I drank the Doppel-Sticke version of this beer in December and finally had this version in May. I believe the price was $2.99 for a 6% ABV bottle.  I was able to taste it courtesy of Crown Liquors in Avon (thanks again for the beer!).  Once again, I have to note that Alt means old; however, it doesn't mean that the beer is old. Alt refers to the fact that the beer is an ale, which is the old/older way that beers were made in Germany (i.e., before the advent of lagers). The Pour: Sticke poured with a golden honey color and a fine but only slight head on it. It was semi-active in its carbonation. The Nose: There were some wine qualities to Sticke, but the dominant aroma was a strong honey tone. I did note some grains and a nice perfume, floral quality. The Taste: Touches of wine, a nice graininess, a nice mouth-feel were nice attributes of this Alt bier. Very obvious and pleasant honey tones dominated the taste of Sticke. A nice bitter (and atypical, for German beers) hops quality was present in the finish. Overall, this beer was well-balanced and refreshing. It was off the beaten ...

Beer sampler packs have proven themselves an enigma to this beer scribe, who actually owes the development of his palate to these tantalizing packages.  For many (yours truly included) the initial draw to the sampler is (1) economy, (2) variety, and (3) fear of commitment to six or twelve of the same potential offensive beers.  I used to find myself combing through the various sampler packs, of which there were never too many, trying to find one that offered the most diverse selection of brews.  But after a while, I feigned away from the samplers, and gravitated towards creating my own samplers from the individual bottles on the shelf.  You see, knowing that there were so many different beers out there, even the sampler pack was limiting. But this was not the only reason for my forsaking of the sampler...the sampler had grown stale, and was turning me off from trying many breweries whose samplers I sampled.  You see, I found that every brewery was putting their run-of-the-mill base brews in the pack, and they were coming up faulty.  The variety, was--in all actuality uniformity--a pale ale here, a brown ale there, perhaps an IPA for kicks and there you have ...

For many, simply knowing that a wheat beer is a beer made with wheat as an ingredient, is intellectually satisfying.  But anyone who has delved into the word of beer, has discovered that there is more than meets the eye to this category, and may be thirsty for more beer instruction.  For example, if one were to drink Boulevard's Unfiltered Wheat, followed by Saison Dupont, a simple description of "wheat" beer would not satisfy the fast difference in smell, taste, texture, and alcohol content between these two beers.  In fact, many a beer hater have tasted a Lambic with wide eyed awe that it is even considered a beer, and affected their attitude towards the beverage and the culture. We are blessed to be living in the post-craft-brewing era of American beer history.  Prior to the early to mid 1980's wheat beers were as unknown to the American populace as foreign trade is to Cuba.  To sample a wheat beer, one had to travel abroad, namely Belgium and Germany.  But when Americans started experimenting in their kitchens, they discovered this delicious category, and many others. Simply put, wheat beers utilize wheat, unlike other beers that typically focus on barley.  That isn't to ...

As the bottle and the name indicates, this beer's name means "White Star." I really liked the shape, look, and qualities of the bottle. It was one of those stand-out on the shelf bottles that I was drawn to. According to the Hacker-Pschorr website, this beer combines the different qualities of lighter and darker wheat beers. There is something to be said for a brewery like this, whose history pre-dates American existence by over 200 years. I'd say they've had some time to get it right. Sternweisse was a lovely golden-orange with plenty of the haze that is desirable in a wheat beer. Atop this beer's body was a creamy, white, fluffy head. Wonderful! Citrusy and clove qualities were very evident on the nose. The compliments to these aromas were sweet, wheaty malt tones and a spicy yeast that were as good as any wheat beer that I've had. The beer was certainly more clove-driven than banana in quality (these being two very common attributes given to wheat beer). As I drank the beer, the zesty citrus qualities were prevalent. Yeast, wheat, cloves and a nice touch of sweetness emerged with great balance. I'm ...

As I said, I consider this a go-to beer.  That is; upon purchasing, I do not expect to be floored by a magnificent flavor, but for the price, it's great enjoyable beer. The Pour: This beer pours a dark ruby brown color with a decent head that disappears quickly.  I noticed that the head had a very slight greenish tint to it.  A considerable amount of thin carbonation bubble race to the surface, but more slowly than a typical beer, reveal the thicker nature of this beer.  Swishing the beer gently in my glass, it is apparent that this is a sticky sweet beverage, as you can see the liquid cling to the sides and capture a little bit of the head.  BUT, this looks thinner than a lot of other doppelbocks I've had. The Nose: Sweet, sweet, sweet malts!  Toasted malts and earthy grain greet the nose.  There is a strong sour fruit smell--I thought sour green apple.  I picked up on a roasted pecan aroma, and, call me crazy, but a bloody meat essence.  Kind of like the smell of a rare (red)  meat that has been marinating in lemon juices, vinegar, and oil and is about to hit the grill. The Taste: The ...

Trinken Sie mit uns! We are heading back to Bavaria, a land rich in beer history, for this weeks Sip With Us Saturday beer:  Paulaner's Salvator.  Paulaner is one of those breweries that has achieved a certain respect over time, and for many a beer geek world wide, I dare say it is one of those 'go-to-beers'...you might not be blown away by the brew, but you will certainly enjoy the flavor and the experience. Salvator is a Doppel Bock in style, and comes in at a warming 7.9% ABV.  If you want to know more about doppel bocks, Mike wrote a great style series article. If you like darker, rich flavors, you are in luck this week.  i actually picked out this weeks beer for a budding young beer geek friend...I hope he enjoys it! I remember the first time I tasted Salvator.  To be honest, I didn't know a thing about beer.  I had recently discovered flavors and styles outside of mainstream beer.  I first tried their Hefeweizen, and came back for the Salvator.  I thought I was the king of culture...hmm...maybe I still do. Anyway, pick up a six pack and share it with a friend.  It will only run you ...

We've reviewed one Eisbock (ice bock) on the site previously (Aventinus). As a reminder, an Eisbock is a bock beer that is brought to the point of freezing. Since water freezes before alcohol, the water crystalizes and is taken out of the beer. Once the water is removed from the beer, it becomes a thicker, stronger, and more assertive beer. The Aventinus version that we reviewed jumps from 8.2% ABV to 12% ABV. Obviously, that's a pretty substantial jump. Kulmbacher is a more modest version at 9.2%. I love the brewer's opening page, which loads in German and asks readers if they are 16 or older (what a drastically different attitude than the U.S.! I guess there is something to be said for teaching responsibility early on...but I digress). What about the beer? The Pour-This beer had a very brown body with red touches gracing its appearance. The light brown head sat in the glass just waiting for me to give it a try. I imagine that it would have hung around quite a while just to show me that it wasn't capitulating. A slowly active body pretended to be ...

As we stated in the outset of the launch of this blog, as much as we love beer, we love the experience, culture, and ambiance associated with the historic beverage.  Thus said, this review includes a little bit more than the spotlighted beer, Franziskaner’s Hefe-Weisse Dunkel , and will allow for a little more subjectivity than normal for a review. The first time I had this refreshing beer was about four years ago, and the setting was just right.  My wife was pregnant with our second-born, Aylah, and it was our second anniversary.  At the time we lived in Nixa, MO.  We found a babysitter for our boy, Malachi, and headed down the road to a quaint little hole-in-the-wall restaurant, A Bit of Bavaria.  This little shack in the Midwest serves the most authentic German food I have had since the time I spent a few weeks in Germany itself.  Sandra and I ordered up some hearty, gastrointestinal havoc reeking, sausage, spaetzle, red potatoes, and I ordered a bottle of the Hefe_Weisse Dunkel. As I poured this Friday beer, the smell took me back to that hot Missouri night.  The smell is light and sweet.  I personally did not find it very ...

This week we are heeding our own wisdom and that of a reader, and drinking a beer that just might come in handy for any of your beer-vangelistic encounters this Friday.  Franziskaner's Hefe-Weisse Dunkel should be easy enough to find for the inexperienced beer hunter, and should revive the winter-deadened nerves of those of us who are still in in deep freeze, anxiously awaiting the warmth of spring. The 5% alcohol content shouldn't scare anyway, and neither should the sweet, spiced wheat aroma that will greet you.  Even the most unadventurous beer drinker just might finish this one off with a refreshed smile. You won't just be drinking a beer...you'll be drinking history.  "Franziskaner" comes from the fact that the brewery was first opened in 1363 across from a Franciscan Monastery.  Again...there's nagging historical link between beer and Christianity...

Normally I include a link to the official website to the brewery, but this one is in German.  So, I'm giving another site which gives good information about the brewer/beer.  The beer itself is pretty low in alcohol content, being 3.1%.  When I poured this beer it had some nice head retention.  Man, was this beer extremely pale and somewhat hazy.  It was very active in the bottle...downright spritzy.  As far as aroma is concerned, it was slightly vinegary/lactic on the nose.  It had some nice fruity qualities intermingled with a touch of grain.  The beer had a nice sour tart quality to it along with a slight grain taste.  The sour/tart qualities are very likely linked to the process of open fermentation that is used in the brewing process (i.e., wild yeasts find their way into the beer).   I found it to be very woody in taste and dryness.  There was also a sweet maltiness.  Have you ever had naan?  I think this beer had the quality of naan cooked in ghee.  And as odd as it is to say so, the aftertaste smacked of corn chips.  The beer was undeniably unique, and I genuinely enjoyed it.  Pick one up if and when you come across it.  Enjoy!