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.

Gaffel Koelsch

 

I am adding Gaffel Koelsch (Cologne) to my list of great German beer selection in the US. I sampled a can purchased from Total  Wines and More last week, and like so many other canned German beers available in the US, it is surprisingly good. I cannot testify how it tastes in Cologne, but as I have said before, German imported beers have improved dramatically in recent years.

As stated previously, Koelsch beer is an exclusive product of Cologne-at least in Germany. The glass you see above is the standard Koelsch glass favored in Germany, but for me, any German beer glass works fine.

Here is a description from Beer Advocate.com:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1536/4137/

Drinking German Beer in Arkansas

Last week, the Missus and I spent a week in Arkansas. Having one night to spend in Little Rock, I looked up THE German restaurant in town, which happens to be Fassler Hall located downtown a few blocks from the state capitol. The location is a combination of beerhall-sports pub with an outdoor "beer garten".

Though the menu did not have many German entrees, I picked out a pork schnitzel with gravy that was very good, a sort of Jaegerschnitzel, if you will.) My first beer was a Paulaner, which was nice, as it usually is in the US, and the second was something new. It was Hirter Brau (No, not Hitler). It was a dark beer and very nice though I don't usually drink dunkles. Looking it up on Google, I discovered it was n Austrian beer, which I had never heard of. I informed the staff and they had not known it was Austrian.

The employees are basically young American kids, so I didn't get to meet any Germans. Anyway, it was a good meal.

The rest of the week, we spent in Hot Springs. The only German restaurant in Hot Springs is Steinhauskeller, which is located, appropriately, in a downstairs cellar in the historic old town of Hot Springs. Again, I saw no German employees. The first night in town, we stopped into the bar for a pretzel and a couple of beers. (Munich Hofbrau Oktoberfest). Later that week, we had dinner there. I had a cheese schnitzel, which was great. In addition to the Hofbrau, I again tried a new beer, which comes from the Hamburg area and is called Wernesgruener (in a bottle). It was fine, and if I had had it in the US 10 years ago, I would say it was almost authentic German taste. It had the smoothness I expect in German beer with no aftertaste.

I noticed that like Fassler Hall in Little Rock, they also served Hirter, but this time I didn't order it.

Choices for German restaurants in Arkansas are limited, at least in the two major towns, but if you are there, I recommend both. 

Paulaner: "Ein Mass, Bitte!"

 

My son recently bought me a liter can of Paulaner together with the glass mug at Total Wines and More. (11$). Since I  have been trying to lose weigh, and have cut down on the beer and wine, it took me almost a week before I drank it. In short, it was outstanding.

Paulaner is one of Munich's 6 breweries, and in my opinion, it is the best. I have eaten and drank at all of Munich's brewery restaurants and found Paulaner to be the best (at least to my taste). In addition, I have had good experiences with Paulaner in Mexico and more recently, in the US.

Check it out. You might need someone to help you finish it all off.

Munich's Hacker-Pschorr Beer

 Back in the 1960s, when I was stationed in Germany with the US Army (in Erlangen), I started collecting German beer glasses, the kind you get when you dine in a restaurant and drink whatever local brand they exclusively served at that time. One of the glasses I obtained and shipped home was this glass from what was then the Hacker Brewery of Munich.

As anyone familiar with Munich and German beer knows, there was a merger between the two companies (in 1972)-hence, it is now known as Hacker-Pschorrbrau, one of the 6 recognized Munich breweries. Below is a photo of a more-recently-obtained Hacker-Pschorr glass.

 In doing some research, I learned that the merger of 1972 was actually a reunification of the two names. That goes back to 1793 when Joseph Pschorr married Theresia Hacker, the daughter of the Hacker brewery owner in Munich. In 1820, Pschorr created his own brewery under the name Pschorr. Later on (1841), the entire business was divided into two separate businesses and bequeathed to Joseph Pschorr's two sons. If you read German, you can read it all on the brewery's website.

During past visits to Munich, I have had lunch a couple of times at the Hacker-Pschorr restaurant, and I must admit, I was a bit disappointed with the beer.

So I had been reluctant to try a 6-pack (bottled) of Hacker-Pschorr at my local wine and beer market in California. But try I did, and I was very pleasantly surprised. I have gone back for seconds, and my wife really enjoys it. Could it be possible that a German beer tastes better in the US than it does in Germany-in its own brewery restaurant no less? Of course, it's all a matter of personal taste, and you may find everything different according to your own tastes. You may even think I am crazy or that I have been away from Germany too long (2013).

Erlangen: No Beer Fest This Year, but the Beer Garten Is Open

 

Entlas Keller  in Erlangen

-Nuernberger Nachrichten

The Franconian town of Erlangen has had to cancel its annual beer fest this year, but with the restaurant business re-opening as of May 19, the beer fest grounds are open to an extent. That is because the popular outdoor Entlas Keller, situated on the beer fest grounds, is open during warm weather months and is now in operation.

Most of Erlangen's "beer gardens" are located in the back porch area of certain restaurants. The beer fest grounds, located at the base of a (small) mountain (Burgberg) on the north side of town, have man-made caves built into the sides of the rock which were originally created to keep beer cool (prior to refrigeration). 

So if you happen to be in Erlangen during spring-fall and are looking for a beer garden, this is the place to go.  The Entlas Keller's menu during this time is limited (or it was last time I was there in 2013), but you can't beat the real beer garden atmosphere.