I had to back it off a little today to recover from the weekend.  The combination of very long Mountain Bike ride with beer and schnapps (and gluhwein) consumption probably wasn’t the greatest decision.

This evening I enjoyed another Schoenbuch beer — the Polar Weizen.

This is a very nice hefe weizen — nice flavor … and there’s still evidence of the head lacing the glass 20 minutes after I drank it.  Very nice …

Beer Mentor

Today’s beer is really an early morning one … let’s say one o’clock in the morning early.  Ouch — my friends and I were drinking several cold ones and this last one gave me a headache — of course, it could have been the schnapps we were drinking as well!

If you are looking close, you will see that I’m holding a Bitburger … but that was from yesterday — My friend Armin and I were enjoying a couple of Dominican cigars before we closed off the evening with the beer below.
This is a really good Weiss bier — Valentins Weissbier.   And, just in case you were wondering, they do sell mini-kegs in Germany!  As I stated in a previous post, I will be reviewing a couple of these breweries as I continue to sample their beers!

Beer Mentor

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