Märican Biere Bought and Drunk...

The 0.33 liter format is probably not due to cost, but to my knowledge, most 0.5 liter bottles are returnables.

 

These are $17.99 a case from Northern Brewer

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/brewing-equipment/bottling/bottles/beer-bottles-16-oz

 

I prefer 'free' bottles but the Rolling Rock returnable bottle did cost me a buck (the deposit fee for returnable bottles).

Cheers!

 

Buy the beer, keep the bottle. You can see from the ring on the middle of the bottle that it's been through the bottle washer a number of times. But you seem to have a special place in your heart for RR - I understand.

 

Picked up this year's Sunny Ridge. It's definitely hazy. Here's my photo below.



And here's a couple in the same lighting and then different lighting of their House Lager, which is clear.





And finally one of Jever, which is quite clear, again in the same lighting as the first photo. All photos are taken right after pouring, so I'm not attributing the haziness of their pils to a chill haze, because the others are still clear even though they were quite cold.

 

I never knew that spunding created such a haze issue.

Cheers!

 

Looks a lot more like an Ungespundetes to me. But who am I to say...?

 

Forgive me, but this is going over my head. What are you guys referring to? Something about the way Sunny Ridge is brewed? Inside joke?

 

Honestly, I don't get Jack's joke either. Maybe he can explain....

 

On kozakas picture you can make out "unfiltered" on the back label of the label to the right, which might explain the haze.

 

Yes, all of their beers are unfiltered, but it says that on all of their beers. Including the one I posted, their House Lager, which is pictured above. Also their Jabby Brau I believe is quite clear. Haven't had it in awhile, so I don't remember. I'll double check what the House Lager says next time I'm at the liquor store to be 100% sure.

 

As a follow-up, I found this in one of the reviews for their Doppelbock....

"Appearance: I poured this from a bottle into a Dogfish pint glass. The beer pours a lovely, dark, amber-red color. Despite being unfiltered, the beer is crystal clear."

@herrburgess could the haziness in their pilsner be related to this quotation from you in the recent pilsners thread? I've also found this haziness in Smuttynose's Vunderbar Pilsner.....however, I've noticed some of their batches were crystal clear....it also appears some are reporting Sunny Ridge to be occasionally clear as well....inconsistency?

"It's not what it "added" as much as what's taken away: namely (as others have pointed out) anything for flaws to hide behind. If the pH is slightly off (astringent/dull-muted/soapy), if the malt is of poor quality (husky/grainy), if the yeast is in any way stressed or improperly handled (estery/hazy), you're going to notice it and the beer is going to taste less than optimal -- giving you a pretty darn good indication of the brewer's skills."

 

Those guys have some major brewing skills, so I highly doubt it's a technical flaw as much as it is simply inter-batch variation. When you do not filter your beers, there will likely be some portion of the brite tank containing some residual yeast, and that yeast will probably find its way into some of the bottles/kegs (usually the first ones from the batch). Beer from the "higher" sections of the brite tank in the same batch can be crystal clear, as the yeast has already fully settled out of that section. I, personally, don't like this type of variation, but it's almost inevitable in such cases. I'd probably use a filter myself to ensure consistently crystal clear beer -- especially in a style like a Pilsner.

 

There's no chance the haziness could just be some chill haze, could it?

I can't remember explicitly what Sunny Ridge looked like when I had it, but in my review I mention it is crystal clear. I keep my fridge around 38-40F and evidently didn't notice any haziness.

 

I don't recall the haze subsiding. And other pilsners I have pour out crystal clear right out of the same fridge.

 

In lieu of the ongoing discussion on (subtle) lagers vs. big American ales, or even the difference between how Americans produce their lagers vs the European take (Old World v New World) I found this interesting article on a similar discussion in the wine business... many similarities.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/31/magazine/the-wrath-of-grapes.html

 

I just posted that article on my FB page yesterday. Love this quote: "Go back a thousand years, wine is meant to be served at the dinner table,” says Jamie Kutch [...]. "It’s not about a tasting where you line up 100 wines and give them scores."

Big vs. subtle aside, I really hope we can get away from the competition culture....

 

Since I didn't see a direct response, I think the beer is delicious...and totally unlike anything I'd expect to come out of Germany. More wild-saison with a hefe bent than the other way around.

Live Oak's recent Berliner on the other hand is probably my favorite of the style that I've had in the US and probably wouldn't be too out of place in Germany.

 

A local version of Thrillist just ran an article on the Top 11 Breweries in Chicago, Ranked by Experts*.

*I think I've heard of one of them.

The surprising thing is that German-style brewer, Metropolitan, took Number 2 in the ranking. Rare in these days of IPA or head-banging brews.