Bayernbiere Bought and Drunk

And there it is, fully visible

 

Trying Weihenstephaner Festbier and Hofbräu Oktoberfest side-by-side. Talk about 2 visually identical beers -- there's virtually no difference in pale straw-to-gold color and clarity.

Aromas are pretty thin (and I'm using small taster glasses, so it's difficult to get a good swirl to shake up the aroma), but the Weihen seems to have a little more character. Taste is similar; HB is sort of grainy and dry, while the Weihenstephaner is softer and slightly "juicier," sort of more sweetish. The Weihenstephaner has a little more hop character too, in that mildly citric form.

The HB is .5% heavier in ABV, so that explains the dryness. And the Weihenstephaner doesn't seem to have that typical dryish, melanoidin character I'm used to with some of their bigger beers.

Given a choice I'd pick... um, well. I guess I'd pick the Weihenstephaner first because it's softer and drinking the HB first, with its dryness, may not allow all of the nuances from the Weihenstephaner to be appreciated. So yes, Weihenstephaner then the HB.

 

I also tried this one recently and while the banana really came out well it was bit too spicy for my taste, it made my throat feel a bit weird. If I'm going for super strong banan so far I'd prefer the Maisel's Weisse or Pax Bräu's Doppelbock.

As for Schneider's, I still prefer the TAP1 which I think has a really unique taste and the Aventinus. I'd really like trying the Eisbock again but it feels like the price has been surging ridiculously in the past few years.

 

I actually wouldn't double post but a review's in order, since me and @steveh were discussing Urban Chestnut beers. Here goes my review of the Urban Chestnut Hallertauer Serie Festbier Märzen brewed in Germany.

Technical data:
Malt: Pilsner, Müncher and Karamell
Hopfen: Hallertauer Perle
IBU: 22
Alc: 5.9%

Pours a slightly dark-ish golden color, head dissipates almost immediately - might be due to my glassware, not entirely sure. On the smell the Hallertauer Perle smashes through a hint of the malt. The mouthfeel is a solid medium I'd say. And now on the taste, the mos interesting aspect: I can definitely pick up on the Pilsener malt, I'm not entirely sure but I think it's the most dominant one. There's a little bit of sweetness coming through from the malts as well, but not a lot (not like in a stout or anything like that). I think I can also pick up a bit of the Karamell or Münchner malt but I'm not certain on those. Overall, I think this is a tasty beer - it honestly reminds me a bit of "beefed up" version of the Hofbräu Oktoberfest - this one is definitely the better one though. For me, it's one of those beers that makes you appreciate the subtlety and nuance of German styles.

Picture on untappd: https://untappd.com/user/Akerstache/checkin/368528042

 

FWIW -- The U.S. version's head is terrific; dense, creamy, long-lasting. UC's Zwickel is the same.

 

Lunch in the village of Aying in Bavaria today.

Enjoying a fall day under the chestnut trees, sipping an Ayinger Kirtabier (Autumn Beer) a Oktoberfest/ Märzen. It pairs nicely with a bowl of Kürbissuppe (pumpkin soup) and a traditional umpah band.

Dinner to follow at Andechs with Jeff & Laura Erway (La Cumbre)​

 

Even got a 6'er to go

 

How does the Kirtabier compare to the Maerzen? I have a Kirtabier from our last trip. The Oktoberfest-Maerzen (US label) was hard to find, but I am trading one for one with a friend who has a case of the Maerzen.

Oh, we really like Liebharts, now Ayinger.

Edit Dinner with the Erway should be fun. Has he been to Germany before? I guess yes.

Edit 2 - did you tour the brewery?

 

Isn't the Kirtabier supposed to be unfiltered? N8's Maß looks pretty clear.

Wish you'd mentioned the Oktober Fest-Märzen being difficult to find in MI -- still a lot of it (in both sizes) around here.

 

I was told there were 200 cases for the whole state.

 

Wow. Seems low -- was that .5 liter bottles or the new 4 pack (not sure what size those bottles are, haven't bought one)?

 

I bought a 4-pack of the small bottles. They are 330 ml (11.2 ounces).

Cheers!

 

Not sure, they just said cases at my local shop.

 

It's definitely filtered. It's incredibly a rich malty taste. Delishious!



We did not do a brewer tour, mainly because we've seen quite a few over the years and they are starting to all look the same(ish). Ayinger has a really nice facility on the outskirts of the village, and would be well worth a visit if you're so inclined.

Good dinner with the Erways; no, not their first trip over here - you can taste the pride in craftsmanship in his beers, the same way you can taste it in well crafted traditional biers here in Germany. Jeff's a aficionado of traditional German styles and brewing and it shows in La Cumbre's offerings.

 

From their web site:
"With the development of the production process, the master brewer has always consulted the reliable old recipes. The “Kirtabier” is the only type of beer that can be classified between “March” beer and dark export beer. It is brewed for one of the most important festival days in Bavaria, the “Kirchweih” church fest. The intensive double decoction mashing with the mixture of three malts gives the beer a warm, brown color and a well-balanced, full-bodied, solid aromatic malty quality. The salubrious character of Kirtabier is distinguished by a high degree of fermentation, a pleasant sparkle and a distinctly perceptible bitter quality. The Kirtabier comes “premium cloudy” to the bar, which means unfiltered with that full cellar taste."

Maybe it's as "unfiltered" as the Weihenstephan 1516 was?

 

Well, who's to argue with the company producing it then? LOL. If they say it's unfiltered, then it is. I suppose it pops out of the keg looking like that and there isn't a need to filter it. It's quite yummy!

When I think of unfiltered, I think of (my current favorite Hefe Weißbier) which is opaque:

 

The tour was one of the best I have done. I also saw many details in the brewery that interested me.

Yes, Jeff makes some pretty good lagers. Glad he gets to explore.

 

I did score a 2014 Ayinger Winter Bock on this trip.

 

Did they discuss decoction mashing at all? I've heard that Ayinger doesn't, and would be curious if the topic came up at all.

 

The tour I was on was in German. My Deutsch was good enough to follow along for most of it, but there were some things I missed. They do long mashes, 4 hours or more. They may do it for some beers (wheat beers and Dunkel) and not others, but I really can't say for sure.

Edit, this says the don't.
http://allaboutbeer.com/decoction-mashing/

Their website says they do.