Fränkischer Pils Mischkasten

Y'all trying to hijack my thread?! No seriously, please continue, but let me continue also.

Gottsmannsgrüner Premium Pils is next. Their "new" website, too.


The only thing to say from either their bottle or website is that they use the "finest aroma hops" with "a cream head of foam"... ("ein helles Premium-Pils mit feinster Aromahopfenblume und sahnigem Schaum mit alc 4,8 % vol.") for "fulfilling one's dreams." Corny, but hey, that's German beer. Also the least ABV at 4.8% of the Mischpaket. Also, they say they use hop extracts on the label... something I still don't like. Finally, the Best By date is 31.07.14, which I'm guessing makes this beer 6+ months old.

The brewery is from the small town of Berg, which is near the Bayern/Thüringen (former DDR) border (looks like a stones throw on Google maps) near the small city of Hof.

Appearance: Yep, lots of foam, a very creamy head with lots of tight bubbles sitting on a clear golden beer, though it's a slightly less deep gold than the others from this region.

Aroma: As usual, lots of Pils malt filling my nose, and more than, but not much more than, a hint of Noble hops lying underneath it. For claiming to use "aroma hops," I'm just a little disappointed at not getting more than a minuscule hint of hop aroma.

Flavor:
Up front: Decent amount of bitterness, merging into a spicy peppery feel on the tongue, then veering into tartness of a lemon, and that's all mixed up together. Not bad. Also a little Pils malt sweetness here, but only when I really try to concentrate on it.

Mid: More bitterness, more pepper pops, more spiciness, then expanding to the sides for Pils malt sweetness of bread, toast, again, the usual for a Frankische Pils, but even on the sides, I get strong pepper and spiciness which melts into tartness.

Back: Yes, more peppery, bitter, spicy pops but here's where the Pils malt wakes up and smooths all that action with it's mellow toasty, bread-like sweetness.

Aftertaste: This really is the first of this bunch and Pils I've had from Franken where the peppery notes follow it for at least a minute after you've swallowed, intermingled with recurring sweetness of the Pils malts.

Mouthfeel: Just a tad thin side, but still holds up well in its typical German Pils thick mouthfeel.

Overall: Not sure it's a WOW-beer, but I'm digging the spice & pepper qualities, but still not overly bitter. I'm guessing a 30+ IBU, maybe into the 40s, but is that what I'm looking for in a Frankische Pils? It feels like this beer is less a Frankische Pils and moving more towards the North German Pils area, but still with enough Pils malt to keep me coming back. If you like pop and crackle in your Bayernbier, this is for you. Nonetheless, I kinda wish for this pepper/spice mix to have more malt, for after 6 or 7 sips, it's starting to overwhelm. Maybe this beer is better with food than simply alone? And this has me conflicted, for should a beer need a food compliment to bring out its best? A 4.2 of 5.

 

Been out on a few days hiatus. These reviews take time and a decent amount of concentrating the few brain cells I have left, so all likes here are greatly appreciated, especially now that Beer Karma rates them highly.

There aren't many beers left in this series, so let me introduce you to Günther-Bräu's Premium Pilsener.
I think it's nice they give a little more details on their ingredients on their website, such as:
Hops: Spalter Aromahopfen
Malt: "helles Gerstenmalzen, hergestellt aus fränkischer Braugerste" (light brew-malt produced from Franken brew-grains.)

or Pils malt.​

It's 4.9% and according to their website again, "kernig, würzig und mit elegantem feinherben Hopfenaroma." (full-bodied, spicy and with elegant, fine-herb hop aroma.)


Appearance: Looks here, it's a Pils with deep golden beer under a snow white head that dissipates quickly. It's just a tad richer and darker golden than a normal Pils,... a sign of tastes to come?

Aroma: Again, no surprise, it's got tons of Pils malt aroma dancing under my nose. Aroma hops,...mmm, a little bitter note in the nose. It's got that typical fränkische bier aroma for a Pils.

Flavor:
Up front: A decent amount of bitterness interlaced with some tartness/astringency of Noble hops, smooth enough not to have a mammoth bitter-bite, but rather a nice bitterness to build a good foundation for the later tastes to come.

Mid: Almost the same as up front but more astringency/tartness, really getting strong here, and then mellowing on the sides but still keeping up it's bitterness. Some Pils malt sweetness seeps in here, too, but it's just that, creeping up and keeping the bitterness from being too strong, but only about 30% of the flavors present here.

Back: Again, bitterness, not biting but pleasantly spicy with tartness intermixed. I also get a deep almost but not quite verging on carmel sweetness here, a deep sweetness of Pils malt but roastier than normal, almost as if they'd used a Vienna malt, but I can't believe they'd do that, so they may have boiled the malts longer to get this almost roasted spiciness.

Aftertaste: Spicy, leading to peppery almost, but not fully, with a bite, wrapped around a Pils malt sweetness underneath.

Mouthfeel: Pretty typical for a fränkische Pils, though a little thicker and more full bodied by about 20%, yet also spritzy, especially in the front. I like it!

Overall: A very herb beer with a robust bitterness, spiciness of Noble hops throughout the drink from front to aftertaste, with only enough Pils malt flavors to mellow it and keep it from overpowering. It's a nice beer, the thickest, most robust in body of all these so far. If you like a beer that doesn't slap you silly with hop bitterness but still isn't afraid to give you a nice smack, this beer is yours. It's not WOW, but it's really pleasant experience in bitterness riding high over a strong Pils malt presence, and keeps you coming back for more, the definition of süffig. A 4.4 or 4.5 of 5.

 

Thanks for all of you, the usual suspects , for giving me your like. I'm happy to do this, but I keep wondering that when I do these, ...does my description really come across to how the beer tastes like? Or do these terms seem esoteric and too abstract to be really able to imagine what I'm describing?

Today another bottle of Pils, but now we're getting to the screw-top bottles. I didn't know these existed in Germany, but I've had one or two with them before, so it's not completely novel. Another novelty here is that the top neck label goes completely around the bottle and asks to please return the bottle with the cap. It just seems an extra expense for the brewer, especially these small guys in Franken. You can barely see it on the picture below, also notice the relief on the glass above the main label, which says "GEBRAUT NACH DEM REINHEITSGEBOT." Again, it seems a unnecessary extra expense, what with having to special order bottles. I can see it for the big conglomerates such as Becks, Altmünster, or others, because their average beer is being marketed through the brand image, and the special bottles are part of that. Y


Yet I see on their website, they sell just as many products of mineral water, limonade (spritzy fruit drinks) and fuit juice as beer, so maybe that's where their profit comes from?

So this is Weismainer Püls-Bräu's Weismainer Premium. According to their website, they have Pils-like beers, the Weismainer HopfenGold, which they only started to brew in 2008, and they describe as "gebraut mit der doppelten Portion allerfeinsten Aromahopfen." (Brewed with the double amount of aroma hops.) This sounds interesting, but only if the Premium is any good.


The other is their Weismainer Krone Pils, which they describe as "Ausschließlich mit frischem Hallertauer Aromahopfen, bestem Qualitätsmalz und frischem Quellwasser gebraut. Ein Premium-Pils für höchste Ansprüche, feingehopft mit edlem Charakter." (Brewed exclusively with fresh Hallertauer aroma hops, the best quality malt and fresh spring water. A premium pils for the highest standards, finely hoped with noble character.) You gotta like marketing-speak, eh?


And the third is the one I'm reviewing, the Weismainer Premium. Here's an alternate label for their 0.3L bottle as pictured on their website:


Appearance: Looks like a typical Pils, deep rich golden color on a snow white head of foam that dissipated quickly.

Aroma: Your usual Pils malt strongly coming up here, sweet Pils malt aroma with some hint of Noble hops lingering in the background.

Flavor:
Up front: A biting but not unpleasant bitter flavor of Noble hop and a decent amount of tartness/astringency present. Not much Pils malt sweetness here.

Mid: More bitterness, a little grassy and slightly biting, virtually no tartness here, and pils malt sweetness on the sides. It becomes somewhat peppery and spicy, too, which I like.

Back: Here comes the Pils malt sweetness finally to the fore, making it's presence felt and pushing out all other flavors, but wait, a bit of tartness seeps in again, which is good; otherwise, the bready toast and semi-caramel flavors would be too strong and almost sickly sweet, so it's a nice balance.

Aftertaste: Basically a blend of all the aforementioned flavors: sweet toasty Pils malt, a robust bitterness and tartness all rolled into one lingering note that stays with you.

Mouthfeel: Again, typical bayrische, fränkische feeling of a gemütliche thickness, not too thick and not too thin, and just enough spritziness.

Overall: mmmm, hard to say it's great, but it's very above average. It's a very solid beer but not too much different from all the others I've had these past weeks. It's head and shoulders above a Fernsehbier, but not a Kneitinger or Mahrs Brau. It's decently hopped, so if you like you Pils on the peppery, bitter side, you'll like this. It's not a malt bomb, but also not a bitter bomb either, but leans more towards the herb area. A solid 4.2 of 5.

 

Yes I have reviewed it here, too. See below for the battle for Bayern's best Pils.

 

The second screw-top bottle of the bunch, Hönicka Bräu's Wunsiedler Luisenburg Pils. I noticed on their website, they use the screw-top as a selling point. Watch the GIF. Wow, innovation.

Except the stammwürze (11.6%) and ABV (4.9%), about all they say to their beer is that it's brewed with Hallertauer Aromahopfen and that it's feinherb.

[BTW, please feel free to laugh yourself silly to this explanation of feinherb:
"Remember what "feinherb" means? Sure you do! Its means Herb is lost again and you have to go find him. Poor Herb! Or, it means the wine was fined with herbs. Where have Basil and Tara gone? To score some "feinherb" if they're smart, because this is Germany's,..."]

Speaking of feinherb, I looked it up on leo.org, and though the website itself doesn't translate it, other users take a stab at it. Below are some examples:

1. Übersetzung: extravagantly bitter / bitter but smooth
   Kommentar: "Feinherb" is kind of bitter, but at the same time it's pleasant (refreshing, masculine, etc.). And it conveys an idea of elegance or luxury. (That's my personal interpretation.)
2. Kontext/ Beispieleein: feinherbes Erfrischungsgetränk
   Kommentar: 'Herb' and 'feinherb' seem to apply to a wide range of products, from wine through tea to cigars! The context that I'm looking at is soft drinks. For 'herb' I've come across "bitter" and "tart" but both seem a little negative; is there anything more... ummm, neutral? Thanks in advance.
   
3. Übersetzung: half dry
   Quellen: http://www.guyduvin.com/inc/pdetail?v=1&pid=596
   Auslese literally means 'selected harvest' and feinherb is a word the Germans sometimes substitute for "halbtrocken" or half dry.
   
4. Übersetzung: dry sweet or dry-sweet
   Quellen: see here:
   http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=%22dry+sweet%22+wine&fr=yfp-t-501&toggle=1&cop=...

So... this feinherb = dry + tart/astringent/bitter + sweetness. Got that? Hope you enjoyed the feinherb show.

Now to the beer.


Appearance: Same as all other German Pils - deep darker golden with a show white head.

Aroma: Deep rich pils malt aroma, pretty much like all the rest of this region, with a hint of feinherb spiciness under it.

Flavor:
Up front: Bitterness, just a slight tartness but not much, a floral bitter taste that's not overpowering but decent and upstanding in character.

Mid: More bitterness, but here it loses the floral character and goes straight to bitter, but yet again, not overpowering or too much, just a nice carpet of thick Noble hop bitterness. On the sides you get a spiciness and some pils malt sweetness for the first time.

Back: Here it's pils malt sweetness, a real feinherb, dry, tart sweetness. Here a hint of spiciness but not as much as in the middle, and it gets floral and feels a little grassy, but still coming through with Pils malt dry/sweetness.

Aftertaste: This beer leaves you with more feinherb feeling that lingers nicely.

Mouthfeel: Again, typical bayrische, fränkische feeling of a gemütliche thickness, not too thick and not too thin, and just enough dry spritziness.

Overall: This is what I thought would happen... all these Pils' would start to blend together and taste the same. Unfortunately, it's true. This beer is way above average but not great. It's got lots of feinherb = dry + tart/astringent/bitter + sweetness going for it, and it leans again towards the bitter end of the spectrum and is definitely another Noble hop forward spicy beer with a strong foundation of Pils malt sweetness.

So, what have we learned today? feinherb = dry + tart/astringent/bitter + sweetness is everything is Franken.

Thanks for the links. I just might order the book from Amazon, either in the USA or in Germany.

 

Another from the Mixpaket: the Edel-Pils aus dem Leinleitertal from Brauerei Ott, a Gastwirtbrauerei in the town of Oberleinleiter, a part of Heiligenstadt i.OFr. (in Oberfranken), tiny towns east of Bamberg.



Appearance: The normal clear, deep golden, though brighter than many Pils, beer under a snow white foam head. I'm looking at the glass and noticing lots of long trails of bubbles streaming constantly up from hidden nucleation points on the inside of the glass.

Aroma: Strong Pils malt pushes its way into my senses with bready, toasty notes. You also get a noticeable grassiness and spicy hop smell of Noble hops.

Flavor:
Up front: Slightly peppery, spicy bitterness with some grassiness lurking underneath and a slight sweetness of Pils malts and some tartness here, too.
Mid: Much more peppery, spicy bitterness with tons of sweet toasty malt on the sides.
Back: Again, quite peppery, spicy in bitterness, almost heavily laden with it, then Pils malt sweetness, very sweet but never overly so.
Aftertaste: Tart, sweet and bitter all rolled up in one.

Mouthfeel: A tad on the thin side, verging on dryness but not quite, but still thick enough to keep the entire mouth interested.

Overall: I like this beer. Quite a lot of hops were sacrificed for my enjoyment. They say on their website that they used an extra dose of early and late hops, and you can really tell. It's a 30+ IBU beer and the flavor of pepperiness and spiciness are two of the main attributes in all parts of the mouth. It's a very nice beer, not WOW; nonetheless, a very hop influenced beer. Another one to try if you're floating around the Bamberg vicinity. A 4.3 of 5.

 

Also today, the Lindenhardter Bier from Brauerei Kürzdorfer in Creussen/Lindenhardt, south of Bayreuth.



Their webpage says nothing about the beer, but lots about the food.

Appearance: Golden, deep rich color under a spritzy snow white head.

Aroma: Lots of super sweet Pils malt smells and a just little Noble hop aroma under it. It smells like your average German/Fränkisch Pils.

Flavor:
Up front: Some bitterness, but not a lot, quite mellow, but a slight undertone of spicy, peppery flavors there, too. I get a low level Pils malt flavor, but not sweet. I get a tartness, too, but very light.

Mid: Much more bitter here, but not much over the average threshold. On the sides, you get pure Pils malt sweetness, that toasty sweetness of lightly roasted grain, almost overpowers all other flavors if you let the beer sit solely on the sides of the tongue, but if you keep all parts of the mid tongue, you get both the bitter and sweetness together. Here is also a light tartness.

Back: Again, a nice pop of bitterness, very light tartness, then full bore sweet Pils malts. You get all those flavors mixing nicely, but here all take their turn in the forefront. Lots of flavor here, all those I just mentioned.

Aftertaste: Pils malt sweetness predominates and a tad of bitterness, but the sweet notes last a long time.

Mouthfeel: This is an average, nicely thick but not too much beer.

Overall: A nice change from the last few really Noble-hoppy Pils, and this one is slightly leaning more towards sweet Pils malts. It's a pretty good beer, again, super solid, very above average, but nothing Wow.

 

Next.

Krug Brau's Pilsner. I've reviewed a beer of there before, the Dunkeles Lagerbier, as you can see here from the BA. I get it in FFM on tap in an Italian place, La Traviata,in Sachsenhausen. I wasn't crazy about the beer, but it was ok. So that's why I saved this beer for near last; I was afraid I wouldn't like. In fact, when looking at their website, they distribute their beers all over Germany quite extensively. Good for them to get their product out.



Appearance: Looks like a Pils, deep golden color, a little lighter, verging on straw, than most for the Franken area, all under a snow white head.

Aroma: Lots of Pils malt coming out of the glass, your usuals Pils aroma with a hint of hops underlying the sweet bready aromas.

Flavor:
Up front: Some bitterness, not a lot, but more a citrus tartness and some sweet Pils inter-layered. It's kind of spritzy lemonade feel but it's hard to figure out what to attribute it to. Is it bitterness? Or simply a tartness/astringency? It's not bad, and I kinda like it over the heavy-handed bitterness it would've been in another beer.

Mid: Again, a light tartness with bitterness interlaced, then super sweet Pils malts on the sides. Luckily there's both, otherwise the sweet Pils malt flavors would overpower.

Back: Yet again, there's that light tartness mixed with bitterness, some rye bread flavors. You know what this beer reminds me of? Sourdough bread with Pils marmalade on top... if there was ever any such thing. You get the heavy sweetness here, too, the usual sweetness of a Pils malt. In the far back you really can taste only sweet Pils malt, that bread/toasted malt.

Aftertaste: And that Pils malt sweetness is pretty much all that lingers into the aftertaste, and lingers a good time.

Mouthfeel: Kinda dry, almost crisp, but still it's got that usual thickness of a German Pils.

Overall: A pretty good Pils. Not that hoppy, but still it doesn't let the sweet Pils malt, and there's a lot of that flavor here, overpower and go into sickly sweet. Instead, there's just enough bitterness and a decent amount of astringency throughout the tongue to balance that nicely. After many sips, this dissipates a little and you're left with more sweet Pils malt as the main character, but then swirl it around the mouth, and then a little bitterness and the tartness come back. Overall, it's a nice Pils. Above average, much above a Fernsehbier, and very pleasant. It's quite good, in fact, so if you're lucky enough to run across this beer in Germany in a restaurant or whatever, order it and enjoy. It's still now WOW territory, but then again, few are. I give it a 4.1 of 5.

 

Y'all thought maybe I was done with this series? Haha, think again. There are 2 more, but I saved the most commercial of them for last. Today it's Aktien Pilsner, by Bayreuther Bierbrauei from Bayreuth. This brewery has beers I've tried before (and enjoyed) can be found out and about in bars often: the Aktien Zwick'l Kellerbier, Aktien Landbier. All of which is to say it's owned by Brauerei Gebrüder Maisel, which is a completely independent brewery, according to the Wiki page.

Anyway, here is bottle (sorry, no pics of the beer in the glass):


Appearance: Looks like a typical Pils, which means deep clear golden beer under a rich, frothy, snow white head that hangs around a long, long time.

Aroma: a little Noble hop aromas lingering in the background. Bready, biscuity, your typical German Pils malt aroma.

Flavor:
Front: A decent amount of bitterness, not that heavy though, and stays on the lighter side. It's there but not overly pronounced, and it's accompanied by astringent tartness with some sugar-like sweetness from Pils malts.

Mid: More bitterness here, but it's still milder than the ones I had before, and the tart/astringent notes are more present here. On the sides, again, sweet, super sweet Pils malts.

Back: More bitterness, astringency, but it's hard to find the Pils malt in here, but it's there, only too sweet... not that great really.

Aftertaste: Bitter and sweet linger but not much and fade out quickly.

Mouthfeel: It's typical in the right amount of thickness, yet it's also crisp and spritzy.

Overall: Disappointing, really. It's got a decent level of bitterness and tartness rolling around, but the Pils malt sweetness is either missing or just too sweet to make it really enjoyable. I really expected a lot more, and compared to the beers from around this region, not even half as good. It's not in the Fernsehbier category but almost there. If you're in this area, there are a lot of better Pils than this. A 3.3 of 5. The poorest of the Mischkasten.