Bayernbiere Bought and Drunk

True - but it's the Feuerzangenbowle and hot Met that makes it all bearable.

 

It's grown a lot since I last visited, but it's always a good time for traditional food and drink -- though I see Bitburger is the main beer sponsor anymore. Used to be Hofbrau.

 

Fire tong punch? I wonder if I can get Zuckerhut around here? Met, yes, but I've never had it hot.

 

Zum Weihnachtsfest besinnliche Stunden!

 

Meanwhile, at the Weihnachtmarkt outside our haus . . .

More boiling rum on the sugar cone? Anyone? Anyone???

 

I always preferred the Feuerzangenbowle to regular Glühwein. Is this an official stand? It looks like a few people got together to do a selbstgemachte Feuerzangenbowle.

 

it's a regular stand - this is just the part where the magic happens.

I'm with ya - Feuerzangenbowle pwnz regular Glühwein.

 

That said, die Frau was feeling nostalgic last night and cooked up a batch.

 

We tried to go to this yesterday. The crowds were insane. It was hard to get near the booths. We stayed about 20 minutes and left. I did manage to get a Lerberkäse mit Brot however.

 

Some really cool stuff about Franconian brewing in this blog: http://beertravl.com/category/germany/franconia/. Just a few of the many pics you'll find:

 

What a terrific blog, someone you know HerrB? Really shows that tradition is far from dead in Franconia.

 

Never met him...though we have certainly traveled many, many of the same paths (bike, foot, or otherwise).

 

And no, it is not me working under a pseudonym, despite how close in tone posts like this might be to some of mine

From "Is Avery Sour Fest Getting Worse Every Year"

Sadly I believe the answer is yes. The 3rd Annual Boulder SourFest at Avery Brewing was a study in lackadaisical technique, uncontrolled bacteria fermentation, unbalanced esters and acids, and all around poor brewing. 27 breweries offering 60 beers and not more than 6 of them were worth drinking more than an ounce.

Do I sound like a hater? I get that sometimes, but I’m not going to apologize for being honest and forthcoming with my opinions. The beer world is cluttered enough with cheerleading fanbases. I’m not here to make friends with industry folks and I don’t make money advertising on this site. Opinions tend to offend only those who lack a true sense of who they are and what they enjoy. So here’s my honest take: the 3rd Avery Sour Fest was achingly disappointing.

Trust me, I wish I liked what I was drinking at the Sour Fest. I’ve spent enough time in the beer-rich cultures of the world to appreciate the history and enjoy the modernization and innovation of beer. I’ve traveled extensively throughout the United States and have followed the birth and growth of this American sour/wild ale style, and I have to ask, is this it? Butyric acid may be the most offensive acid in lambic and sour beer (giving the smell and flavor of rancid cheese, vomit and stomach acid / bile), and nearly a dozen beers being served at Sour Fest had levels so high they ought not be allowed to served to humans.

The rest? Acetic acid (balsamic vinegar) and ethyl butyrate (tropical / pineapple). I’ve never seen such a concentration of poor and mediocre wild yeast fermentation in my life. Belgians would be ashamed with what we’ve done. Years ago I believed that American brewers knew to follow Vinnie Cilurzo (of Russian River Brewing in Santa Rosa, California). Now, I’m not so sure.

Somebody has to be a critic. Avery, you run the fest very well, you bring in a number of beers new to almost everybody (something terribly difficult to achieve in today’s word of beer), but quality was lacking.

American brewers have seemed to gravitate towards this fuzzy middle-ground style definition for “sour ale”: acetic acid is acceptable, high alcohol (and as a result high level of ethyl acetate) where it’s unnecessary, and obvious faults and flaws in ester and acid levels that trained brewers should be able to pick up.

So what would I suggest? Be more discerning about what beers are allowed at the 2013 Sour Fest. Cut out a number of brewers who brought obviously poor products this year, and if the result is a half-dozen less brewers in attendance, throw in some bottles of traditional Belgian lambic along side the American sours, to give people a chance to see what sour beer could and should be. You’re not going to fool your fanbase for much longer; people are growing more discerning with their tastes, and they are slowly learning that unbalanced, raw, and wretched acidity doesn’t automatically make a good beer.

Until next year….

 

Maybe this topic is worth it's own thread in Beer Talk.

As stated, I admittedly have no idea what makes a "good" sour, I am sure you will find a lot of dudes here who believe that they do . Most homebrewers and beer fans have become accustomed to finding the typical off-notes/mistakes in top & bottom fermenting beer, but doubt that most have had enough experience to know the difference with sours.

 

Feel free to post it. I'm not going to touch that one in that forum. I get enough "feedback" for suggesting that [insert your fav local gose/Berliner/sour here] might not be very traditional/authentic/good.

 

I found this blog over the weekend. I don't remember how I learned of it. Maybe HBT?

 

You sure don't want to end up like ol' Bill Gardiner who dared to suggest in Beer Talk that bad sour beer is, well... bad.

 

Good gawd -- will they really lop his hands off at the wrists too?

 

FYI -- the Animator made an appearance on this side of the ocean (heck, this side of Lake Michigan) and I grabbed up a couple bottles. I don't think I found it as blah as you N8; it's very good to-style, but a pretty stark Starkbier and it doesn't hide its strength.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/76/15518/?ba=steveh

 

I'm just going to go ahead and assume you loved it.

*Ahem*