Taste the beers of Germany (First half) (The world cup cometh ... but not yet ... so off to Germany and its beers)
Ten o'clock on a (rainy & windy) Saturday morning in May, not the normal time you would be expecting to have 15 beers, but that is indeed what John Simpson (allegedly not related to Homer) asks you to do. While John does do evening courses this one is a three and a half hour 'visit' to taste the styles of beers from ... Germany.
"Its all lager" I hear you say. Well, nearly. Read on ...
John is very enthusiastic about his favorite subject (both John and his wife have done extensive research) and goes to great trouble to provide everyone with a great learning experience, handouts and a menu are provided with extensive course material and tasting notes, there is a brief introduction to German beers, a plug for the recently issued CAMRA book on Germany there is even music (and a song sheet - I managed the "La La etc" bit) and a display of German brewerania. But brewery t-shirts are too discreet - a logo saying 'Duesseldorf' where the word incorporates the logo of the Schluessel brewery is a bit too esoteric to get the message across!
John (assisted by his wife Jeannette) provide the whole 'German experience'. Oh ... and some good news as there is a full course John has managed to find a few more beers - so now we have 21 to get though.
ABV and scores [ "x" out of 3] are after the beer.
"We'll get this one out of the way quickly!" [Number 1] Karamalz[
]a Malzbier [0 out of 3] is a sweet non-alcoholic (ABV 0.2%) made with malt. "It is a healthy refreshment drink for young and old alike," thank goodness John has thought ahead and provided some buckets!
Next up a Berliner Weisse beer [Number 2] Berliner Kindl Weiße[][1/3] at 2.9%, John describes this as rather like an old fashioned lemonade with a hint of alcohol. The pickled herring that is provided with it (and there are plenty of other traditional - and some not so traditional - German foodstuffs) take the edge off the this light golden colour but slightly sour beer.
John next has some explaining to do, a Vienna Red from Greenwich's [Number 3] Meantime Brewery []produced for Sainsbury. Ok, he has tried his hardest but he cannot find a single German brewer. This is more like it, at 5% this Vienna Red [2/3] is a darker beer and is brewed using the German purity laws (the Reinheitsgebot) so it only has water, barley and hops. It has a fruity taste and is also much easier to find than some of the other beers that are on the menu.
Two Pilsners are tried side by side. [Number 4] Pilsner Urquell [](4.4%) [2/3] and a German [Number 5] Pils - Weltenburger []Kloster Pils (4.9%) [1.75/3]. The Urquell is most probably familiar to many and it is a clean and dry beer, the German "copy" is bright gold, with an aroma of hops and lemon, the taste is hoppy and floral with a bitter finish, but it is not as clean as the Urquell.
We move on to Helles and the [Number 5] Andechser[]Spezial Hell at 5.9% [2.25/3] there is a more pronounced alcohol character but it is still a well balanced beer. Alongside this we get to sample the Munich Dunkel another spezial [Number 6] Augustiner Dunkel [](5.6%)[2.3/3]. This could be the best so far. A dark sweet bread, chocolate, dark malts and mocha. Very evenly balanced, and very drinkable.
[Number 7] Next is a Landbier, essentially a hoppier version of a Helles. This one is the Anno 1417[](5.5%) [1.75/3] and is a hazy orange-amber colour, with some hints of malts and a little frutiness in the finish. A slightly lower score because it came after the Dunkel but not bad.
Now we are cracking on. nearly 11.30 on our Saturday morning (still) and we move on to something that everyone has heard of - Oktoberfest. Two beers from München (Munich to you and me) famous October Festival - where there are six beers (give or take a few) [compare this to CAMRA's Great British Beer Festival's 400 (or so) British beers - and we are not thinking of any foreign beers or ciders or bottles!] So at this point John tells us how German is at a crux, but like Britain in the late sixties there is no CAMRA and brews are controlled by a BIG seven (or so) ... err ... perhaps they should do something.
Anyway, [Number 8] Paulaner's[]Oktoberfest Märzen (ABV 6%) [2.25/3] is a light amber beer, with a slight malty taste. but a good overall taste, and [Number 9] Hacker Pschorr's[]Oktoberfest Märzen (ABV 5.8%) [2/3] has more of a caramel and slightly soapy (pleasant) taste, there are ripe bananas and a bit of fruit.
[Number 10] EXPORT is next Dortmunder[](owned by Oetker group) Export (ABV 5.3%) [1.75/3]. the brewery Brinkhoff[]is due to be closed by DAB. 'Mild' on the label this should be a bottom fermented, "bigger bodied" beer.
Not even lunch, and already [Number 11]. Wow! Talk first. This could be the best yet. A Doppelbock Paulaner's[]Dunkler Doppelbock "Salvator" (ABV 7.5%) [2.3/3]. Now this is a rich tasting beer (nearly a Belguim trappist) and a smooth finish with a sweet and roasted finish.
HALF TIME - Oh no ... [Beer Songs in German] "la la la etc" (Second Half)
