Braueri Beck & Co. (AB InBev) - Beck's

Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a plastic cup

This well-known German pale lager pours a medium pale straw body, crystal clear with a fast-rising carbonation. The light and fluffy white head builds quickly to a medium size and features modest retention, but leaves thick swathes of lace as it fades. The nose is stinky with the signature Euro lager aroma. Skunky hops give a vague Pilsner-like profile. Light maltiness rounds out the base.

The beer is very crisp and gives a light and airy body. Malts are very sweet and almost honey-like. A minor sour graininess comes through on the mid-palate and are matched by a light dusting of dandelion-like bitter hops, which bring forth the Pilsner profile of Noble hops. The flavor fades fast, but leaves a minor skunk on the finish and a moderate crisp bite.

Final Verdict: C

Löwenbräu AG - Original

Serving Type: 330 mL bottle, poured into a plastic cup

Löwenbräu Original is a classic Bavarian lager, from one of the historic breweries of Munich, Germany. The beer pours a light, almost greenish, straw body with a crystal clear glimmer. The foam is smallish, but shines in bright white. The head retention is moderate and the lacing is quite light. The nose is quite lagery with a pungent skunkiness. Moderate dandelion notes add bitterness and mild grassy elements of traditional Noble hops. The underlying malts are sweet with an ever-slight drop of honey.

Crisp carbonation gives the beer a classic Helles feel. Noble hops and the Pilsnery impression of this lager style are unmistakable. The beer is light and drinkable and make for a very refreshing brew at 5.2% ABV. The malts are sweet with minor pear notes. The finish is crisp and drying. Overall the beer is a classic with the traditional tropes of a Munich Helles lager, right down to the predictable Reinheitsgebot marketing. A drinkable brew, perfect for slugging by the litre at an Oktoberfest event.

Final Verdict: B

Paulaner - Salvator Double Bock

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 330ml bottle, poured into a flute glass


The Salvator Double Bock, reportedly the world's first double bock, pours a light chestnut brown with amber highlights. The beer has a still appearance, but is topped by an airy head of light tan foam. The head retention is mild and leaves almost no lace behind as it hastily departs. The nose is light and malty with hints of candied fruits. The mildly sugary aroma contains hints of caramel and slightly earthy aromas.

The beer's flavor profile exhibits a damp woodiness with a mild acidity and earthy undertones. Vague caramel sweetness creeps in on the mid-palate, but the emphasis is clearly on the decaying funk of rain soaked wood. The beer is enjoyable, but very light, almost inconsequential. Mild alcohol heat tinges on the finish.


Final Verdict: B-

Hofbräu - Oktoberfest

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 330 mL bottle, poured into a pint glass

This classic Oktoberfest märzen pours a medium yellowy body with a straw-like complexion. The healthy off-white head is a dense foam with a somewhat creamy consistency. Head retention is solid and the foam leaves traces of thin lacing on the glass. The nose is lagery with a pronounced dandelion bitterness. The beer has a very Pilsner-like quality with an added honey sweetness on the aroma.

Sweet honey up from with a velvety carbonation. High on the bitter hoppiness, this is a quite-dry beer. Noble-type hops are prominently featured and put this on the bitter side for a typical Oktoberfest, but it is welcomed. Underlying malts are moderately biscuity with a slightly toasted flavor. The finish is dry with a mild lingering sweetness and a leafy vegetal quality.

Final Verdict: B

Ayinger - Oktober Fest-Märzen

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 500 mL bottle, poured into a Mark Twain pint glass

The Oktober Fest-Märzen pours a full-bodied straw with a medium-large creamy off-white head. The foam retention is moderate and the lacing is a light and delicate. The nose is sweet with honey notes over robust biscuity malts. Light caramel hints add a slightly darker sweetness, which compliments a slight cellary must.

The mouthfeel is rich with satiny carbonation that is refreshing and lends a lasting crispness to the beer. A dry body is produced by moderately bitter hops with the slightest dusting of dandelion bitterness, which accents the pervasive sweet malts. A mild caramel tone to the malts is pleasing, but the distinct honey sweetness is center stage. The malts are bold and biscuity, giving the beer a substantial feeling. A very dry finish beckons another sip of this outstanding Oktoberfest beer.

Final Verdict: A

Hacker-Pschorr - Original Oktoberfest

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 330 mL bottle, poured into a pint glass

Hacker and Pschorr were separate breweries, with an intertwined history dating back to 1417, until the early 1970s. By 1975 the breweries were merged and the labeling and products were fully integrated. This storied brewery produces a range of traditional Bavarian brews, not the least of which is their classic Oktoberfest märzen.

The beer pours a tawny, brownish, amber body with some light highlights. The head is a medium sized tanned white foam of fine carbonation. The retention is fairly light and the lacing is modest. There's a distinct honey sweetness on the nose, mildly reminiscent of orange blossom honey. The light toasted malts have an earthy, lagered aroma.

The malts' earthy notes are pronounced up front with a slight woodiness and a classic lager aire. The mildly bitter hops are light overall. The malt body is not substantial, while the honey essence is significant and persistent. Although, the sweetness is never overblown. The beer is drinkable and light bodied with a lasting sweetness and mild hop dusting.

Final Verdict: B+

Hacker-Pschorr Bräu - Hefe Weisse Natürtrub

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 11.2 oz. bottle, poured into a Pilsner glass, posing as a weizen glass

This traditional Bavarian wheat beer pours a muted orange-brown with long stringy suspensions of yeast. The massive, creamy, off-white head is stiff with massive peaks of foam. The retention of the head is excellent and leaves large, thick chunks of lacing. Spicy wheat malts on the nose are adorned with light hints of coriander and mild cinnamon. As is common, big clove notes play nicely with laid back banana phenols.

Creamy and full-bodies, the beer boasts a velvet carbonation that accentuates the big bready malt. Banana bread flavor is rich and satisfying with hints of vanilla and undertones of traditional wheat beer spices and minor cocoa notes. The finish produces a lasting and lightly fruity aftertaste. Vague cinnamon, mild all spice and hints of walnut linger.

This beer, like many Bavarian brews boasts that it is brewed under the Reinheitsgebot or "German Purity Laws." I've complained about this marketing tactic before, but I'll mention again, that according to the Reinheitsgebot, only barley could be used in the production of beer. Therefore, a wheat beer, such as this (and as good as it is) cannot possibly adhere to the long outmoded restrictions.

What's more, the Reinheitsgebot, now championed (for marketing purposes) as a beer quality standard, was actually instated to protect bread production. The law was designed to protect the best bread-making grains (wheat, rye, etc.) from being used in beer production, therefore adversely affecting food production.

Final Verdict: A-

Musings On The Road (Again)

Despite the fact that I still haven't finished posting about my beer experiences from my trip to the American West and Southwest, more beer-related travels are in my future. Expect the rest of my trip experiences to appear on the blog this week (actually, unlike last time I said that).

What's in my future?

First up is the Belgian Beer Fest, put on by BeerAdvocate. Like my time at the American Craft Brew Fest I will be volunteering at the early Saturday session with the hops of tasting a bunch of beers during my breaks. Stay tuned for my coverage.

The BBF is being held at The Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts Friday September 9 and Saturday September 10. There's an evening session Friday and two Saturday sessions. Friday's "Night of Funk" promises a more personal experience, with limited tickets. Saturday boasts over 125 beers for your sampling needs. For more information check out the official website.

Second, like last time again, I will be heading to the airport on the Monday following my Beer Fest adventure. This time, instead of heading West, I'll be heading East. I have two primary stops, Scotland, home of Scotch, and Munich, home of the world-famous Oktoberfest, which will be in full swing when I arrive.

Expect scenes from my travels, from the festival, and thoughts on beers and whiskeys. Your thoughts and recommendations for sights and sounds on my travels are appreciated. I'm especially looking for ideas in Scotland. I'll be primarily (if not exclusively) in Edinburgh. 

Augustiner-Bräu Wagner KG - Maximator

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a Pokal glass

Maximator is a a doppelbock, customarily named, from Augustiner-Bräu in Munich, Germany. The beer pours a moderate chestnut with a mild chilly haze. The head is medium-sized with a light tan hue. The retention is about average and the foam soon recedes to a thin layer on top of the beer. The nose is very nutty with a prominent caramel sweetness and a slight woody component.

The toasted malts produce a clear earthy component, accented by a sweet edge of nutty flavor. The beer seems chocolatey and rich, but there is very little emphasis placed on the cocoa-esque elements. There's a depth of flavor that briefly plays up dark fruits with an edge of caramelization and molasses sweetness. The beer is silky smooth on the finish with hints of mocha.

Final Verdict: A-

Augustiner-Bräu Wagner KG - Edelstoff

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a fluted glass

Edelstoff is a classic Munich Helles Lager, from Augustiner-Bräu. It pours a very-light yellowy-golden straw and is highly carbonated with tons of active carbonation. The head is a large fluffy white foam with a wispy lightness. The retention is solid as the foam slowly departs with a light crackling, leaving thin, but consistent, lacing behind. The nose is sweet and malty with white grape juice aroma and a slight musty edge. The beer is very lagery with light hops.

The mouthfeel is crisp and airy. Light, sweet, golden malts seem very fresh on the front palate. The green grapes come through from the nose with a clear presence and a slight tartness. The hoping is very light with only a kiss of bitterness. The emphasis is clearly on the malts. The finish is crisp and very refreshing.

Final Verdict: B

Weihenstephaner - Korbinian

Purchased From: Canal's of Hamilton
Serving Type: 500 mL bottle, poured into a Pokal glass

Korbinian is a doppelbock from Weihenstephaner and it pours a clear, dark brown body with a mild wine-like glow. The head is a generous size with an airy foam and good retention. The beer is light on lacing, overall, though. The nose is sweet with caramel, backed up by earthy undertones. There are also slight alcoholic fumes rising from the beer.

The crisp carbonation produces an airy mouthfeel to go along with light hopping. The earthy body contains toasted malts that yield to a roasted coffee ground finish. The bitter hops fade nicely and produce a dry finish with a lingering hazelnut. The beer is clean and handles its alcohol well.

As it warms a bit some of the alcohol shows through with a bit of heat. The beer develops a mild Port wine character with a sweetness of dried dark fruits like plums.

Final Verdict: A-

Weihenstephaner - Original Premium

Purchased From: Canal's of Hamilton
Serving Type: 500 mL bottle, poured into a flute glass

Weihenstephaner (Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan) is, as they claim, the world's oldest brewery. I don't have any evidence to back up their claim, but they sure seem old, with the claimed founding date of 1040. The English Wikipedia seems to back up this claim, but the German version tells the tale of a dispute, although briefly. Either way, 1040 is old and this beer is good.

Their Original Premium has a pale, lightly cloudy yellow body with effervescent bubbling. It's got a medium-sized creamy foam head that leaves thin and elegant lacing on the glass. The nose has a distinctive honey sweetness with mild dandelion bitterness and citrusy hints. The carbonation is crisp and clean but understated. Makes for a pleasing mouthfeel. The body is sweet and malty with hints of noble hops. The finish is refreshing and makes this beer very drinkable.

Final Verdict: A-

Spaten - Optimator

Spaten - Optimator

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits

Serving Type: 12 oz. green glass bottle, poured into a pilsner glass

Optimator is a doppelbock from Spaten, which, like many other doppelbocks, makes use of the “-ator” suffix (remember Celebrator and S’muttonator). The addition of the suffix is quite common among the style, and comes from the name of the original doppelbock ‘Salvator’ from Paulaner brewery. Aside from this, Optimator is my 50th beer review! Nearly daily for about 2 months.

Optimator is dark brown, filtered clear, but has a somewhat dull complexion. It pours with a thin light-colored head, which fades fast. It leaves some foam around the edges of the glass, but no lacing to speak of. Malts similar to the Spaten Premium are detectable on the nose as well as some light hopping. There’s also a mild toasted malt sweetness and some dark fruit aroma.

The mouthfeel is syrupy and almost sticky. The characteristic Spaten malts clearly underly the toasted malts that give the beer its color and tasty chocolate hints. There’s also a solid hop bittering to the beer. Unfortunately, the overall flavor of the beer seems to fade pretty quickly. A slight lingering smoke sticks around for a respectable time.

Final Verdict: B+

Edit: I forgot to point out the somewhat-humorous play on Spaten’s logo on Optimator’s label. If you check out the other two Spaten brews, (the past two days) you’ll notice their logo is a single shovel. In honor of this double bock, they’ve modified their logo to sport a double shovel. 

Spaten - Oktoberfestbier Ur-Märzen

Spaten - Oktoberfestbier Ur-Märzen

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits

Serving Type: 12 oz. green glass bottle, poured into a mug

The body is a deep amber or medium brown with an extremely thin white head. The retention is minimal, but a ring of foam remains around the top of the beer throughout. The nose is very mild with only a slight sweetness detectable. 

The mouthfeel is thin, despite the visible active carbonation. There’s a mild initial sweetness, but it turns bitter quickly. It seems to be originating from a mouthful of sour grains, unfortunately, not from careful hopping.

Final Verdict: C+

Spaten - Premium (Münchner Hell)

Spaten - Premium (Münchner Hell)

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits

Serving Type: 12 oz. green glass bottle, poured into a pilsner glass

Spaten is a well-known German lager beer (although not to the extent of Beck’s), for which I have a pretty big soft-spot. It’s a traditional example of a Munich Helles Lager, like Hofbräu and Paulaner, which I reviewed about a month ago. 

Spaten Münchner Hell pours a crystal clear golden straw body with plenty of active carbonation. There’s a thin white head on the beer, which disappears pretty quickly and doesn’t produce much in the way of lacing. The nose contains lots of pungent malts (I could smell it while pouring), and a mild apple juice aroma.

The malts are bold and make up most of the flavor. The carbonation is significant, crisp and almost biting. There’s a slight bitter tinge to the beer, coming from some mild hops. They’re noticeable on the nose, but not much in the flavor. The finish is crisp, but carries a lingering sweetness.

Final Verdict: B-

Schneider-Brooklyner Hopfen-Weisse

Schneider-Brooklyner Hopfen-Weisse

Purchased From: Wallingford Wine & Spirit Company

Serving Type: 500mL bottle, poured into a weizen glass

Hopfen-Weisse is an interesting collaborative creation by Hans-Peter Drexler of the Schneider brewery and Garrett Oliver of The Brooklyn Brewery. The brew masters, fans of each other’s work, as the tale goes, decided to team up to produce a unique beer, using the other’s brewery. This is their experiment, as produced at the Schneider brewery. I’ll keep an eye out for, and hopefully review, the Brooklyn half of this equation.

The body pours with a light orange hazy glow, diffuse with silky yeast left over from bottle conditioning. The nose is extremely hoppy  and carries a slight must. The large head is full of tons of very crisp carbonation and produces considerable lacing.

There’s a slight astringency to the wheat malts. They produce a sweetness to balance out the bright hoppy character of this beer. There’s an intense and delicious citrus character to it, reminiscent of fresh grapefruit. The hallertauer hops used in brewing are clear, but they mix well with the wheat malt to create a very interesting and rare combination.

The beer is certainly strong, but hides its alcohol well. At 8.2% ABV, suppressing the alcoholic esters is a nice feat.

Final Verdict: B+

G. Schneider & Sohn - Schneider Weisse

G. Schneider & Sohn - Schneider Weisse

Purchased From: Wallingford Wine & Spirit Company

Serving Type: 500mL bottle, poured into a weizen glass

This is Schneider’s original hefeweizen and it pours a dark-for-the-style murky tannish brown with feathery yeast flowing throughout the body. What it most closely reminds me of is an unpasteurized apple cider. Great thought for the season. The base of the glass reveals a mild yellowy hue.

There’s a light dust to the nose along with clear banana scents and hints of citrus. The head is very light and airy, but keeps a moderate level throughout the life of this drink and produces light-to-moderate lacing on the glass. 

The beer brings characteristic banana phenols and yeast that give the illusion of banana bread augmented by clove and cinnamon spices. The mouthfeel is a bit thin, but goes out with citrus and fresh apples and gently fades to a somewhat tart aftertaste. The spices linger on to balance out the finish.

Final Verdict: B

G. Schneider & Sohn - Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock

G. Schneider & Sohn - Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock

Purchased From: Wallingford Wine & Spirit Company

Serving Type: 11.2 oz. bottle, poured into a large wine glass*

This is an Eisbock version of the incredible Aventinus that I reviewed late last week. An Eisbock is a special type of beer, allegedly discovered accidentally by a former brewer of Aventinus, derived by the freezing of a portion of the beer. Because water freezes before alcohol, the water portion is frozen and removed. What is left is a considerably more concentrated version of the original brew.

Aventinus Eisbock pours with an initially large dark foam head, but it quickly disappears leaving no trace of its previous existence. On the way out, the head flares out with tons of crackling carbonation. Likewise, there’s no lacing to be found with this beer. The nose is incredibly sweet. Sweet. There’s an aroma of candied plums and hints of red wine and a Port character.

The deep brown body with some floating yeast begins with a dry and musty flavor, but quickly moves into dark fruits like dates and raisins. There’s also a prominent and deliberate nut component. The flavors of walnuts and hazelnuts are the most clear and add considerable depth to this complex beer.

There are only mild alcoholic esters, but the incredible sweetness of this beer is a clear indication of its considerable alcohol content. The nutty finish lingers in the aftertaste and allows the alcohol to sneak up on you. At 12% ABV this beer is quite serious, and not something you’re going to drink more than one of.

Final Verdict: A**

*A Note on Glass Selection: More commonly you’d find this type of beer poured into a snifter, the type of glass most commonly associated with brandy drinking. Unfortunately, I don’t have one. An oversized wine glass can be used as a substitute, that’s what I’ve done here. Other possible selections for this beer may have been a fluted glass, or a tulip. Because of the complex aroma of this beer, I wanted to go with something more likely to concentrate the nose. As its getting to the season where strong beers are most commonly drunk, I’ll look into adding a snifter to my cabinet.

**A Note on My Rating: This beer fully deserves the rating I gave it, but for factors different than the A I gave to the regular Aventinus. Aventinus is both bold and drinkable. It’s strong and full-bodied, but is easily drinkable, a combo that lends to an excellent beer. Aventinus Eisbock, while quite enjoyable, is not what you’d call “drinkable.” This is an occasion of a beer, not something to stock your refrigerator with. The beers take very different approaches, but are equally deserving of high marks.

Ayinger - Weizen-Bock

Ayinger - Weizen-Bock

Purchased From: Wallingford Wine & Spirit Company

Serving Type: 500 mL bottled, poured into a weizen glass

The label of Weizen-Bock from Ayinger brings a cartoon version of the goat from Celebrator. Perhaps the cartooniness is a sign. The title and style of the beer suggests a robust and dark hefeweizen, I’m not sure they’ve really embraced that charge.

The cloudy orange glow of the beer sits above a chartreuse yellow base. The initial large white head quickly shrinks down, disappears, and leaves no lacing. The nose is huge on a citrus bouquet accented by coriander and clove. 

The taste is initially very sweet with some carbonation for body. It narrowly avoids what I sensed as a wateriness in Ur-Weisse, also from Ayinger. The finish is dry and the 6.7% ABV produces a slightly alcoholic follow-up. There’s just not a ton of depth of flavor to be found here.

While it doesn’t bill itself as a wheat doppelbock, this beer comes no where near Aventinus in either darkness or complexity. What I’m confused about is the difference between this beer and Ur-Weisse, Ayinger’s dunkel weisse. One step further, Ur-Weisse really wasn’t much darker than Ayinger’s Brau-Weisse hefeweizen beer.

Final Verdict: C+

G. Schneider & Sohn - Edel-Weisse Mein Grünes

G. Schneider & Sohn - Edel-Weisse Mein Grünes

Purchased From: Wallingford Wine & Spirit Company

Serving Type: 500 mL bottled, poured into a weizen glass

Mein Grünes is an organic Bavarian hefeweizen, brewed by G. Schneider & Sohn in Kelheim, Germany. It pours light from the bottle, but in the glass a musty orange clouded by tons of free-floating yeast gives a different impression. The large white head shrinks to about half a centimeter of foam before long. Alcohol esters dominate the nose, but they’re backed up by more subtle fresh grapes and clove spiciness.

The beer is very sweet on the front, but mellows nicely. The initial sweet wheat malts are evenly balanced by cascade and hallertauer hops. The mouthfeel is far from watery, but it’s not robust. The moderate carbonation gives it some body, and produces a crisp finish for high drinkability.

Final Verdict: A-