New Beer Weekend #95

Never underestimate the power of the Schwartz!

Due to the generosity of a good friend for today’s NBW I have Tired Hands Trendler Schwarzbier.

I have had this beer in the past and below is how that beer was described:

“Trendler Schwarzbier is our Black Lager. Brewed with German Pilsner malt and Debittered Black Malt. Hopped entirely with Saaz personally selected by Jean in Germany last Fall. Brewed to honor and drink with Jean's grandfather, Joseph Trendler... that old son of a gun. Refreshingly stark notes of crisp malt, dried berries, black tea, and light toffee/toast. Man, we are so happy with this Schwarzbier and we thank you for digging into these delicate little numbers with us as we amplify our Lagerbier production.”

But for this version they decided to utilize Hersbrucker hops instead:

“Trendler Schwarzbier is our Black Lagerbier brewed with Pilsner malt, as well as a tasteful flurry of German specialty and dark malts. Hopped assertively with German Hersbrucker from our buddies in Bavaria, fermented with our house Lager yeast, and cold conditioned for four weeks. Extremely stark, restrained, and elegant, yet eminently crushable. Notes of black tea, medium toast, cinnamon raisin, Ethiopian coffee, and fertile earth. 5.5% abv.”

Served in my Polish Pilsner glass:

Appearance:

Pours a very dark brown approaching black with a fluffy khaki colored head.

Aroma:

There is an interesting mix of malty aromas; a combination of dark bread, some roastiness and even a hint of chocolate.

Taste:

The flavors follow the nose with a combination of dark bread, some roasty flavor, some chocolate. There is a low-moderate bitterness.

Mouthfeel:

Medium bodied, moderate carbonation and a pleasant off-dry finish.

Overall:

I really enjoyed drinking this beer!! It had a very pleasant mix of malty aromas/flavors. The highlight for this beer for me was what wasn’t there – the level of roasty was very subdued which is a quality that should exist for the Schwarzbier beer style in my opinion.

This beer has the quality that the Germans describe by the word süffig (drinkability).

Cheers!

@KOP_Beer_OUtlet @rotsaruch @RobH

 

Thanks to SawDog505 for kicking NBW off this morning.

I'm traveling for work so not much to do this weekend other than drink beer in the hotel, so I should have a few entries this weekend.

The beer selection is not great here so starting off with what I thought would be swill, but was surprisingly not....

Hurricane High Gravity

Appearance: Clear gold, big head.

Smell: Sweet, boozy.

Taste: Sweet, fruity—apples & grapes. Little bit of corn underneath. Boozy. No weird aftertaste.

Overall: Traveling for work, must pick up a beer or three. But the beer selection is not great in this smaller city, so let's try a malt liquor. Hurricane High Gravity is not bad! Sure, it's not my first or fifteenth choice, but it's got decent flavor and no real ugliness that you can get with many high gravity malt liquors.

 

The bummer is that you could not find that beer in the 40 ounce format:



Do you have any duct tape with you!?!

Cheers!

 

Watching a old mystery drama recorded from TCM*, and figured and Old Time Lager, which has a little mystery involved in its making. The can shows the Hopfheiser Brewing Co, though the rights to the names are owned by DC Brau - from a dcbeer.com article:

So, history and lineage aside, does Old Time lager have a chance at being "DC's 'premium' lager of choice?"

The pour falls in line with American adjunct lagers these days - straw colored and clear with a large number of bubbles visible that produce a large, fluffy white head. This head holds up better than recent BMC AALs I've had.

A mix of corn and bread greet my nose, along with a light, floral to grassy hop with a light dash of spice. Slightly watery feel that has a little more body than expected, maybe because the light carbonation fails to leaven it. To me, there is less sweetness to this beer than, say a Miller or Coors. This is also slightly different than being bitter - it has the floral and dry grass from the nose, but none of the spice, not that I'm disappointed in this omission.

So Old Time definitely fits into the easy drinking realm. The malt and corn bring more to the flavor than the hops, but the latter shows up and lingers sneakily in the aftertaste. Seems a good enough beer to have at a game or on the golf course, to me. Pretty sure it won't be my "go to DC lager" as broad as that category is, but I wouldn't hesitate to order it in the right situation.


* Just got to the end of Witness for the Prosecution, and while I won't give away the ending, the final scene had the most bizarrely poor editing I've seen.

 

I think I had a 40oz in the Malt Liquor online tasting (different label scheme); assuming so, I definitely wouldn't say finding a smaller format was "too bad."

 

Yeah, but the aroma of duct tape as you bring the Forty to your mouth adds some extra 'nuance' to the drinking experience!

Cheers!

 

Maybe a side-by-side of Old Time Lager and Senate is in your future?

Along with a post in your side-by-side thread?

Cheers!

 

Good morning NBW
A dark lager cross post from the tasting thread

Pour Man's Brewing
Tmavé Pivo
16oz undated can poured into a becher glass at just above fridge temp, no ABV listed on label. The beer pours opaque medium brown with light brown head. The head recedes to a thin ring and a few islands of head. Minimal lacing. The aroma is dark chocolate, licorice, and slight nuttiness. The taste is bittersweet roasted malt with coffee like notes up front before the dark chocolate and lighter malt notes hit on the finish. The bitterness here is roasted malt bitterness like you would get in a big RIS, with no real hop expression. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with just less that average carbonation and a dry finish. Overall, good. Definitely not a typical dark Czech lager nor a typical dark lager of any sort. It's different, it works, but it defies any set style.

Thanks to @woodychandler for the beer. Cheers all!

 

That sounds like a great idea! And oddly, I didn't actually think of it before seeing your post. I disappoint myself sometimes

 

But you will reach full 'redemption' when you post your side-by-side tasting!!

Cheers to you!

 

I have never had a beer from Angry Chair but unless the brewer wants to do atypical stuff to keep their base customers happy there is no reason that a brewery like Angry Chair can't brew a quality 'traditional' beer. For example a local (to me) craft brewery that is renowned for their Juicy/Hazy beers (including Milkshake type beers) of Tired Hands consistently makes high quality 'traditional' beers. I discussed their Schwarzbier in this thread and I will later in the day discuss their Doppelbock in the Dark Lager thread. Tired Hands makes a very good 'regular' Pilsner (Trendlers Pilsner) but in the past even 'better' Pilsners within their series of beers they brand as Austere Modular (which I have discussed in past NBS/NBW threads):



https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-794.639339/#post-6897233



https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-weekend-73.663651/#post-7408202

In a recent thread I sorta discussed the topic of non-IPA type beers being brewed by breweries not specifically known for 'traditional' beers which I think relates here:

"The other aspect (at least in my area) is that some of my local breweries who are not 'traditional breweries' will occasionally brew non-IPA beers and I personally make it a point to buy those beers and in the brewery taproom I will talk the beer 'up' if I like it. A point of example is that a local brewery last fall made a Pilsner they brand as Farmhouse Pils which is excellent. I drank several draft pints during that visit and I made mention to the bartender (who was also one of the brewers) how great this beer was. I stated things like "you really should make this beer again!" and I even purchased a four pack of cans to take home; you can read my discussion of beer in the link below:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-weekend-60.661380/#post-7341793

I visited the Locust Lane Brewing taproom this past weekend and to my delight they had Farmhouse Pils on tap (and on the blackboard discussing upcoming releases I saw that another batch of Farmhouse Pils is coming out 5/25). The same bartender/brewer was working this weekend and I stated: "Looks like Farmhouse Pils is becoming a regular beer." He responded that it has become a popularly asked for beer.

One of the advantages of the brewery taproom business model is that customers can provide direct feedback to the brewery and perhaps influence future brews.

On a related note I have provided to a few of my local craft breweries some 'free' bottles of my homebrewed Czech Dark Lager (CDL) with my thinking maybe I could inspire them to brew a beer like this. I have not been successful yet (I think some of the breweries might view this as competition for their Schwarbiers?). I will keep trying here."

Hopefully other beer consumers who enjoy 'traditional' beers will continue to purchase Vodnick from Angry Chair so this is a brand they will continue to produce (and perhaps even brew some other 'traditional' beer style such as Czech Dark Lager as well).

Cheers!

 

Dark Helmet needs a longer light saber!!

Cheers!

 

Another hotel beer here in South Dakota.

Ben's Brewing Cash Flow IPA

Appearance: Clear gold, ok head.

Smell: Toffee.

Taste: Lots of toffee flavor to start and throughout. More caramel and toffee. Very slight citrus and some light tea bitterness.

Overall: A South Dakota IPA from a brewery I am not familiar with, decided to try drinking local since I'm in SD. Not really an American IPA in flavor, drinks more like an English pale or maybe English IPA. Not bad but not what I was expecting.