Hohenthanner Schlossbrauerei Grünhopfen

Working my way through Sunday's little mix of craft beers, I opened the Hohenthanner Schlossbrauerei Grünhopfen today. This is the same brewery who produce the Hopfen-Cuvee which I also drooled over in a previous review.

The Grünhopfen (Greenhop Pils) has had some nice marketing effort thrown in its general direction. Note this rather sexy poster design. The bottle itself has a beautiful monochrome label with an attractive, classic motif.

Sexy marketing like this can sometimes be a bit of a distraction, so I tried not to linger too longingly over the packaging. Here's how the bottle and beer looked when poured into a Somelier glass (courtesy of Bierschau, Landshut) and placed on top of an old wine box next to the dirty window shutters on a winter's eve.

The beer itself is a bright, straw-orange, and the head is clean, bouncy and bold.

The nose.. oh the nose! Hops crushed in the hand! It's unmistakable. This beer smells like the Hallaertau during harvest. I can imagine the citizens of Kent, long since having turned their hop-fields over to strawberries, crying with nostalgia at this aroma.

The flavour itself leaps out instantly. First to break cover is a poignant acidity. The line is quickly broken, to be followed by a smooth butteryness - I can't quite pin it down so I'm going to suggest bananas and peaches. Then the bright hops arrive bringing with them the sweet bitternes of victory only to fade and make way for the light malts and toasts of an enduring peace. From aroma to rest, this beer is a five part journey that I would happily revise on many occasions.

I cannot but give this one a 7 out of 7. Delightful.

X X X X X X X

Giesinger Doppel Alt

Today I tried the Doppel-Alt from Giesinger Brewery in Munich. This brew is one of 8 craft beers I bought from Getränke Fleischmann in Ergolding, which has an outstanding rage of Craft beers, many from Bavaria.

So, Vorwärts, Männer, to the beer!

The Doppel-Alt has a deep muddy brown hue. The head is smooth and light, reminiscent of the crema on a well made espresso. 

The nose is floral, with a complex mix of coffee and citrus. The full hop notes are matched by toffee or honey at the end. Overall the nose promises much.

The flavour is light with enough room for malt to come through. There is a mild bready, toastiness to it. The above average 7% alcohol does not overpower the mouth, masked by the readily apparent smoothness. That said, the flavour does not quite live up tot he expectations aroused by the nose.  Despite that moderate contradiction, there is enough bitterness at the long-end of the flavour to balance things off.

Overall, a quality craft ale that could do with just a touch more punch in the mouth.

I hand the 5 out of 7 award to this one.

X X X X X - - 

Schlossbrauerrei Au-Hallertau Hopfull Dark Ale

Next up is one of the increasing range of Craft beers that have been emerging in Bavaria in recent years. Still slightly behind the craft-beer-craze-curve that has already swept most of the English-speaking beer world, Bayern is now playing a little bit of catchup.

This beer is brewed in the Hallertau region, and it is a Dark Ale.Unsurprisingly, the colour is dark, but the reddish hue is obvious. The brew is slightly opaque too, and the colouration comes through into the head which takes on a creamed tone.

The nose is a combination of hops, some heavy malt and something I can't quite pin down that could be citrus of some kind, or a bitter metallic note.... The slight drawback of this combination is that there is a touch of the old used-dishwater tone about the aroma.

To taste, the bitterness is prominent, skewed with the acidic note that is detectable in the nose. There are the classic nutty flavours in there too, with some of the dark-beer coffee bean piercing the darkness also. However, this is not a "coffee beer", far from it.

The later parts of the flavour linger mostly on the citrus elements. This beer would cut through a mountain cheese perfectly. Based on my own observation above, I promptly opened the fridge and sliced myself some smokey northern Italian cheese. Combined on the taste buds with this beer, I found what can only be described as a win situation.

Overall a nice craft beer. Let down by the aroma somewhat, but made up for by the cheese combo.

4 out of 7.

X X X X - - - 

Schneider Weisse TAP7 Original

Back in July I posted that I was going to review some of the schneider series. Well, I finally got around to typing this one up, the Tap7 Original Weizen.

This wheat beer has a deep and slightly turbid reddish brown colour. The head is very solid, and it hangs around for quite some time. A classic weizen, as far as appearances go. As per usual, here is my photographical representation.

The nose is yeasty like sweet bread and there is a small amount of a vegetable aroma, reminiscent of a small fruit and veg shop.

The flavour is springy, well hopped, with a tart/ sour element. It leans ever so slightly in the direction of a lembic beer. After this zesty start there is some sweetenss, and then tropical fruit. Then, right at the end it goes on to matching the aroma from the nose, a yeasty sweet bread. This one could almost pass for a winter beer in that respect.

I was quite content with this flavoursome, if not oustanding beer.

4 out of 7

X X X X - - - 

Kaiser Heirich Urstoff

Well, well, well, the beer reviews have been neglected fro a wee while, but don't let that fool you into thinking I ain't been drinking! And, the fruits of my labours are to be laid before you know!

Behold! the Kaiser Heinrich Urstoff.

This is an amber coloured "Helles". The nose on this is nutty and dry. When I tasted this one, I wrote "autumn grass & a tad dusty" in my notes referring to the aroma. For flavour, I scribbled down "light honey & toffee", a "mid range sweetness, perhaps even banana if you can convince yourself of it". The bitterness is only present at the long end of the flavour and it is not strong. I identify this as a cross-over between a summer and autumn beer, which wasn't ideal when I tasted it in mid-July, and might be much more suitable now!

I hereby grant a 5 out of 7.

X X X X X - - 

I also noted that this beer had an "English-ale" tone, but without the added dishwater!

KuchlBauer Helles

The Kuchlbauer Helles is a mildly-yellow coloured Helles. Kuchlbauer is a reallz superb brewery with much of the site's architecture influenced by Friedensreich Hundertwasser. See here for some images.

Here is my photo of this Helles, in glass, on balcony.

The beer gives a wide-bubbled head from its moderate carbonation.

The nose on this one is slightly grassy with a touch of what I am going to call "tannin" - a sort of metallic astringency.

The taste is sweet, as you'd expect from a Helles with a mellow hoppiness, which is then tempered by a medium dry toffee flavour - not sugary but caramel nonetheless. This beer is mild enough to allow fast drinking whilst still carrying flavour for savoring. I'd say this is a good option as a post-lawn-mowing beer (if you mow lawns...).

I give this beer a very solid 4 out of 7

X X X X - - - 

Upcoming Beer Reviews

Here is a wee teaser for you, a selection of beers bought and gifted to me which I shall be reviewing over the next couple of weeks. Note the high frequency of various Weißbier from Schneider-Weisse, I bought a taster box that includes mix from their range. Being generally someone who does not drink Weißbier, this will be interesting indeed for me to judge each on its individual merits.

Meilenhofen Hop-farming in the Hallertau

This weekend I enjoyed an afternoon spent at one of Agriculture's most wonderful of gifts to human social advancement: A hop farm!

The farm is located in the mega-famous Hallertau Region, which is the area that lies between the Rivers Isar and the Danube, in central Bavaria. Landshut, where I live, is located just south of this region, so getting there is a small matter of a few minutes in the car. Specifically, this hop-farm was located just outside the village of Meilenhofen, near Mainburg.

We were hosted by the very knowledgeable and affable Hans who operates the hop farm.

Photo: Hans, our guide around the farm

Hans cultivates/grows (at least) two main types of hop, the early flowering "Hallertauer Perle" and the more common "Magnum". We had the opportunity to see these varieties side-by-side. The Perle already in Bud and the Magnum still flowering.

Photo: Perle variety with buds

A friend who has just completed his Masters in Biology, Stox, a man who appreciates all things a-growing, was with me for the visit (as well as our two girlfriends). Fortunately, Stox was able to ask all the questions being both a native speaker and a biologist, whilst I flittered about taking photos and enjoying the general glorious ambiance of the place - exhibiting my general ignorance of the rural life, looking like a proper townie and tourist at the same time. 

Photo: Stox asking all the right questions of Hans

Hops from this immediate area find their way into both the local smaller beers such as the Hohentanner brews (I recently tried an excellent beer from the Hallertauer which I reviewed here,). The local hops also find their way into some of the main Bavarian Beers for consumption in the cities, or sometimes in tacky Bavarian-beer themed pubs abroad. The Hallertau is considered to have the greatest concentration of Hops grown per Km2 in the world, however I have no method of verifying this claim.

Without rambling on too much, I decided to complete this blog with a series of photos taken during the visit. If you are ever in the Hallertau area, try to get yourself an invitation to visit a hop farm. On a sunny weekend it it well worth your time.

Bavarian Summer Heat- Beer recommendations

This week is hot. Scorching hot. Cracker-day-dad-let's-go-fishing Hot.

In the UK, folks are cramming themselves into tiny hatchbacks and crawling along the M2 to dip their toes in the turbid waters of the Channel at Ramsgate. Here in Bayern, a much more elegant solution has been developed. The Biergarten.

Below are my top three tips for beer drinking beneath the shade of a mature chestnut tree in full and glorious leaf. One of these I have reviewed already, and the other two are yet to be, but I thought it worthwhile to note them down now, whilst the weather is agreeable.

In no particular order:

1. Weissbierbrauer Kuchlbauer - Sportsfreund
This  beer is a delightful low-alchohol Weizen. Weißbier says summer like a couple of jerseys say "makeshift goalposts", that it, it says it well. Kuchlbauer have managed to keep this Weizen from going all sugary and heay, which just won't do in weather like this. The lower alchohol volume also significantly recudes the chances of dehydration induced headaches. It's a win-win situation.


2. Schlossbrauerei Herrngiersdorf - Hallertauer Hopfen-Cuvée
A Champagne of beers. Chill this one down and pour it into a tall half-litre glass. Wait for the moiture to condense on the glass exterior then dream your way through the contents; I have recently reviewed this beer very favourably here.

3. Lösch-Zwerg Pils
This little champion is a great summer beer for taking out. It comes in a tiny bottle, a few of which can easily be squeezed into a small bag. It's ideal for taking on the bicycle or in a small coolie-bin. The small bottle means that you also don't end up with 20% of the beer going warm in the sun before you finish.

Schlossbrauerei Herrngiersdorf - Hallertauer Hopfen-Cuvée

It has been a hot and sunny, which means that I took the opportunity to smuggle a couple of new beers home form the supermarket to try. One of them is the Hallertauer Hopfen-Cuvée , by Schlossbrauerei Herrngiersdorf. I must admit to some nerves seeing "hopfen cuvee" on the bottle. But I thought that anything from the Hallertau area can't be that bad.

The brewery has advertised the beer with images such as this:

My own photo on the Balcony, complete with fingermarks on the glass came out like this:

This "helles" style beer is very pale yellow. It has a kind of glistening sheen to it and a light head. With the sun shining though it, I was reminded of those yellow-glass panels that people used to put next to their front door in the 1970s...

The nose is also light. It smells of an imaginary "summer dryness" if summer dryness had a smell.
To taste, this one is crisp and sweet at the same time. Perfectly balanced. The length gets drier and bitter, and fortunately there is none of that metallic aftertaste you often get from lager and pils style beers.

I smashed this bottle back pretty quick.There was, in fact, not as single problem I could find with this beer. Each mouthful was a pleasant treat. In the end, I have decided that this is probably as close to the Epitome of what I think a Helles should be like. For that reason, I am forced to award this a full 7 out of 7!

X X X X X X X

Brauerei Reichgold - Hochstahl Lager

Last week I opened and tasted another of the Frankish beers that were given to me for my birthday. This time it was the Reichgold Hochstahl Lager.

The brewery has a nice promo image of this one, which of course I have to copy here:

My own photo of the bottle&glass combo came out like this:

The beer is a deep orange colour. On the nose, this "colour" comes out in a slightly malty and "fresh water" aroma. It's a little bit like the smell you get from a river (a clean one!), with a touch of metal-pipes about it.

The taste is clean, only lightly hopped and malted. There is a touch of sweetness in there, but this is not a sweet beer. At length, there is some toffee flavour, and the length stays around long enough to become savory, just crossing into the next mouthful, which makes it rather moreish. I drank this beer after work, in 30 degree sun, and it was a very pleasant experience indeed.

Overall a tasty beverage. I award this beer a 5 our of 7.

X X X X X - -

Aufsesser Premium Zwickl

For my recent birthday, I had the pleasure of receiving a carton of Beer from Franken (Franconia). Included in this box was the beer that I am presenting here to you all, (yes, all of you) today.

This is the Premium Zwickl, from Aufsesser.

I'm not sure if this image of the Beer is from the brewer or not. I had a hard time finding a "marketty" image of this one, which is probably a good sign. Anyway, this is how someone else likes the beer to look:

And this is what it looks like when it is perched on the railing of my balcony:

As you can see, this one has a very tidy bottle and label combination. I've always been a fan of the swing-top bottle. the beer is a deep orange-amber. It produced a head with large bubbles which quickly settled. The liquid is slightly cloudy, suggesting less than full filtration.

I was surprised at how hoppy this one was. It is like a lightly-hopped American IPA. There's a touch of dry grass in there which hints at mid-summer consumption, but Spring will do just fine.

The aroma is mild, floral and bitter at once. There are good proportions of hops and malt, balanced by obvious but not overpowering sweetness, my sweet. This beer I found to be an excellent accompaniment to a Pasta-Arrabiata eaten el-fresco.

I give this beer a confident 6 out of 7

X X X X X X -

Braumeister Edition No. 3: „Bockiger Bazi“

It's rare that I taste a beer from one of the large breweries in Munich, but this weekend I spotted a limited edition brew from Paulaner, and I was sufficiently curious to give it a whirl.

The style of this beer is "Bock", Google it if you don't know it. The advertising people have put out this little image of the beer, and glass:

I, on the other hand, am "putting out" this little image of the beer, and glass, and balcony table in-the-sun:

As you can see, the beer is a muddy reddish-brown. It's not very transparent, evidence of non-filtration. The head carries a little of the colour, just leaning towards a lighter shade of caramel.

The aroma is inviting. It has some sweetened coffee tones mingled with a touch of floral (there's that word again) hops. The long end of the aroma has the slightest toe-tap of sweet fresh lake water to it. Not in a clammy weedy sense, but like an alpine stream fed lake.

The flavours are at first tropical almost. Perhaps pineapple and passion-fruit. There's almost no bitterness at all. Then you get a nice waft of late-season apple or ripe banana.

This is a fruity beer, one of the fruitiest I have tasted in a long while. It could pass as a sweet Weizen without too much tinkering. I would say it is let down by the lack of bitterness, something a little more "herb" would give it a full and rounded finish.

I award 4 out of 7.

X X X X - - - 

Kloster Plakstetten (Riedenburger) Naturtrüb Dunkles

Today we try the Kloster Plakstetten Naturtrüb Dunkles. this beer is brewed for the Benedictine Abbey at Plankstetten in the Oberpfalz. This is an abbey that I have visited a number of times and thus the beer is not a new one for me. This beer is brewed by the Riedenburger brewery, but it bears the name of the Monastery for which it is made.

The advertising people have produced this image of the bottle.

My dodgy photographic skills, in the lounge at 7pm on a Friday night, have produced this image, which also includes the beer in a glass. Ripper.

This Dunkles is quite dark. It is closer to the Stout end of the colour scale I would say. If you shine a light behind it or hold it up to the sun, there is plenty of rich red in there though, depending on how bright your light is or how close to the sun you go (a journey during which I am led to believe it gets very cold for a while, and then extremely hot again). The pour has a quickly flattening head. I don't know if this is noteworthy.. but I noted it. In my notebook.

The nose is lightly astringent with some toasted smells. There's a tiny bit of grassiness in there too, perhaps something floral, but not nearly as floral as Euan Roger's glasses.

The taste backs up the nose, almost 1:1. This is what I have cleverly named "WYSIWYG" (What you smell is what you get). This is an entirely new concept that bears no creative relationships to "WYSIWYG" (What you see is what you get). The taste is relatively long, revealing a bitter biscuity finish (as opposed to a buttery biscuit base). The aforementioned toastiness is well done without being smokey and I expect this beer would make an excellent accompaniment to a plate of Surf'n'turff.

Solid drinking. I award this one a 5 out of 7.

X X X X X - - 

Riegele Bier Manufaktor - Ator 20

Introducing the Riegele Bier Manufaktur Ator 20.
The company that produces this beer, the Riegele Bier Manufaktur, claims to have been in existence since the 1300s. So this is not one of the upstart basement brewed IPA type breweries that we see popping up in every middle class suburban neighborhood these days.

The Ator 20 is one of their range of numbered beers, such as the Simco 3 the Auris 19 the Robustus 6 and the Audi A3 (not the Audi A3).

Ator 20 comes to us in a pint bottle. 660ml  of Dunkles Bier that looks, according to the marketing team, like this:

In my world, where the advertising department probably has greater budgetary constraints, the beer comes out looking like this:

The Ator 20 is a full looking Dunkles. The head takes on a pale brown hue and the beer itself is a deep, rich brown with a touch of amber hiding in its midst.

The nose provides both fresh and roasted grains. There's some coffee in there for those with a broader imagination (or an addiction to coffee.. or who smell coffee everywhere anyways) and on top there is a little space made for the smell of berries and cocoa, depending on how dreamy you want to get with this kind of thing.

Flavour-wise, the Ator 20 is sweet, rich and creamy. The carbonation is markedly light, allowing one to hold this in the mouth for an extended period of time, sans the prickly exaggerations you might get from a less refined beverage. At the onset there is not much bitterness, but this arrives later. You don't have to wait for long. British trains might not run on time. German beers (and pretty much everything else in Germany) do.

Overall the Ator 20 is a very solid Dunkles. Better than most of what your going to find in the Supermarket and well worth getting your hands on . Next time I see this beer for sale, I wil be sure to snap up a couple of bottles. I grant this little number a very solid 6 out of 7.

 X X X X X X -

St Erhard Kellerbier

A week or so ago I opened and tasted the St. Erhard Kellerbier. This brew comes from the town of Hallendorf, near Bamberg in Oberfranken. The brewery itself is new, and still describes itself as a "young start-up".

The Kellerbier itself is a wonder to behold. The bottle design and labeling are exquisite. This excellent visual stimulation has been recognised by their inclusion within the 2014 German Design Awards. Their obviously talented marketing people present the beer like this:

When I put the bottle and glass in front of my window, and left the exposure open on my camera, the combo came out looking like this.

Both the bottle and the contents are visually stunning. The beer is a rich orange/ amber tone. It pours a marvelous white head and the bottle is so cool, I just had to leave some sitting in there to stare at whilst drinking the first pour. The only problem I can see with this kind of attention to packaging, is that it sets up a very high expectation. Would the same level of quality be found in the beer? Because at first glace it promises a lot...

The nose is light, balanced, but light. There is some malt in there, but it is not a heavy roast and the nose provides the first clue.  It is lightly carbonated, which is good. If the carbonation cat were calling, it would do so with one whisker.

The flavour is grainy and touched by the honey-caramel angel. There's a nice creamy texture too. However, and here's where I felt a slight disappointment, the flavour is not bold. It's a subtle beer in an unsubtle bottle. When drinking this, I couldn't help feeling that there just needed to be a touch more hops in there. A little kick, jut to let you know that she's not all about the bottle, but she likes a little bass.

Overall, a very nice Kellerbier, better than most, but perhaps hamstrung by its own appearance.

I give this one a very solid 5 out of 7.

X X X X X - - 

Gänstaller Bräu Smoked Imperial India Pale Ale

Whilst in Bamberg recently, one of the bottled beers I managed to get my hands on was the delightfully named "Gänstaller Bräu XL4 (experimental lager series) Smoked Imperial India Pale Ale - bottle fermented".

This little mouthful comes from the Gänstaller brewery in Hallerndorf, Oberfranken. The brewery is only 4 years old, so this beer is quite new to the world.

Quite wonderfully, when searching for a "marketing image" of this beer I found the following poster. The fact that the New Zealand flag is proudly crossed with the German one in this image convinced my to stop my search and provide a copy of this little image here. Unless perhaps one of the brewers is a Kiwi, I suspect the flag is a reference to the New Zealand (my country-of-origin) sourced hops which are used in this beer.

The poster gives us a few key facts too, identifying our ABV at 8.2% and conveniently pointing out the bitterness by way of 76 IBUs. As usual, I have taken my own amateur photo of this beer, sitting once again on a porcelain dish, beneath some kitchen lighting.

The beer is a deep orange yellow. Much too dark for a typical lager or even IPA, yet not quite the burnt colours you'd expect from an "ale" ale. No doubt the smoke has had something to do with this.

The nose then, is noticeably smokey. But it isn't overpowering. There is still enough hops and sweeteness coming through. The smokiness seems to be more of a homage to the Rauchbier than a full blown dive off the deep end.

The "smoked IPA" concept is a great idea. I'm generally a fan of experimentation when it comes to beer. There are enough pilseners and lagers in the world. Smoking and IPA is new to me, and I was quite excited to taste this one. In terms of flavour, obviously we have smoke. It's a tiny bit sea-foody too, as one might expect from certain Belgain beers. The combination is excellent. The hops are dancing a merry dance in there too, and not your typical "no holds barred" IPA dance either. These hops are the girl who knows how to dance, but she doesn't make a big fuss about it. This dance is restrained, yet it is not lost in the smokey haze. The balance of these difficult elements is, for me, impeccable.

If this beer is an "experiment" then my advice is to stop the test right now. This little gem needs to be taken out of the lab and released into the wild.

I give this one a 6 out of 7, and I wonder if maybe it deserves a 7.

X X X X X X -

Schönram Obergäriges Starkbier

Tonight I had the sumptuous delight of opening and tasting a bottle of the Schönram Obergäriges Starkbier. "Obergäriges Starkbier" is, for the non-German speaker, an Imperial Stout. And oh!, how Imperial, and oh!, how stout!

The Schoenram brewery is located in southeastern Bayern, in Oberbayern, almost on the Austrian border. It has been operating since 2006, and is one of the modern generation of "micro-breweries" that have sprung up all over the beer drinking world in the past 15 years.

The Obergäriges Starkbier is, according to the advertising people, supposed to look like this:

When I take a photo of it, on top of a porcelain cooking dish, next to my 1970's styled kitchen wall-tiles, it looks like this:

The beer is tar-black. Deep, dark and probably quite naughty. It reminds me of a double espresso, but not nearly as tiny. At 9.5% this is truly a Starkbier. Smashing a 330ml of this is similar to downing half a bottle of wine... so.. tread carefully.

The nose of this beer is a delight. Rich and malty. Zingy hoppy hops. It is a punch in the face of willful wonderment. The flavours are, quite surprisingly very tangy (like a freshly brewed milk-free coffee) at first, followed closely behind by a deep and rich maltiness. The combination of the zingy flavours and the light carbonation creates a sparkle as it rolls down the throat, after which comes a creamy salve.

I cannot speak highly enough of this treat. It is as good as any Stout I have ever had. On Sesame Street, they would refer to this beer as "nom, nom, nom". I confidently grant this beer a 7 out of 7. Full marks.

X X X X X X X

Beer Heaven exists and its name is Bamberg

I've just returned from a two-day visit to the town of Bamberg, in northern Bavaria. Bamberg is located within Upper Franconia (Oberfranken) which is an area which, in all likelihood, boasts the highest concentration of breweries per person in all of Germany (and possibly the world, depending on how you draw your geographical boundaries).

Bamberg is a beer drinker's dream. Without even consulting any kind of beer guidebook, or beer-related tourism tips, I managed to walk past no fewer than seven breweries during the two day stay. There are, apparently two more which I did not get around to finding. Not bad for a town with only 70,000 inhabitants!

The local specialty is Rauchbier (smoked beer). Many beer drinkers will already be familiar with the Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier which is the most famous of this particular style. This Rauchbier is commonly described in superlative terms by many who try it. However, for me, Bamberg was about the other less famous Rachbiers. In particular, just a few doors down from the Aecht Schlenkerla pub is another Brewery called "Ambräusianum". This site has only been operating since 2004. Inside they will serve a 3 x 100ml taster ("Bierprobe") of their Helles, Dunkles and the Rauchbier. Not as heavily smoked as the Schlenkerla Rauchbier, I found this to be the most pleasant bier in the smoked style on offer.

One absolute highlight for me was a shop called "bierothek" which is located on the north bank of the Main-Donau Canal, near the centre of town. This little shop was incredibly well stocked with hundreds of beer varieties all in bottles laid out with (minus a couple of exceptions) a maximum of two facings per type. I've posted some photos below from inside this shop, which the gentleman behind the counter kindly let me take.

 

I returned from Bierothek with this little stash of goodies (all Bavarian) which I shall be tasting and reviewing over the next couple of weeks. So, plenty to write and read about in the upcoming days. Stay tuned! 

Ehrenberger Pilgerstoff

In the last hour I have had the pleasure of enjoying an Ehrenberger Pilgerstoff.  This beer comes from the far northwest of Bayern, namely Oberfranken. When bottled, the beer arrives in 500ml serves. The ABV for this beer is 5.2%.

I was unable, in the 20 seconds that I typically give myself, to find an advertising photo if the beer in a glass. I did however, find this image online;

My own image is somewhat less prepared, but at least I can Boston the nectar itself, glowing in the shared light of a 40w energy saving bulb;

Pilgerstoff is a Märzen/Dunkles beer. It glows red, like many of the dark beers from this part of Bayern. The nose is entirely pleasant.  There us some toffee, fruits an (if you can convince yourself a little) the lightest smokiness.

The flavour is well rounded,  warm  and rich. There are some hops, with their attendant bitterness,  but this is fleeting.  The main contribution is toffee, malt and a squeeze of apple. Overall the beer is sweet and inviting. Happily, I did not find myself wishing that I were drinking this during a different season.

Pilgerstoff is a real goodie. I grant it a 6 out of 7.

X X X X X X -

Erlbräu Erlkönig

"Dem Vater grauset's, er reitet geschwind,

Er hält in Armen das ächzende Kind,

Erreicht den Hof mit Müh' und Not;

In seinen Armen das Kind war tot."

The above text is from a poem by Goethe,  after which this beer appears to be named. The beer is brewed by Erlbräu,  in Niederbayern.  

Served from a 500 ml bottle, this is a lightly coloured pale yellow Helles. 5% of the volume of this beer is alcohol, and marketing people have decided that it looks like this;

When opened and poured into a glass at a turkish Döner-kebab diner in Laaber,  it looks like this; 

This is a well balanced beer in terms of flavour. Sweet, a touch bitter and with some gentle nuttiness for good measure. The overall mellow nature of this one means that it will struggle for memorability. However,  it is a very competent beer.

I willingly award this one 4 out of 7.

X X X X - - -

Hacker-Pschorr Superior

The "Superior" by Hacker-Pschorr is a seasonal fest-bier. This particular festival being Christmas, hence the snowy picture on the label. Basically it is a Helles (lager) but it is stronger in flavour and in ABV when compared to the usual garden varieties of Helles.

From the city of Munich (Oberbayern), Hacker-Pschorr claims to have been around since 1417. Now that we've got the boring bits out of the way...

Here's how the marketing types want you to see this beer; note the blurry chap in the background, no doubt enjoying himself:

And here is how the Bottle&Glass combo looks when I take a photo of it. With a crappy camera. In bad lighting. Next to a pot plant.

The pour is a rich yellowish-hay colour. My girlfriend advises me that hay is green. I beg to differ. Hay, is a sort of pale yellowish brown. On second thought, hay is probably too pale. Let's go with "rich yellow"...

It didn't detect much in the way of smell from this one. It is, shall we say, "clean" in that department. In light of the aroma I was not expecting a bitter beer. True to form, it isn't bitter. It sits on the sweeter side of Lagers. I could almost imagine peaches in there.. but let's not allow the imagination to run too wild. I must confess that I started this beer after a hot chilli meal. It was a rather good accompaniment. However I finished the bottle sometime later, after the chilli had worn off. By that point the slightly-sweet-but-clean finish left me slightly wanting. Wanting hops.

Overall a solid strong lager. Probably best for folks who don't drink darker beers, but still want a little extra ABV in the winter months.

I rate this one a weak 4 out of 7.

X X X X - - -

Weißenoher bonifatius

This evening I put The Weißenhoher Bonifatius to the test.
This beer is a monastery brew (Klosterbier) from Oberfranken, in the north of Bavaria.

Here is what the beer looks like in advertising material:

The bottle is standard half Liter, sporting 5.1% ABV of "Dunkles" (dark) Beer.
I would add that the beer itself is tilted towards the Reddish side of Dunkles. It doesn't take much lighting to turn her into a glowing red ale, at least as far as appearances are concerned. Here's how a poured bottle looks, on a window-sill, in the evening with a dirty window behind it:

Flavour-wise I get some nice messages from this little number between the receptors on my tongue and the part of my brain that does the processing. The beer is mild and mellow. I get the feeling that it has one shoulder leaning on a sack of nuts, whilst staring longingly at a stick of slightly burnt toffee. The only slight downside is a tinge of something metallic at the long end of the taste. But this is easily remedied by putting another mouthful down the hatch before it can materialise.

The Bonifatius is a good drop. I could happily down a couple of these, and if I drank Islay whisky, I suspect this beer would make an excellent accompaniment.

On the "what's it like" scale, I'd give this beer a 4 out of 7. But it is pushing firmly towards the 5 mark.

X X X X - - -