Landbier

Barrel at Stöhrenkeller. (?) Bright straw-golden color with creamy white head. Aroma is slightly hoppy, hints of butter, a bit hayish, crackery, citrusy. Taste is slight butter, noble hops, light grainy sweetness, crackers again, citrusy, hints of pepper, and a crisp finish. Perfectly balanced refreshing Franconian goodness, but it?s not as mind-blowing (in the sense of "special") as you might expect - nevertheless, rightfully on top of the Zwickel/Keller/Landbier ranking, it?s one of these masterfully crafted beers that convince you with their subtlety. I don?t think one can make a simple beer of this style any tastier, fresher, more refined or more balanced. A pinnacle of Landbier, this is a beer that can probably only be fully enjoyed in Franconia, when the Gemütlichkeit of the region has found its way into your mind after you have absorbed the beautiful landscape. I can hardly imagine this holding up well in a bottle. But that?s part of the game: This beer is made for savouring the moment, and you are going to want to come back to have it accompany many more moments. 8-4-10-5-18 Bottle, around one week old, September 2016. Pours a slightly hazy straw-golden color with a creamy white head. Aroma is a bit yeasty, grainy, slight hoppiness. Taste is the same. Creamy mouthfeel. It is amazing, but not as stellar as I remember it. Would probably be a 8-4-8-5-17. Bottle at the brewery. Yes, this is *the* Lager. Spicier and more crackery malts than the Vollbier. Incredible drinkability. Let’s do this: I got a crate at the brewery and will do the experiment how this develops over a month. 3 days after buying: Quite bitter, a bit metallic, but still a soft fruitiness shining through. Took me a few sips to worship it. One week after buying it from the brewery. It does indeed become a bit gulpy (a bit maybe due to the fact that it?s been transported today). Still quite an assertive bitterness, a nice fruitiness and a soft mouthfeel paired with a crackery malt body, so it?s still an amazing brew - still 4.x material. Let?s see how long it stays like this. Bottle, 10 days old: it starts to become a bit less integrated, a bit "grainier" (or: "beerier", as my mom would say), but still nice. Not 4+ material anymore (at least not this particular bottle), though. Bottle, 15 days old: Aroma is grainy, fruity, a bit gulpy. Quite juicy, but still not perfectly balanced anymore. Still fine though. Would probably be a 3.6-3.8. Bottle, 23 days old: similar vocabulary. A bit grainier and less integrated. Still a good beer, but one would not see it as the best Kellerbier anymore. Bottle, 28 days old: didn’t lose a lot. I have the impression this beer loses a lot within two weeks and then stays constant for a while after that. However, I did cool it all the time.Bottle, at the brewery in November 2017. This time it was much hoppier than last time, with a refreshing bitterness and lots of minerals. Great, as always!

Bottle at the brewery. Grassy, herbal nose, some lemon, crackery malt, toast. Brilliant cloudy gold color with a fine, pillowy head. Crisp, brilliant body. Great hops, crackery malt, dry, peppery finish. Smooth, with low carbonation. Clean, dry, suffig. Lovely stuff. (Note: I drank a second bottle of this 12 days later back home in Japan and it was nothing like the same beer. Hops were almost gone, and it had generally degraded substantially!)

At the Franken Fest in Rome - Italy. On tap. Pours bright yellow, hazy with a medium and tick white cap. Nose: milled malts, chicken stable (I love this smell), bread. Mouth: ouh boy! Dry, frizzy and the closest a beer can come to bread. Leave on an island with a few kegs of this! ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone