? To each their own:slight_smile:
     
    #1472 digita7693, Aug 17, 2014
  13. herrburgess

    herrburgess Grand Pooh-Bah (3,077) Nov 4, 2009 South Carolina
    Pooh-Bah

    So bad, it's good (the commercial, not the beer):

     
    #1473 herrburgess, Aug 19, 2014
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  14. aleigator

    aleigator Pooh-Bah (2,684) May 10, 2014 Germany
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Actually Pax Bräu doesn't deliver to P&M, but one of the sons tends to drive from time to time through the area and then packs their latest beers. Basically it depends on, when he will drive there again.
     
    #1474 aleigator, Aug 19, 2014
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  15. AlcahueteJ

    AlcahueteJ Grand Pooh-Bah (3,242) Dec 4, 2004 Massachusetts
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Nice, I don't have to review this one! @einhorn how would you say this compares to other Zwickls? I haven't had many, so I'm curious. Tastes damn refreshing to me, not the best beer I've ever had, but for what I assume was bottled in January, not too shabby.
     
    #1475 AlcahueteJ, Aug 23, 2014
  16. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    I have had Arcobrau Zwickl a few times and I agree with the @einhorn review (copied below). A decent beer but nothing worth going out of your way for. Now Urban Chestnut Zwickel is worth going out of your way to get; Urban Chestnut Zwickel is EXCELLENT.

    “Lighter color than one might expect, aroma more yeasty than noble hops, but smells fresh nonetheless. Active pour, lots of CO2 and head build, which I personally enjoy and believe belongs in a Zwickl. Decent grainy pilsner malt flavor, finishes a bit on the sweet side. Good mouthfeel, mostly due to sediment. 3.75/5 overall.”

    Cheers!

    P.S. Another tasty Zwickel is Traunstein 1612er Zwickel.
     
    #1476 JackHorzempa, Aug 23, 2014
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  17. einhorn

    einhorn Savant (1,175) Nov 3, 2005 California

    Well, to each his own, of course. And depending on how the beers were handled on the way to your store, anything can happen. I thought the Arcobräu was good, but not amazing - at least compared to the Kräusen I had at Haake-Beck in Bremen many years ago. Industry brew - yes - nonetheless an amazing and super fresh brew which lingers in my memory. Maybe it was the girl I was with...
     
    #1477 einhorn, Aug 25, 2014
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  18. -N8

    -N8 Initiate (0) Feb 7, 2014 Germany

    Oh... liquid happiness!

    [​IMG]

    I WISH I could express just how gottdamn DELICIOUS this beer is...! But I can't, so I won't try. Maybe Tony or Matt can chime in. But believe me, if you ain't drinking one of these, poor you.
     
    #1478 -N8, Aug 30, 2014
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  19. -N8

    -N8 Initiate (0) Feb 7, 2014 Germany

    Oh, this was out on the front porch of our haus.. I think of it as one of Germany's best stocked biergartens.

    Although, we are driving up to the Main River tomorrow with visiting family from the US and we WILL be stopping off at Faust in Miltenberg - can't wait!
     
    #1479 -N8, Aug 30, 2014
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  20. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Nate,

    Below is Tony’s (@boddhitree) review of this beer:

    “boddhitree

    Germany

    4.1/5 rDev +8.5%

    The aroma has very strong Münchner with some Pils malt, some oranges, a little Noble hop bitter smell, and just a hint of smoke. Quite complex, eh?

    The flavor is equally complex. In the front I get a wee bit of bitterness, and some light citrus. In the middle, I get a tiny bit of smoke, not much, but just enough to wonder what the flavor is. Maybe it's not Rauchmalz, but the beer is too light to have roasted or black malt flavors. In the middle I get some bore bitterness, not too strong, but it's the prominent flavor there. In the end I get a little more lemon and some more grass-bitterness. The aftertaste has some Münchner malt's caramel sweetness, but not a lot.

    Overall, this is an unusual beer. It's like it's ⅓ caramel sweetness, especially in the back, lots of bitterness through all parts of the tongue, and some citrus for the hops. It tastes like they used some interesting hops as well as the normal Noble hops.

    08-02-2013 20:22:45”

    Cheers!
     
    #1480 JackHorzempa, Aug 30, 2014
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