Tonight we went back to the Schoenbuch Brauhaus and I had a nice Flammkuchen.  They have some excellent beer as well as tonight’s was no different … it was the Horst Hell.  This is a lagerbier brewed after a 100-year-old recipe.

It had an excellent flavor, very nice nose, and the finish was excellent.

Beer Mentor

Today’s beer (#183) is a Polish Brew: The Tyskie Gronie.  This is a brew from a brewery in Tychy, Poland —Tyskie Browary Książęce.  They’ve been brewing beer since the 1600s.

This beer has actually won a couple of Gold Medals (2002, 2005).  If you like a nice Lager, this is a good beer for you.  The only thing that stood out in my mind when I was tasting it was it seemed to have a touch too much of a corn-produced alcohol “flavor.”  Many times you can taste the corn liquor when they use adjuncts in beers — the flavor may have come out more to me because I drank this beer at a little higher temperature.  Even with this warming/taste effect, it was still a very drinkable beer.

Beer Mentor

Yes I’m still continuing the trend of 100 something beers in 100 something days … I’m up to 182 and counting…

Today, it’s something I thought I would never see again — a pull tab.  Here are two pictures confirming this:

What is the beer you ask?  Why, it is Zhu Jiang Beer (pronounced “Joo Jung” Beer) — or, in English, Pearl River.  This beer is brewed by the Guangzhou Zhu Jiang Brewery Co (which is actually part of the InBev conglomerate).

My friend kindly brought this back to me from a trip he made to China.  This was a decent lager made in the German-style.

Many times I disagree with both BeerAdvocate and RateBeer … I think the people on these sites either 1) set their expectations too high and are then disappointed, or 2) they’re too high-brow in their observation of what makes a good beer.  I agree with the All about Beer list (125 places to drink beer in the world) in that a lot of what makes a beer good is the location and people with whom you are drinking that beer — that’s why the GABF is #1 on their list.  Ok, enough pontificating.

I could probably drink several of these in one sitting since they are only 3.6% ABV.   I would probably drink them just to pull the tab!  Next thing you know I’ll be making a “pull tab necklace.”

Enjoy!

Beer Mentor

Well number 181 (LOL) was the Dinkelacker MaiBock.  I like this style of beer, you just can’t drink a lot of them.  The malt really stands out in this beer but they did a good job of balancing it with the noble hops.

It is May after all and it is Fest Season so I thought it only appropriate to drink one of these while enjoying a big Schnitzel!  Yes!

I will miss Germany but I look forward to getting back to the Washington, DC area and enjoying the great craft beers in the area again!

Beer Mentor

LOL!  Yes, I finally completed the challenge of drinking 180 beers in 180 days!  How did I do it?  With Tsjeesus!  Ha ha!  Yes, the Sturdy Brewers produced this great Christmas beer … and I just had it.

In their own words: “Deep to orange blond abbey triple winterbeer which has been lagered for 8 months on different stonefruits. Tsjeeses was born out of a 5 year brew experience regarding x-mas beer without being capable of finding a suitable name up to now. With the name came a face, a caricature actually, that was drawn on the day Urbain, our brew master and master brewer, drank too many Tsjeeses’s. Every time he drinks one, he says “Tsjeeses, what a beer”. Therefore the name is more an expression of stupefaction than a curse. We have had already many discussions around the pronounciation of “Tsjeeses”. Very close would be that you say “cheeses” or cheese in plural.”

If you get the opportunity, go for a bottle of this!  I picked this beer up at the Delirium Cafe in Brussels a couple of weeks ago … oh, and happy birthday Jill!

Beer Mentor

I’m close to the finish of my journey — beer #179 was brewed byWeltenburg … the oldest Kloster Brewery in the world.  This beer is their Asam Bock.  You probably know what a Bock beer is, but do you know what an Asam is?  LOL!  The church at this Kloster is a Baroque Church … and the Asam brothers designed it.  It was only appropriate that a German beer be named after them.

Beer Mentor

Today I had another Weltenburger Beer: the Anno 1050.  This beer won a Silver medal at the World Beer Cup … and you can tell why.  It was an excellent lager (a Marzen) and I enjoyed relaxing with it after a great weekend.  Worth the effort to track one down … just savor it!

As a reminder, this brewery was established in 1050 … so this beer commemorates the beginning of the brewery!

Beer Mentor

Tonight I definitely needed a little break … I’ve just relaxed and enjoyed a nice Alpirsbacher Starkbier.  This is an excellent lager — good flavor, nice finish — really enjoyable … what a helles bock should be!   It was all I needed to finish up a quiet evening.

Beer Mentor

This is one of the beers I picked up at the Weihenstephan Brauerei.

The Korbinian is a wonderful doppelbock.  I have certainly had some awesome brews since I’ve been here in Germany, and this one is no exception.  The color, the nose, and the taste come right at you — you think, wow, I really like these bock beers — and then, bam, you think — I really like doppelbocks!   You sit and relax with it and find yourself wishing you were back at the brewery’s “Beer Stuebl” having a wurst.

Beer Mentor