Berliner Geschichte by Eibauer Privatbrauerei

 I found something new this week at my local Total Wines and More store in Orange County. It was a .5 liter bottle of a beer called Berliner Geschichte, an odd name for a beer (It literally means "History of Berlin". The brewery is Privatbrauerei Eibauer. The location is this brewery is the town of Eibau in Saxony, a town of about 5,000 close to the Polish border.

Actually, the Privatbrauerei Eibauer puts out several varieties of beer; bock, pils, dunkles, hefeweizen etc, and Berliner Geschichte is just one of them. Aside from this variety, the store also had .5 liter bottles of bock and Hefeweizen.

All I can say is that it was good. I plan to buy more. (It's about $3.50 for a .5 liter bottle.)

Hacker-Pschorrbrau Oktoberfest Beer

Recently, I wrote about how I was pleasantly surprised by my purchase of a 6-pack of Hacker-Pschorbrau (bottles).

Well now, I am even happier with my purchase of 12-pack box (bottles) of their Oktoberfest Maerzen. At 5.8% alcohol, it has an amber color and a rich, smooth taste-with no aftertaste. Nothing fancy-just good taste.

As I always note, German imported beer has historically suffered in comparison to that drunk in Germany, but that situation has improved considerably. Again, I have been away since 2013, and that may affect what I consider authentic, but I am very happy with the improvements in German beer imports. That includes Hacker-Pschorrbrau. 

Bavarian Festbier

 

It's approaching that time of the year again, and to celebrate in advance, I picked up a 4-pack of cans of Paulaner Oktoberfest beer and a 6-pack of bottles of Weihenstephaner Fest Bier. They are both very good, though likely a tad better in Bavaria.

Paulaner is a Munich brewery,  and thus, its "Fest" period is the world-famous Oktoberfest in Munich.

Weihenstephaner is the world's oldest brewery and is located near Munich in the town of Freising. That town has several beer-centered events throughout the year (below).

By the way, this may be a bit sacrilegious, but I am in the habit of drinking my German beers at home in a frosted mug. There is nothing wrong with really cold German beer. It also helps build up that big creamy head that is a must with German beer. 

Looking for German Beer in Big Bear

 

This past week, we headed up to Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino mountains for three days, also spending some time in Lake Arrowhead with relatives. Over the years, Big Bear has acquired a reputation for German food and beer not only by having a couple of German restaurants, but also by having a very popular Oktoberfest celebration (which I have yet to experience).

At any rate, we rented a cabin-style house for three days and set out to find any German restaurants still remaining. It appears that at the moment, there is only one German place in town, the German Deli on Big Bear Blvd. It is currently only open to 3 pm, so dinner was out of the question. We dropped in for lunch. The menu has no schnitzels, basically just various types of sausages. (There is also a deli counter).

Cutting to the chase, I first ordered a bottle of Flensburger, which is marketed in the US with the old-style flip tops. After that, it was a Weltenburger Fest Bier, Maerzen (can). Both were quite good. 

For you German history buffs, Flensburger comes from the town of Flensburg on the Danish border. Flensburg was the site of the Doenitz post-Hitler government for several days after Hitler's suicide in Berlin. Several of the Nazi leaders convened in Flensburg where they negotiated the final surrender of Germany to the allies.

Leavenworth, Washington: A Touch of Bavaria in the Pacific Northwest

 Last week, my wife and I took a few days off to see some of the Pacific Northwest. In short, after flying to Spokane, Washington, and spending the night, we drove to Leavenworth, Washington for three days followed by three days in Coeur d"Alene, Idaho. For purposes of this site, I will concentrate on Leavenworth.

Leavenworth is a former logging town that sits nestled in the Cascade Mountains along the Wenatchee River. When the logging business dried up in the 1960s, the town considered ways to re-invent themselves to draw in tourists. Eventually, they settled on turning Leavenworth into a Bavarian-themed town. The result is a town center of about three blocks where all the buildings resemble what you might see in Garmisch. There are about three German restaurants plus a beer garden or two. We had German food every night. Most of the places were serving Muenchner Hofbrau or a couple of other choices like Ayinger or Weltenburg Kloster. With snow-capped Cascade mountains in the immediate background, the effect is fantastic. For dining, I particularly recommend Andreas Keller for atmosphere and food.

Ayinger in the US Is Worth Trying

 

Aying

The Bavarian brewery, Ayinger, in the village of Aying, has been exporting beer to the US for several years. I recall a few years ago trying it and being less than excited. But as I have noted before, German imports to the US are dramatically better now and closer to the real German taste.

With that in mind, I picked up a 4-bottle-pack of Ayinger pils at Total Wines and More this week, and was pleasantly surprised. The pills Ayinger is 5.5% alcohol and has the clean, crisp taste of a good pils, The cost was about 10 dollars.

Though I have never been in Aying, it might be worth a visit if I ever get back to the region. The brewery has its own hotel and a bier stube across the street with biergarten to boot.

BItburger Festbier is Tasting Pretty Good in the US

 

The Bitburger brewery (in Bitburg, Germany) is a very popular German import in the US. You can usually find it on draft in local German restaurants, as well as in bottles or cans in stores like Total Wines and More. I have had good success taste-wise from canned and bottled Bitburger.

Currently, there is Bitburger Festbier available, and it is very good. Does it taste better in Bitburg? Probably so, but I recall drinking Bitburger in other parts of Germany and being less than thrilled. 

As always, I am writing this from the perspective of one who hasn't been back to Germany since 2013 and time can dull your judgment as to what is authentic tasting German beer. Recently, I was able to get my authentic fix at Las Vegas' Hofbrauhaus.

At any rate, the Bitburger Festbier in bottles is 6.2% alcohol, which is just about the way I like it.

According to their website, Bitburger Festbier is available in the US for a limited time beginning in August. Bitburg's annual beer fest takes place in the spring (circa April) and goes for about 3 weeks.