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I had to look it up for the spelling, but the German purity laws - "Reinheitsgebot", are online for your viewing pleasure.
Hehe, you've been quite busy. ;-)
Actually I feel somehow guilty for making people read such a long text in a message board... :pI thought my original posting got lost, some funny experience of a colleague of mine was added in my second posting attempt. So it grew even longer.
Did I mention that I don't drink beer that often? :p
Actually I am the living proof that drinking tastes can change during one's life. ;-)
Greetings,
Günther
Isn't there a "Dom Koelsch?" Only in Germany could you get away with naming a beer after a centuries old cathedral. I could imagine all the uproar naming a beer after a famous church in the U.S. would cause.
The open for all to see public beer drinking by teenagers in Germany makes me feel uncomfortable. I guess my time growing up in the U.S. forged that sentiment in me, even though I drank as a teenager too...just not in the open.
Public drinking is only allowed in the U.S. during certain celebrations and in certain areas--aforementioned tailgate parties outside football stadiums. Walking around in the open with a beer will get you a citation in El Paso, although the bums are usually given a break.
Can't smoke in bars in many places in the U.S. any more either---need a patio for that. I don't mind that since I live in a warm place, but it would suck if I lived in Wisconsin, for I do like an occasional fine cigar with a glass of scotch or dark beer.
I was in Germany in 1983,4, and 5; I only remember there being Pilsners and Exports; each town having pretty much its own brewery and making several perhaps of each; loved to tour German Breweries, I highly recommend it if it is still the same; beer is free; you pay for any food. Pirmanators, not sure on spelling; was a strong beer, but very good; I think it may have been a bock or double bock beer from when they clean out the vats; which i believe was why it was seasonal. I never saw any wheat beers when there but wasnt looking for any either; what most people dont really understand is that if you have a Becks or a Lowenbrau in Germany; it is way different than the ones you get here; a completely different beer.
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Isn't there a "Dom Koelsch?" Only in Germany could you get away with naming a beer after a centuries old cathedral. I could imagine all the uproar naming a beer after a famous church in the U.S. would cause.
The open for all to see public beer drinking by teenagers in Germany makes me feel uncomfortable. I guess my time growing up in the U.S. forged that sentiment in me, even though I drank as a teenager too...just not in the open.
Public drinking is only allowed in the U.S. during certain celebrations and in certain areas--aforementioned tailgate parties outside football stadiums. Walking around in the open with a beer will get you a citation in El Paso, although the bums are usually given a break.
Can't smoke in bars in many places in the U.S. any more either---need a patio for that. I don't mind that since I live in a warm place, but it would suck if I lived in Wisconsin, for I do like an occasional fine cigar with a glass of scotch or dark beer.
You are right in that there are some (historic) differences between our places: there wasn't any prohibition in Europe, maybe alcohol didn't get as much a bad reputation here for that reason? (just guessing).
There are no laws prohibiting public drinking, but when I grew up, everyone had scorned anyone drinking beer out of bottle in public. That is a habit only associated with beggars on street etc. You can imagine my surprise when more and more late teenagers and twens took up that habit.
Keep in mind, though: People here are adult at the age of 18 and are allowed to drink alcohol, too. I think at your place it is still age 21, although you are allowed e.g. to drive a car at the age of 18.
There are youth protection laws which prohibit sale or offering of alcohol to underaged (i.e. younger than 18).
Smoking is (from my point of view: unfortunately) not handled that strictly. Pubs without cigarette smoke are unimaginable here. Officially restaurants are supposed to offer non smoker areas - reality is different, though. But gradually resistance against smoking seems to increase. Still a long way from a situation like in Italy: Smoking in restaurants and public areas is strictly prohibited there.
Finally the Kölsch names: You see that it is considered to be almost something like food. Maybe for that reason next to everything already lent its name to Kölsch. :p
If you are interested: here is a listing of the Kölsch brands still availabe (more than the dozen I mentioned!):
site (unfortunately just in gemran)
Unfortunately I don't find anymore a different site which enumerated all known Kölsch brands that existed during the last 200 years. That list contained more than 100 brand names!
Some still existing examples: Paeffgen is one of the most renowned ones in Cologne. It is brewed in a small family brewery, just two official brewery pubs offer it (right from barrel), it is not available in bottles. The name is the family's name, same as e.g. Reissdorf, Küppers and other Kölsch names.
Even smaller is "Schreckenskammer Kölsch", only available in one pub in the historic old town north. The pub was moved after the original pub had been destroyed in ww2. Its name stems from the original pub. Those unfortunate ones who were sentenced to death during the time of the dark ages supposedly received their last meal in that pub ("Schreckenskammer" = chamber of horror). You see there are even stranger Kölsch names. ;-)
Greetings from this really off off topic thread, ;-)
Günther
Zunft Koelsch is the one most common in Waldbroel. Best thing about beer in Germany is the fact that the cases of beer come in hardy plastic crates, most beer stores deliver and let you set up monthly contracts (like 1 case of beer per week delivered every Monday afternoon--they drop it off on your porch and send you a bill once a month)....and most beer tastes good.
My grandmother had to switch to non-alcoholic Clausthaler about a decade ago due to pancreas problems (Milz, I think, in German) and even it was much better than O'Douls or Cutter.
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Zunft Koelsch is the one most common in Waldbroel. Best thing about beer in Germany is the fact that the cases of beer come in hardy plastic crates, most beer stores deliver and let you set up monthly contracts (like 1 case of beer per week delivered every Monday afternoon--they drop it off on your porch and send you a bill once a month)....and most beer tastes good.
My grandmother had to switch to non-alcoholic Clausthaler about a decade ago due to pancreas problems (Milz, I think, in German) and even it was much better than O'Douls or Cutter.
Yes, Waldbröhl is close enough to be still part of the "Kölsch area". It is quite likely that Zunft Kölsch is brewed somewhere in that part.
The funny thing that by now the name "Kölsch" is handled much stricter. Those breweries who brewed it before are permitted to keep their name, those which brew "colognian beer" out of town, aren't permitted to call it Kölsch anymore!
Most prominent victim to that odd rule: Päffgen Kölsch. The brewery is owned by two brothers one of them leaving the company after some dispute. He kept one of the two brewery pubs and let a different brewery (out of city) brew the same Kölsch and just called it Pfaffen Kölsch. He was forced to abandon the name "Kölsch" and calls it "Pfaffen Bier" by now.
If it comes to Kölsch, most people prefer Reissdorf Kölsch right now. Päffgen is a classic, but a rare one. Ten years ago most people preferred Früh Kölsch.
Other brands which taste quite good (in my taste): Gilden Kölsch (somewhat more bitter) and Malzmühlen Kölsch (literally: malt mill Kölsch). The latter one contains quite some oxygen, though, not everyone's favourite.
My personal favourites are czechian Pilseners. Original Budweiser e.g. is really great (not talking about the american beer bearing this name, but the original which derives its name from the city of Budweis in Czechia).
Greetings,
Günther
P.S.
Most people here scorn non-alcoholic beers like Clausthaler. They claim that it tastes worse.
"beer subscriptions" like the one you mentioned aren't that normal. I remember Waldbröhl as a small town in quite a rural area. So it would make sense to offer some kind of drinks delivery service. ;-)
Most people here scorn non-alcoholic beers like Clausthaler.
Brrr.... I think Clausthaler tastes like dishwater. I don´t even want to imagine how american non-alcoholic beer tastes...
But there are non-alcoholic beers from breweries like Jever or Holsten or Becks, which taste nearly like the "normal" stuff. Years ago, there was a non-alcoholic beer named Kritzenthaler, that tasted really good, but I haven´t seen it for a long time now. Does not seem to be produced anymore.
And I have to add that I´m no friend of Kölsch or similar beers - they taste too watery for me. I´m more a friend of the stronger-tasting northern german beers, like Jever or Holsten or the local Einbecker brewery, Einbeck is a small town perhaps 30-40 miles from here. But it is all a matter of taste.
Stefan
Clausthaler is much better than U.S. NA beer. My grandmother scorned it too, she's a true German, but it was either that or nothing because of her health problems.
Oh, well, so I commiserate with you all if the best NA beer available to you is Clausthaler - drinking the other stuff will cost you quite some effort then... :-)
So, as I´m going to fly to Budapest tomorrow in the early morning (one week vacation with my girlfriend - It just has to be great), I´m off to bed now. See ya!
Stefan
Have a great trip, Stefan.
I just tried a few bottles of Beck's Light at 64 calories a bottle. It's better than Coors Light, but not by much. It's a definite "do not recommend." Amstel Light is much better, my favorite premium "light" beer.
I love Germany. I was in Munich this summer. The Germans have the best food in Europe- forget Italy and France. I ate pretzels and beef and kraut and schweinwurstel and had good beer with lots of meals. Vienna ain't bad neither.
So, yeah, thumbs up on German beer.
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Oh, well, so I commiserate with you all if the best NA beer available to you is Clausthaler - drinking the other stuff will cost you quite some effort then... :-)
So, as I´m going to fly to Budapest tomorrow in the early morning (one week vacation with my girlfriend - It just has to be great), I´m off to bed now. See ya!
Stefan
Ouch! Not exactly the best time for a trip to Budapest, is it?
After the recent riots...Wishing you all the best.
I was there in may and it is a beautiful place, indeed! :-)
Greetings,
Günther
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Have a great trip, Stefan.
I just tried a few bottles of Beck's Light at 64 calories a bottle. It's better than Coors Light, but not by much. It's a definite "do not recommend." Amstel Light is much better, my favorite premium "light" beer.
Hi there,
Any reason while you cling to light beers? ;-)
Btw. I just drank a "Veltins Energy" (Veltins + Guarana). Didn't taste that bad, either. Better than lemonade anyway. ;-)
Greetings,
Günther
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I love Germany. I was in Munich this summer. The Germans have the best food in Europe- forget Italy and France. I ate pretzels and beef and kraut and schweinwurstel and had good beer with lots of meals. Vienna ain't bad neither.
So, yeah, thumbs up on German beer.
Hello Luke,
people here will like your compliments. ;-)
In my experience most countries have some special food that is worth trying.
*g* You are certainly part of a minority, for most people already wrinkle their nose in disgust when thinking about sausages and kraut... ;-)
Btw. "modern german cuisine" contains less and less often any such ingredients. After all there are italian pizzerias, turkish Döner shops, chinese restaurants, american fast food restaurants, and mexican bars/ restaurants everywhere. ;-)
Greetings,
Günther
Hi there,
Any reason while you cling to light beers? ;-)
Greetings,
Günther
I don't "like" to drink light beer, but I'm trying to lose some weight. Amstel Light is really the only light beer I can tolerate.
Right now I'm off the light beer wagon and drinking a Samuel Adams Boston Lager. Any Germans who have never tried Samuel Adams--Sam Adams is proof that Americans still know how to make good beer.
Btw. "modern german cuisine" contains less and less often any such ingredients. After all there are italian pizzerias, turkish Döner shops, chinese restaurants, american fast food restaurants, and mexican bars/ restaurants everywhere. ;-)
Oh, I love Doner kebabs.
And I also love that German keyboards have umlaut-letter keys on them, and that the z and y are transposed.
Back to beer, though: I'm getting in on the microbrew game. i got a irish-style stout brewing as we speak.
Back to beer, though: I'm getting in on the microbrew game. i got a irish-style stout brewing as we speak.
Awesome, Luke!!
Have you decided on how your going to bottle, keg, or whatever to store?
We bottled our latest batch three days ago--using 20 oz plastic soda bottles again. Made a nut brown ale variant--Munton's Nut Brown Ale kit, Munton's Amber 3.3 # malt extract syrup, 5.6% alpha Cascade finishing hops. It's sitting in my closet now, calling to me, but I have to wait at least another week to try it.
The grocery store where I used to buy my Grolsch bottles no longer sells the flip top bottles. Hmm....
...although I get weird urges to sail longships and sack monasteries.Me too. :D
The best honey I've found is from a roadside vendor. We usually get alfalfa and wildflower honey up here, so YMMV. The type of honey you use has an impact on the flavor of your mead too. There's a melomel I'd like to make, with prickly pear and mesquite honey. I love mesquite honey in the first place, so this particular recipe intrigues me greatly.
Ten gallons of mead at an SCA event (AnTir/West War) will make you a lot of friends.
Who are you with in the SCA? Ever heard of Clan Carn? Course I can't make any of the events these days as the commute is a killer, I'm currently residing in England for another year. Which brings me to the Beers, I love going to the pubs and trying anything that they have on tap that's supposedly local.. Unfortunately, this has led to some pretty nasty discoveries!!!
Who are you with in the SCA? Ever heard of Clan Carn? Course I can't make any of the events these days as the commute is a killer, I'm currently residing in England for another year. Which brings me to the Beers, I love going to the pubs and trying anything that they have on tap that's supposedly local.. Unfortunately, this has led to some pretty nasty discoveries!!!
At the time, I was with the House of Ergh.
Yeah, I just bottled the first batch. I have some nice grolsch style swing top bottles to put them in, with a plan to reuse them after sanitation and whatnot.
Pale ale is cooking now...
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I just drank a bottle of f2k's mead and it'ss ki-killerrrererer.
It's smooth, it isn't too sweet, it's a leeetle bit sweet.
It's a leeetle bit dry, but not parched like Death Valley or champagne. It isn't even as dry as grape wine. It's toweled off a bit, but it isn't dry.
I'm sitting here, wondering why the hell anybody even makes wine out of grapes when the Egyptians had THIS stuff.
The Egyptians had mead, right?
Thanks!!! The Sumerians had mead, as did the Egyptians and most other ancient cultures. That particular batch was as simple as simple could be-- almost 9 lbs of very generic honey, champagne yeast, some nutrient and some irish moss to coagulate the protein during the boil.
I did put a little bit of corn sugar in at bottling time to give it a little bit of carbonation.
BTW, on the beer I gave you...don't drink the sediment at the bottom of the bottle. Pour it into a glass. That sediment is the result of "bottle conditioning" and is yeast that carbonates the beer in the bottle. It won't hurt you, just give you gas. It's a normal byproduct of homebrewing.
My post from Oct 3rd referred to the beer I gave you--Nut Brown Ale. It's dark and smooth, I just had a bottle, but it'll be better if you give it another few days to age.
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and some irish moss to coagulate the protein during the boil.
...don't drink the sediment, It won't hurt you, just give you gas.
Last thing Heathy wants is to be a gassy, moss eating Lycanthrope. So be sure to avoid the sediment, that way you are only just a moss eating Lycanthrope.
Hey F2K. How hard would it be to ship a bottle or 2? Are they in glass or plastic? Is it legal to ship? I would definitely make it worth your while. *if it's legal***
FH
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I'd drink the sediment, if it made me gassy AND fakey was unconscious in the room. The wretched churning in my innards would be worth the gaseous attack bomb I could drop.
I'd even eat 6 Taco Bell 1/2 pound burritos, for fortifying!!!
Heathansson
(hoping to never meet fakey at GenCon--he sounds tough).
and some irish moss to coagulate the protein during the boil.
...don't drink the sediment, It won't hurt you, just give you gas.
Last thing Heathy wants is to be a gassy, moss eating Lycanthrope. So be sure to avoid the sediment, that way you are only just a moss eating Lycanthrope.
Hey F2K. How hard would it be to ship a bottle or 2? Are they in glass or plastic? Is it legal to ship? I would definitely make it worth your while. *if it's legal***
FH
Making it worth my while would make it illegal. I have tried to ship mead before, with disastrous results (like getting soaked packages returned to me by the shipper). This was before I realized I was probably violating some law. Once I checked, I got a bit of a fright, as I didn't think shipping a bottle of wine to a family member could possibly be illegal. I was wrong.
I just checked your state's laws (Delaware, right?) and it's illegal to ship alcohol directly. Here's Wine shipping guide the website where you can check the laws at a glance.
It frustrates me to no end, as I'd love to ship mead and beer to my family as well. So stupid, some of these laws. While I'd love to send you some of my mead for free (a word of thanks is reward enough ;) I can't risk it, 'cuz my Chief would take a dim view of one of his people getting busted. What can I say, I'm a slave to my pension plan....
Someday, Fakey, we'll share a bottle of mead or three. I'm going to take my family to New England for a vacation one of these years.
Woo-hoo, Oregon's got reciprocal status with Washington! This means I can bribe the Paizo staff, right? :D Too bad I can't ship my beer or mead to my mom in Texas, or Heathensson, or f2k...
I wonder if the liquor shipping laws are remnants of the Prohibition. An interesting study to take up. :)
How about California? That’s the place to send beer to.
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Someday, Fakey, we'll share a bottle of mead or three. I'm going to take my family to New England for a vacation one of these years.
I didn't know it was illegal or I wouldn't have asked. I have no desire to risk your livelyhood, I just wasn't sure of the legality (I knew you could find out easily enough though.).
I look forward to someday meeting up, swapping stories and (hopefully, if I get up and running) some homebrew. If you are ever in or near the First State let me know.
FH
I just drank a bottle of f2k's mead and it'ss ki-killerrrererer.
It's smooth, it isn't too sweet, it's a leeetle bit sweet.
It's a leeetle bit dry, but not parched like Death Valley or champagne. It isn't even as dry as grape wine. It's toweled off a bit, but it isn't dry.
I'm sitting here, wondering why the hell anybody even makes wine out of grapes when the Egyptians had THIS stuff.
The Egyptians had mead, right?
not to sure; my sources are vague and contradictory; most attribute that the Scandanavians had it for certain. it is fairly certain that the Ethiopians, Egyptians, Summarians, Nariobians, and various other places had fermented grain alchohols, but not a whole lot exists of the recipes to sustantiate to certaintly; mostly we have a lot of public opinion and writers of public opinion trying to make facts. Sigh, if only the great library at Alexandria hadn't been destroyed and all those monestaries sacked and looted around Y1k; and so on; what is really interesting is the development of brewing yeasts; where their be yeast and grain; their be beer, mead, and distilled spirits (bit later). Most historians agree that it is doubtful that any of the original beers, ales, and meads had for example, much carbonation; most so called beer was just fermented grain; ie grain got wet and stayed that way; got smelly; was in a large clay urn or jar; usually had a lid; probably not sealed; this was strained and drank; sounds pretty bad; as brewing technology increases additives to quicken the process are added; more sugars and whatnot. Problem is it is really hard to get any facts about something from 1000 years ago much less 3 or 4 thousand, beer for example was almost always local and not traded over much distance for most of its history; we can look at the places where stuff was done; but then have to fill in the blanks with or modern day knowledge; is sketchy at best.
Grapes were abundant and perishable; hence grape juice led to wine; wine keeps and is an additive in many cooking recipes and can be healthy for you in moderation. Heck, even raisons and water will ferment. Grain was very labor intensive and a staple so it competed with other uses like bread. It takes a certain level of wealth to be able to make beer with excess grains. Same with mead; honey was never cheap in the ancient world and getting involves some risk; sure smoke helps but hey; your gonna tee off the bees; crushing grapes a lot less risky :)
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...heh...heh...now when fakey goes messin' with Lilith about Shiner, I can mess with him about mead!!!
There can be only one, Delawarelander!
Saturday I go to Mount Hope Winery where the PA ren. faire is held and will be picking up 5 bottles of honey and 5 bottles of blueberry/honey. You got nothin' on me!
FH
I didn't know it was illegal or I wouldn't have asked. I have no desire to risk your livelyhood, I just wasn't sure of the legality (I knew you could find out easily enough though.).
Oh, no sweat dude...it's a question that has come up many times before. It's just a flat stupid law in any state that restricts shipping wine. It's not like teenagers are going to patiently wait two weeks for their case of premium wine to come in.
I look forward to someday meeting up, swapping stories and (hopefully, if I get up and running) some homebrew. If you are ever in or near the First State let me know.FH
I will. Hopefully before too long.
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...heh...heh...now when fakey goes messin' with Lilith about Shiner, I can mess with him about mead!!!
There can be only one, Delawarelander!Saturday I go to Mount Hope Winery where the PA ren. faire is held and will be picking up 5 bottles of honey and 5 bottles of blueberry/honey. You got nothin' on me!
FH
Don't sell yersself long. I got plenty on you.
My favorite right now is Xingu Brazilian Black Beer and Belhaven Scottish Ale. A couple of my friends and I are microbrewing every couple months or so. the current brew is a winter warmer, but I'm not exactly sure what its supposed to taste like when its done.
I'm on call all weekend, so I'm drier than a cow skull in the middle of Death Valley.
What's everybody drinkin'?
Speaking of Death Valley (or thereabouts) Utah has one of my favorite beers- Polygamy Porter "you can't have just one!". The local religious establishment is none too pleased as you might imagine : )
I loves me a Guinness or a Fat Tire in a pinch as well. I made a pilgrimmage to the old Guinness Brewery in Dublin a few years back and THAT was a very, very strange tour let me tell ya.