My Trip to Germany

Once upon a year ago, I took a trip to Germany (with a little Austria thrown in for good measure). Needless to say, it was excellent. I saw a lot, learned a lot, and I drank a lot of world class beers. You may be asking why I'm just now getting around to sharing these pictures with you. Well, because when I took the pictures I had no intentions of sharing them on my blog. A year ago, I wanted to keep to the Baltimore in Baltimore Bistros and Beer. Today, I just don't care that much about keeping to a strict theme and since the direction of the blog has expanded to be more beercentric lately I thought it made sense. So, here we go. A bunch of pictures of beer or me and Deana drinking beer with descriptions where necessary. As a disclaimer, I wasn't focusing on quality for the majority of these pictures. I wanted to make sure my actual eyes were taking in as much as they could, while they could.

My favorite picture of the whole trip. Lake Titisee in the background. Furstenberg Pils in the starring role

Romantic, right? His and Hers liters.

What a head! I ordered this beer simply because I purchased that glass earlier in the day and wanted to be able to say I had a beer in that glass.

This is the best hefe I've ever had. I dream about that beer. 

First beer of the trip. After a 9 hour overnight flight with zero sleep that little dandy did a number on me. I believe it was a Hacker Pschorr Oktoberfest

Enjoying a few beers at the Hofbrahaus Munchen.

All glassware should be that beautiful.

You can't imagine how good that beer tasted after a day of climbing a mountain and checking out Neuschwanstein Castle.

We took a brewery tour at Erdinger. The tasting room was awesome and the hospitality was great. Drink as much beer as you can and when you're not drinking stuff a few weisswurst and pretzels in your mouth.

There you have it. Hope you enjoyed looking at a couple of these and the revealing of our face for the first time in blog history! Prost!

Gordon Biersch

The second I heard a Gordon Biersch was opening downtown I was pretty pumped up. As far as I'm concerned, if every restaurant were a brewpub I'd be a happy man. And knowing that Gordon Biersch specializes in traditional German beer...well, that definitely didn't quell my excitement either.

Speaking of German beer, these guys do it right. I ordered the fleet to get a feel for everything they offered and left very impressed. Most of their beers, like the Marzen and Schwarzbier are lagers, but my favorite of their staple beers is the hefeweizen. This doesn't surprise me as I've been a hefe fan from my early days but theirs really stands out. The banana flavor, typical in hefeweizens, really comes through and makes for an extremely refreshing beer.

I had the lucky fortune of being invited by Gordon Biersch to try their Summerbrau (a Kolsch style beer) on a separate visit and I was very impressed with that beer as well. As their brewer Chris Cashell explained to me, Kolsch style beers are meant to be gulped down in the summer. Thankfully, the relatively low ABV and straight forward flavor profile make that possible. Summerbrau pours a gorgeous clear yellow and smells tart and lemony with a grainy malt aroma blanketing it all. Everything that comes through in the aromatics plays into the taste as well and combines for the perfect beer. In fact, it was so good I decided to bring a growler home with me.

But, don't let me get carried away. Gordon Biersch is about more than just the beer. They also serve up some delicious food. What you see pictured above is a plate of perfectly cooked Steak Frites. I asked for my steak to be cooked medium rare and that's just what I got. The meat was juicy and tender and I was surprised to find myself enjoying the steak sauce they swirled about. Normally, I'm not a steak sauce kind of guy but it worked really well here. The frites were also done well, althought, I did find them to be a bit salty. However, you're going to have a delicious beer sitting right there to wash it all down so the extra salt isn't as big of a deal as it might have been at another time.

Deana was the lucky winner of the brewhouse chicken. When we were doing our "what are you gonna have" conversation prior to ordering we both had this meal in mind. Ever the gentleman, I decided that she should order the chicken and so she did. The chicken was grilled and smoothered in a gravy they make using their Marzen beer. Deana found her meal to be tender and we both really liked the gravy even though we found the main flavor to be garlic and less Marzen. It should also be noted that the squash and zucchini served on the side were actually prepared well and weren't thrown on as an afterthought like I see done far too often.

For dessert....yes, we still found room....we ordered bread pudding. Man, it was the good stuff. The bread was hot, thick, moist, and gooey. I always make fun of the chefs on Chopped who cook bread pudding in the dessert round, but if I were a judge you'd never hear me complaining. Gooey bread, pecans, caramel sauce, and melting vanilla ice cream are a few of my favorite flavors and when put all together like this you've got a desert for the gods.

If you haven't made your way to Gordon Biersch yet, be sure to put it on your to do list. The food is delicious, the beer is great, and they have some great outdoor seating for this time of year. And if the Summerbrau sounds like it's up your alley, better get up there sooner than later as it's only offered seasonally.

Price: Average
Recommendation: Like Beer? Like Food? Then you should visit.
What to Order: Steak Frites, Bread Pudding, and a hefe.

 

BBB Beer of the Week: Mahr's Brau Christmas Bock

Before I visited Germany earlier this year, I dabbled in German beer but was never really fully taken by it. Compared to American Craft Beers there just isn't a whole ton of flavor. But during my time there I fell in love with their straight forward flavors and I don't think I'll ever be able to get enough. It's so simple. It's so clean. In my mind's eye, it's what beer really should be. Mahr's Brau Christmas Bock, the BBB Beer of the Week, is a great example of those clean flavors I've come to love so much.

 

Appearance: This beer is beautiful. Unfortunately, I can't find anything online that does it justice. In fact, I even tried taking a picture of it myself and I couldn't get it right. I'd rather leave it up to your imagination then post a picture that doesn't convey just how pretty this beer is. The beer is a golden straw color that pours perfectly clear. It's so clear it could give some of the top notch Pilsners of the world a run for their money in the clarity department. And on top of this beautiful liquid rests a head that is like a huge thick cloud combining for one of the most picturesque beers I've had stateside.

Nose: My bias for German beer is extreme. With that said, this beer smells amazing. It's not all old school batman with the BOOM POW WACK smells you get with a lot of American craft beers. If you're looking for that, you're sure to be let down. This is all about the Malt. It smells absolutely delicious and is typical of most of the beer I sniffed in Germany. I could literally sit around for hours taking in the aroma of a beer like this.

Taste: Mahr's Brau Christmas Bock drinks clean and crisp. Every time I drink a beer like this I think it tastes like the farm. It's all about the malt. I get a touch of citrus and a bit of some other sort of fruit. Nothing over the top. Just classic German flavors. Toasty.Sweet up front and finishes with a tiny bit of hop bitterness to bring it all together.

Style: Christmas Bock
ABV: 6.0%
IBU: Not sure, but I wouldn't imagine it's above 15

Final Verdict: Like you even had to ask. There is a chance you might still come across a bottle or two now, but be sure to note this one for next winter. When describing a German beer I like to say that it's awesome in its simplicity. This Christmas Bock lives up to that description. Don't sleep on this liquid perfection.

BBB Beer of the Week: Konig Ludwig Weissbier

Welcome back to Beer of the Week. This week I'll be discussing Konig Ludwig Weissbier. While perusing the shelves yesterday at the liquor store I was VERY excited when I came across this beauty. Not that long ago I took a trip to Germany and was fortunate enough to try Konig Ludwig Hell while visiting the Mad King's castle Neuschwanstein. That beer was easily one of the top 3 beers I had over there and not knowing how frequently I'll come across beers like that here at home I'm very excited to be talking about Konig Ludwig Weissbier. So, without any further adieu, let's get into this German hefeweizen.

Appearance: Wow, what a beautiful beer this is! As soon as you finish the pour just sit back and take in the gorgeous cloudy head sitting on top of a perfectly hazy golden straw colored beer. If you're a homebrewer looking to mimic the prototypical hefeweizen this Weissbier is a great place to start.

Nose: As pretty as it looks, this beer smells just as inviting. Banana, bubblegum, and a touch of clove are the prominent smells coming across. That shouldn't come as much a surprise if you've been around a hefeweizen or two in your day.

Taste: Perfectly delicious in every way. The thing about German beer that I find most appealing is that with so few ingredients allowed, per Reinheitsgebot, you taste everything that is in the beer. And that's as true as ever with this Weissbier. There is a wonderful wheat flavor and a very well balanced banana/bubblegum flavor coming through via the yeast.

Style: German Hefeweizen
ABV: 5.5%
IBU: Not sure, but there is very little bitterness.

Final Verdict: If you come across this beer in your travels (and you can find a few 6 packs at Total Wine and Liquor off Loch Raven now) I highly recommend you pick it up. If there was a posterboy for hefeweizen, Konig Ludwig Weissbier would be a very good candidate for that. It's smooth. It's tasty. It's a beer that should not be passed on.

Beer Tastings: Spaten Oktoberfest

By the time this post makes its way to the public interwebs, I hope I'll be sipping on a Spaten in Munich itself. So, cheers to me! Hope you're having the time of your life.

Anyway, back to the task at hand. Another fall beer. Another review.

This time we are discussing Spaten Oktoberfest. I love this beer for it's simplicity. Don't get me wrong, I love craft beer and all the twists and turns they can take you on with their new and exotic concoctions. But there is something to be said for the simple and perfect....the beers that have been tried and shown true for 500 years.

Spaten Oktoberfest pours a magnificently gigantic head and smells of roasted malt. The balance in this beer is something to behold.  There is the wonderful aforementioned roasted malt flavor balanced against the perfect amount of hops. The underlying sweetness brings the whole thing together and makes for an incredible beer. And really, when you're looking for a great Oktoberfest beer should you really be looking anywhere other than Munich? This is a fall beer not to be missed.

Style: Marzen
ABV: 5.9
IBU: ?