It's pretty clear to see that when it comes to beer-producing countries I'm pretty biased towards Belgium. It's what I've mainly drunk for the last 10 years and it continues to delight me with its beer, but the time's come to branch out. If there's one country that I've scandalously ignored, it's Germany, which leaves me a rather large task. I've never drank an Altbier and the only Bock I've had is from Schlenkerla (which for those who don't know is completely drowned in beech smoke flavour).
So a trip to a decent local offy has furnished me with a few new things to try. He apologised that he was currently under stocked but there was still a fair bit on offer. The first thing that struck me was that pretty much every brewery in Germany has exactly the same idea of what a bottle of beer should look like. So, a lot of close inspection was needed to find the styles.
I started with a Helles from Allgäuer, called 'Original'. It was brewed to celebrate their 100th anniversary and came in a swing top bottle (great to reuse when homebrewing). I actually opened this one first because it looked like the bottle had been reused one too many times and there was a bit of leakage due to a duff lid. So much for reusing on the homebrew!
For a lager-sceptic like me, starting off on a flat beer was asking for trouble, but I did my best. I can't obviously comment on the head but the colour was interesting: darker than your usual pale-straw (dehydrated pee, anyone?) but as clear as Mother Theresa's conscience. It'd certainly been through the filter once or twice.
I was really hoping I'd love this beer, but at the same time had a horrible feeling that lager might not be my thing. As soon as I took a sniff I was happy I'd taken a chance. It was full of sweet maltiness (very mild, mind) and lots of noble hops. Hops are clearly fashionable at the moment, but not your old fashioned German ones, which are very special. The outstanding character of this beer, however, was sweetness: I was at home!
Even though it was completely flat it was very palatable. All the fruity honey flavours and sweetness made me reach for more. Thankfully it wasn't too much. It wasn't necessarily balanced by bitterness, it was just a steady amount that didn't ever become thick in the mouth.
Aftertaste-wise it was a similar story. There was a consistently sweet, honey flavour complemented by fruity and mildly herbal hops. Whilst there wasn't any real bitterness as such, there must be some there to keep the sweetness in check, otherwise it'd be pretty heavy going.
It shows that with 100 years' experience Allgäuer has learnt that you only need to do one or two things really well in order to have a great product. I'm sure that down the line there'll be other German beers that do a couple of simple things well that I may not find so tasty but this one has made me very excited about finding out.
Allgäuer Original "100 Jahre" 4.9% - 9
http://www.allgaeuer-brauhaus.de/100jahre/index.html
Wednesday 30 May 2012
Sunday 20 May 2012
Petrus: A Love Affair
This post comes under the unofficial 'Personal Faves' series that will pop up from time to time. Who knows when the next will appear? Who knows how many personal favourites I have? I'll check next time I speak to myself.
I should be more specific: whilst my wife and I know exactly what we mean by 'Petrus', it's actually Petrus Dubbel Bruin. Bavik brewery produce 6 in the Petrus range, including Oud Bruin (a curious, sour, oak-aged number), but this is a stand-out bottle we buy again and again.
Uncommonly, I must point out initially how cheap this beer is; at £2 a bottle online this is a factor that becomes impossible to ignore as some of the beers that I'm drinking exceed £4 per bottle. When you're getting a case of 24 it matters! Whilst this inevitably means that Bavik are churning swimming pools of the stuff, it's no bad thing if it all tastes great. One of its strong points is how consistent it is.
I surprise myself again as I tell you this is no complex beer; it's fairly straightforward in fact. It's one of the palest Dubbels you'll find, just about knocking on amber's door. Scent-wise, there's a strong caramel aroma with some gentle hops peeping out from behind. It's not particularly malty which is surprising; it's just got a charming sweetness about it.
The taste is a similar story, dominated by the caramel flavour. The aftertaste is inevitably sweet, with those hops just returning to provide a bitter balance. Some, I'm sure, would find it a little sweet but I return to it again and again, enjoying it every time.
If I had to have a criticism (which I suppose I should) is that the flavour is slightly too reliant on candi sugar (an invert sugar often used in Belgium). However, saying that, if you're a fan of Belgian Dubbels and haven't tried this classic then it's time to find your nearest stockist or get online. Sip, say yum, thank me.
Petrus Dubbel Bruin 8.5
http://bavik.be/producten/index.asp?ITEM_ID=7&PRODUCT_ID=26&PRODUCT_TYPE_ID=11
I should be more specific: whilst my wife and I know exactly what we mean by 'Petrus', it's actually Petrus Dubbel Bruin. Bavik brewery produce 6 in the Petrus range, including Oud Bruin (a curious, sour, oak-aged number), but this is a stand-out bottle we buy again and again.
Uncommonly, I must point out initially how cheap this beer is; at £2 a bottle online this is a factor that becomes impossible to ignore as some of the beers that I'm drinking exceed £4 per bottle. When you're getting a case of 24 it matters! Whilst this inevitably means that Bavik are churning swimming pools of the stuff, it's no bad thing if it all tastes great. One of its strong points is how consistent it is.
I surprise myself again as I tell you this is no complex beer; it's fairly straightforward in fact. It's one of the palest Dubbels you'll find, just about knocking on amber's door. Scent-wise, there's a strong caramel aroma with some gentle hops peeping out from behind. It's not particularly malty which is surprising; it's just got a charming sweetness about it.
The taste is a similar story, dominated by the caramel flavour. The aftertaste is inevitably sweet, with those hops just returning to provide a bitter balance. Some, I'm sure, would find it a little sweet but I return to it again and again, enjoying it every time.
If I had to have a criticism (which I suppose I should) is that the flavour is slightly too reliant on candi sugar (an invert sugar often used in Belgium). However, saying that, if you're a fan of Belgian Dubbels and haven't tried this classic then it's time to find your nearest stockist or get online. Sip, say yum, thank me.
Petrus Dubbel Bruin 8.5
http://bavik.be/producten/index.asp?ITEM_ID=7&PRODUCT_ID=26&PRODUCT_TYPE_ID=11
Thursday 3 May 2012
Do The Wolf Hop
Lupulus: while this may sound like the name of a professor at Hogwarts it's actually a beer. The Latin name for the hop plant is Humulus Lupulus which translates as 'small humble wolf'. The region of the Ardennes where the brewery is based used to be home to wolf packs (so they say). Just in case you didn't get it, they've got a huge picture of a wolf on the front surrounded by hop flowers. So, for cleverclogs only.
It comes in a 750ml bottle and for some reason that gets me excited. If a brewer is confident enough to think that people will buy their beer in large quantities then I'm on board. However, it's in a controversial green bottle; apparently this leaves it susceptible to be 'light struck', i.e. stinky. The jury's out as to whether it's both green and brown which are ok, or just brown. I've heard both, but never experienced skunky, light-struck beer myself, so we'll have to trust the experts, who disagree...
Enough rambling, the beer has now entered the glass. It's an alluring number, ghostly pale with a frothy head that fades fairly quickly but leaves adequate 'lacing' down the glass (I don't know why we dont just call it 'foamy scum'. What's not appealing about that?). The aroma is fairly gentle; I was expecting a little more. It's slightly herbaceous in its hop element and there's a light grain scent. In fairness, for a such a pale beer it has plenty on offer.
Taste-wise, there's a lovely honey flavour in the initial sip and the after-taste is very clean. The 8.5% alcohol comes through in a rich wave, but isn't overpowering. It's pleasingly flavoursome. The bitterness and sweetness are well-balanced throughout, from the first sip to the final smack of the mouth.
Whilst it isn't a huge beer it's very classy and slowly builds into a really great beer. Personally, I find taste-filled pale and blonde beers are lower in supply than their darker cousins but That's Just Me. The best drinks are those that grow on you through the glass and this is one of them. It's definitely a beer to buy again, to share with a good friend or two, or just to get nicely drunk on your lonesome...
Lupulus - 9
http://www.lupulus.be/en/beer-lupulus-blond.html
It comes in a 750ml bottle and for some reason that gets me excited. If a brewer is confident enough to think that people will buy their beer in large quantities then I'm on board. However, it's in a controversial green bottle; apparently this leaves it susceptible to be 'light struck', i.e. stinky. The jury's out as to whether it's both green and brown which are ok, or just brown. I've heard both, but never experienced skunky, light-struck beer myself, so we'll have to trust the experts, who disagree...
Enough rambling, the beer has now entered the glass. It's an alluring number, ghostly pale with a frothy head that fades fairly quickly but leaves adequate 'lacing' down the glass (I don't know why we dont just call it 'foamy scum'. What's not appealing about that?). The aroma is fairly gentle; I was expecting a little more. It's slightly herbaceous in its hop element and there's a light grain scent. In fairness, for a such a pale beer it has plenty on offer.
Taste-wise, there's a lovely honey flavour in the initial sip and the after-taste is very clean. The 8.5% alcohol comes through in a rich wave, but isn't overpowering. It's pleasingly flavoursome. The bitterness and sweetness are well-balanced throughout, from the first sip to the final smack of the mouth.
Whilst it isn't a huge beer it's very classy and slowly builds into a really great beer. Personally, I find taste-filled pale and blonde beers are lower in supply than their darker cousins but That's Just Me. The best drinks are those that grow on you through the glass and this is one of them. It's definitely a beer to buy again, to share with a good friend or two, or just to get nicely drunk on your lonesome...
Lupulus - 9
http://www.lupulus.be/en/beer-lupulus-blond.html
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