Category Archives: Beer Notes

Alpirsbacher Klosterbräu Kloster Zwickel

Alpirsbacher Klosterbräu Kloster Zwickel

Alpirsbacher Klosterbräu Kloster Zwickel

Not bad! Not amazing but I’d drink it again.

Side note: we almost went to the Alpirsbacher brewery a few days ago, but didn’t because we are getting old and just can’t party like we used to. You’re probably reading this right now (Thomas) and denying it, but it’s true. We’re too old for such shenanigans. We prefer the comfort of home.

I’ll grant you that our home is bereft of furniture and other things that old people tend to have, but that doesn’t matter. We like sitting on our hardwood floors.

Calwer-Eck-Bräu Braumeisterbier

Calwer-Eck-Bräu - Braumeisterbier

Calwer-Eck-Bräu – Braumeisterbier

On Sunday, we wandered over to Sommerfest with a couple friends. After wandering around a bit, we ended up sitting down at an outdoor restaurant area that had some shade. We didn’t realize we had just sat down at a brewery. You’d think that’d be something we’d notice.

The beer was something I had never heard of, or seen in the stores. Alissa and I ordered the same beer, because when one of the options translates to “master brewer’s beer”, you buy it.

It came in a small 0.3 liter glass (about a half a pint), but the first sip was glorious. So many hops. So much delight. I was shocked, because up till now, I’d never had a German beer that used hops properly. Yeah, I said “properly”. Hops should be used for flavor, not preservation. Their logo even has a hops plant on it!

We also tasted the darker beer, which was good too. Somehow, against my character, I drank three of these without even considering switching to a different type. We’re going to have to go back to make sure we give adequate testing time to the other options.

And can you guess how far away the brewery is from our apartment? A delightful five minute walk! When one of you guys comes to visit, we’re totally going on a brewery tour. And we’re going to bring home a mini keg.

Braumeisterbier

Calwer-Eck-Bräu website

Just spend some time reading that website. Then book a flight.

 

Kloster Andechs Andechser Doppelbock Dunkel

Kloster Andechs Andechser Doppelbock Dunkel

Kloster Andechs Andechser Doppelbock Dunkel

I’ve sampled a lot of beer here in Germany. I go to the grocery store and grab almost every single kind of beer they have. I skip the ones in plastic bottles, but the rest come home. Sometimes I drink them warm. Sometimes I drink them cold. Depends on how I feel that day, really.

Throughout this experimentation, I’ve never been amazed. German beers tend to be very similar to each other. Sometimes a beer will be a bit stronger than average, or have a particular quality that shines through (maybe better to say “peeks through”), but it’s never very far away from the average.

So you can imagine my delight when I tried this one. Rich and delicious. I’m sure I had several other adjectives to go along with it, but I drank this almost 3 weeks ago. But even though I don’t remember what it really tasted like, I do know it was the best German beer I’ve had yet. Really quite great.

Budweiser Budvar

Budweiser Budvar

Budweiser Budvar

I’ve been slacking off with the beer posts. And the meat posts, to be honest. The reason for this is because posting lots of small photos that require heavy editing, are just a pain in the ass. My laptop has performed admirably, but it’s no speed demon.

Luckily for you, my desktop has arrived. So without further ado, I bring you: Budweiser! But not the American version! In fact, they’re two completely separate companies. This one is based in Czechoslovakia.

Unfortunately, the beer is still boring.

Next.

TB Original Turmbräu Premium Pils FEINER PILSGENUSS AUS BESTEN ROHSTOFFEN

TB Original Turmbräu Premium Pils

TB Original Turmbräu Premium Pils

The flavor is of rich malts. Oats. Toasted barley, and aromatic hops. Rich and bitter, but not too bitter. The yeast adds a nice bread aroma. Almost perfect.

Not really. This beer was crap.

Also, it took forever to find the brewery. Apparently, it’s owned by Rewe. In other words, it’s the Sam’s Choice of beers. I took the title of this post from the trademark application for the can design.

They trademarked it.

Fürst Wallerstein Zwickel

Fürst Wallerstein Zwickel

Fürst Wallerstein Zwickel

This one has an interesting fruitiness to it. Citrusness, as I like to call it. It’s faint, but at least it’s not totally boring.

Unfortunately, it’s not particularly good. But it’s hard to fault a beer that tastes different. The gas in this one is a bit overwhelming. I think I should have chilled this a bit.

Radeberger Pilsner

Radeberger Pilsner

Radeberger Pilsner

Well. This was a German Pilsner. It was okay.

Veltins Pilsener

Veltins Pilsener

Veltins Pilsener

Meh. Lots of meh happening here.

 

Beck’s

Beck's

Beck's

I was not expecting this to be good, so I wasn’t surprised. Overly bitter, just meh.

But I did some research because Becks just goes by one name (instead of, say Becks Lager). Is there any other beer company that does that? Anyway, I’m getting off topic. The point is, I found out that Becks owns Hasseröder! Hasseröder even produces some of Becks beer! Terrible! It’s even worse when you realize that Becks is owned by InBev (the most gigantic beer company in the world).

Well, it’s not shocking after Thomas pointed out that Hasseröder was a disgusting “TV beer”. If you missed it in the comments, you should watch the advertisement. It’s fantastic.

I’m getting off topic again. The point of this entire post is, this is not a good beer.

Also, I’m drinking a Hasseröder right now, and it’s not nearly as good as it was a couple days ago. Dang it.

Sanwald Kristall Weizen

Sanwald Kristall Weizen

Sanwald Kristall Weizen

I’ve had this beer several times now, mostly in draught form, from restaurants around town. I had this one at the zoo. Pretty good. It’s a filtered wheat beer, so it’s not cloudy. I’m not sure why they filter it.

Edit: It should be noted that this is always served with lemon in restaurants. I do not like lemon in beer, so I have to start every meal with the impolite behavior of fishing out the lemon with my fingers or a knife, and then throwing it on the ground. That’ll show them.