Fastenbier

I picked up 6 more yesterday so I'd have some to share with friends. Great beer!

 

Jerry, can I be your friend!?!

Cheers!

 

I thought you already were!

 

Just checking friend. By the way, I am rather parched!

Cheers!

 

Any time you want to come to St. Louis.

 

I picked up eight today! Very excited. Plenty on the shelves, I think I was the first person to grab some. Sticking two in the fridge for later!

 

PS - $4.99 per bottle down this way.

 

Ouch!

 

Interesting to note, by the way - the label has "MMXV" printed clearly on the top label, by the neck of the bottle. Since this a once-per-year release, the consumer is - or rather, will be - protected from less-than-reputable resellers jamming last year's product onto the shelves. I'll put up a photo when I get a chance.

 

Still haven't seen anything out this way, although most stores tend to get new bottles on Thursday. I did get some tallboy Kostritzer cans, though. They now sell 'em in cheap 4-packs just like Bit.

 

Very interested to hear your take on how the bottled version compares to the wooden keg one.

 

Checked around my area today: Binny's in Chicago (proper) and a far western 'burb have it. Called a local place where I can always get Schlenkerla and was told they'd heard it was coming out, but didn't know when they'd get it, didn't think it was available yet. I told them about the "other" retailers and all they could say was, "Really?"

I told 'em to call the distro and get 'em on it -- they said to give them a couple days...

 

I'll do my best, although I don't have any Leberkäse here to fully recreate my last experience (which was almost a year ago, unbelievably).

 

OK, so first impression is that this is hoppier than I remember, particularly in the aftertaste. It's certainly not like an American beer, but I don't remember the harsh (frankly) bite of the hoppy aftertaste when I had it at the pub. Now this could be faulty memory, it could be drinking with food as opposed to drinking on its own, it could be the notoriously defective Paulaner mug. Certainly more research needs to be done. I am almost finished with the liter now, though, and can honestly say I still love it. It just that...<ahem>...Last Year's Was Better. My bottle shop is getting in on draft as well, I will probably stop by at some point to have it on draft just to see. It's still pretty great, still gets better as it goes. Wishing I had some Leberkäs oder Hirschgulasch und Spätzle oder was. Aber trotzdem... 4.50/5.00

 

It's just that last year's atmosphere was better.

 

Don't know about the Fastenbier, been ages I had one, but the Urbock seems always damn hoppy to me.
I find it fascinating that under this huge massive wall of smoke, there is still a lot of spiciness and bitterness from the hops shimmering through.......
One of my favorite go to beers.
Though I have to admit, last time I was there, I did not enjoy the pub.too full,touristy, rude waitresses. I liked Fässla, Spezial and Mahrs more in that regard.

 

The Maerzen has 30 IBUs...pretty hoppy stuff (well, for non-Americans...). Not sure about the Fastenbier, but it wouldn't surprise me if the number were that high or even higher.

 

wow, for the Maerzen I would have never suspected this, and I drank it all the time for a while......But I think a lot of franconian beers have way higher IBUS than one would suspect, right?

 

30 IBUs is fairly high. Boston Lager is 30 IBUs, and when super fresh is quite a hoppy lager. Because most Americans don't find 30 IBUs hoppy, and hardly ever have it as fresh as they do most IPAs, most Beeradvocate's are unaware of how hoppy Boston Lager actually is for a lager.

More on topic: Received an e-mail last week from my beer guy that he was going to ask the distributor if he could get the Fastenbier and Victory Lager. Might swing by tonight to see if they arrived.