The BeerCast

Every so often you come across something that you’ve never seen before, or heard of in any capacity. So it was when I managed to get hold of a bottle of Hövels Original Bitterbier, a large dark bottle with a swing top and rather mysterious battered label. Hövels Original “Feinherbes Rotgold” is an Altbier from Dortmund brewed by the Hövels Hausbrauerei, who are apparently a part of the massive Dortmunder Actien Brauerei (who in turn are owned by the even more massive pizza loving Oetker Group). I know all this now of course, but following a random punt on Beers of Europe, all I had to go on was a scuffed European-looking bottle of luckydip ale.

It pours extremely highly carbonated, like almost every beer I’ve ever sampled from a bottle with one of those swing tops – that rubber seal really holds in the carbonation. It’s a very nice caramel brown colour, and as the head disperses the bubbles continue to rise slowly. The first taste is malt, which gradually gives way to a rising sweetness. Sampled cold, it’s pretty refreshing, and doesn’t taste anywhere near 5.5% – but as it warms the slight molasses sweetness lengthens and a perceptible tangy finish comes in. This final flavour definately helps, and moves the beer away from an 80/- style, towards the Altbier/Bitter stable. Not a bad beer at all – sometimes it pays off to take a chance.

Hövels Official Website

“Wie das land, so das Jever” is the motto of Lagerboy’s latest tempter – Jever Pilsener (4.9%). Being an internationally renowned lager expect and contributor to ‘What Shandy?’ magazine, he has to know a smattering of German to get by (not to mention Czech, Polish, Dutch, American). Loosely translated as something along the lines of ‘The Beer Like the Land’, Jever hails from the northern German principality of Friesland in Lower Saxony. As their official website reveals, Friesland’s soft water means they can add more hops into their beer, to give a slightly more bitter flavour than other pilseners – although that could just be ‘das marketing spiel’.

The “Friesische Brauhaus zu Jever” was founded by Diedrich König in 1848, yet it wasn’t until 1934 that their main product was christened after the town itself. Another of their slogans is ‘Friesisch Herb’, which translates as ‘Frisian Herb’ – possibly an indication of something else added to the beer. It pours a perfectly clear golden colour with a pillowy white head – it’s extremely carbonated and pulses with bubbles. The smell is crisp and hoppy, which comes through on the taste. It really is bitter – not Imperial IPA bitter, but bitter for a pilsener – and maybe there is something else in the taste. It could be wishful thinking given the suggested hint of herbs on the label, though. The extra zappy influences of the hops and mystery yes/no herbs lift Jever Pilsener above many of the others on the market, it’s really drinkable indeed.

Jever Official Website

Lagerboy doesn’t like to restrict himself, as any long-time readers will know – but if he did maybe he could do worse than become Kölschboy for a short while, he’d probably be very satisfied. There are fourteen producers of this highly specific category of lager in the Cologne area, with a few more scattered nearby – not to mention the breweries further afield who produce Kölsch-style beers. The 1986 Kölsch Convention made sure that only the city-based producers could market themselves as true Kölsches however, but even that many would take you a while to get through.

Gaffel Kölsch (4.8%) is one of those fourteen, and the brewery took their current form in 1908 when two brothers by the name of Becker took over a struggling brewing tavern in the shadow of Cologne cathedral. They renamed the enterprise ‘Gaffel’ after the medieval trade unions who controlled the various guilds (Gaffel meaning two-pronged fork). Today it’s still run by the same family, the fifth generation of Beckers to produce Kölsch for the local populace of Germany’s fourth-largest city. They only bottle 30% of their flagship product, as the rest is kegged for consumption in and around their home city.

For a Kölsch, this one is pretty much bang on the money. It has a delicate green hoppy smell, like (forgive me) an alpine meadow. Lightly carbonated, it has that distinctive straw yellow colour of the style. Nobody drinks Kölsches expecting punishing flavours, and Gaffel is no different. It’s mild and slightly sweet, but having said that it finishes with a small but noticeable dry aftertaste. It lacks the earthy bite of a good pilsener, but as a beer style all Kölsches do. They are uncomplicated gluggers designed and brewed to be refreshingly knocked back in tall thin glasses. If you want to experiment with that particular beer style, Gaffel Kölsch is one of the very best examples.

Privatbrauerei Gaffel Becker & Co Official Website

Our quarter-century BeerCast sees a return to one of the great brewing powerhouses of Europe – Germany. We’ve been there before, but this time we try three German beers of very different styles, all distinctive of that brew-loving country. Firstly we sample Küppers Kölsch (4.8%) from the Küppers Brauerei in Cologne, a fairly typical example of Köln-area light, hoppy beer. From there, we travel to the centre of the country and the state of Thuringia for Köstritzer Schwarzbier (4.8%abv), a bottom-fermented ‘black beer’ produced with characteristically dark malts. We finish the episode on a stronger note, with the BeerCast’s first wheat doppelbock – Aventinus’s Weizenstarkbier (8.2%abv) – ‘Bavaria from it’s strongest side’, apparently. On the three-man panel this week are Richard, Grooben and Shovels.

1. Küppers Kölsch (4.8%abv)
Küppers Kölsch GmbH, Köln
500ml glass bottle

Cologne – or Köln – is Germany’s fourth-largest city after Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, and is renowned for it’s own distinctive style of beer – Kölsch. Fourteen breweries in and around the city produce it, and in true apellation contrôlée fashion to be called a Kölsch it must be brewed in the region – as determined by the serious but rather boozy-sounding Kölsch convention of 1986. Küppers are owned by the German national Brau und Brunnen, aka the Radeberger Gruppe, who also own many other beer labels (Berliner, DAB, Schloesser, Schöfferhofer), constituting 15% of the total German beer market. Küppers Kölsch might be a common find over there, but is it worth finding over here?

What They Say – “Typically for the style, it is a delicate golden colour with a lovely white head, and fairly lively. The palate is already dry and citric-fruity at first taste, with a delicate honeyed hoppiness, slightly salty with lime-like hints and maltiness far back, then a gradually further drying, firm finish: it is certainly a dry beer, but at the same time has an appealing mildness that adds to its drinkability” [beer writer Des de Moor]

What We Say…
Shovels – Initial wheatbeer taste but sweetens as it warms up 6
Richard – Very pale, not unpleasant but not that exciting 5
Grooben – It’s like a flat lager – I pity the people of Cologne 5

2. Köstritzer Schwarzbier (4.8%abv)
Köstritzer Schwarzbierbrauerei GmbH & Co Bad Kostritz, Thuringia
500ml glass bottle

The central German state of Thuringia is perhaps more famous for it’s sausages than beer, but the lengthily-titled Köstritzer Schwarzbierbrauerei churns out an extremely popular brew. Schwarzbier – “black beer” – is a bottom-fermented dark lager which is hugely popular in Germany, and Köstritzer’s is the market leader and most popular brand. They have some similarities with porters, but are milder in taste and less bitter. The Köstritzer brewery also happens to be one of the world’s oldest, tracing production back to 1543 (although their current Schwarzbier dates from a more modest 1993).

What They Say – “Brewed according to the German purity law of 1516, the original is convincing by it’s light and sparkling character. Barley malts subjected to special processes give it it’s distinctive, delicate aroma and extraordinary colouration. Well-rounded by a mild hop flavour it is really a great enjoyment.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Shovels – Skips the front of the tongue, goes right to the back 7½
Richard – Sugary molasses taste, takes a while to get used to it 7
Grooben – For such a dark beer it’s really light on the palate 7

3. Aventinus Weizenstarkbier (8.2%abv)
Private Weissbierbrauerei G. Schneider & Sohn GmbH Kelheim, Bavaria
500ml glass bottle

Georg I. Schneider acquired the rights to boil wheat beer from King Ludwig II in 1872, and the saviour of wheat beer (which was apparently dying out) continued a dynasty which had been brewing uninterrupted since 1607. Unsurprisingly the oldest wheat beer brewery in Bavaria have added a few strings to their bow in the last 400yrs. In 1907 then brewery head Mathilde Schneider developed a wheat-doppelbock which she named ‘Aventinus Weizenstarkbier’. Apparently from the very beginning it ‘claimed a very good position in the strong beer category’. Will it claim a similar position on the BeerCast leaderboard?

What They Say – “This is a very intense wheat doppelbock with a complex spicy chocolate-like aroma with a hint of banana and raisins. On the palate, you experience a soft touch and on the tongue it is very rich and complex, though fresh with a hint of caramel. It finishes in a rich soft and lightly bitter impression.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Grooben – Got that banana wheatbeer taste, it’s a struggle 6
Shovels – Hides the alcohol well but overpoweringly sweet 5
Richard – Lots going on, challenges the palate but in a bad way 5

BeerCast panel verdict
Köstritzer Schwarzbier (21½/30)
Küppers Kölsch (16/30)
Aventinus Weizenstarkbier (16/30)

Panellists – (from bottom right) Grooben, Richard, Shovels

• Listen to the episode here: BeerCast #25 – German styles
• Subscribe to the podcasts in iTunes or our site feed

We’ll be back in a couple of weeks with our festive spectacular Christmas edition, where we’ll be sampling six beers made for the season. Stay tuned for details…and please leave us comments on the blog or iTunes, or emails. Cheers!

BeerCast episode 8 sees our panellists return to Europe, and to one of the countries many people think of when they think of decent beer. Germany has the second highest number of breweries in the world (behind the USA), and thanks to strict purity laws – the fabled Reinheitsgebot – produces some seriously decent beer. For this edition, we try four different styles, with firstly the ubiquitous German pilsener, Beck’s (5.0%). Up next is a Weizen from Munich’s Franziskaner brewery (5.0%), then a Dunkel from the giants of Erdinger (5.6%). Finally we wrap up with one to file under ‘acquired taste’ – the Marzen variety of Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier (5.1%). On the panel this week – which turns out to be one of the most interesting scorewise – are Grooben, Richard, the returning MrB, and Shovels, who starts everything off in true German style…by asking for directions?

1. Beck’s Pilsener (5%abv)
Brauerei Beck GmbH & Co, Bremen.
220ml glass bottle

The Bremen brewery was founded in 1873 by three men – Messers Beck, May and Rutenberg. After the latter two left, Beck perservered under the purity laws and continued producing beer. He was saved by two factors – the sudden popularity of the Czech-style Pilsener beer (which he happened to be producing), and the ease of distributing products from Bremen via the River Weser and the North Sea. Growing from strength to strength, in 2002 the brewery was taken over by Belgian behemoths InBev for a cool US$2bn. Beck’s pilsener is still produced under the Reinheitsgebot laws (i.e. beer must only contain water, barley, hops and yeast), and last year the hard-working Bremenites churned out 34m cases of the stuff.

What They Say – “This classic German pilsener carries a distinctive full-bodied taste, with a fresh ‘hoppy’ bouquet, golden colour and a rich full head. But the taste doesn’t end there – with a slightly fruity but firm crispness, this exciting blend of intriguing flavours ends with a clean, dry finish.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
MrB – I prefer this to many other lagers, it’s quite refreshing 8
Grooben – It’s just a lager, and it smells weird 6
Shovels – Even in a blind tasting I’d still know it was Beck’s 6
Richard – Has a ‘green’ smell, it’s less worse than it was 6

2. Franziskaner Weissbier Kristallklar (5.0%abv)
Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu GmbH, Munich.
500ml glass bottle

In 1363 Seidel Vaterstetter set up a brewery in the Bavarian capital of Munich. The city takes it’s name from the number of monks who inhabited it at the time, so Herr Vaterstetter decided to name his fledgling company ‘Franziskaner’ after the monastery over the road. Today their Weissbier is the third best selling in the world, and the laughing friar on the label chuckles out from beer shop shelves all over the globe. Munich is also going places, being recently named the 8th best city in the world in which to live, although it’s also Germany’s most expensive in which to do so. Rather fittingly, Munich’s UK twin town is Edinburgh, home of the BeerCast. Will that win it any extra points?

What They Say – “This fresh, golden coloured and crystal-clear wheat beer is characterized by a certain citrousity and softness. The light, bubbly, and slightly acidic Franziskaner Kristall is an excellent thirst quencher and refreshing beverage delight. Kristallklar is a delicately bitter weiss beer for everyone who wants a fresh wheat beer without cloudiness.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Richard – A nice wheatbeer, not flowery like some of the others 7
MrB – It smells like dishwasher tablets – I prefer Erdinger 6
Shovels – It’s not great, but not bad. I’d struggle to finish a pint 5
Grooben – This has grown off me the more of it I drink 4

3. Erdinger Weissbier Dunkel (5.6%abv)
Privatbrauerei Erdinger Weißbräu, Erding.
500ml glass bottle

Franziskaner does well to be the world’s third-best selling wheatbeer, but the daddies are undoubtedly Erdinger. A relative newcomer on the scene, they started in 1886 in the Bavarian town of Erding. Only thirty miles from Munich, this sleepy commuter centre houses a brewing giant – as long ago as 1935 they were producing 250,000 litres a year (the figure is now 800,000). But the citizens of Erding like a stein or two, as a town census in 1789 revealed 1700 people, and 11 pubs (one boozer for every 154.5 of them). The panel sampled Erdinger’s Dunkel, which is the German word for ‘dark’. Such beers are characterised by the colour and malty flavour.

What They Say – “Erdinger Weissbier Dunkel is a rich and smooth wheat beer. It owes its full-bodied flavour to the fine hops and dark malt used in its production. The beer is brewed according to an age-old recipe, and its spicy flavour also results from the increased proportion of wort. Maturing in the bottle, this is a real speciality for connoisseurs.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
MrB – I prefer the dark German beers, this is lovely stuff 9
Richard – Wheatbeer taste up front with more going on behind 8
Grooben – Dark, subtle, an edge of malt – one of the nicest 8
Shovels – Nice smoky porter taste to it but not overpowering 7

4. Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier [Marzen] (5.1%abv)
Brauerei Schlenkerla, Bamberg.
500ml glass bottle

If you wander the historic cobbled streets of the Franconian town of Bamberg, you might be lucky and come across the Schlenkerla brewery tavern (it’s in Dominikanerstrasse). This classic Bavarian eatery is a half-timbered, geranium-clad hostelry of the oldest style. It’s here that the ‘original’ smokebeer is produced, by mixing beechsmoked malts with water and hops. The name Schlenkerla derives from the German verb to dangle, as 19th Century proprieter Andreas Graser apparently walked in a strange way due to a disability – the symol of the brewery is an old timer wobbling along with a cane in one hand and a giant beer in the other.

What They Say – “Even if the brew tastes somewhat strange at the first swallow, do not stop, because soon you will realize that your thirst will not decrease and your pleasure will visibly increase. Many have tried to describe Schlenkerla, but no comprehensive description is possible, one has to experience it to understand!” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Grooben – Past the smoky bacon crisp taste, has a certain charm 7
Richard – Woodsmokey; persevere and it’s by no means awful 6
Shovels – It grows on you – a 2 at first, but rising to a 5
MrB – It’s like drinking hotdogs in a blender, it turns my stomach 0

BeerCast panel verdict

Erdinger Weissbier Dunkel – 32/40
Beck’s Pilsener – 26/40
Franziskaner Krystallklar – 22/40
Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier – 18/40

Panellists – (from top left) Shovels, Grooben, MrB, Richard

• Listen to the episode here: BeerCast #8 – Das DeutscheCast
• Subscribe to the podcasts in iTunes or our site feed

We’ll be back in a couple of weeks with our extravagant BeerCast Christmas Special. Stay tuned for details…and please leave us comments on the blog or iTunes, or emails. Cheers!