November 30th, 2009 by Nate

Tactical Nuclear Penguin from BrewDog on Vimeo.

Excuse the stereotypical stupid German accent in the name of this article, couldn’t help myself when you have something that is that strongest beer ‘in the world’.

None the less, the Scottish boys over at Beer Dog Breweries have developed a stout beer containing 32% alcohol. Interesting premise and one I would very much like to try. None the less, I’ll let the above video do the talking.

Oh and if anyone at Beer Dog reads this blog, ping me.

32% alcohol, Beer, Scotland, strong beer, Tactical Nuclear Penguin

November 28th, 2009 by Nate

I’ve previously posted about the Augustiner Bräu so I’m not going to re-hash over why I like the bier. But I can share this experience of coming back to the hotel after a day/night at Oktoberfest and finding the pub open…. woohoo! So this is a pic of a the last bier of the night

Prost.

Augustiner Bräu, Beer, Bier, German Bier, Oktoberfest, Oktoberfest 2009, Pils

November 26th, 2009 by Nate

I’ve recently undertaken a semi-regular weekend train trip that allows me some time to enjoy a few beers, read a book, watch a movie and just have some down time. During my last trip I tried a popular Swiss Bier/Bière/Birra Calanda (check out the entry site for the 3 languages… that is Switzerland) Edelbräu.

Now the Calanda is very common and popular Swiss brand, however their usual lager isn’t so special. The above Edelbräu however is fantastic. My first mouthful of this lager-ish brew was full of cloves and chocolate like sweetness that was surprisingly refreshing. Whilst not having the texture of say a Weiss bier, I thoroughly enjoyed the Edelbräu.

The reasons for the difference in flavour from the normal bier is apparently the water, which for the Edelbräu is sourced from an Alpine spring. I’m not sure if this is the only reason, but I thoroughly enjoyed this and would recommend it to anyone.

Alps, Bier, bière, Birra, Edelbräu, Siwss, Swiss Bier/Bière/Birra, Switzerland, Train

November 25th, 2009 by Nate

So it turns out you can literally take a bier bath at the Chodovar Brewery in Bohemia. I don’t know about those of you out there, but I think this is a brilliant idea.

Of course you are not meant to drink the bath water, which is fine as the staff will provide you with a cold bier if required, which I’m guessing is a yes.

Na zdraví!

November 22nd, 2009 by Nate

Some of the more fanatic bier drinkers out there may know that during the middle ages in Germany, Bier was considered to be a more important source of nutrition than bread or other perishable foods. As we should all know, bier has similar properties to bread, with the added benefit of having a ‘built in’ preservative. Thus during this period bier was considered a food (and still is today under Bavarian law), so the King of the region declared that in beautiful city of Nürnberg the people were to build tunnels to store bier.

These Tunnels or Felsengänge were originally the Nürnberg castle cellar, but expanded to encompass some 100000m2 of storage space. The brilliance of this is two fold:
1. The rock that was removed was used to shape the city above ground
2. That when entering the tunnel the temperature is costant between 6 and 8 degrees, which was perfect for brewing and storing bier.

Nowadays you can partake in tours of the tunnels/Felsengänge that conclude in the basement of the above brewery, the Hausbrauerei Altstadthof.

The bier contained in the stein above is a local Nürnberger specialty, Rotbier. An amber like bubbly and contrasting bier. There is a nice fruity, almost apple fragrance to it, but with a deep toasty taste. The texture is not what I would classify as typically German, it’s a little thin… almost Czech Pils like, which only added to my interest in this bier and this adventure.

Now before I rate this bier, I should state that the Braumeister (Brew master) Herr Reinhard Engel has also developed an interesting side project. He has figured out how to distill the bier and to produce what is called Bierbrand. The schnapps is a brilliant addition and something I believe all people should try when visiting the brewery.

Without question this experience and bier is worth the 5 steins:

Altstadthof, Amber, Ambre, Beer, Bier, Bierbrand, Braumeister, Brew master, Felsengänge, German Bier, Hausbrauerei Altstadthof, Nuremberg, Nürnberg, Nürnberger, Reinhard Engel, Rotbier, tunnels

November 20th, 2009 by Nate

I’ve previously posted about the Birra Toll brand. This time around I’ve decided to review the Panada or Blanche (weiss) birra.

The birra itself is actually quite thin and simplified for a blanche. It was almost as though, whilst drinking it, that you are waiting for something else to happen…. alas nothing does. The birra is the juxtaposition to it’s sister birra, the Shangrila in that it’s just not a challenge to drink it. Maybe that was the case. However trying both of these birras, it’s clear to me that the Panada barely deserves 3 steins:

Birra, Birra Troll, Blanche, Italian Birra, Italy, Panada, Weiss

November 19th, 2009 by Nate

There is something about a good Weissen during winter. Edelweiss is one of the solid Austrian Weiss Biers. The bier comes from the Hofbräu Kaltenhausen located in the alps, near Salzburg (the home of the “Sound of Music”) and the word Edelweiss is actually the name of a small alpine flower. Hofbräu Kaltenhausen is the oldest brewery in Austria which has been brewing Weiss bier for 350 years, which is interestingly longer than most Bavarian Weiss Brew houses.

As far as having a weiss bier in the alps, this isn’t bad. Especially when compared to the weiss biers I have listed in my 5 stein list. The texture is too watery, which I believe can be attributed to the water used. It’s a little too pure…. which is hard to quantify when explaining a bier, but yeah it’s just lacking that chewable texture that a Karg has. I also believe the natural alpine ingredients are what make it unique, such as it being a little too bitter. This one is a tough call…….. I’m going to go with it barely getting 4 steins, mainly because it is unique. (I’ll have to try this again).

alpine, Alps, Austrian Bier, Beer, Bier, Edelweiss, Österreich, Salzburg, Weißbier, weissbier

November 17th, 2009 by Nate

When visiting England, York to be specific, I had to have some regional Ale’s. One of the more ‘popular’, local drinks that I consumed over dinner was the Black Sheep Ale. I do enjoy ales as they have the similar texture of a weissen, but offer an amazing range of flavours. The Black Sheep was an interesting mix between bitter and sweet, but also warming which suited the cool Yorkshire night very well.

I’m going to throw 4 steins at this one:

Ale, Beer, Black Sheep Ale, English Ale, York, Yorkshire

November 15th, 2009 by Nate

This is a perfect Bavarian tradition, Schweinebraten (Bavarian Pork Roast) with a Weiss bier, in this case a Maisel’s Wisse.

Ok first to the meat, if you’ve ever had a pork knuckle or anything similar you will know just how well the Germans cook their pork. The meat literally falls off the bone like butter off a hot knife and is a dream to eat. You will also notice the white ‘ball’ behind the pork, this is called a knoodle and is essentially a dumpling made of potato, which with gravy sauce is amazing.

Now down to the bier…. I think it’s safe to say that so long as you have a good weiss of 4 or more steins, then you can’t go wrong here. The weiss bier with the Schweinebraten is a little slice of heaven. The Maisel’s Weisse is a 4 stein bier. It’s not bad in anyway but it just lacks the complexity of say a Karg or a Franziskaner. It still has a lovely aroma of yeasty toffee and has the almost perfect texture for a weiss (which is almost that ‘chewy’ nature).

Bavairan, Bavaria, Bayern, Beer, Bier, German Bier, Maisel's Weisse, Schweinebraten, Weiss

November 12th, 2009 by Nate

[From ABC News, via A Blog about Beer]

So apparently a single bottle of Löwenbräu managed to survive the Hindenburg disaster?!?!? Crazy eh? I just had to share this as if I had the free cash, I’d bid on it. I mean what an amazing piece of history… even if it is completely undrinkable!

Bier, hindenburg, History, Löwenbräu