Märican Biere Bought and Drunk...

I was only thinking toward the Dunkel because Braunbier is an older style than the ur Märzen concocted by Sedlmayr that became the Amber Oktoberfest most drinkers equate with the style. However, if that's really what it's closer to, I can see attracting those drinkers.

 

Hmmm. They are all so different. Sternla is much more of an Ungespundetes Kellerbier for my tastes. Hoffman closest to Munich Dunkel...Zwergla more Franconian (dryer) Dunkel. Faessla would be closest, I guess. Still very different tho.

 

At least I'm not crazy. I was thinking that just about every amber to brown beer I had in the area was nothing like the others. Zwergla even had some schwarz elements to it.

 

Little preview of our Braunbier in the sight glass (after yeast harvesting). Tasting really balanced and like fresh, dark (German) bread...with a really clean, herbal bitterness just below where the malt peaks. Dropping down into the 30s today to extend the lagering process. Prost, y'all!

 

Wait -- what?

 

I figured this is a good place to put this information...

I bought a few singles of Rothaus, with best by dates of "09.02.2016" thinking, "I know their best by is six months after bottling, but there's way this was bottled back in August, I could have sworn I saw batches fresher than August prior to this."

Well, I e-mailed the brewery, and yep...sure enough they were bottled in August. 9 month old Rothaus...

That's the bad news. The good news? I couldn't tell at all. It tasted great, I had two bottles already. My roommate tasted it too, said it tastes awesome as usual. In fact, when I had my first bottle, I thought it had to have been bottled in March, not August, because the hop presence was a bit more prominent than I remembered with past bottles. Still superbly well balanced though.

If I HAD to nit pick at all, I'd say the depth of the malt profile was a TAD muted, but I attributed that more to the prominence of the spicy hops before I knew the date. And it's been some time since I last had a bottle/draft of Rothaus, so who knows.

Basically, if you see old Rothaus....if refrigerated (this was)....it might be ok!

 

I think this was your saving grace.

Sure wish I'd start seeing Rothaus around here.

 

For retailers that store some beers in refrigerators the 'trick' is knowing whether the beer has continuously been stored cold.

My local beer store always has Rothaus available: it is stored on the shelf (at room temperature) and the price is $16 for a six-pack. Last weekend I bought a 12-pack of Troegs Sunshine Pils (cans) instead. They were canned on 03/23/16.

Cheers!

 

Rothaus is similarly expensive up this way as well. I could probably stomach a price closer to $11-12 per six pack. At a $15-16 price, I purchased it only once to try. Great beer no doubt, but there are much better options for significantly less (both German and American brewed).

 

For what it's worth, I've had about 3 or 4 bottles and a draft of this year's Sunshine Pils. I want to say it was ~ 1 month old or less in the bottles, and the biggest difference between Sunshine and the 9 month old Rothaus was the balance. But I would say Sunshine is always hoppier, regardless of the age of the Rothaus.

The Sunshine is 45 IBUs, and only about a month old, Rothaus is listed at 32 IBUs...and obviously it was quite old. I would definitely give the nod to the Rothaus, but I enjoy both for what they are. Depends on my mood.

Sunshine is far hoppier, quite dry and crisp. The malt presence was certainly there, and it was good, albeit somewhat muted from that spicy hop bite and crisp edge Sunshine had. But don't get me wrong, I'm not putting Sunshine in the category of something like an IPL either. It was still very much balanced enough to make it incredibly drinkable. It's a great Pils, through and through.

If pressed to say which Pils is my favorite, it would be Rothaus. But it's not something I regularly buy either, if I see it and "think" it's fresh, I'll grab it. But that more or less goes for all my favorite imports. Except drafts, I'll give those a whirl any day. I had Rothaus on draft a few weeks ago, it was sublime. And honestly, couldn't tell if there was much difference between that draft and the bottle.

 

Conducting side-by-side tastings can be enlightening. I posted about my Rothaus – Sunshine Pils side-by-side tasting back in July 2013:

First, I want to take this opportunity to state a BIG thank you to Tony. He very generously made the effort to bring me beer from Germany. I fully recognize that his trip to the US had a number of other considerations and the fact that he took time and effort to think of me is something I truly appreciate!

As I posted previously, below is my (long awaited?) review of Rothaus Tannenzäpfle. I am performing this review in the context of a compare & contrast with Troegs Sunshine Pils.

Appearance

Sunshine Pils: Light straw color with a nice fluffy white head.

Tannenzäpfle: Light straw color with a nice fluffy white head.

Aroma

Sunshine Pils: Aroma is dominated by very noticeable pilsner malt aroma; there is some Noble hop aroma there as well.

Tannenzäpfle: Aroma is basically a ‘twin’ of the Sunshine Pils. I mostly perceive the pilsner malt aroma but there is some Noble hop aroma in the background.

Taste:

Sunshine Pils: Substantial flavors of pilsner malt nicely balanced by the prominent hop bitterness/flavor with herbal and floral notes provided by the Noble hops.

Tannenzäpfle: Very similar to the flavor of the Sunshine Pils. I would venture to say that the taste is a bit more dominated by the pilsner malt but there are indeed flavors from the hops. I would say that the Sunshine Pils is a tad more balanced in the malt/hop flavors.

Mouthfeel

Sunshine Pils: A nice ‘chewiness’ from the pilsner malt but finishes dry. Not as dry as a Jever but pleasingly dry nonetheless. Compared to the Tannenzäpfle it has a softer mouthfeel.

Tannenzäpfle: A nice mouthfeel from the pilsner malt and on the dry side. The mouthfeel is more prickly than the Sunshine Pils but I do not think that is a liability; I like the mouthfeel. Maybe the Tannenzäpfle is a bit more highly carbonated?

Overall

Sunshine Pils: This beer rocks on every level: Substantial pilsner malt present, substantial hop presence from the generous use of Noble hops. The 2013 version of Sunshine Pils is a WINNER! The sound bite review of this beer is: WOW!

Tannenzäpfle: This beer rocks too! It is like a battle of the bands!?!. I really enjoyed this beer as well. If it gets distributed to the US as BA Einhorn has posted (and it is reasonably priced and not too old) I will buy Tannenzäpfle in the future. It is also a WOW beer!

For the ‘interested reader’ below are details on these two beers as provided by the breweries on their respective websites.

“Tröegs Sunshine Pils®

Alcohol by Volume: 4.5%

Hop Bitterness (IBUs): 45

Color (SRM): Straw / Golden

Availability: Seasonal (April - August)

Malts: Pilsner, Crystal

Hops: Saaz, Hallertau Mitt.

Yeast: Lager

2012 Gold Medal Great American Beer Festival - German-Style Pilsner”

Rothaus Tannenzäpfle

“Das beliebteste Bier aus Rothaus ist das Rothaus Pils. Besonders beliebt ist unser Pils in der 0,33 l Flasche als Rothaus Pils Tannenzäpfle. Mit 12,4 % Stammwürze und 32 Bittereinheiten nimmt das Rothaus Pils eine herausragende Position unter den Pilsbieren ein.

Untergärige Hefe aus eigener Reinzucht vergärt das Rothaus Pils, bevor es ca. 4 Wochen in Ruhe reift. Dabei bildet das Pils seinen kräftigen und eleganten Geschmack und seine hohe Rezenz aus. Rezenz nennt man das durch die Kohlensäure im Bier ausgelöste Frischegefühl.”



The most popular beer from Rothaus is the Rothaus Pils. Very popular, our Pils in 0.33 l bottle as Rothaus is Pils Tannenzäpfle. With 12.4% Plato Wort and 32 IBUs, the Rothaus Pils takes an outstanding position among the Pils beers.

Bottom-fermented yeast from your own selected ferments the Rothaus Pils, before it conditions about 4 weeks. The Pils possesses strong and elegant taste and its high Rezenz. The feeling of freshness that is triggered by the carbon dioxide in the beer called Rezenz.

Thanks again to Tony. He is da man!

Prost!

P.S. My wife watched me as I poured the two beers for evaluation. After seeing the two full glasses she stated: looks like you have Irish handcuffs! Her next comment as she saw me writing notes after looking/smelling/tasting was: Look at you, writing stuff down. She then came over and took two sips from the two glasses. I felt compelled to ask: So, what do you think. Her reply: the Troegs is much better. Well, that is her opinion (not one that I personally agree with). My wife likes to ‘remind’ me that she is a super taster so you may want to listen to her opinion vs. mine. I will never claim to be a super taster.

P.S.S.. I am going to save my bottle of Rothaus Pils Tannenzäpfle as a souvenir. Every time I look at it I will think of Tony.

 

SN Summerfest is 5.0 ABV and 28 IBUs, Trumer is (allegedly) 4.9 ABV and 26 IBUs, Tröegs is 4.5 ABV and 45 IBUs. Both SN and Trumer have the right bitterness for me -- I can imagine Tröegs being harsh on my palate, especially at the low ABV.

 

Hmm, we appeared to have similar thoughts on each beer, a few differences here and there but every palate is different, and different batches can vary as well.

I now remember last year around this time having a few Sunshine Pils at my apartment and then heading up to my local bar to have some Rothaus on draft and thinking, "Wow, this tastes just like the Sunshine Pils." I wouldn't make that same comparison this year, but they're still both good.

I also remember that the Roathaus, and even the Sunshine Pils earlier in the day, didn't have as enjoyable of a Pils malt flavor. For some reason after palate fatigue (I started that day with a Kentucky Breakfast Stout and a Lagunitas Sucks) I can't pick up Pils malt as well. I like to start with Pilsners if I can for this reason.

You might, simply based off what I know about your preferences. That being said, to give you an idea, I think Prima is FAR hoppier than Sunshine Pils. The hop presence for Sunshine isn't overdone in my opinion. Although I did find both Summerfest and Sunshine this year hoppier than year's past, maybe my palate is shifting?

 

Hoppier? Or more bitter? I'm into my second 12 pack of the Summerfest this season and I have the feeling that the hops are more prominent in flavor because it's so fresh. As to being more bitter than before, I don't think I'd agree.

 

I agree completely.

Often times folks can fixate on numbers but beer appreciation is a holistic endeavor. IMO Troegs Sunshine Pils has a prominent malt backbone with nicely balances the hop aspect of this beer.

Cheers!

 

Numbers never lie, and when used in support of experiential evidence they prove scientific fact beyond any doubt by reasonable knowledge.

I, myself, enjoy a lot of Trumer Pils and Sierra Nevada Summertime (when in season) and develop opinion based on tasting experience. Wherein I go back and compare the given stats and balance what my sensory perception recognizes to what is backed up by information provided.

 

Hefeweizen made by someone who doesn't know what good Hefeweizen tastes or looks like...

Boxing Bear in Albuquerque, NM

 

Well, they have the flavor description down, but the appearance lacks a whole lot, head? Let alone that glassware.

 

You mean the marketing?

 

Yeah, I suppose they copied and pasted from the German Beer Institute, didn't they?

I notice that they also have a "Czech" Pilsner at 4.3 ABV and 40 IBUs --