I attended a British Guild of Beer Writers bash in London recently on behalf of The Brew Club, and bumped into Andy Howitt. Andy’s a fellow beer geek who told me he was undertaking an interesting (soccer) World Cup project – he was aiming to drink a beer native to each nation competing in the tournament in South Africa.
That gives you a clue as to when the event was taking place – I forget the USA/England result.
We started discussing the more obscure footballing nations, Uraguay, Paraguay, Ghana and so on. From there our conversation meandered over to Brazil, where Andrew spends much of his time.
He said he had a couple of Brazilian beers I could try and I immediately thought of Brahma, the local AB InBev brand which is available quite widely in the UK.
You get the drift, hot latin nights and cold tasteless lagers… the beach at the copacabana… close your eyes and you can almost hear those Samba rythmns!
The he totally floored me by offering a couple of bottles of authentic looking German ales. Including ‘Baden Baden’, a weissbeer from Campos do Jordão in the south of Brazil and ‘Bamberg’ Munchen from a microbrewery in the same city.
By all accounts there is a sizeable German population down there in the south of the country, and there are breweries that clearly cater to their wishes.
Baden Baden – Weissbeer 5.2% ABV
I opened the beer on a hot, sunny, Sunday afternoon and after taking my usual Brewclub photograph – which I subsequently managed to delete (doh!), I settled out in the sunshine to enjoy it. Strangely, the Brazililans bottle their beers in 600ml bottles or garrafes.
Had I not deleted the photograph you would have seen that it pours a pale gold colour, cloudy as you’d expect, and with a full head – but, you’ll just have to deal with an ‘official’ photograph in instead!
There wasn’t too much nose, what I got was sort of yeasty, not wholly unexpected for a Weissbeer, but there was barely a hint of the banana I was expecting. None of the Clove, Orange Peel or Bubblegum aromas that I’ve come to expect.
The first sip, and the head has almost disappeared. The mouthfeel is okay, the flavour is weissbeer, dry and refreshing, but not overly tasty. Yes it’s a weissbeer, but it’s as though the brewery chose a mediocre weissbeer as their inspiration.
I thought long and hard before scoring this beer, and have decided to give this two and a half stars, it does what it sets out to do, but overall it could do it better. Rating:
Bamberg Munchen – 4.8% ABV
The other beer Andy gave me was ‘Bamberg’, brewed in a microbrewery in Campos do Jordão. Bamberg takes its name from the German city in Franconia that is host to the Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier I reviewed a few months ago. Bamberg is actually host to some eight breweries, pretty good for a city of 70,000 inhabitants, so this beer is nailing its flag to a pretty impressive mast.
But is it any good?
Well it pours a rich caramel colour, with a full foaming white head. The nose is caramel and malt, and fairly understated. The head dissipates quickly.
Flavour wise it’s malty, bready with a sharp hop hit. The label reads ‘Munchen’ and yes, this is a pretty good approximation of a Munich Style lager, at 4.8% tending towards a Marzen.
There’s also a hint of that ‘goaty’ flavour I’ve written about before, (it’s Octanoic acid) but it’s soon overwhelmed by the malty flavour.
Again, I’ll give this another two and a half stars, it’s on its way, but it’s not quite there yet. Rating:
This just seemed too stupid to NOT post! OK, its impressive that they built a ‘functional’ V6 replica engine out of ice to quickly chill beer, but then, as usual, its some crappy beer getting used.
So, if you’re inclined to waste some time on a project like this, please use it to chill some good craft beer instead! (Still, its kinda fun to see!)
The other night I was enjoying a bottle of Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery Pale Ale, and I was checking out the label (as I always do). I noticed the date on the label indicated that The Old Brewery in Tadcaster (England) was established in 1758. 1758!
Germany’s Weihenstephan brewery is widely known as one of, if not THE oldest operating brewery in the world dating back to 1040 AD!
When checking out the great beers of Europe, there are many examples beyond the two I just mentioned that demonstrate the ability of some breweries to withstand the test of time.
So, going back to my beer label pondering, I wondered what American beers or American breweries of today’s age might survive and even be looked at a couple of hundred years from now. Like the ‘classics’ the European greats are considered today.
Is it even possible? I suppose it is, and I hope that it is, but I wonder what current breweries might pull it off. Do you suppose Sam Adams (Boston Beer Co.) will be around in the year 2211, ranking out great beer. Will people look at the label as I did and think “Wow, this brewery has been making beer since the 1980′s! Two Hundred years is a LONG time to be making beer!”.
Jim Koch, (Sam Adams guy) is ALREADY a legend in the craft beer universe, but how cool is it to think he’ll be known and loved for as long in the future as his beer is still made. Quite a legacy, no?
I’d say, right now, Sam Adams would be my bet for the brewery that survives the centuries. I hope my great-great grandkids can enjoy their beer!
So what do you think? What brewery of today’s age do you think will become a classic in the future in the same sense that Samuel Smith’s and Weihenstephan are?
Shiner Old-Time Alt Beer is the first beer that I tried from the famous Texas beer-makers at Spoetzl Brewery. From what I understand, their beers are referred to as “Shiner”, which is the town in Texas that the brewery is located, rather than the name of the brewery itself. So this is Shiner Old-Time Alt and not Spoetzl Alt, but I suppose its one in the same.
I always heard of ‘Shiner Bock’, but it wasn’t until recently that their Texas-brewed suds were being distributed way up here in Jersey. So, when I was this ‘Family Reunion’ six pack which had a variety of Shiner beers, including the Shiner Bock, I thought what better way to acquaint myself with some of their offerings than a little variety pack! One bottle of each gives me six different Shiner beers to try. Hard to beat.
So, this beer review is about the “Old Time Alt” beer, which is a beer style that originates from Dusseldorf, Germany. Its also Shiner’s first ‘Berwer’s Pride’ selection, which means its a small-batch beer available for a limited time and I think might only be available in this variety pack.
As you can see, this beer spawned a huge head! I think I might have let the pour get away a little bit, but this thing was something of a force of nature and I’m glad I used an over-sized glass. Its a very nice, clear dark-amber color that is quite nice to look at overall.
The aroma finds me thinking of bread in a big way, and perhaps some sweetness too like caramel malt, but its definitely a ‘bready’ smelling beer. I’m not able to really pinpoint the other aspects of the beer’s smell, but I do find something off-putting about it that I just can’t finger that I don’t recall noticing in the other alt biers I’ve tried from Otter Creek and Long Trail.
The taste, I found, is pretty close to the aroma. Bready-tasting malts, some roasty-sweetness like caramel or toffee, but overall I’m just not thrilled so far by this beer’s taste.
Its got good body, that I’d say is medium, and it wasn’t overly carbonated either. At 4.2% ABV, its certainly a drinkable ale, sessionable even, but there’s just something about the style that doesn’t excite me.
So, I’d say that the Old-Time Alt is a good beer if you like the Alt Bier style. It doesn’t happen to be one of my favorite beer styles, and I think that reflects in my underwhelming reaction to it. I’m not, however, going to necessarily let that get in the way of trying the rest of the 5 varieties of Shiner beers that came in the Family Reunion six-pack.
Again, the late, great, Michael Jackson (The Beer Hunter)!! In this bit, part one of a pilgrimage of sorts to California and some interesting talk on Anchor Steam Brewery. And don’t mind the funny subtitles in the preview images! Michael Jackson speaks English from England! Enjoy!
January 27, 2012 
I opened the beer on a hot, sunny, Sunday afternoon and after taking my usual Brewclub photograph – which I subsequently managed to delete (doh!), I settled out in the sunshine to enjoy it. Strangely, the Brazililans bottle their beers in 600ml bottles or garrafes.
The other beer Andy gave me was ‘Bamberg’, brewed in a microbrewery in Campos do Jordão. Bamberg takes its name from the German city in Franconia that is host to the Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier I reviewed a few months ago. Bamberg is actually host to some eight breweries, pretty good for a city of 70,000 inhabitants, so this beer is nailing its flag to a pretty impressive mast.
Posted in 2 Star Reviews, Lager, Not American Or European Beer, Views from a Brit 
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how cool is it to think he’ll be known and loved for as long in the future as his beer is still made. Quite a legacy, no?
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