Trying to quit.
I’m partial to German beers but for those that I can actually buy and drink on this continent, it’s Amstel Light for me.
Leinie’s Big Butt - great beer. My dealer says she can’t get it anymore. It was seasonal?
Pete’s Wicked Ale is the best grocery store beer I’ve found around here (rural Iowa).
Grolsch Amber Ale and Fuller London Porter are current favorites.
I’ve been on a sampling binge for about the last year – can someone tell me what’s up with Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse? Comes in a green bottle, imported from Germany, tastes like sardines with a bit of lemon. WTF?? So far it’s the only really bad beer I’ve found out of about 50 tried. Am I missing something?
Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse is AMAZING. It’s a wheat beer, and is one of those things that you either like or you hate. I’ve always considered it among my top two or three.
Generally, wheat beers are described as having a banana-y and lemony flavor.
Flymaster, thanks. I’ve liked other wheat beers – maybe this one deserves a second chance.
Maybe I’ll let it warm up a bit – some beers are better at room temperature.
If that doesn’t work, there’s always beer bread.
Old Standard - Clancy’s Amber
Draught - Rickards Red
Something Different - McAuslan Apricot Wheat Ale
Some are, but that’s not really one of them.
If you like that style generally but didn’t like the Franziskaner (which a pretty classic example), it’s possible you just got a bad bottle—spoiled or past its prime. The quality of imports can be kind of iffy. Particularly if the brand is not a fast mover, and it’s been sitting on the shelf for a long time. Time, light, and heat are the enemies of beer.
Was it excessively foamy? That’s a sure sign of spoiled beer.
Well, I wouldn’t be so quick to jump to a conclusion on a wheat beer. Most wheats are VERY heady, to the point where it’s generally supposed to be about half head when served.
As for serving temperature, most wheats should be served at about 50F.
Ferrous, foam is bad?
Okay, I just checked. Took a drink from a well-chilled bottle – it foamed up, actually overflowed. Poured some in a glass, quickly, almost all foam. Poured some more, slowly, still kinda foamy.
A definite chemically taste, almost like bad cheese.
I think you may be overstating that a little bit, but I wasn’t really referring to a foamy head, but rather what’s known as a “gusher”…where you open the beer and it immediately foams over the top of the bottle. Typically the bubbles are smaller than they would otherwise be as well. It’s a sign of excesive age and/or bacterial infection.
Agreed. (But that’s not really what I think of as “warm” beer. YMMV.)
Yep, sounds like spoiled beer to me.
(Damn shame, too.)
NEWCASTLE!
Sam Adams Octoberfest
Bass
**IMPORTS: **
Newcastle Ale, Delilirum Tremens Ale, St. Pauli’s Girl Dark, Pilsner Urquell, Young’s Ramrod Ale, Spaten Octoberfest, and Lucifer Ale.
**MICROBREWS: **
Helles-Copperhead Ale, Weinhardt’s Red, Degrimson’s Pilsner, and many other Maryland/VA microbrews.
**DOMESTICS: **
Killian’s Irish Red, Yuengling, and Sam Adams.