German Schwarzbier

These beers will only be available at your Beer Hall?

Cheers!

 

Correct.

 

Really hoping this distribution changes. I picked up a few Keller series last week at JA in Framingham and they are very, very good. Bring them to Philly!

 

Not that this has any scientific backing, but I always found open fermentation to have a slightly smoother bitterness in the finished beer... I think it has something to do with the increased surface area in an OF leaving more of the Braun hefe behind and not into the beer.

 

Have you skimmed it off? See my post a few above.

 

There are none that I know of. That being said, what Bierstadt consistently puts out is better than 99% of the lagers I have had in Germany... Sure, there have been a few standouts, but really, Bierstadt is that good. They're not utilizing shallow or open fermentation, but pretty much everything else I can think that would result in a superior lager, they're doing it.

 

Ayinger... Literally the only brewery that I can think of whose beer tastes better here in the bottle than it does on draft at their own Braustperl. I stayed there and everything on draft was buttery. Everything.

Weihenstephaner. As good a weizen as I have had. The lagers are all really well made and the experience there is lovely.

For big Bavarian breweries, my favorite by far is Andechs. Just lovely beers across the board. In my mind, better than anything we can find stateside and yes, CCVs all the way around that brewery.

But when you get into upper Franconia that's where lagerbier is still a practiced art and not just an industrial endeavor. Windischeschenboch is home to a Kommunalbrauerei that dates from the 1860s and some of the Zoigl houses are putting out lagers that are every bit as esoteric as anything from Belgium. Mahrsbrau back in Bamberg has a helles served Zum Fasser and that beer will change your life.

And then there's Schonramer outside of Stuttgart. They are kinda the total package. Doing absolutely anything and everything to make the greatest pils on earth... and they just might have accomplished it.

 

It appears to me that high quality lagers can be produced via fermenting in CCVs.

Needless to say but there are many variables to the brewing process. I suppose we all could create our own prioritized list. Number 1 on my list would be the competency of the brewer/brewing staff.

Cheers!

 

@hopfenunmaltz

Yeah, that helps too and we did that but I was referring to what sticks to sides of the tank... We have 100 bbl opens and when you look at that surface area X2 as compared to a 200 bbl unitank, it's quite a difference.

 

Sorta like what happens within my 7.9 gallon homebrew bucket.

Cheers!

 

But some falls back in the beer.

Schönram will skim off the Braunhefe, of course some clings to the sides of the fermenters. The ones I saw could best be described as CC's with an open section, about a quarter of the diameter. Traunstein had a somewhat similar setup.

 

Maybe I missed it, but did you mention that one you sent me @TongoRad ? That was a solid beer.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/36467/167002/?ba=WesMantooth#review

 

I did in the one from my local brewery. Kind of an apple/pear. It was too boozy overall last year for me so I didn’t try it this time around, but now I may.

 

Heck yeah, but only a couple of times .

Catskill Nightshine is definitely one of those beers I'd take out of the Schwartzbier category and put in the more general 'Black Lager' category if it were available.

 

I agree with you here! And it's not because I'm from Utah. It is a good beer.

I also like Monchshof Schwarzbier. Smooth.

 

This is what floatation tanks do prior to fermentation.

 

Kostritzer is my standard that I measure the others by. Shiner Black Bohemian Lager and Rahr's Ugly Pug schwarzbier are good as well.

 

Are Great Raft Brewing (Louisiana) beers available to you? If so I would highly recommend their Schwarzbier of Reasonably Corrupt. A couple of years ago I was in East Texas and at a beer bar they had both Shiner Black Bohemian Lager (bottles) and Great Raft Reasonably Corrupt (draft) available. I conducted a side-by-side of those two beers and for my palate the Great Raft Reasonably Corrupt was the preferred beer.

Cheers!

 

Great Raft is available, I just never have looked for Reasonably Corrupt. I will do so now. Thank you for heads up.

 

Reasonably Corrupt is a good beer but I've found it to be slightly more acrid than I'd really want when wanting a schwarzbier.