Tag Archives: Germany

BrauKunstKeller Laguna IPA

  • Brewery: BrauKunstKeller
  • Country: Germany
  • Style: American IPA
  • ABV: 6.6 %
  • Size: 330 ml
  • Bought from: Berlin Bier Shop
  • Not on Beer Advocate
  • RateBeer

Despite having one of the largest beer scenes in the world, brewing in Germany is very traditional and there are few new-wave craft brewers drawing inspiration from the scene in e.g. USA, Scandinavia, and the UK. BrauKunstKeller is a new German craft brewer, drawing inspiration from the more hoppy brews and currently brewing small experimental batches, to find his style and market. I managed to grab some of the last bottles left (three different kinds) from BrauKunstKeller at Berlin Bier Shop when I was there over the New Year’s, but I imagine there will be new beers (most likely with new recipes) available there soon, if not already. First up, is what looks to be a typical West Coast IPA, hopped with Centennial, Cascade and Chinook, and brewed with Pale Ale, Munich and Crystal malt. The first thing that strikes me is that the ingredient list is very similar to the Pale 31-inspired beer I brewed on Sunday, which sounds promising! The beer seems to have been bottled in the end of October, so should be quite fresh! Let’s see how it tastes!

[easyreview title=”BrauKunstKeller Laguna IPA” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer pours with a slightly hazy amber-orange color, and a slight creamy off-white head is formed with the pour, but it collapses quite quickly. There are some drapes of lacing left along the glass. Nice appearance, but could have used a fluffier head.” cat1rating=”4″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The aroma is a blend of caramel and hop tones, with resiny, floral, citrusy and almost berry-like tones. The aroma reminds me a lot of my homebrewed American Strong Ale/IPA. For an IPA, this could perhaps have used a slightly more bright and fresh hop punch, but I like the caramelly sweetness behind the hop nose as well.” cat2rating=”3.5″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”The flavor begins with a similar caramelly maltiness that was present in the aroma. A subtle dank, earthy and resiny hoppiness joins in with the malt, but the hop flavors aren’t ‘in your face’. The beer finishes semi-dry and with a quite light bitterness. No off-flavors or other problems, which is nice to see, but I feel the recipe could use some adjustments still. The bitterness seemed quite light for the style so would personally raise it 10-20 IBU, but the low bitterness might have been the purpose (i.e. not to make the beer to extreme for the German market). Would also use slightly more flavor/aroma hops and decrease the percentage of crystal malt a notch, to give more room for the hop flavors and crisp up the flavor a bit. Otherwise really nice, and I somehow recognize my own homebrews in this beer.” cat3rating=”3.5″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The beer has a medium body and a medium-low carbonation level. It is quite easy to drink, but it feels slightly flat in the mouth and could use slightly more carbonation.” cat4rating=”3.5″ summary=”I was pleasantly surprised by this beer, and it was definitely a good ‘first try’ by this German nanobrewer. It was easy to drink, but a little wimpy on the hop front, as it could have used some more bitterness and hop flavors. I have another IPA by BrauKunstKeller in the fridge, and am looking forward to trying that beer as well. Do give the beers a try if you ever get the chance!”]

Beer Tasting

A couple of weeks ago (yes, I have really postponed writing this), me and two friends gathered to drink some beer after work, and at the same time I could ‘get rid of’ / taste through some of my evergrowing beer stock to make place for more. We had nine beers on the agenda, with one of them being Lovecats, the homebrewed blonde ale, and many being beers I had tried before. The whole line-up from left to right was: Firestone Walker Double Barrel Ale, Alesmith X, Port Brewing Shark Attack, Hopfenstopfer Jahrgangsbier, Lovecats, Green Glash Hop Head Red, Lindemanns Faro, William Bros Kelpie and Dark Star Espresso Stout.



 
We began by tasting Lovecats (left in picture below), Hopfenstopfer Jahrgangsbier (center in picture below) and Firestone Walker Double Barrel Ale (right in picture below). Lovecats poured with the usual hazy orange color and quickly-collapsing white-colored head. The aroma was citrusy, grassy and also featured tones of tropical fruits, and compared to the other two beers in the lineup (and actually also compared to the hoppier beers tasted later during the evening), it became evident that Lovecats has a really strong hop aroma. The flavor began with a slight maltiness, which was joined by a grassy and citrusy hoppiness, that lingered on to a bitter and slightly tart finish. The beer had a light body and quite high carbonation. Overall, Lovecats is an okay pale ale, have brewed better though.

Hopfenstopfer Jahrgangsbier is  German Pilsener, apparently brewed with homegrown malts and hops. The beer poured with a crystal-clear golden-yellow color and a fluffy white head. The aroma was very mild, but featured sweet, malty, and perfume-like tones. The flavor was also quite sweet, with malty and bready tones dominating. There was almost no hoppiness nor bitterness present in the flavor. The beer had a light body and medium carbonation level. Overall, I didn’t really like this one. Very bland and boring.

Firestone Walker’s Double Barrel Ale is an English-style Pale Ale, fermented in oak barrels. The beer poured with a clear copper color and a fluffy off-white head. Nice looking beer. The aroma contained some herbal and earthy hops, combined with tones of oak, caramel and the slightest fruitiness. The flavor was similar to the aroma, with a caramelly and bready maltiness dominating together with a oaky woodiness and a herbal hoppiness. The finish was dry and quite astringent. The body was smooth and medium-full, and the beer had a medium carbonation level. Overall, a strange beer, but the oakiness went together quite well with the caramel and hops.



 
After this we moved on to the darker and (the only) sour beer: William Bros Kelpie (left in the picture below), Lindemanns Faro (center in the picture below) and Dark Star Espresso Stout (right in the picture below). Kelpie, which I have had a small taste sample of before, is a dark traditional ale that has been brewed with fresh seaweed in the mash tun. The beer poured clear and dark brown, almost black, with a quite long-lasting cream-colored head. The aroma was dominated by toasted and roasted malts, with slight coffee tones. There is also a minimal fruitiness present in the aroma. The flavor is also dominated by the toasted and roasted malts, and these are joined by a herbal hoppiness, and a minerally and dry finish. The beer has a quite light body and a medium carbonation level. Overall, I was not really fond of this beer, as the flavors were a bit strange and the beer felt a little light. I couldn’t really detect any seaweed, but there was a saltiness present.

Next up was Lindemans Faro, a beer in a style that was new to me. Faro Lambics are lambic (i.e. spontaneously fermented sour beers) blends which have been sweetened with (usually brown) sugar. Bottled versions are usually pasteurized, to prevent bottle-fermentation of the added sugar. The beer poured slightly hazy, with an amber color, and almost no head. The aroma was sweet and sour, with a combination of candy, sugar, a cherry-like tartness, and some funkiness. The flavor featured sweet caramel blended with a citrusy and cherry-like tartness and acidity. The flavor reminded me of some kind of sweet and sour candies I’ve eaten as a kid. The finish was slightly dry, while the body was a light and the beer had a medium-high carbonation level. Overall, a very strange beer, that I found surprisingly enjoyable I must admit. I’m not a fan of sour beer at all, but this was surprisingly drinkable (probably thanks to the sweetness).

Dark Star’s Espresso Stout is also a beer I’ve had before, and it is a stout brewed with ground arabica coffee. The beer pours pitch-black, portraying slight red tones when held up against the light, and a tan-colored head is formed, that leaves lacing as it collapses. The aroma is dominated by coffee, but there are some roasted malt and caramel tones present as well. You can definitely tell coffee has been used when brewing this. The flavor featured tones of roasted malt, coffee, ash, and some chocolate. The finish is quite dry and astringent, and I’m left wishing for some more body to back up the roastiness. The beer has a light body and a medium carbonation level. Overall, a very coffee-dominated beer that is a little light on the body. Would really benefit from some more alcohol and rest sugars.



 
We finished off the evening with the hoppy beers, tasting through Green Flash Hop Head Red (left in the picture below), Alesmith X (center in the picture below) and Port Brewing Shark Attack (right in the picture below). I had tried two of the beers before, but Alesmith’s X was new to me. Green Flash Hop Head Red poured with a clear dark amber-copper color and a cream-colored head, that collapsed leaving drapes of lacing along the glass. The aroma has lots of hoppiness featuring floral, citrusy, fruity, and pineapple-like tones. There are also some tones of dark fruits and candy-like sweetness present. The flavor features tones of caramel, toasted malt, and a resiny and grapefruit-like hoppiness, that ends in a semi-dry and moderately bitter finish. The beer has a medium-full body and a medium carbonation level. Overall, a nice beer, featuring some nice hoppiness (especially the aroma) and balance.

The next beer was Alesmith X, which is an American Pale Ale by the infamous San Diego-based brewers. The beer poured with a clear golden-yellow color and a white head, that collapsed leaving some slight lacing along the glass. The aroma was hoppy, featuring floral, citrusy, and grassy tones. The aroma also featured some mild caramel tones. The flavor featured a light maltiness coupled with a citrusy hoppiness, that finished in a dry and bitter finish. The beer had a medium-light body and a medium carbonation level. Overall, a better-than-average pale ale, but nothing very special. The hop tones were nice, but felt like the beer was lacking something.

The final beer of the evening was Port Brewing’s Shark Attack, previously tasted here. The beer had a very similar appearance to Hop Head Red, with a dark amber color and a cream-colored head. The aroma featured tones of dark fruits, raisins, red fruits, floral and citrusy hoppiness, and slight alcohol. I definitely remembered this being a lot hoppier and the last bottle I had was even much older (this one was only 3 months old). The flavor featured tones of caramel, dark fruits, malts, and a grapefruit-like hoppiness. The flavor finishes semi-dry and quite bitter. The beer featured a medium-full body and a medium carbonation level. Overall, a nice imperial red, but this was a lot maltier and less hoppy than I remembered. Still very enjoyable and a nice end to the evening.



 
All in all it was a good evening, with some really nice beers. The last three beers were among my favorites of the night, and something really surprising was that Lovecats had the most hoppy aroma of the lot.

Hopfenstopfer Citra Ale

  • Brewery: Häffner Bräu
  • Country: Germany
  • Style: American Pale Ale
  • ABV: 5.1 %
  • Size: 330 ml
  • Bought from: Berlin Bier Shop, ? (maybe 2-3) euro
  • Beer Advocate
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Here is a bottle I dragged home from my recent Berlin trip. It was bought from Berlin’s best beer shop: Berlin Bier Shop, which is run by the friendly and knowledgeable Rainer. The Germans are not known for heavy experimentation with their beer, and the majority of the consumed beer are brewed to traditional styles and recipes. It is nice to see that German craft breweries are arising as well! I didn’t find much information about this beer, but I assume it is a single hop Citra Pale Ale brewed with pilsner malts. Let’s see how it tastes!

[easyreview title=”Hopfenstopfer Citra Ale” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer pours with a hazy golden-orange color, and fluffy white head is formed, that collapses quickly leaving drapes of lacing along the glass. The haziness can probably be somewhat attributed to the beer only standing a day in the fridge after travelling home from Berlin.” cat1rating=”3″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The aroma is sweet and features typical Citra tones of lychee, grapefruit and gooseberries. There is a slight tartness in the aroma as well. The aroma could be slightly more powerful.” cat2rating=”3.5″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”The flavor begins with a slightly sweet maltiness, and moves on to similar fruit tones (lychee, citrus, mango and gooseberries) as in the aroma. The finish has a slight bitterness and a semi-dry feel, contributed by some honey-like tones. Again there is a slight tartness present, but nothing that bothers too much (I suspect it could be from suspended yeast). The beer is quite well balanced, but I wish the Citra hop flavors would be a bit more present.” cat3rating=”3.5″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The beer has a light body and a medium-low carbonation level. It is very easily drinkable, and this would make a great beer for the summer.” cat4rating=”4″ summary=”I was pleasantly surprised with this beer, as it was well put together, and featured pleasant tones from one of my favorite hops. The hop flavor could have been a bit stronger, and the body a bit fuller, but otherwise it was nice! I am looking forward to trying the other Häffner Bräu beer I brought home. If you can get your hands on this beer and like fruity, light and fresh beers I recommend it!”]

Fritzale India Pale Ale

 

  • Brewery: FritzAle
  • Country: Germany
  • Style: American IPA
  • ABV: 5.5%
  • Size: 750 ml
  • Bought from: Berlin Bier Shop, Germany
  • Beer Advocate
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  •  

    Next up is another beer that I brought home from my recent Berlin trip. Another German-brewed IPA, that was brewed with Pale Ale, Munich and Caramel malt, and hopped with Amarillo and Simcoe to an IBU of 59. Let’s see if the Germans can brew a tasty IPA!

    [easyreview title=”Fritzale India Pale Ale” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer has a golden orange color and is slighty hazy. The beer has a white-colored head, that quite quickly collapses, leaving some lacing along the glass.” cat1rating=”4″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The aroma has some fruity and floral tones, but is overall quite light. Not getting that much of the resiny and piney tones usually present in Simcoe-hopped beers.” cat2rating=”3″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”The flavor begins with a slight sweetness, that then is joined by some light fruity and citrusy tones from the hops. The flavor ends with a surprisingly dry and bitter finish for a 59 IBU beer. I feel the beer could have a lot more hop flavor and some more body to balance out the bitterness, and improve the flavor overall.” cat3rating=”3″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The beer has a medium-light fullness, and a moderate carbonation level, making it quite pleasant to drink. I feel the finish is a bit too dry, but it isn’t all too bothering.” cat4rating=”3.5″ summary=”A drinkable India Pale Ale, that isn’t amongst my favorites though. I thought the flavor was too weak, and the beer felt a bit watery overall. Still, probably one of the best German-brewed IPAs.”]

    Brewbaker Berlin IPA

     

  • Brewery: Brewbaker
  • Country: Germany
  • Style: India Pale Ale
  • ABV: 5.5%
  • Size: 500 ml
  • Bought from: Brewbaker, Berlin, Germany
  • Not on Beer Advocate
  • RateBeer
  •  

    Sorry about another lack of updates here in September. This time I’ve been away on a one week military repetition exercise (in Finland we have compulsory military service). After the rainy week I decided to treat myself with a (hopefully) good beer. This time I decided to have one of the bottles I brought with me home from Berlin: Brewbaker’s Berlin IPA. This India Pale Ale was, according to the bottle, brewed in August 2011, so should be very fresh. The beer is brewed with pilsener, vienna, wheat and crystal malt, and is hopped with Hallertauer Perle, Hallertauer Smaragd, and Cascade to an IBU of 65 (email correspondence with the brewer). Let’s see if the Germans can brew an IPA.

    [easyreview title=”Brewbaker Berlin IPA” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer has a golden-orange color, and is slighty hazy. A thick and fluffy white-colored head is formed with the pour, and it collapses slowly, leaving nice lacing along the glass.” cat1rating=”4″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The aroma is dominated by a strange acidity, that I’m sure isn’t intentional. Hopefully the bottle isn’t infected or has otherwise gone wrong. There is some fruitiness hiding behind the acidity.” cat2rating=”1.5″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”The flavor is surprisingly bland as well, with just some slight hoppiness, that is quickly overtaken by a very dry and bitter finish. It’s seems that this one has been hit by a bacterial infection, since I’m pretty sure this isn’t supposed to taste like this.” cat3rating=”1.5″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”A dry finish combined with high carbonation makes this very unpleasant to drink.” cat4rating=”1″ summary=”I was really looking forward to this beer, but unfortunately it seems to be infected. I wasn’t sure whether I should publish the review or not, but decided that all information is valuable. Brewbaker’s Bellevue Pils was very drinkable, and I was really interested in seeing how well they brew an IPA. I also have a bottle of their special edition Doppel IPA, that I really hope isn’t infected as well. Don’t let this review discourage you from trying any of Brewbaker’s beers if you ever get the chance though!”]

    Oettinger Gold

     

  • Brewery: Oettinger
  • Country: Germany
  • Style: Lager
  • ABV: 4.9%
  • Size: 330 ml
  • Bought from: Gift from Germany
  • Not on Beer Advocate
  • RateBeer
  •  

    [easyreview title=”Oettinger Gold” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer has a clear pale yellow color with almost no head. There is no lacing along the glass either.” cat1rating=”2″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The beer has a slighty sweet and malty aroma. Not a very strong aroma.” cat2rating=”2.5″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”The beer is very light in taste as well (the label even says mild), with some maltiness present. The beer is a quite typical euro lager light in taste, but perfect as a thirst-quencher on a hot day (its been almost 30° C here today).” cat3rating=”2″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The body is light and quite dry, with moderate-low carbonation, making it very easy to drink.” cat4rating=”3″ summary=”Didn’t have high expectations for this one, so can’t say I’m disappointed with it either. Not a big lager fan, but this was a perfect beer to have when I wanted something light and easy to drink.”]

    Altenmünster Winterbier Dunkel

  • Brewery: Allgäuer Brauhaus AG
  • Country: Germany
  • Style: Dunkel
  • ABV: 5.5%
  • Size: 500 ml
  • Bought from: Gift from Germany, price unknown
  • Beer Advocate
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  •  

    [easyreview title=”Altenmünster Winterbier Dunkel” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer has a dark amber-brown translucent color, with a slightly tan head that falls quickly, leaving some traces of lacing along the glass. The beer was served in a Grolsch-style flip-top bottle.” cat1rating=”3.5″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The beer has a quite weak aroma, with some hints of malt, bread, caramel, and (slight) yeast.” cat2rating=”2″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”The taste is malty (though not too sweet), with initial notes of caramel, moving towards bread and cream, and then ending in some nuttiness. Not much hoppiness present. There are some hints of roasted malts.” cat3rating=”3″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The beer has a medium body (not all too sweet), with a medium-low carbonation level. The beer is easy drunken, and alcohol is not very present.” cat4rating=”3″ summary=”An easily drinkable Münich Dunkel, that lacks a bit in the taste and aroma department. Not my favorite style of beer, but could drink again. Can’t comment on quality to price ratio, as this was a gift.”]