German craft beer

Matt, I tried to find a BA review of the Faust Whiskey Eisbock but I came up empty.

I did find Tony’s (@boddhitree) review of the Faust Jahrgangsbock (see below); the Jahrgangsbock sounds like an intriguing beer!

Cheers!

“Today--- the last one, from Brauhaus Faust, from Miltenberg. Drinking it with timosen, a real German who I have forced to brew beer. We're now drinking it and.... first, it exploded when I opened the flip-top bottle.

That's ok, because it shows it was conditioned in the bottle. 7%, brewed in 2009, bottle #423 from 879, with Hallertauer Perle and cold lagered in Wild Turkey whiskey casks for 12 weeks in their de-humidified mountain-side cellar.

Basically a Doppelbock aged in whiskey oak casks! mmm... even the idea makes my mouth water.

The aroma is a little on the molassesy side, sweet, apricots and figs, and almost like a Belgian Abbey Dubbel or Trippel. The color is dark brown with red tints. Timosen said, "very mild!" For a German that's high praise. The taste is very sweet, almost verging on a Belgian Dubbel, but still with caramel, German Münchner malt tones. It also has a dry aftertaste with a tad bitterness in the back of the tongue. The whiskey notes are pronounced but not overpowering, just enough to tell you it's there. So basically, it tastes like a 80 year old whiskey mixed with a 10 year old abbey beer in a 30:70 ratio. This is one great beer, and Timosen agrees, so it's not only my world-weary, jaded palate that says this. After a few sips, it's starting to get a bit cloyingly sweet, with licorice, though. We have a 0.75L bottle to drink, so I'm glad I got another person to help me finish it. Basically, great as an aperitif or with cake, preferably a Frankfurter Kranz, since we're in Frankfurt am Main.

Serving type: bottle

 

Thanks to Faust's openness -- and y'all's pics -- it looks to me like they are doing everything "right" in the sense *not* of simply amping up mediocre beers with the latest trendy flavors, but retaining traditional methods when producing their base beers. Ultimately I'll have to get there to provide my opinion. I may try and track some of their stuff down around here...assuming it's available.

The third of the 3 Bierkeller on the Kreuzberg -- Rittmayer -- is also doing some experimental stuff; but it seems for now their true focus remains on the traditional styles.

The Kreuzbergkeller really are a wonderful, interesting place to go to see all that Franconian brewing has to offer. I highly recommend to anyone in the general area to make the trip, as I, too, would love to hear y'all's opinions on such places.

 

I would love to do this. So much to see, so little time...

 

I had it but am in no position to review it. The Eisbock has won back-to-back Gold medals at the World Beer Cup in the "Dopplebock/Eisbock" category, which is a nice feather in their cap. The Eisbock is 11,2% and was aged in whiskey barrels. The whiskey flavor (and aroma) really comes through, as does the sweetness of the Eisbock. That, and the fact that it comes in a 750 ml bottle makes it a good candidate for sharing. It was a very good beer. Pricey, but at least you felt like you got your money's worth.

 

I was talking with the brewmaster of Comrade Brewing here in Denver (he's a long-time pro) and he apparently knows the guys running CREW and vouches for them. At the very least, if American style beers are going to pop up over there, I'd rather have them get good ones. Definitely not Dolden Sud or anything like that.

 

One thing that I find curious about articles on the state of German beer is the frequent hand wringing about the limitations of reinheitsgebot, coupled with one or two examples of beers that use some non-RHG ingredient. I think I can count the number of craft beers that I've had, that have used an ingredient other than yeast, malt, hops and water on one hand.

Granted, I haven't tried hundreds of different craft beers, but I've still had my share of APAs, IPAs, stouts, porters, pale lager beers, pilsners etc. A rather broad spectrum of styles and flavor profiles, certainly alot broader than that of the typical beer consumer. Yet none of this "experimentation" or flavor variety has required me to drink a beer which contained pumpkin or berries, or chocolate, or grape juice. Apart from BCBS I haven't had a beer which blurs the line between beer and some other beverage, no wine-beer hybrids or cider-beer hybrids.

The strawberry pumpkin beers might spark an interest in what beer can be in some people, but I can't help but wonder if the dichotomy presented in these articles, German RHG beer vs berry beers, actually ends up alienating more people than it "converts".

If pale ales, stouts and IPAs built the craft beer markets in the US, Sweden and the UK, is it really necessary for German brewing to jump the shark before it's even off the ground?

 

Just announced on Mahr's facebook page:

THE NEW Craft Beer of MAHRS

Ingwer Bogg (Ginger Bock)

 

Just saw this myself. Your thoughts on Mahr's trying their hand at Craft?

 

I honestly think it's OK that they are brewing some of this stuff. Last time(s) I was there these new offerings hadn't disrupted anything in the traditional culture much at all (unlike, say, at Brauhaus am Kreuzberg). Plus it gives them a marketing tool to appear as if they are with the times. As for the beers, I have honestly little to no interest in trying them. "Craft" is easily enough ignored if you're already surrounded by great beer.

 

Patrik,

I have posted in past threads that a beer that I think would be appropriate for German craft breweries to make would be something like a German Pale Ale or German IPA. The breweries could utilize a more German type grain bill by utilizing some Munich Malt and maybe even a touch of Rauchmalz. This grist would add some complexity to the resulting beer and also have the allure of adding some ‘Germany’ to the beer.

The breweries could utilize American or Australian/New Zealand aroma hops or to add some more German content they could utilize some of the new German aroma hops being developed like:

· Manadrina – citrus aroma

· Huell Melon - pronounced melon aroma.

· Hallertau Blanc - white wine aroma.

· Polaris - super highs alpha, wintergreen aroma. A huge hop in the field, 3000 lb/acre yield.

· Etc.

An example of a beer of this order is a beer that Victory Brewing produced last year to showcase the Manadrina hops; a beer brewed for the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC).

Below is a description of CBC Mandarina Pale Ale from the Victory website:

“CBC Mandarina Pale Ale

Pale Ale

A blend of German pils and caramel malts combine with German Mandarina and dry-hopped Mandarina to create a full bodied, citrus-hopped brew with a pleasant bitter finish and lots of hop flavor.

Composition

ABV: 6.0%

Availability

Special one-time release, March 2013”

Another example beer would be Pax Brau Cissy India Pale Ale (IPA). Tony (@boddhitree) has an excellent description of Cissy IPA in the BA review he constructed.

Cheers!

 

What's wrong with Dolden Sud? I've had it a few times and always enjoyed it. Riedenburger is one of the best breweries I know, their whole line-up is fantastic. They're also offering a new DIPA called Dolden Boom, a collaboration with Brooklyn Brewery.

 

Mahr's has had a bit of a wild streak for a while. They had the Saphir Weiss, a bold dunkel'ish bier named after ETA Hoffman and even a Lagerbier named after the metal band Mastodon. Of the old guard, I think they definitely fit in with the "craft" movement more than anyone else.
At the same time - it seems like they're still employing some level of traditionalism with it.
I don't think the craft beer movement would inspire eye rolls as much as it does if the brewers were making quality products without throwing the kitchen sink into the mash.

 

The bottles I bought of it were diacetyl bombs. All 3 of them were on the verge of undrinkable and were dated only a few weeks prior to me buying them.

 

Which batch was it? Or, were they all from the same batch? They are numbered on the label, like Sud #13.
Might be worth a little research if you just happened to come across a bad batch. Or the load that your supplier sold, wasn't stored very well a short time after bottling.
I don't really believe Riedenburger would let a bad batch leave their brewery.

 

All 3 of the ones we got are listed as "Sud 5." I bought them at a Biomarkt about a block from the Munich Viktualienmarkt last August. I'm not 100% sure (I'm looking at Google Maps), but it was either a Vitalia or a Basic store. They were on a warm shelf and caught my eye because you don't see "IPA" on a 12oz bottle over there very often.
The first one we opened almost immediately. The second we opened in November. The last one I took to a bottle share as a blind item. After sitting there for a while the butter dissipated a bit, but none of them were good.

 

What a shame. But believe me, usually the beer is quite good. I think the last one I've heard of was already Sud 17.

 

I might have a brewer friend heading over during the Fall, so I'll have him grab some if he has room.

 

Aside from the obligatory Pax Brau reference, another beer German craft beer that fits almost exactly what you are talking about is the Braukunstkeller Mandarina IPA from the Odenwald, which they describe as "Gebraut mit der neuen Hopfensorte Mandarina Bavaria. Abgerundet mit einem Hauch Rauchmalz." So, basically German hops and a "breath" of Rauchmalz: an integration of German ingredients in a decidedly non-German style, as you suggested. I've had it, and it was rather good. Just wish I could find more...