The brewery dates back to 1436 and has undergone a couple of changes of ownership. It is now under the Carlsberg Group of Hamburg. I don't know if that is part of the Carlsberg Danish brewery or not. The brewery is located in Steinberg, Saxony, close to the Czech border.
Hofbräuhaus and Warsteiner Oktoberfest
This week I picked up a couple of new German beers that I had not previously tried (at Total Wines and More). It's Oktoberfest season, so plenty of Oktoberfest brews are on sale (including US brands I don't bother with). What I tried this week were Muenchener Hofbräuhaus Oktoberfest and Warsteiner Oktoberfest.
Hofbräuhaus is produced by the famous restaurant of the same name. This brewery is also one of the handful (6) of officially recognized Munich breweries, and as such, has a beer tent at the Oktoberfest. This particular beer came in a 1.5 liter can and is 6.3% alcohol.
I had previously had the HB Oktoberfest beer at the Las Vegas Hofbräuhaus. It's been too long to tell if there is a difference, but suffice to say, I liked both just fine.
Warsteiner is brewed in the town of Warstein in North Rhine Westphalia. It is a major brewery and is exported all over the world. I had never had much luck trying Warsteiner at various sites, but as I have mentioned many times, German exports are now much closer in taste to the authentic taste in Germany.
As for their own annual beerfest, the only thing I can find is that Warstein celebrates something called Bayrischer Woche (Bavarian Week) in October.
As to which I prefer, hard to say, but I will go with the HB. Maybe it's the added .4% alcohol,
Tucher is the largest brewery in Nuremberg (founded in 1672). Since I was stationed in nearby Erlangen in the 1960s while in the Army, I am familiar with Tucher. To be honest, it was never one of my favorite beers in Germany.
However, earlier this month, I happened to be in Montpelier, Vermont, of all places. Checking out a small grocery store downtown, I was surprised to find a can of Tucher Festbier (as pictured above) on the shelf. I figured what the Hell, why not? That evening, I had it with dinner and I liked it. Of course, it's been 11 years since I drank it in Nuremberg, but like most of the German imports these days, it was just fine.
In case you are wondering, it is a 500ml can and the alcohol content is 5.8%.
If you have ever seen The Sound of Music, you know the story of the Von Trapp family, well-known singers who fled Austria after the Nazis took over the country. What you might not know is that the family eventually settled in Vermont, outside the picturesque village of Stowe. There they established their own resort hotel, brewery, and beer hall with an aim of reproducing the beers, food and ambiance they remembered from back home. Earlier this month, we spent a week in Vermont and had a chance to visit the location. It is well worth visiting if you are in the area.
First, we had late lunch- early dinner at the brewery and beer hall. As for the beers they brew, there are several varieties, including Helles Lager, Vienna style lager, Koelsch, Czech pilsner, Bavarian style pils, grapefruit Radler, smoked lager, and Oktoberfest. My favorite was the Czech pilsner,, which had a creamy texture and a big foamy head.
The Trapp Family Lodge lodge, located a short ways up the hill, sits overlooking the scenic mountains and forests of Vermont and is quite large. It also has a dining room. Pricey, but highly recommended if you are in the area.
I have posted several articles on the Eibauer brewery located on the German-Polish border. They have many varieties of beer, which I won't list here-you can check out their site. Several varieties are available at Total Wines and More. Most recently, I tried a can of Berliner Geschichte Bock, which I liked. It is only in the last year or so that I have discovered German bock beers. This one is 6.7% alcohol and comes in a half-liter can. If you are interested in all the stuff about aroma and senses, check this Beer Advocate description. (I don't bother.)
We just got back from a week's vacation in Zihuatanejo and Ixtapa. On our first day, we stopped into Soriana's supermarket in Zihuatanejo. In the import beer section, they had Bamberger Kaiserdom, including pils, dunkles and keller bier. I picked up a bottle of the pills along with a can of Karlsbrau pils (a brewery in Homburg). They had smaller bottles of Munchner Lowenbrau, which I passed on.
While the latter was OK, I want to focus on the Kaiserdom. I have previously written about Bamberg beer and have visited the city several times. Bamberg is a famous beer city in Franconia, and is noted for its Rauchbier (smoked beer) which is not exactly to my taste. When I was stationed in nearby Erlangen in the 60s, one of the local beers I most enjoyed was Bamberger Hofbrau, which closed down in 1977. (I understand it has been recreated and must look into this further.)
As for the Kaiserdom, I really liked it and wished I had tried the dunkles and keller bier as well, but at 80 pesos (about 5 dollars US) I decided to pick up a 6-pack of Bohemia, my favorite Mexican beer, founded in 1905 by a Czech brewer who immigrated to Mexico. If you are interested the Kaiserdom pils alcohol level is 4.9%.
