Märican Biere Bought and Drunk...

Since the Trumer Pils I buy is brewed in California, I'm posting here. What a fine Pilsner this really is; fresh type of DMS in the nose with spicy hops, bready Pilsner malt with no 2-row-like graininess up front in the flavor with spicy, herbal hops following -- if not dominating -- without being overwhelming (if that's possible -- which it can be with N. American hops), light lemony citrus character in the finish with crisp, spicy bitterness in the finish.

The big difference between Trumer and Summerfest that I can distinguish is the smooth, soft maltiness. Summerfest is just a little too grainy or husky, if you're going to compare. I think Trumer and SN ought to collaborate for one kick-ass Pils... or other German style!

 

Wish I could get Trumer here...

 

I understand -- bad thing is, it looks like it's dwindling in its availability here too. That's one of the reasons I picked up the 12 pack when I did. Gonna have to find out who the distro is and see what I can do about availability.

 

I could shoot you guys some Trumer, Figueroa Mountain Kölsch and maybe some other yum-yums, if you wanted to do a trade. Not sure what else from CA you might be looking for. Or some fresh Andechs or Flensburger (provided they are fresh from warehouse)? Let me know.

Cheers!

 

I thought the beers I tried from Great Lakes were pretty good. I did, however, pick up on a slight, but persistent, vegetal quality -- esp. in the pale beers. You pick up on anything like that? I know your memory will serve you well in recalling such things Have to say, too, that the price definitely helps me enjoy those beers....

 

Matt,

I am glad that you had the chance to finally try Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold. You and I had a conversation a while back concerning the Dortmunder Export beer style and I recommended this beer for you to try. Hopefully you will make a repeat purchase of this beer and drink it in a more 'controlled' setting so you can 'better' appreciate it and formulate a more complete opinion on this beer.

FWIW, the BA rating for this beer is 91 (Outstanding) with a total of 2.897 ratings. It is always nice to see that a lager can be appreciated by the BA community.

Cheers!

 

Got my bottles in NC (they aren't distributed here in SC). I suspected it may have been a lack of freshness, but I have heard from some folks who have had it ultra-fresh that that slight character is present.

 

I've always liked the beers I've had from Great Lakes. Elliott Ness, Dortmunder Gold, Burning River, and bigger beers like Eddie Fitz and Nosferatu. That said, I am not very sensitive to DMS. Even doing blind sensory tests, I can barely pick out a DMS spiked beer. Even when I can, I don't necessarily taste anything "bad" either.

 

Chris, have you ever drank a Rolling Rock beer?

Cheers!

 

RR used to be my "go to" back in the day (early 90's) but now I can't stand the smell or taste of it.

 

I also drank a lot of Rolling Rock in the early 90’s. I also can’t drink that beer now.

The green returnable Rolling Rock bottles are excellent for homebrewed beer. Below is a picture of my basement with homebrewed beer.

Cheers!

 

I understand that the RR returnables are stable and robust bottles, but why did you go with the green ones instead of the brown ones? Sweet spot in your Pennsylvania heart??

 

Yeah, and I know that's the house flavor for it. To me it tastes (or tasted) different, but I wouldn't really describe it as vegetal or corn/creamed-corn. One of my college roommates said it tasted like grits even back in the early 90's, so I guess that's a common taste profile.
No clue how I'd describe it personally. Maybe "husky" ?

 

I am lazy and I prefer to not 'scrape off' paper labels. The green bottles have painted on labels which do not 'require' removal.

Needless to say you need to keep the green bottles protected from light. I keep them in the cases in my basement and then just a very quick exposure to light as I carry them upstairs to put in the refrigerator.

And yes those returnable bottles are indeed sturdy. Most of those bottles are over 20 years old and I have no idea how many times they were reused for homebrewing; maybe 50-100 times per bottle?

Cheers!

 

I'm pretty sure I know the character HerrB is talking about and it's not really DMS as most of us know it. Not to say it isn't some form of DMS, it's just different than the usual cooked vegetable aroma character that you usually pick up from DMS -- and what I get from GL (and even some other beers) is in the flavor. Maybe a DMS carry over into the flavor?

 

To my palate, Rolling Rock has a distinctive creamed corn flavor. 'Back in the day' I did not find this flavor objectionable but I do today. When Anheuser-Busch bought the Rolling Rock label they had to learn how to brew to have high levels of DMS in that beer. It is my understanding that it took them several batches until they 'dialed in' the proper level for Rolling Rock.

Cheers!

 

If it's any help, almost all German 0.5 liter beers are also technically returnables. You can use those too and bottle a lot less!

 

Douglas, when I win the lottery and travel to Europe I will remember to buy some cases of German beer and bring the empties back with me.

It is practically impossible to get returnable bottles in the US today. I have heard rumors that Straub Brewing (St. Marys, PA) still uses returnable bottles for their local market but I am not sure if this is true.

Cheers!

Jack