I bought Bier today. I go to a family-run beverage store in the next village and put together a case ('two of these, and two of these, and, uh, ok, three of these and, what've you got new in the house... ?'). A standard case here is 20 bottles, 500ml per, and the cases are on deposit. The bottles, too. Here's what I got, two of each:
From left to right:
- Vierzehn Heiligen Dunkel Trunk (Vierzehn Heiligen is a Monastery in the area, the beer has been brewed there since the 15th century)
- Hartmann Ur-Maerzen
- Wagner Dunkel from a little town called Merkendorf
- Pottensteiner Huffeisen (Horseshoe) Organic
- 'Zwergla' from Bamberg, an almost-bock bier, about 6%
- Vierzehn Heiligen 'Fasten Bock' -- 'Fasten' is German for 'fasting', and this is beer brewed during Lent. Bock beer for Christ, lol.
- Reh Bock, another bock beer, I forget which town it's from. 'Reh' is German for 'Deer'.
- Huppendorfer 'Unikum', an off-the-wall beer, not officially on the market, the label misrepresents the alcohol content at 2.5% but it's actually a strong beer, maybe in the 7% range? Huppendorf is cool little village with a great brewery.
- Schroll Landbier, from Nankendorf, my favorite. This is the one I buy when I only buy one. Very strong, robust spicy flavor.
- Weissenoher Kloster Sud, another monastery beer, also excellent, really tasty. They have seven or eight varieties.
The traditional beers in this region tend towards the darker, more malty, spicy flavors, with thick, creamy heads, each one with its own character. But Kulmbach, the town I live in, is actually famous for the Pils and other really hoppy beers. I don't like them anymore, only drink Pils when someone else is buying, lol. In the past, the available water supply determined the style of beer that would be brewed in a particular region. Kulmbach water is very soft (fantastic drinking water) and produces perfect Pils. But the surrounding area is high in lime deposits, hard water, and so these darker beers developed over time. You can't brew good Pils with Bamberg water.
Price for the above case: twelve bucks. Comes out to sixty cents per half-liter bottle. This is something that really blows my mind when my American buds are discussing the great beers they're enjoying. The beer is good, great, no doubt, but it's such a luxury item. Nobody here would pay those kinds of prices for 'daily bread'. Also, when visiting Germany, it's easy to get an inaccurate impression about the beer here. Tourists tend to go to big cities -- Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, etc. -- but those places are dominated by industrial brews that all taste the same (think,
Löwenbräu) and everyone here knows it.
Well ... that's my sermon for the evening.
Prost!