Went on a nice long MTB ride today–and I mean a long one!  Check it out here.  After the ride, I needed something refreshing…so I drank a Schöfferhofer Grapefruit — this beer is a 50-50 mix of Weizen and Grapefruit juice.  It was quite flavorful — if you get a chance to try it, I highly recommend it.

Beer Mentor

Here I am at day 17 and I had a couple of beers to choose from earlier today.  However, I didn’t have my camera so I had to wait until I was in my room and relaxing.  We were actually at a brew house today for a luncheon, but I went with my first bock bier since I’ve been in Germany.  It had a very nice color, good flavor, and the aroma was just right, too.

Now when you look at the picture don’t be put off by the fact that I’m drinking it out of a weizen glass — that’s just the only glass I had!  This beer is also from the Schoenbuch brewery — I will put together an entry on this brewery in the not too distant future.  Enjoy!

Beer Mentor

Today we went to the Naturfruenden Haus — right by the Barracks where I work (for lunch).  We decided to enjoy a little refreshment (just one …) and I had a nice little unfiltered Pilsner (see a trend here?) — called Zwick’l Kellerbier from Bayreuther Bierbrauerei.  I really like these Pils with the “Naturtrub” — It adds a little body to the beer that I really enjoy.

If I understand the German correctly, the name “Zwick’l” comes from the wooden plug “holzzwickel” used to reseal a keg once the brewmaster has tried the beer the first time to see if it is ready.  Of course, the name was shortened slightly, but this one came in its own special mug:

… I love Germany!

Beer Mentor

I was pressed for time this evening … too many “household” chores!  I’m really going to have to find me a nice french maid (we’re close to France here) to take care of all the little things so I can concentrate on what’s important … this quest.

However, I did add another Pilsner to my list last night … but it is different … it is an unfiltered Pilsner (natuertrub) — so you will see it is a little cloudy.  It also looks more cloudy because the glass has a unique characteristic — look close!

This beer comes originally from Heilbronn’s Cluss brewerery (but now a part of the Dinkelacker family of brews)… a nice addition to my journey.

Beer Mentor

Went to my first Irish Pub in Germany.  Not the first Irish Pub in Germany, but the first for this trip! I think the name of the place was “Ireland’s Own.”

The beer?  A Pilsner of course … I could have had a Guinness, but I’ll save that for later when I need a stretch beer to keep up my streak of a different beer every day.

This beer came from a local brewery in Stuttgart as well … Schoenbuch Brewery — it’s called the Forstmeister Pils.  It had a little bit of a chill haze, but it had nice head retention (yeah, remember that conversation with myself).  Nice flavor too.

Enjoy,

Beer Mentor

Yes, tonight I took it easy in the room catching up on a few things.  So I relaxed with a store bought brew – the Würzburger hofbräu “Pilsner Premium.”

Quite a tasty Pilsner.  Very much in style — and, surprise, it was “gebraut nach Bayerischem reinheitsgebot. (see associated picture)

Was it worthy  of the 13th beer?  Does the brewery being in existence since 1643 count?  I think so …

Beer Mentor

“A beer in a tree.”  Actually, she’s given me more than that … she was completely supportive of my coming here to work so that I could have this experience.  Wow.  My advice to you — when you get a good one, keep her/him (You can’t have mine.)

Now, on to beer… today I had disappointment and then pleasure.  I went to tour the Dinkelacker brewery … unfortunately, it wasn’t open.

However, the restaurant “Brauerei-Gaststätte Dinkelacker Piorkowski” was open — they are right by the brewery.  Normally, on Sundays they are closed … but today… yes! Open!  So, I went in, sat at the bar (see pictures) and had a Maerzen Bier.  I was very happy with the flavor of this beer … and it went very well with my “Wild Venison Goulash and Spaetzle.”  Wow.  The overhead for the bar was the top of a large mash (or lauter) tun.  I took a picture of the outside and thee inside.  You can see the sliding door where they could access the grain, etc.

Very cool.  Nice day for the Beer Mentor.

Beer Mentor

Today I had to drop into my emergency stash … I was out doing the tourist thing — went to a Cloister (Kloster) in Maulbronn.

Then had a big MTB ride in that area — got a little lost, etc so I was out almost 4 hours (you can see the crazed look in my eyes)!

When I finished I was pretty wiped out … so I headed back to the hotel, had some dinner, and finished it off with this beer (see picture).

Budvar is a very nice Czech Pilsner — Notice this label uses the word “Budweiser” because it is sold in Europe.  They cannot use that word in the USA on the label.  I enjoyed it … and then passed out for the evening!

Beer Mentor

Yes, Friday the 13th … I thought a Dark beer would be a great option for Friday the 13th! So I went with “Das Schwarze.”  You can see by the picture with the full glass that this beer has a nice color, good head retention … of course, I don’t really care about head retention because I’m drinking this beer, not looking at it.  Ok, I did look at it for a moment and the head was still there when I started drinking it so it must have had good head retention.  Then I drank it.  Oh, and then I drank a Steinkrug of the Festbier for good measure.  What do you expect from Friday the 13th?

Beer Mentor

For those who have been wondering where I’ve been enjoying all of these different beers … check out this web page (zom Wuff) to see the location.  Here’s a shot I took of the outside signs just to give you a feel for the place …

What I will do is go over during the day to take a couple of shots of the view from the patio.   Super place with really nice people … and they love dogs too!

Ok … today’s beer is an Oldie, but Goodie.  A very nice Pilsner in the Traditional sense … here’s how traditional … it’s been brewed like this since 1832.  It comes from the oldest brewery in Stuttgart — Wulle.  Oh, and you can drink this one from the bottle …

Finally, you’ll be happy to know that I made sure and added a very special dish to this traditional beer.  You can see Martin the Chef in the first picture (it was an action photo after a couple of brews!) and the second picture shows the wonderful dinner I enjoyed with my Pilsner…

Beer Mentor