Bamberg/Nurnberg/Munich trip report

Yeah, who knows -- not to mention it was the first time I'd ever had Rauchbier (also not to mention that they don't make it anymore).

I had a Kaiserdom Pils not to long ago and it was pretty good.

 

It is more of a "supermarket beer" than a "pub beer". While some pubs here and there carry it, it's not that common...
And a lot of the stuff they sell isn't even sold as "Kaiserdom", but under the "Alt Bamberg" label.
Plus, thinking of their size, I mean, while for franconian standards 250.000hl is pretty big, compare it to other places and it becomes pretty small

 

Same here, except it kept me away from Rauchbiers for many years.

 

Matthias Trum told me back when I sat down with him in 2012 that Schlenkerla brewed that Rauchbier for Kaiserdom.

 

I wonder how different the recipes were, if at all?

Since the Kaiserdom was imported by Merchant du Vin, I wonder if Charles Finkel had anything to do with contracting Schlenkerla to brew. I met Finkel some years ago and was rather dumfounded by some of his marketing procedures.

 

Who knows how the six pack traveled? It may also be that I just wasn't ready for Rauchbier at that time (probably the early 90's). I just remember that I didn't like it at all.

I'll have to give Kaiserdom a try the next time I'm in Bamberg. I've skipped it so far.

 

My identical experience.

A few years later (after I'd been to Bamberg and discovered how good Rauchbier could be) a friend gave me the remaining 3 bottles of a 4-pack of some Scottish peated ale. I believe his words were something like, "Take this vile s*#t away from me." As I recall, it wasn't as smooth as Bamberg Rauchbier, but it turned him off of any beer even mentioning smoked malt.

 

I believe it is not owned directly by Kaiserdom, but that some members of the family that own Kaiserdom are backers of Erlkoenig.

I can't speak to where the beers I drank were actually brewed (that is nearly impossible in any brewery) but if it is not a working brewery, it is a Hollywood worthy imitation of one. One might guess the ales were brewed there and the lagers at Kaiserdom but I would expect Kaiserdom brewed lagers to be more finished. My complaint on the Erlkoenig lagers is the same I have on practically every brewpub lager I have had -- they needed more lagering time. I would expect that wouldn't be a problem if they were brewed at Kaiserdom.

You can look thru the window of their lagerkeller and there is lots of room for expansion. I expect if they are successful they will expand.

 

Actually, that beer was not brewed by Kaiserdom but by Schlenkerla. I once brought a bottle of it to Matthias Trum and he just laughed and said he hadn't seen one of those in years. Really old Schlenkerla in the bottle tastes pretty bad as well.

I tell people if my local had Kaiserdom on draft I would be a regular customer. The beer is not bad at all -- it's just there are so many better ones close at hand. And also some of the (older) locals do look down on it because its from Gaustadt.

 

Yeah, Herr B. already mentioned that above.

 

I saw that -- I started to answer and then the phone rang with a work problem and by the time I finished the post was old news Sorry.

 

I hate when work gets in the way of distraction.

 

From what I understand Erlkoenig is owned by Felix Woerner, the son of the owner of Kaiserdom.

 

I've had this exact same conversation with some other local German beer fans. Kaiserdom is sometimes the odd man out in a town like Bamberg. They don't really have a niche that specifically draws people. They have a fine pils and a true schwarzbier. I assume they're one of the places that brews their own weizen, too. Yet they don't really have the rustic "old world" appeal of say, Faessla or Schlenkerla. It's a modern place, and their focus seems to be more on packaging than the other places.
Yet if my local pub had their beers I'd probably drink them constantly. They're no worse than any of the packaged Munich offerings and I'd put them quite a bit ahead of Bit and the like. I haven't had enough Tannenzapfle or Jever to compare, so I dunno about either of those, though.

 

I really liked the Alt Bamberg Pilsner, had to think of Tannenzapfle while drinking it.

 

That is what I was trying to get across -- it is not "owned" by Kaiserdom but there is a family connection. I just couldn't for the life of me remember the name -- I find that happing a lot these days -- and I am sober!

 

@gavinbrooksbank first your Berlin write up and now this - you are officially in the Trip Report Hall of Fame!