A first class Munich style Helles from Good Word Brewing. My favorite style they make. German ingredients. Old world brewing techniques. Naturally carbonated too.
You're definitely a legend, John! More fantastic insight. I think we need to get that sausage-making excursion booked for Regensburg. I saw some other thumbs-way-up reviews from tourists who didn't appear to be beer connoisseurs . That's my biggest consideration at this point -- when do we skip the free walking tours and strike out on our own, based on my own research and recommendations from folks like you. I talked to someone else who did the GET excursion who cautioned, "There's a lot of churches and castles. After awhile, you can only take so many history lessons on stained glass windows." My wife's not a beer drinker, but she's tremendously tolerant of my hobby and enjoys the history and culture of brewing. Even more so when the tasting room or gastropub is pouring Riesling, too. Her parents emigrated from Germany after the war, and she still has family there. She's fluent in the language, helping me stay out of trouble if I suddenly feel emboldened by my three years' of German in college ... 40 years ago. I'm definitely eager to try Rauchbier at the source. Since Schlenkerla doesn't date their bottles, I've never purchased it here ... even the bottles that are dust-free. So I'm ready to give it a whirl and hope my sensitivity to phenols in general isn't too extreme. Good to hear you describe it as "light" smoke.
Schwarz - von Trapp Gotta love me a well done Schwarzbier. This one has Dunkel vibes. Rich roasted aromatics of malt and coffee beans. Fresh wheat and pumpernickel bread. Flavor is more bitter than expected, and the malt is far less roasted than aroma suggests. The breads carry forward. This is a very comfortable beer that one could easily session with friends and casual conversation. And I found a new cool band to dig into. Most of the songs are in German, so translation may be necessary for the full effect.
LOL! I was referring to the other breweries, not Schlenkerla. Schlenkerla beers are very smokey. They're kind of the gold standard when it comes to Rauchbier. While you're in Rothenburg, there are a number of nice wine bars and tasting rooms. The place is very touristy and is chock full of gift stores, but other than that... As for the Viking included tours, the way we look at it, we paid for them, so might as well go on them. Most are pretty good. The Bamberg one we had gone on previously, so we skipped it and hit a few extra breweries instead.
Schönramer Dunkel. Kind of on the lighter side taste-wise. Very easy drinking and the finish is moderately dry with slight aftertastes and a fairly quick drop-off. Not as fresh as I want my beer but very good nonetheless.
Was there a best by date (or bottling date) on the bottle? If so, what was it? I was at a German restaurant/beer bar in Philly once and I had a Schönramer Pilsner in my hand (from the beer refrigerators behind the bar) and that bottle was very old (two years?). I handed it back to the bartender with the comment that the beer was too old. He just shrugged and placed it back in the refrigerator. That was the closest I have ever come to tasting a Schönramer beer. Cheers!
Smudged date but could make out 2025. I didn't mind the beer at all but actually I think I can find equally good if not better local Schwarzbiers and such. No worries. Glad to try it!
I did! But I'm not gonna get more of it until I see clearly printed dates. The Schonramer Pils I got a few months back was very fresh. This Dunkel poured well and had a nice feel and is obviously not a complex beer but I could tell there was some flavor drop off.
First time posting here, I was very excited to find these today and needed somewhere to share. I got a few bottles a long, long time ago and thought it was Aventinus caliber awesome. Curious to see how the cans are. The world needs more weizenbock. Well it certainly looks the part. The head is thick, foamy, long lasting, and leaves a lot of sticky lace in its wake. The aroma is heavenly. Fresh baked banana bread, baked apples, faint cloves and cocoa, plus just a faint trace of heat. This tastes exactly as the smell suggested it would. Great beer!
