Hacker-Pschorr - Anno 1417

Overview: Another of the Hacker-Pschorr beers from Munich. I am having this beer whilst watching the opening Euro2008 game between Switzerland and Czech Republic. I should be saving this for tomorrow’s Germany game and having something more Czech, but then I am not sure whenever I have done something normal. The Anno 1417 beer is a Kellerbier and goes well with football food (i.e. potato chips)

The Beer: Stammwürze 12.5%, 5.5% Vol.; An unfiltered (i.e. misty) amber that you really can’t see through, some gas rising; hoppy smell, nothing too strong; has a full flavour that is certainly complete in body and a somewhat ‘bready’ taste, you certainly get grains and roastings in there, but leads into a pleasant, full tasting beer; not too bitter after taste, I am still getting bread.

After words: You also get a mouth full of gas; It is not unpleasant and it does provide a certain softness of the taste, with some added complexities - it isn’t a simple beer and could get washed out a bit if the potato chip flavour is too strong. A translation using my terrible German (and a little help from Google) tells me that this beer is “…much as it was consumed in the 19th before the introduction of filtration. Thus, it contains all the yeast-protein substances, minerals, fibre and the many healthy ingredients in beer”. Here we go with another beer-is-good-for-you argument again. Another one of those beers I would have in the fridge, if I could buy it locally.

Website: Hacker-Pschorr (in German)

Konrad - 14° Jocker

Overview: As I was leaving the beer festival two bored looking waiters asked me if I wanted to try a ’special’ beer, it was new that day and was really worth trying. Given the fact that I had one “Toller” remaining it seemed like the right thing to do, for one the Konrad brewery was on my list of beers to try. The beer in question was simply put as a special, 14° beer ( at least according to the sign and the waiter’s rather good English).

The Beer: Jocker, 14°, 6% obj; Strong fluffy head that stayed for quite a while, robust almost nutty aroma with some complex essences; darker amber (the photo does it justice), faint whisps of gas rising; A smooth and complex taste, I found it was somewhat buttery as an initial taste with some amounts of bitterness, but the overall taste masks somewhat the strength. Fabulous

After Words: If there was just one reason for coming to the beer festival then this was it. I doubt whether I will ever make it across to Liberec anytime soon and it would be a shame to have missed this beer. This is totally enjoyable and unexpected given the fact that there are so many beers to choose from and Jocker was not on the list. So if you make it to Liberec (or the beer festival) then I can absolutely recommend this beer.

Website: Pivovar Konrad

Janacek - 11° Patriot

Overview: For no other reason than the fact that we liked to the look of the logo (how fickle we are), and the beer came with recommendation, we tried out the lighter offering from the Janacek Brewery. The brewery at Uhersky Brod has been brewing since the latter part of the 13th Century and it is my dearest hope that the brewery manages to escape the grabbing clutches of any big brewer and continues with that tradition long for as long to come - I digress. So onto the lager…

The Beer: 11°, 4.6%; light frothy head, distinct but clear hoppy aroma; light amber with many traces of gas rising; lighter in taste, rounded in gas but not too much because it was on tap (I guess); biter aftertaste, but not a long linger mouth wash.

After Words: Pleasant enough. Certainly a light lager style. I must be getting used to styles because I was pretty much blind tasting this and got the style right (next is to get the colour right). By the looks of the website there is plenty to choose from, even a cracking looking 14° (which should have been at the festival). A better alternative compared to some of the other offerings from the other beer tents.

Website: Pivovar Janacek

Jezek - 14°

Overview: One of the main reasons to even think about going the Beer festival was the fact that there are many of the regional brewers coming all the way to Prague to offer up their beers. I was particularly interested in this brewer since I have heard and read many good things about them, plus I like the brewery logo (starting to get fickle). I am putting a certain amount of trust in the waitress that this was the 14° (given the colour of the beer I am inclined to agree) and that the stronger offering was not available - it was not the intention to go with this since I was really after the 18°.

The Beer: 14°, 6.1 obj; fluffy head which didn’t last too long (in fact once I had finish taking the photos it had all by disappeared), clearly hoppy, some fruitiness in there; slightly darker amber, very faint wisps of gas rising; bitter, quite gassy, generous roasting, plenty of hops, full flavour.

After words: To start with this wasn’t such a bad choice considering it wasn’t the first choice. It was maybe a bit on the gassy side, but having said that it certainly had a robust taste that wasn’t overly mugging the mouth or throat. A good beer.

Wesbite: Pivovar Jihlava

Czech Beer Festival

You read something “Czech Beer Festival” and one of the following thoughts, or even combination, floats through your mind:

• It is a festival of Beer
• Beer from all over Czech Republic
• Plenty of small brewers
• A Czech Oktoberfest

Dreadful
The Czech republic has some of the most amazing beers in the world, and there are plenty of them. Why is therefore that there are only two of the smaller brewery groups represented! Its a good job they at least are present since it would have been a less than a celebration of beer and more of a “celebration” of foreign breweries taking over Czech ones.
In fact, if you approach the festival with any of the above ideas in your head then your hopes will be sadly dashed, in fact any of the above might indeed cause disappointment if you imagine anything beyond a few tents strung out across a slightly decaying part of Prague. Take away the the K brewery group and Konrad and all you are left with is any other pub or beer garden in Prague - except the fact that most beer gardens that I know of do not charge 120 CKK just to enter or even charge 39 korun per beer. This is not a “classic” beer festival: it is a very basic event, with a pig roast, potato chips offering, display of large beer tents, all of which must have been planned on the back of a beer mat, stains included. Needless to say for a beer festival itself is pretty dire.

The good stuff
But all is not bad and you can overlook being charged 120 Korun (I am still not sure what for) because of K brewery group and Konrad, these two breweries actually make it all worth while. For a start, you are probably saving you loads of money and time from having to travel to where the breweries are located, and even more hassle trying to find where the beers would be available. Sit at one or the other of the tents and you get a large selection of beers brought right to you, which is a bonus. After the initial disappointment of thinking “WTF is this all about” as you enter the festival, I thank with all my heart the people you decided to send a few kegs of Jocker (see later) along. So all the praise should be given to K and Konrad for providing the element that scrapes the festival out of the “huge waste of time and money” category.

I would really like to see this festival evolve into something more than it is. Czech republic has so much to offer in the way of beer and it really is worth celebrating; however, the festival itself really needs a distinctive approach that will transform it to something more than it is.

The beers

• Jezek - 14°
• Janacek - 11° Patriot
• Konrad - 14° Jocker

Website: Pivni Festival

Fuerst Wallerstein - Landsknecht Bier

Overview: It has a brewery, three castles and a forest, plus a medieval battle is held there in September. Another region close to Augsburg that has a lot going for it. If nothing else the brewery offers five beers and a seasonal offering. Today’s choice is the unfiltered, Bavarian dark beer - Munich Dunkel.

The Beer: 12.5% wort, 5.2% vol; dark brown, almost comparable to muddy waters, and certainly a foggy beer; plenty of good odours, roasted malty with some fruity essence; fabulously strong, rich, roasted taste just evelops the mouth, not overly bitter but has a strong roasting flavour.

After words: The website is annoying if you don’t expect the drummer. The beer, on the other hand, is simply fabulous. This is not a usual style of beer, from the perspective of the outside world, it has so much going for it and not just in the fact that it is full of taste: It is rich, smooth and leaves you mouth loving you, wanting more.

Website: Fuerst Wallerstein

**Updated (09 June 2008): Just when I am lauding the beer and brewery it goes missing. Since I wrote this post and visited the website its done a runner, missing, taken offline. If anyone knows the fate of the brewery then please let me know. I was going to write another post singing the praises of their Kellerbier.

Hacker-Pschorr - Hefe Weisse

Overview: I am sure that I tried this, or others from the same brewery, whilst we lived in Germany; the point is I can’t remember given the choice of beers available and the fact that I wasn’t paying too much attention back then. I certainly remember the Paulaner (there was no escaping it) and the logo of Hacker-Pschorr is familiar, its just that I don’t remember the beer sticking out for a specific reason. In fact it wasn’t until a recent visit to Chicago that I was reminded about this at all. Another of the Munich beers and another of the big export brewers.

The beer: 12.5°, 5.5% vol.; dark, amber cloudy beer that even has a good head of froth on top from the bottle (even more so if you serve it the way the German do by shaking up the last few centimeters during pouring which does help get some of the fizz out of it); you really get the wheatiness about it, almost a golden sweetness about it; quite a light bitterness at first that gives way to an all enveloping classic wheat-beer taste, plenty of fizz at just the right amounts, generous amounts of bitterness whilst you drink the rest, full-bodied; pleasant enough aftertaste to at least leave the mouth feeling refreshed.

After words: Well at least I remember the style. It seems to be bordering on the darker side of wheat beers, certainly in colour, and one of the staples of brewing that you’d expect from Munich. It seems to have essence of clove stuck in there - somehow. But then again I seem to be able to find strange things in beer that are not meant to be there. Someday I will start adding photos of the beer itself instead of just the bottles, but for now if you get the chance I would recommend finding a bottle, pouring it into a glass and seeing for yourself what it looks like. Don’t stare to too long because that would just be a waste.

Website: Hacker-Pschorr

Kloster Scheyrn - Kloster Gold

Overview: I nearly missed this beer. I am sure there is an explanation when you are convinced you have tried something and can’t remember drinking it - probably trying too many (but not at the same time). This beer comes the Klosterbrauerei (Abbey brewery) of Scheyern, North of Munich.

The Beer: 12.5°, 5.4%; It smells of apples, almost as if it is stored in cider kegs, you get the hops in there too; clear, golden-amber with traces of bubbles rising; has a fabulously roasted-bitter taste, but not too much, rounded fizz but perhaps a little too much gas, I am still getting a apple essence in there but the bitterness has, it does have an excellent finish to it; pleasant enough after taste slight bitterness but not too over powering.

After words: You would like to think they have spent some time getting this beer right. If this is what they do with the the helles then I would love to try out their other beers (especially the doppelbock). Certainly not tried this beer before or even heard of it whilst I lived in Germany (considering the number of breweries this is unsurprising), but it was certainly worth giving a go. It does have something about it; the initial impression was one of a strong taste and rounded flavour; however, as the rest of the glass emptied it was getting more and more bitter and just a little too on the acidic side. Like the beer glasses they show on the website.

Website: Klosterbrauerei Scheyern