Bayernbiere Bought and Drunk

Time for the last unique Bavarian festbier variant of this year. Karmeliten festbier is 5.5% abv and 13.4% plato. Aroma is fresh and a mix of pale malt and herbal hops, flavor is bittersweet and similar to Löwenbräu Oktoberfest, only less sweet and thus drier and more balanced (to my tastes). I would call this beer sessionable, and the slightly lower abv doesn't hurt it either.

 

I believe that's because Weltenburger just doesn't have the facilities to bottle beer for export (it is a Kloster, after all), but I understand Bischofshof follows the Weltenburg recipes closely.

 

I picked up some more Spaten, Hacker Pschorr, and Hofbräu Oktoberfests for my weekend. Decided to use my .5 liter Krug to enjoy the Spaten and HP in order to view the color thru some density -- very enticing and reminiscent (to me) of my first visit to Munich. Prosit! all!

 

I have had great experience with almost all Weltenburger beers. IIRC there was one that I didn't care for, the rest were excellent. Especially the helles hefeweizen was on par with many of the bigger names.

 

So, I thought I had a new jewel, something unique

ERDINGER OKTOBERFESTBIER

I thought - what the heck? - 6pks in .33 l bottles from a hefeweizen brewer getting into Oktoberfest beer? Score!

Well, hold onto your seats, folks - it's just their regular hefeweizen in an Oktoberfest branded package. I used to love to support Erdinger as an independent brewer, but the hefeweizen seems to have gone downhill. No aroma, fairly taste-less (if you can imagine that) but at least a decent mouthfeel. I'm kinda depressed now.

Off to my keg of Jever....

 

Plan B sounds good to me!

Cheers!

 

That would be cruel if you tapped the keg and it was Erdinger's regular hefeweizen.

You're perpetually stuck in a banana, clove, and bubble gum hell.

 

@AlcahueteJ I love a banana-y hefeweizen, for me the epitome of the style. This was not even close.... glad I only got a single bottle. After the Jever keg kicks, I'll probably get another hefeweizen (Andechs or Weltenburger) on tap, conveniently packaged as my wife's birthday present.

 

My understanding is that the Asam Bock and the Barock Dunkel are brewed at the Kloster and then trucked to Bischofshof for bottling. The rest of the beers are brewed at Bischofshof.

 

Nope.Erdinger tastes more like a Pilsner than a Weizen imo.
Luckily their Ur-Weizen is pretty good

 

The abv is higher isnt it? (5,7-5,3)

 

Yeah, they've been pulling this marketing prank for at least 5 years now. I remember seeing it back when and thinking as you did, "Hey, Erdinger has an Okto now." Then I read the label closer.

 

It's really too bad... they could have followed suit similar to Schneider years ago. A real missed chance for a "weissbier only" brewery.

 

Drinking the last beer of the Oktoberfest/festbier seasonals from the monopoly, a Swedish 5.9% dark lager. Another surprise in that it has a distinctly smoky aroma and taste that reminds me a good deal of Schlenkerla's Märzen, but with a milder smoke flavor. Beechwood smoke and hop bitterness combined with an underlying malt sweetness. I'm very impressed I must say, both by the brewery opting to brew a rauchbier and for the end result to be as good as it is. Well done.

 

Erdinger has some of the most neutral weissbier yeasts I've had in Germany. Blind I'd probably pick some of them as lagers. The only other one I've had in the same ballpark was the one from Uerige, which is a weizen made with alt yeast.
If you don't care for the typical weissbier esters, those beers are probably for you. If you want esters, both are pretty boring.

 

Erdinger? I believe they are. The title on their website is Erdinger Weißbräu and I see nothing other than Weißbier in their product list. Funny thing is, I don't see that Oktoberfest Weißbier... wonder if it's U.S. only?

 

A local Irish pub here regularly has it on tap in the autumn months. Never seen bottles though. Maybe export only...

 

This twisted mix of culture sounds like the basis of a TV situation comedy.

 

Oh you have no idea... eh what do I know, maybe you do. Anyway, daily life for Americans(including me) and Irish living in Italy, the ones that I know at least, is a riot, let alone what happens in the "Irish" pubs, stocked with plenty of German beer, between the Anglo-Saxons and the Italians.

 

Irish pubs seem to have transcended cultural (and economic) norms all over the world. I don't think there are many places where you won't find one. 99% are stocked with faux-Irish decor and serving overpriced Guinness, oddball imports, and questionably authentic food.