Beer Club 4/28/12 Doppelbocks

Spring calls for the bock. Those lovely lagers of so many variations and sub-genres. My original intention was to pick up a bunch of different varieties, but I found I really just bought a bunch of Doppelbocks. The heavier, sweeter, boozier big brother to the traditional bock, I figured right away that these would be a hit with this crowd.

First of the night was the Celebrator from Ayinger. I’ve really enjoyed this beer in the past and it really presented itself as the roastiest of the night. It also seemed a bit drier than the later examples. I really liked this one, but it wasn’t a favorite with the crowd.

The Hirschbrau Doppelhirsch ended up being a good example of what most of the beers had to offer. It was sweeter with a lot of caramel coming through. Much bigger hit than the first one.

The Korbinian was probably the most surprising brew of the night for me. It had this lovely earthy-tobacco flavor that wasn’t present in any of the other examples. I really liked this one.

The Schnee-Bock was a new brewery for me and it was a similar but slightly more boozy version of the Hirschbrau. Pretty solid and generally liked.

Salvator was next, and probably the easiest to find of the beers we had. A good beer, but wasn’t noteworthy against the competition.

The Alaskan Birch Bock was the only non-German brew we had. This presented as the sweetest of the bunch. This was not a favorite of mine.

EKU 28 is an 11% monster of a Doppel. It drinks more like an Eisbock. The alcohol, relatively well-hidden, but was immediately picked up by the group.

Something a little different here. The Aventinus is a Weizen Eisbock. The yeast and wheat character really set this beer apart. It was by far the fruitiest of the beers. It was a nice “light” break from the heavy caramel component of the rest.

The Kulmbacher Eisbock brought up the rear. This was a big, but delicious way to end the night.

This tasting was a huge hit, so next month, I just may have to do IPAs!

Aecht Schlenkerla Helles Lagerbier

I absolutely love the Schlenkerla Marzen, but I’ve always wanted to try this smoke-y, “unsmoked” lager. It’s just about the only beer they make that doesn’t have smoked malts in it, but since everything in that brewery is covered in the stuff, I’m expecting that this one bring a little bit of that flavor as well.

Stats:
Munich Helles Lager. 4.3% ABV. Germany.

Pale yellow in color with some sediment. Lots of carbonation streams and no head.

Definitely some sulfur coming through here on the nose with a little bit of smoke and a malty grain.

Mouthfeel is light body with high carbonation.

Sulfer and grain on the palate with a hint of stone fruit and smoke. Grainy finish and it’s a bit metallic.

Interesting beer, but it seems to have some off flavors going on. Even with that, it’s still fairly tasty. 84 points.

Ayinger Oktober Fest-Marzen

Here’s a traditional German fest lager. As you may know, this is one of my favorite breweries, so I was pretty excited to try this beer. Marzen isn’t really my favorite style of beer, but maybe this one will flick my bic.

Stats:
Marzen. 5.8% ABV. Germany. Fall Seasonal.

Golden to copper color. Leaves a nice little head.

The nose is very bready. The malts give you a bit of baked green apples, as well. This is all about those bready malts.

Mouthfeel is perfect. Medium to full-bodied with a nice level of carbonation to give it some bite.

Bready malts, but it’s surprisingly fruity with a ton of apples and spices coming through.

The best Marzen that I’ve had, period. 91 points

Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dark

I love dunkels, and this is a pretty legit German brewery. Supposedly, the world’s oldest brewery. I don’t think I’ve had this beer until a week or so ago, so I just had to get it. Let’s see if it’s as good as Ayinger’s

Stats:
Dunkelweizen. 5.3% ABV. Germany.

Caramel color, nice head. It’s very hazy, of course.

Fantastic nose. I’m getting some yeast, banana, clove, brown sugar, honey, wheat.

Mouthfeel is on the light side, easy drinking.

Yeast and brown sugar up front and then you start getting the phenols and esters and ends with a nice fresh corn and banana flavor. It does seem to get a bit light on the midpalate though.

Damn tasty, just wish I didn’t get that watered down taste. Otherwise, excellent beer. 87 points.

Ayinger Brau-Weisse

I love me some Ayinger. A couple of my favorite beers of all time come from this brewery, yet somehow, I’ve managed to never have this one. Time to rectify. This is their normal hefeweizen or “helles” as they call it. If you are still getting some 80 degree weather like we are in Seattle, then this should be up your alley.

Stats:
Hefeweizen. 5.1% ABV. 13 IBUs. Germany.

Yellow color and it’s completely hazy. Can’t see through it.

Amazing nose. Lots of wheat and yeast with this amazing lemon lime thing. It’s got a ton of tropical fruits. Just smells fantastic.

Mouthfeel is light to medium body with highish carbonation.

Wheat and yeast, a hint of pencil lead, lemon, spice cabinet. Does seem to get a hair watered down in the mid-palate. Amazing length and finish with a honey and baked apricot.

Ayinger is in my top 5 breweries, and this beer is another good reason why. Just delicious and a perfect Summer beer. Buy. 90 points.

Paulaner Hefe-Weizen

I picked up a couple German wheat beers today. I love these beers, especially in the Summer. They’re nice and refreshing. This is a classic by Paulaner, but they don’t get into a whole lot of details about the beer on their website, but according to a reliable source (ie. someone that knows a lot more about beer than me) says the malts are wheat, Pils, Munich, and a bit of Crystal.

Stats:
Hefeweizen. 5.5% ABV. Germany. Best Before 05/12.

Nice dark yellow color, and it’s super cloudy. Great head on this.

The nose is exactly what I’d expect. It’s wheaty, fruity, and yeasty. I love the baked apples that I get.

Fairly high carbonation in a low to medium bodied beer.

Lots of wheat and yeast flavor fill the palate. I do get a slight off-balance and metallic flavor probably from an old bottle. There’s a lot of flavor on the palate until the backend where it actually rolls off the palate, and leaves nothing more than a hint on the finish.

Tasty brew. If you are into wheat beers, and you havn’t been drinking the German classics than you are doing it wrong. This beer would be better if it was a little fresher, I think, but it’s still pretty darn good. 87 points.

Ayinger Weizen-Bock

This is actually a Winter seasonal. It’s a wheat beer brewed at “bock” strength. I’ve been a big fan of Ayinger in the past, so let’s see if this one stacks ups.

Stats:
Weizenbock. 7.1% ABV. Germany.

Pale yellow and clowdy with a nice head.

Lovely nose with yeast, honey, big dose of lemon, floral component, and name a fruit.

Mouthfeel is light with high carbonation.

Delicious. Absolutely full flavored with a bunch of light fruits, citrus, and yeast. Lovely floral honey component. Great citrus finish that lasts forever.

This is why I fell in love with beer. There is just so much flavor, so much complexity, and so much refreshment. Too bad this would be perfect in the Summer. 95 points.

Franziskaner Dunkel Hefe-weiss

This is the beer that I mentioned in the last review from this brewery. I have to admit that dunkelweizens are one of my favorite styles of beer. Again, not much info about this beer, so let’s just dive into the review.

Stats:
Dunkelweizen. 5.0% ABV. Germany.

Iced tea color, with a small head, and very hazy.

Nice nose, reminds me of a dubbel. Slightly yeasty, slightly sweet, and a ton of fruit. Brown sugar and plumbs, raisins, dark cherries, raspberries, and strawberries.

Medium to light bodied and fairly highly carbonated.

Nice wheat and yeast flavors up front with some brown sugar and delicious fruit. The mid-palate just explodes with more fruit. Really gorgeous flavors wit a bit of a sweet, dark finish.

I really like this beer. Great flavors and light mouthfeel make this a great alternative summer brew. 90 points

Franziskaner Hefe-weisse

I don’t know why foreign breweries always have the worst websites. No information about this beer on their website. But I picked this beer up because I really loved the dunkelweiss they make, and I’m hoping this one is just as good.

Stats:
Hefeweizen. 5.0% ABV. Germany.

Amber in color with a nice white head and a ton of sediment.

The nose is wheaty and fruity. You get that wheat nose, but with a ton of oranges, pineapple, apples, and pears. There is some nice spices in here as well. Cinnamon comes through with some cloves. Quite a nice nose.

The mouth feel is slightly light and highly carbonated.

Lots of fruit up front with some yeast and wheat. It gets a little bit light on the mid palate, but ends with some nice spice and yeast flavor that I actually really like.

Pretty decent stuff, and great summer beer. Check this one out if you can find it. 88 points

Blind Pilsner Tasting

I’m finally getting around to posting the results of my blind Pils tasting. I gathered up 8 Pilsners, with some classics and some American craft versions to see. I’m partly curious how the Urquell and the Trumer do against the American’s and I’m curious to see which craft brewer makes the best Pils. This is blind, but I have tried all but 2 of them before, so I’m wondering if I can remember their flavor profiles. I’ll write down what beer I think it is.

Beer 1:

Middle range color with head fading slightly.

The nose has a nice malty backbone with a slightly bready aroma.

Good mouthfeel, fairly thick for this category with good carbonation.

The palate is fairly hop aggressive with breadyness from the malts with a nice honey flavor and a fairly bitter backend.

I like this one. Definitely hop aggressive, so I’d guess it’s the Prima. Good flavor, good drinkability. 88 points for beer 1.

Beer 2:

One of the darkest in color, much more orange, and the head is lasting.

The nose is more closed, and definitely not as hoppy, much more malt comes through.

Mouthfeel is also lighter and more carbonated.

Palate is kind of boring with a bready, almost cardboard covered with honey flavor. Very little hop bitterness.

Definitely not as good as beer 1, pretty boring. 83 points.

Beer 3:

Also on the darker side of the colors, but less head retention.

This nose is much different. Some bready malts with a lot of diacetyl. Really not that pleasant of a nose.

The mouthfeel is also on the lighter side with considerable carbonation.

Lots of diacetyl on the palate and very bready malts. Can’t really taste hops here, except for a little backend bitterness.

I’m almost certain this is Urquell, as it has a pretty unique flavor profile, and frankly it tastes mass-produced. I’m not a huge fan. 79 points.

Beer 4:

The color is back to a much more pale yellow, but also keeps a pretty good head.

This nose is a bit skunky, so I’m assuming this came from the green Trumer bottle. Reminds me of the last beer with lots of bready malts and some floral hops.

The mouthfeel is very light, too light.

The worst beer yet. I’ve got some typical bready malts with floral hops, but tastes watered down. It does have some slight hop on the backend, but not redeeming enough.

I’m guessing this is the Trumer, and it’s not very good. The slight skunk is off-putting and the watered-down flavor is unacceptable. 75 points.

Beer 5:

Color is in the middle of the range and also has some decent head and lacing.

Slightly closed nose, but decent. Honey, floral, and slightly bready, and I’m also picking up a faint smokeyness that I really like.

Mouthfeel is pretty light without a ton of carbonation.

Palate is much better than the last beer. Some bread, honey, floral notes with a pretty hop aggressive backbone.

This one I liked quite a bit. I’m going to give this one 88 points. Beer 1 and 5 are now rated the highest.

Beer 6:

Slightly on the darker side, but still mid-range.

This nose has a lot more spicy hops than the other beers, and I get some earthyness from it.

One of the better mouthfeels without too much carbonation.

Wow, this is pretty hoppy. Lovely floral hops and honey with slight malts, and a good level of bitterness.

Actually, I think this is the best one so far. I really dig the hops on this beer, definitely American, and I’m willing to bet that this one is, in fact, the Prima. 89 points.

Beer 7:

On the darker side with a bit of head left.

Different nose here with a lot more fruity-ness than the other beers and quite a bit of citrus. Very pleasant nose and remind me a bit of a girls body spray.

Decent mouthfeel, not bad.

Yep, definitely the most fruity, easy drinking one of the bunch. Low on hops and I would like to see more.

I wish there were more hops here, but I can see this being the crowd favorite. 85 points.

Beer 8:

The last beer is one the pale yellow side but is still holding some head and lacing.

Another fairly closed nose. Fairly typical Pils nose again, but I’m getting a bit of a gasoline component.

Good, medium bodied mouthfeel.

Wow, this one is actually pretty bready. It has a nice honey and berry flavor, but awfully bready.

This beer is okay, but needs much more hops to balance out. 84 points.

So there we have it. There results are as follows, from first to last place: 6, 5-1, 7, 8, 2, 3, 4

1. Victory Prima Pils-89 points
2. Tied: Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils & Sierra Nevada Summerfest-88 points
3. North Coast Scrimshaw-85 points
4. New Belgium Blue Paddle-84 points
5. Full Sail LTD Series #03-83 points
6. Pilsner Urquell-79 points
7. Trumer Pils-75 points

So there are some interesting and not-so-interesting results here. It’s not surprising that the big guys came in last and that the highly rated Prima Pils came in front. I am surprised to see the outcome of everything in between. I’ve actually reviewed 3 of these beers before. I’ve rated the Summerfest an 89 in my original review and gave it 88 here, so I’m pretty happy with that. What really surprises me is that when I reviewed Mamma’s Little Yella Pils, a review I havn’t even posted yet, I gave it an 81. I did not think much of it stand-alone. It is beer 1, but I was trying all of them before I started writing notes, so I’m guessing that the flavors just held up well against the others, very interesting. The other big surprise was the Full Sail, as I gave it an 88 in my original review and have been fond of that beer, but seems to have not held up as well in competition.

So, some interesting results here. Tell me what you think, have you had any of these beers?