Since the old "Deutschland Bier Bought and Drunk (2021)" is now obsolete, I thought I would start a new one, though slightly altered, for 2022. Something akin to the general "WBYDN" thread, but for German drinkers and German beers. If I have overstepped my limits, please do let me know. More than anything, I wanted to report on a very odd German beer that I recently had: Kemker Kultuur Fröjaor (Dandelion Gruit) Pours a basic amber with very minimal head. What you see in the picture is the result of pouring deliberately to induce foam. It didn't really work... Having said that, it is definitely not flat. The carbonation is reminiscent of a typical Lambic. Relatively thin mouthfeel, but not atypical for a "wild" beer. The flavor definitely tends in that "wild" direction. It is slightly sour, very herbal and more than a little funky. There is little or no conventional bitterness to this, but also not much that I would distinguish as a malt backbone. It is primarily about the herbal notes. And this is where it shines (if you like that sort of thing). The dandelions (I guess...) bring a floral aspect to the table, but also a very odd herbal-medicinal note that is slightly bitter in a very unique way. There is also a heavy citrusy-lemony note that brings a brightness to it. There is a nice balance to this, thought it is an odd combination. All in all, wild lambics/sours are not really my cup of tea, but as a one-off, I rather enjoyed this. I found myself taking a new sip each time, not only because I enjoyed it, but because every new sip was uniquely interesting. A puzzle to be solved. More than anything, I enjoyed the experimental nature of it, which is a bit rare in German beer culture. I hope to run across some of their other beers as well.
I absolutely adore Kemker, they are doing great work with their Wild Ales and Gruits and are pretty unique in the German beer lanscape right now. I've had a whole bunch of their stuff and it's all been great. I really can't think of another German brewery that specializes in Wild Beers in Germany, except maybe Flügge, who are nowhere near Kemker's level though. They have this farmyard brewery in the Eifel region near Münster and do farmyard sales as well. I've been thinking about visiting or maybe even trying to do an internship there.
I might as well add this new to me German/Bavarian pilsner, Veldensteiner Premium Pils, which won a year round slot at the monopoly stores starting in June this year. 4.9% abv, 11.6% plato. The aroma and flavor surprises me with a bright hoppiness which is a nice departure from the absent hop aroma/flavor in Berliner Pilsner. The use of both hops and hop extracts, as listed on the can, is more than evident in this beer. It is surprisingly similar in aroma and flavor to a new beer from Carlsberg Sweden, Eriksberg Mäster, which started selling here in March of this year and which is billed as a German style pilsner. They must be using the same late boil hop varieties in similar amounts, though the Eriksberg is slightly more hoppy in aroma and flavor than this beer. The body is similar also, and the calorie count very similar. So good on Carlsberg Sweden I say for mimicking a Bavarian pilsner so closely. Aside from the bright hops the beer was a good malt body for the style, it's dry thanks to the hops but not bone dry. It actually has some underlying pale maltiness to it (this is where the Bavarian influence comes into play I guess). The bitterness is refreshing and typical for the style but not sharp. In terms of fermentation esters it is very clean, like you expect a German pilsner to be, in both aroma and flavor. All in all this is a really tasty German pilsner in my book, in an otherwise unassuming package (it makes me think of Henninger) , and I think it deserves the Premium moniker.
By the way I thought this was an interesting example of the impact of the Corona virus on beer brewing in Germany. The production date of the cans of Veldensteiner I bought is April 5th, and the expiration date is October 5th 2023. So an 18 month shelf life, which is insane.
Yes, it's absolutely crazy and not an isolated case at all, but has been a steady and really sad developement in Germany since the pandemic. I bought a can of Bitburger Dry Hop'd Zwickel a few weeks ago that had a best-by date of 24 months. As if those 12-month best-by dates hadn't been bad enough...
Kemker Kultuur - Aoltbeer Blend 2020-04 Wild Ale aged in Amarone barrels for 10 months, from Germany (6%). Pours a clear, deep amber coloration with a medium, foamy head. Smells of doughy, slightly bready malt and estery fruit and spice, with notes of red apple, apricot and clove, as well as hints of cheesy funk and tannic oak. Taste is an excellent balance of doughy, slighty bready malt and distinct estery fruit and spice notes of red apple, apricot and gooseberry, with lighter clove and cinnamon, as well as hints of blue cheese funk and musty, tannic oak. Finishes with a medium tartness and some red apple, apricot, cinnamon and oak lingering in the aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body and light/medium carbonation. Aoltbeer is their flagship Wild Ale, a "Münstersch Alt" that certainly doesn't have a lot in common with modern examples of the style though. They vary batches of this considerably, aging them in different barrels for different amounts of time and with additional ingredients sometimes added. I would love to have a side-by-side of different batches at some point, but from memory this seems somewhat richer and sweeter than the last batch I had, with quite distinct red apple and apricot notes, perhaps a bit less funk, but more, quite tannic oak. As alway, it's a damn fine barrel-aged Wild Age from Germany's premier, and pretty much only, maker of the style. Rich, complex and well-balanced, another real treat from Kemker.
I live in Poland, but I go to Germany very often for long period of time, I love german beer. We drink Schlenkerla, Tucher, Hasen Brau, but the one I like most is Berliner Kindl. Can you give me some more recommendations what to try? btw, I can buy a lot of german and euro beer in this online store. edit: when I'm in Poland I mean
Welcome to the BA site, @steelliras. I'm confident that you'll enjoy your time here. I'm not knowledgeable enough about in-country German beers to be able to make recommendations, but hang around and you'll get some good responses. It's possible that some responses may depend on where you visit in Germany. Is there an area where you frequent when you travel there?
Trying a beer that started selling here this month. Bayreuther Hell. It's a bit paler than the picture shows, so quite a light colored beer. The aroma is fresh but muted. Smells like a clean German pale lager beer without much hopping. The taste is lightly malty yet dry, though not pilsner dry. The bitterness is very mild, at 17 IBUs it's similar to a Heineken, but it's at least a balancing flavor in the beer and helps it from tasting sweet. There's no hop character that I can detect in the taste or aroma, it's no doubt there in the background, and would be noticable if it wasn't there I think, but it's not strong enough to stand out on its own. The body and mouthfeel is light but not watery. The overall impression is that of a modern German pilsner with the bitterness cut in half basically, one where there isn't much hop aroma present either. Mild is a word used often when marketing these helles lager beers and it is certainly a word which fits this beer, and one might also use the word smooth to describe it. At the same time I think the bones are solid, it's not of poor quality. So what the beer drinker gets with this beer is a well made, light colored beer without much bitterness and a clean and crisp taste overall, combined with attractive packaging and labeling that seems both contemporary and retro at the same time. I can see the appeal for someone who likes beer but thinks German pilsners are too bitter.
Atelier Vrai - Naked Shorts New England IPA with Galaxy, Idaho 7 and Citra hops, from Germany (7.4%). Pours a hazy, orange coloration with a medium, fluffy head. Smells of light biscuity malt and tropical/citrus/stone fruit hops, with notes of passion fruit, grapefruit and apricot. Taste is an excellent balance of light biscuity malt and fruity, juicy, slightly grassy, dank hops, with tropical, citrus and stone fruit notes of passion fruit, papaya, grapefruit and apricot, as well as just a hint of grassy weed. Finishes with a light bitterness and some passion fruit and apricot lingering in the aftertaste. Soft, pillowy mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation. As usual, this makes for an exceptional NEIPA from Atelier Vrai, who are hands-down the best makers of the style in Germany these days. They made not pump out the volume that other brewers that specialize in the style do, but it really is quality over quantity with them. While the flavor profile is a little restrained here, that can have its own appeal and the hops still stand out quite expressive and well-defined, with a broad flavor profile that includes tropical, citrus and stone fruit notes, as well as dank and slightly earthy accents, which provide a nice counterpoint here, with a great body and mouthfeel as well.
Blech.Brut - Over Clouds "India Dark Bock" with HBC 630, HBC 472 and Cryo Pop hops, from Germany (7.2%). Pours a deep mahogany coloration that turns ruby red when held against the light, with a large. creamy head. Smells of roasted, bready malt, chocolate and dark/red fruit with notes of fig and cherry, as well as hints of coconut, vanilla and oak. Taste is an excellent balance of roasted, bready malt and fruity, earthy, slightly floral and resinous hops, with berry and stone fruit notes of raspberry, cherry and apricot, as well as some chocolate and dark fruit, with notes of raisin and fig, as well as hints of pine, potpourri, coconut, vanilla, licorice and oak. Finishes with a medium bitterness and some chocolate, fig, cherry, apricot, coconut and licorice. Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation. They call this an "India Dark Bock" and I have to say that it makes for a fascinating brew that really stands on its own very well, with a great balance of dark, roasted malts and fruity, earthy hops. HBC 472 is such a unique variety that fits this beer perfectly with its earthy, musty notes reminiscent of vanilla, coconut and oak, really giving a certain barrel-aged character to this. Overall, this makes for quite a complex and well-balanced brew with a great depth of character and incredibly varied and unique flavor profile that really works for me personally though, making for a very enjoyable and unique drinking experience.
