Forty Seventh Meeting

Guten Abend! We're here at Herr Cheezener's hauB with some German lagers tonight. Joe, Colin, Woodpond, Brent and I are currently here, while Belfry is joining us later. Trink mit mir, ja?

We're breaking tradition by starting with a non-host beer tonight. Belfry put in a special, selfish request to have us wait for him before we try Brent's beer. So, I bring to the table Spaten Optimator Doppelbock. One of the few dops we haven't had, this one comes in at 7.8%. It pours a standard thinnish dark brown color. Not too carbonated- smells caramellly. Small amounts of hops, but the caramel dominates. One can't really taste the booze too much. It tastes fairly thin and flat, but an easy drinker. Solid.

BPA: 2.9

Next up, we're going back to Brent. He brings us a taped 'n' swing-capped beer straight from der Mutterlande. This one is Brauhaus Schillerbad Helles, which is a light German lager. 4.9%, it is. It pours a cloudy copper color. It's nearly odorless and has very little carbonation. There's a bit of barnyard (and according to Woodpond, mothballs) present. It's pretty mild up front, but comes back with some interesting malt and hop tastes.

BPA: 3.17

Woodpond, bring us your beer! He has Paulaner Original Munich Lager. It pours a very transparent golden color. Smells like a lager tastes like a lager.

BPA: 2.72

Colin brings us the first domestic offering- Surly Hell. 5.1% ABV on this one. Definitely a bolder flavor than the German versions. There are some hops present, but it's mostly more malty.

BPA: 3.2

Joe brings us Kostritzer, which is a schwarzbier. Or black beer for the non Germanophile. A thin lager mouthfeel and tastes much like a lager. Sweet, present malts ovewhelm your tongue-holes. There are some ambient hops as well.

BPA: 3.23

Belf brings us Southern Tier Krampus Imperial Pilsner. This Pils comes in at 9%, which is very un-pilslike. It pours like a standard pils, but it smells much sweeter, which is undoubtedly due to the booze involved in this one. It pretty much tastes sweet as well. The booze is prevalent. Pretty good though.

BPA: 3.2

BONUS BEER #1 of HOPEFULLY 2!

Brent brings us Conflux #2, which is a collaboration between Boulevard and Deschutes, which are two solid breweries. It's billed as a Belgian IPA at 7.3%, but they brewed it with wheat beer, which may create some pale wheat ale flavors. Let's get it onnnn. It smells spicy and Belgiany. Black pepper, wheat, orange, and an aquarium of sea monkeys. I think this one is served a bit cold because the booze is fairly prevalent. It's quite crisp and strongly flavored, but fairly refreshing. This seems to be a repeat buy at merely $7 a bottle.

BPA: 3.38

Lastly, Brent brings us another bonus beer. This one is out of Salt Lake City- Epic 825 State Stout. This one is a 6% oatmeal stout. It's a nice, roasty stout. Not imperial- thinner on the mouth and less hot booze. Definitely a complex enough stout to be much different than a Guinness, but not too much where you can't drink more than 1.

BPA: 2.9