Yeah, I drank a fuck-ton of different beers, so this will have a little different format. For instance, I had three different weißbiers, but since those all look the same, I'll do general characteristics, some flavor notes, and then the review. I'll throw in prices as I remember them, but I was drinking, so...
Weissbiers
Served: Paulaner and Franziskaner in half liter weissbier glasses, Hofbrauhaus in their traditional 1L masskrug (that's the big stein).
Appearance: These are all orange and sort of cloudy, the result of them not being filtered and still having yeast in them.
Smell: Bread-like with a hint of yeast. Yeast was very prominent in the Franziskaner.
Beer #21: Hofbrau Weissbier:
Good wheat character, less yeast (its not a hefe). Not as strongly flavored as others though, or maybe that's because you stop tasting it after the first half liter.
Price: €7.60 per liter in the Chinesischer Turm beer garden, but comes with a great atmosphere and oompah band.
Overall: 5.5/10
Beer #22: Paulaner Hefeweizen:
Good balance of wheat and yeast on this one, but less flavor than Franziskaner.
Price: €3.90 for half a liter with dinner.
Overall: 6.5/10.
Beer #23: Franziskaner Hefeweizen:
Huge flavor, yeast being dominant. A lot like if somebody liquefied bread and poured it into your mouth and then you were drunk.
Price: €4.50 half liter at the Ratskeller in Munich. Can doubtless be had for cheaper elsewhere, but again, atmosphere.
Overall: 8/10. I love hefeweizen, and this stuff is one of the best, if not the best I've ever had.
Hellesbiers:
These are light beers that are the go-to for German drinking sessions.
Served: Either in half liter portions, or the big stein at Hofbrauhaus or my hostel bar.
Smell: Hellesbier just smells like beer. It's rather similar to pilsner, except I didn't get sick of it because in Germany you have other options besides pilsner.
Beer #24: Hofbrauhaus:
A little grain, a little yeast, light hops. Goes down easy, but isn't a huge flavor profile. This stuff is supposed to be refreshing for the first liter, intoxicating for the second liter, and to put you on your ass for the third liter. It does just that.
Price: A liter at the Hofbrauhaus will set you back €8. Again, the Hofbrauhaus is world famous, and this is their flagship beer, so you should have a stein there for the experience. Then go back to your hostel and pay €5.20 for the next one. If you aren't in a hostel, your next liter will really only be maybe €0.40 less.
Overall: 5.1/10.
Beer #25: Augustiner
More flavor than Hofbrauhaus, but still light. Goes well with Weiner schnitzel.
Overall: 5.5/10. I can't remember what I paid for it, but €3.90 per half liter is pretty typical for beer.
Beer #26: Ayinger
This had more flavor than the other two, but I'm not sure if it was a helles or not, since I don't speak German or Italian. It seemed halfway in between the two though.
Overall: 6/10. I think it was €3.50 for a 0.4 liter beer?
Beer #27: Spaten
Spaten Optimator is a fantastic doppelbock. Spaten hellesbier is not a good hellesbier. It's kind of watery tbh.
Overall: 3.5/10. I think it was 3.90, but I forgot how much a lot of my drinks were last night, because I had nearly a gallon of beer. Since that was my last night in beer territory, it was a good way to end. Now it's on to Italy, where wine is king, and Birra Perroni is probably just another Budweiser clone.
No comments:
Post a Comment