Today we mostly talked about keg washing and filling, as well as safety precautions that you should take while doing so. Afterwards, we talked about problem solving techniques. The fun part of the day was when we did German beer style tasting. We tried Pilsner Urquell (I know... Not German), Konig Pilsner, Kostritzer Schwarzbier, Franziskaner Weissbier, Weihenstephaner Dunkel, Reissdorf Kölsch, Einbecker Mai-ur-Bock, Celebrator Doppelbock, Schlenkerla Rauchbier, Uerige Altbier, and Ayinger Dunkel.
One of the questions that I had for our professor (who was from Germany) was in regards to whether or not he had ever had a German style brewed in America that he thought was a great representation of the style. Surprisingly, he said yes. His belief was that so many American brewers though brew beers based on descriptions, or based on the flavor they get from out of date or mishandled bottles. He said that the American breweries that do brew great German style beers have been to Germany and studied the beers there.
The beer that took my by surprise today was the rauchbier. I had always said that smoke was one of the 3 flavors that I hate in beer (the other two being honey and diacetyl). The rauchbier that we had today though was really well balanced, easy to drink, and very smoky, almost meat like. It got me ranting to take a stab at brewing a traditional rauchbier when I get home.
I think most of the import beer in the US has been mishandled. Guinness in Ireland or on the continent tastes great but I won't even try one here after too many disappointments. Local is always better, it seems.
ReplyDelete