Märican Biere Bought and Drunk...

One day try having a nice beer you know well to go along with an authentic Vindaloo Curry (i.e., authentic means as it would be prepared in India rather than as toned down for the US market). BTW, one doesn't have to go to India for that, there are some places in the US and UK where the Vindaloo is authentic.

 

I had friends who served in the US Army in Germany (late 80s - early 90s) and got to be friends with one of the brewmasters in Nuremberg (sorry, don't ask me which one -- much too long ago) and they always told me that he never drank beer with his meals because (he said) it ruined the flavor of the beer. I can certainly understand the palate shift different things can make on flavors -- including different beers in the same set.

 

BTW -- I had 2 SN Summerfests this afternoon and followed up with a Spaten Helles -- the typical bready, toasty, melanoidin malt character really stood out and all I can figure is that my palate was shifted from the noble hops in the SN.

I can remember getting big malt character from Pilsner Urquell drinking it after a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. The different characters will toy with your palate -- never mind throwing a big, flavorful food into the mix!

 

Yes, as enjoyable as my few Summerfests I've had this year were (I picked up another single today), I get a pleasant sweetness from the malt, but it's not the same depth and richness as I'd get from a classic German counterpart. The Spaten, being a Helles, will be more skewed towards being maltier by it's nature, but I get that sweet breadiness/melanoidin character in an imported German Pils as well. Rothaus for example.

I felt Troegs does a good job with this, I picked up a generous amount of sweet Pils malt from their Sunshine Pils, albeit somewhat muted from the 45 IBUs and the lingering hop bitterness. Both Summerfest and Sunshine seem hoppier this year, but not overly so. They're both satisfyingly balanced and no way teetering near "IPL" category.

I imagine the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale will really throw your palate for a loop compared to a Pilsner Urquell. What with the increased bitterness, Cascade as opposed to Saaz, and the fruity esters from the ale yeast. Even the malt backbone is quite different (although I admittedly felt like I detected some caramel in my latest Pilsner Urquell), with the former having a prominent caramel malt character to it.

 

I 100% agree! Troegs Sunshine Pils does indeed have a notable Pilsner malt backbone. IMO the Pilsner malt aroma/flavor is complemented well by the hops (Hersbrucker, Saaz) used to produce this beer.

Cheers!

 

Agreed. Again, 2 row making up the bulk of the grain bill rather than straight Pilsner malt.

I get it in good Pils too, you just have to look harder for it (as you point out with the Tröegs). As to Spaten being "maltier" by nature, it was in the past, but it just seems thinner than before... since about the time they stopped decoction mashing.

I don't know that I find the Summerfest more hoppy than years past, but maybe just more fresh, so the hop flavors (opposed to the bitterness) seem to be shining more. But no, definitely not in the "IPL" realm.

All part of my original comment -- I found out a long time ago that you can play tricks on your palate with different flavors. Fun to see how perception changes with different ingredients.

 

I was looking for variety this week, and also hitting one of my hop-crave patches that pop up every couple of months, so I picked up the new Goose Island Summer Variety 12 pack: IPA, Summertime Kölsch, 4 Star Pils, and a new Experimental Lager with Millennium and Hallertauer hops from the Elk Mountain hop farm.

I just reviewed the rather innocuous Experimental; nothing terrible, but also nothing to rave about. Definitely playing up on the light, easy drinking beer for summer... even though they've already done that with the Kölsch.

Trying the 4 Star again now (had it when it was first released) and I just can't get past the lightly citrus and resiny, almost tar-ish hop bitterness in the back flavor and aftertaste. If I think: Pale Ale, everything is good, but I just can't think Pilsner.

And to that, I saw SN Summerfest 12 packs have landed at my local, so once my hop crave is over I know I'm set.

 

Little preview of Bierkeller's Kolumbianer...

 

This is the kolsch-style brew, yes? Looks gorgeous.

 

Yes it is. And thanks...

 

Aside from the beer, the equipment looks outstanding! Far from that little back yard shed, eh?

 

Both the beer and the facility look fantastic. I probably haven't been in SC for 20+ years, but I have a reason to go now

 

I have helped brew on it a number of times now and am getting to know its quirks and stuff when doing Bierkeller beers. Pretty solid system overall. I think I mentioned I managed to hit all my numbers, including the slightly higher gravity and IBUs that I trusted would be stripped out during filtering. Tastes as good as if not better than the unfiltered versions I made in the shed. Just have to find that balance and work with/at it. But I can't have any traces of sediment in the kegs since they are going out to accounts and will inevitably get stirred up. Kloudy Koelsch is not Koelsch...nor is Kloudy Kolumbianer.

 

I remember years ago having a Kölsch at Goose Island in Chicago brewery location and the server told us there's a "Summer Kölsch" on tap... curious as I am, I asked what that is. "It's an unfiltered, cloudy version" was his response. I said, there's no such thing (I was living in Germany at the time, I didn't realize you could do whatever the hell you want to with zero regulations on Plato, etc), it should be bright, and his response with a wink was "our filter is broken".

Actually a valuable lesson that many small batch brewers end up doing: Call it what it is, not what it was intended to be.

 

Actually, unfiltered Kölsch is Wieß (not Weiß), isn't it? But no, you probably wouldn't have found it in Germany at the time you were living there -- maybe Goose started a resurgence?

Fortunately, when Goose Island started bottling the Summertime they had their filter working at the big house. Well, sort of, the old rendition of Summertime was mildly hazy, but still tasted good. The resurrected Summertime is as clear as can be and is actually a pretty good example of Kölsch.

 

On my first trip to Capital Brewing in Madison (1989?) I learned that the "powers that be" in the front office had directed the Weizen be filtered. They were afraid of scaring off customers with cloudy beer... even Weizen. It was in the early days of micro-brewing, so the front office really had no clue.

I was already a fan of the Weizen, it was a great interpretation, but I couldn't pass up a chance to try it off the Zwickel in the brewery. It was very nice, but I'm not sure the filtered version suffered too much character loss. Probably the sign of a good brewmaster.

Outside accounts, eh? Nice!

 

Because I have no financial stake in the business (and because I like to dig around on the internet like a private detective looking for trouble), I thought you'd all like some more Bierkeller News.

Wurst Wagon, eh Scott?

 

Will they have the resurrected Summertime this season? I'd definitely like to give it a whirl.

 

It's out now. Available in its own 12 pack (and sixes) and as a part of the "Summer Flight" variety 12 pack with the IPA, 4 Star, and a new "experimental Lager."