Bayernbiere Bought and Drunk

it just tasted blah... not at all what I thought it would. Hard to describe the flavor except to say it wasn't tasty... or even good...

And I loved their Oktoberfest bier.

 

Took a chance on a bottle of Ayinger Jahrhundert Bier tonight. Never see any date codes on Ayinger beers, and I've been burned by the retailer in the past, but I reached far back on the shelf. Haven't had one in a while, so I was sort of excited to see it.

Pours a paler straw gold than I remember, with a soap-sudsy white head that holds up well. Nice bready malts in the nose with sweet bready malts up front in the flavor and lightly bitter, spicy noble hops balancing out the finish.

I can just make out some of the melanoidin goodness in the aftertaste of this beer, so I can imagine it's just a bit past prime. Never the less, it's held up quite well on the shelf. A nice Helles for those craving something not-quite Pilsner hoppy.

 

I am fortunate that a beer bar local to me periodically has Ayinger Jahrhundert Bier on draft. I have had a few pints of this beer over the past year. IMO, Ayinger Jahrhundert Bier is a Dortmunder style beer which has a very nice balance of malt and hop flavors.

Every time I see on the chalk board that this beer is on tap I internally say Yippee and I order a pint or two.

Cheers to Ayinger!

P.S. I really do wish there were bottle on dates of Ayinger bottled beer; I would buy more of the bottles.

 

Great video. I can practically smell the ham hocks and Rauchbier. Takin' me back...

 

Oh how I wish this was in English (or at least subtitles). Sipping an Urbock as we speak!

 

That's my "local" bakery (with the Rauchbierbrot) and butcher (with the Leberkaes) that he visits before taking it into the tavern. Too bad he eats it with a knife and fork! BTW, the waitress is also the one who scolded me a my buddy for eating our Leberkaesbroetla 15 min. past official time (until Matthias Trum called her off of us...). Seriously, though, the camera work and lighting in the video are perfect. Really gives you a sense of the place -- and the whole experience.

 

Just got around to watching this.... Way cool! Wish I understood more Deutsch. Loved when they went into the upstairs part of the pub... Did seem a lot brighter and less crowded than any time I've been there, though.... Super!!
Thnx!!

 

Did another blind Helles tasting with some friends here in Munich last night. The others picked:

#1: Oettinger
#2: Spaten
#3: Tilman's "Das Helle" (although they all agreed that it wasn't a Helles)
#4: Tegernseer
#5: Augustiner

As a side note, I've now picked Spaten 4 out of 4 times in a blind taste test as my favorite Helles. But, the average Munich beer drinker would laugh at me if I told them I prefer Spaten to Augistiner and Tegernseer. Isn't it crazy how much influence branding has over our senses?

 

Fresh Spaten is pretty good, that's for sure. I have a few questions if you don't mind humoring me: Where did Oettinger and Augustiner finish for you (dare I ask)? Was there anything identifiable that the group did not enjoy about Augustiner?

I ask because to me, from the bottle at least, Augustiner's Hell has always had something a little off-putting/unusual/unique at first blush, either a slight vegetal quality or a slight sulfury aroma. There seems to always be something there up front. But when you drink, say, an entire liter of Augustiner, something clicks along the way and by the time you're finished you "get it". Oettinger is the exact opposite. Although I've never had the Hell, I have had their Kellerbier, which starts out, "Hey this is OK" but you find yourself forcing yourself to finish the 500 ml bottle.

In other words, I guess I have homework for your friends - have them drink a liter of Oettinger one day and a liter of Augustiner the next and report back.

 

I picked out Augustiner and Tegernseer from the lineup and grouped them together in second place. They both had just a little bit of grainyness and green flavor, just a bit on the light and fizzy side. Oettinger was in third place. It tasted quite different from the three Munich Helles, a bit more of a strightforward, light example of an Export. But, as always, it had no technical flaws. Tilman's was in last place. It wasn't a Helles and it had a fair amount of diacetyl.

The funny thing I've noticed is that Augusitner's Edelstoff and Tegernseer's Spezial are consistently much better than their Helles. They are both regularly awesome. These beers are very similar to their lighter counterparts (just a bit more pilsner malt), which leads me to believe that the slight increase in flavor and alcohol from the Eledstoff/Spezial acts very effectively as a cover to what I perceive as a slight green character.

Augustiner and Tegernseer Helles were even greener the last time I did this tasting a month or two ago. I'll continue to do my professional research into this subject throughout the winter to see if Augustiner and Tegernseer Helles improve as beer demand slows down (thus allowing for full length lagering).

 

I will also continue my professional research about beer.

 

I mentioned in the past that I had noticed that Spaten Hell listed wheat malt on the back label in the Swedish ingredients list and I finally found a picture online of the back label. Right before the Russian text starts is the Swedish list where it says "innehåller (contains): vatten (water), vetemalt (wheat malt), kornmalt (barley malt), humle (hops), humleextrakt (hop extract)",. In none of the other languages, as far as I am able to tell, I can't read Russian, is wheat malt mentioned which I find to be very strange. Additionally on Carlsberg Sweden's website, the Swedish importer of Spaten, they mention that "Spaten Münchner Hell is considered by many to be the world's best tasting lager beer. The secret is supposed to be a pinch of wheat added to the brew".

I can't help but be curious as to whether it's simply a misprint, of the company mistakenly adding an additional ingredient to the ingredients list in a foreign language (whilst getting it right in Norwegian which is also listed and doesn't include wheat), or if it really does contain wheat.

 

That strikes me as extremely odd. Doesn't the Reinheitsgebot say something about nothing other than barley malt being allowed for untergaerige Biere? On a personal level, I have never picked up on the presence of any wheat in the Spaten Lager I have drunk (and I have drunk a lot!). Hmm....

 

Definitely odd since the English at the start of the label mentions no wheat at all either -- seems contrary to ingredients disclosure.

And I agree with @herrburgess, I've never gotten that wheat character from a Spaten Hell. There are many U.S. micros that use Wheat as an adjunct to their grain bill and you can often taste that subtle huskiness that's different from barley (or rice or corn).

 

Can't quite read the label well enough to make out the Russian, but the word for Wheat in the Cyrillic alphabet would look something like: пшеница

 

Section 9,1 of the "Vorvaeufige Biergesetz" (technically different from the Reinheitsgebot) states that bottom fermenting beer can only be made from Barley malt, hops, yeast, and water. I am quite certain that this was a translation error.

 

That would seem like the most logical explanation. A translation error which has then been picked up on by some marketing person at Carlsberg Sweden to spin some marketing bs around.

 

vorläufige, not vorvaeufige....

 

Who's in??!

http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00FW8E524/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_roce

 

Whoa... Checking U.S. Amazon now!

(Don't let the Stone folks see that -- they'll be dropping boulders everywhere! )