I went back to my Irseer Brauerei stash today and found that all I had left was their Klosterstarkbier.  Well, well, well … it hit the spot … clean and unfiltered, it had nice character and it went down smooth.  Yummy!

Beer Mentor

I took a spin down through the Schwarzwald today … no, not on my bike this time.  I drove through a few villages just for the experience.  The first village I stopped in (really a small city) was Freudenstadt.  This was a lovely town with a nice little brew house.  I sampled both of their beers … an unfiltered Pilsener and a Hefeweizen.  Both very nice brews (I had the small ones in case you are wondering … still had a little ways to drive).  The brewery was the Turm Brau.  Here a are a couple of photos of the brewery.

Yep … their Pilsener was my new beer for the day!

I then drove down through Alpirsbach … and visited a more well-known Kloster brewery.  I actually saw the old brew house, but I took the tour of the Kloster.  I will try to post more pictures of it later, but here’s a couple of the old brew house and the Kloster’s new Pipe Organ.  It was beautiful…

Oh, here’s what I bought while down there.  (Don’t worry honey, I’m drinking it all here and not bringing any more home!)

Beer Mentor

Of course, I heard it in a country song that there’s no such thing as too much fun.

Bobby, don’t read this …  Ok, go ahead.  Today I took another nice spin along the Neckar River…  I rode through some woods, a little single-track, up over a couple of hills, then back down to the river.  I followed one river to where it connects with the Neckar and stopped and had a piece of cake (kaese-sahne-kuchen) and a nice Weizen Radler.

This Weißbier came from the Pforzheim Brauhaus. Man, did it taste nice after the first half of my ride.  The weather was a little cool temperature, but not so bad I couldn’t sit outside and enjoy it.  That mix of beer and lemon-lime soda in a Radler really hits the spot!  All I can say Bobby is I wish you were here enjoying it with me!  Prost!

Beer Mentor

I finally got some singletrack work in today … it took some searching on Garmin Connect to find a ride close to me that had some singletrack … I’m still looking for other opportunities, but this one was very nice: Naturpark Schwaebisch-Fraenkischer Wald.  Here are a couple of pics of the trail …

Here’s two views of one section I didn’t ride … it’s about a 30 foot drop with about a 6 – 10 foot vertical face section at the first …

I got skills … but not that level of skills … so my bike and I took the stairs …

What better way to follow up a nice mountain bike experience but with a good, cold beer!  Today’s choice came from the Irsee Kloster again: Kloster UrTrunk.  This is a very nice export, obviously unfiltered … it is one of those easy-drinking lagers that has a nice flavor, good mouthfeel … it’s well-balanced.

Recommended!

Beer Mentor

Took it easy this evening and enjoyed a nice Andechs beer.  You can see on one of my previous posts that we’ve visited this Kloster as well.  It sits on top of a hill and overlooks a very large lake.  Although heavily commercialized (because it is so close to Munich),  it is still a great experience!

Today’s beer is the Andechser Spezial Hell.   This is a classic “festbier” lager — light in color, easy in drinkability with the distinct possibility to really light you up if you’re not careful!

Beer Mentor

Tonight I was out in a few different places … and I was able to find another Augustiner beer I hadn’t had: this was the Augustiner Weisse.

I had mentioned this in a previous post, but this brewery is the oldest brewery in Munich … I’ve yet to make the trek down there to visit it … and I’m actually torn as to whether I want to go to Munich for a beer visit OR go back to Belgium for a quick Trappist Brewery tour (again).  I’m leaning heavily toward the Trappist tour … but tasting this very nice Weizen from Augustiner just gives me that urge to go “Muenchen way.”

Oh the hard decisions in life!

Beer Mentor

Tonight I went back to my Kloster beer collection … I pulled out an Irseer Brauerei “UrWeisse.”  This nice hefeweizen was just the ticket — it gave me that banana smell right off the bat … and it was uniformly balanced, a little sweet — just a wonderful brew.  Yummy!

Beer Mentor

We were making the rounds again tonight and I came across a brew I hadn’t had yet: Schwaben Brau Meister Pils.  Yes I had one, and yes, it was a typical Pilsener … and there’s not anything wrong with that!  “It filled the bill for new beer and it filled the stomach with new cheer.”  Yes, corny I know, but still funny!

Enjoy,

Beer Mentor

You better believe I’d have an excellent beer for my 150th!  I’ve been saving this one for a special occasion … and this occasion worked.  This is another one of the “hand-brewed” beers I picked up in Norway.  This one comes from the HaandBryggeriet brewery in Norway and it’s called: Odin’s Tipple.

This is a fantastic Russian Imperial Stout.  Wow!  When I cracked it open and poured it, it looked exactly like motor oil coming out of the bottle.  Ha Ha!  And I could smell it while I was pouring it.  Bam! Right in the nose the roasted barley … again, wow!  It’s 11% abv, but I’m thoroughly enjoying this beer.

Here’s what the brewers put on the bottle: “Odin, the chief god of Norse mythology, was a forceful but complicated being of many moods – the symbol of battle, victory, and death, but also of wisdom, poetry, and prophecy.  With this hearty, complex ale, Handbryggeriet imagine Odin in later years, when his victories on the battlefield were but shadowy memories, his reflections tended toward loftier themes such as life’s meaning and his drink would have been a deep, dark, and contemplative one.”

I think they hit the mark with this brew!  Get it if you can … and sit back and savor it.

Beer Mentor