Bayernbiere Bought and Drunk

So much for those who claim the RHG is no longer the law in Germany.

 

Very happy to report that my local grocery store had some Weihenstephaner Hefe-Weissbier Dunkel (a personal fave) with them newfangled labels. So I checked the dates, and sure enough, best before November 20th, 2015, less than three months old! I grabbed two bottles at about $3.80 each (a little pricey for a grocery store, I thought). I've had this beer many times and I'm sure I've rated it here, but I think I'll report back anyhow and let you all know how it was (spoiler alert: it's going to be delicious).

EDIT: Just for accuracy's sake, I found our receipt and the two bottles were $3.29 each.

 

what do you think of the Hofbrau Hefeweisen? I've been scared to try it because of the green bottles

 

Funny, but the HB Hefeweizen is becoming a regular tap handle at restaurants around my area. Was meeting a friend for dinner last week and saw it at an old-time pizza joint. Was pretty good, along the lines of the Hacker-Pschorr stand-by. But as Domingo says, a "properly cared for" six pack is probably your best bet. Find an unopened case you can crack into.

 

I really like it. It might even be my favorite Munich weissbier. I've actually had some luck with that one in the green bottles, too. Not sure if it's a myth, but I've often heard lagers (especially pale ones) skunk easier. Even when it isn't in peak shape, I've never had one that tasted bad or skunky...just a little stale.
My one complaint for the bottled version has actually be the lack of suspended yeast. It still has it, but I think it has less than similar wheat beers from Franziskaner or Paulaner.

 

I ordered some beer off of Biershop Bayern about a week or so ago and it finally arrived today, every bottle intact thankfully. I went with two beers from Riegele Brauhaus since I've been enjoying their Herrenpils a great deal and their dunkel sounded interesting, it's a style that isn't common on monopoly shelves outside of the dark Christmas lager beers. The Commerzienrat is a pale Export-type lager from what I understand.

 

I'm having the Commerzienrat first and it's quite apparent that the beer is from the same brewery as the Herrenpils, it has a fresh floral hop aroma that carries over into the taste. The beer is surprisingly hoppy, I was expecting a more malty lager beer but it's more hop forward instead. The higher original gravity compared with the pilsner gives it a more pronounced breadiness, but the overall impression is that it's a dry beer, undoubtedly helped by the bitterness and pronounced hop flavors. It's also extremely clean I find, it smells and tastes "fresh". Overall a very enjoyable beer. I'm looking forward to trying the dunkel which is up next.

 

While the Commerzienrat was unexpectedly hop forward the dunkel is malt-forward as expected. As per the Riegele website the OG is 13.5 with an abv of 4.9%, similar to Schlenkerla Märzen, thus displaying a lower degree of attenuation than is typical nowadays, which used to be a hallmark of Bavarian brewing. It's still medium bodied though and it's not sweet. The maltiness is balanced with a distinct bitterness but it's not possible to make out any particular hop flavors, which I wouldn't expect in the style. There's a definite roastiness to the beer which undoubtedly comes from the "gebranntem malz" (aka farbmalz) which is used, but there's also an underlying maltiness which melds with the roastiness and bitterness from the hops. It's a tasty beer for sure.

 

New to me Beer Friday!

 

Should have added this to my beer photo:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2014/06/29/beer-man-sternweisse/11453867/

 

You're just seeing this now? It was a Summer Seasonal over here -- reviewed it last August.

 

just showed up - at least that I noticed... granted there are literally a couple hundred + beers at my local getränkemarkt tho.

 

Kind of funny - we used to get Sternweisse (and a few other H-P swing-top seasonals) 6-7 years ago and then they disappeared until last year.

 

In addition to Sternweisse, Minnesota also got H-P's Kellerbier, Anno 1417. It would be nice to see it back in the states.

While on a tour of the Paulaner/H-P brewery a few years ago, an older German (not from Bavaria) gentleman was quite surprised when we were served bottled, rather than draught, Anno 1417 at the end of the tour. I had only ever had it out of the bottle, but got a good chuckle out of the whole thing since he was visibly annoyed.

 

I never saw the Sternweisse in HD area bottle shops, although @-N8 seems to have found a quality bottle shop there in Stuttgart the likes of which we never had in HD. We did have regular access to the (bottled) Anno 1417, though.

 

Marketing ploy to grab our attention.

Second that -- the Anno was nice.

 

I am fortunate to have lots of options for beer, that's for sure.

 

Alright, on to the surprisingly fresh (for these parts) Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbeer! Gotta say, this was downright delicious, not to mention a pleasure to gaze at in the glass.

Nose full of fruity esters and a well balanced yeast. I really appreciated the latter, by the way -- sometimes some of these yeasty brews, particularly of the Belgian persuasion, can be a little overpowering with the yeast aroma. This was just right. Wife and I did have both note that, though banana/clove is the typical descriptor for hefes, we didn't necessarily get that here (I get it more from Franziskaner, which I enjoy, though even there it's not especially acute to my nose. I think I just may not interpret what I'm smelling in those terms. But I digress...). Maybe more of a spiced apple thing? Either way, it was delicious, and the finish was crazy long and wonderfully fruity. Like one of the more complex finishes I've had in a long time. Overall, really, really enjoyed this brew and, having recently had a bottle of SN's Kellerweiss, I think it exemplifies how hard it can be for American brewers to really nail German styles. (I thought the Kellerweiss a bit too thin and just not as rich as this one.)

I also, dare I say it as a German beer drinking novice, encountered a certain feeling I think I've seen described here as "moreish". This one definitely had me thinking, "Hmmm, another would be right nice."

Time to go in a different direction, though, and fire up the Schlenkerla Märzen. Details to follow.

 

One of my all-time favorite German phrases: Das schmeckt nach mehr!

Literally translated, That tastes like more!

 

Right then, German Bier Sunday continues. Schlenkerla's Rauchbier Märzen. I should say from the outset that I enjoyed this considerably more than the Eiche. The harshness of the smoke was turned way down (oak is a confounded thing), and the base märzen also seem to provide a subtler canvas to showcase the effect of the smoked malt than the Eiche's doppelbock.

It's not hard to see how a lot of folks immediately think ham/bacon/meat, particularly at first sniff, but that's not the quality, per se, that I perceive. It was a bit spicier than that, displaying some of the leathery notes from the Eiche, but again in a more pleasing manner. Freshly tanned leather is what I'm going with along with, of course, a sort of woody-ness. It's naturally most acute when the pour is fresh and the head still thick. Midway through the glass, the smoky character faded a bit, or my palate just acclimated to it, instead highlighting the lightly spicy/sweet märzen beneath. I'm still not sure it's something I could drink a lot of, but it's a mighty nice drink, incredibly unique, and equally well-constructed.

I happened to see the Helles at a local bottle shop, but this shop is notorious for bottles of dubious age (I found an Andechs doppelbock from mid-2013 there on the same trip), so I passed. Would love to try the Helles, though, as I imagine it could provide a nice, light contrast to the smokiness.

Anyway...prost!