Schell’s Pils

Name: Schell’s Pils

Brewery: August Schell Brewing

Style: Pilsner

ABV: 5.3%

Impression:  Brushing the dust off your hands after finishing a successful day of yard work.

Description: This is one of the best Pilsners I’ve ever had. I hadn’t had any Schell’s beer before coming out here for an internship. I was very pleasantly surprised to have this as my first introduction. I drank lots of Pilsner in Berlin. That’s what you do there. This beer is better than any Pils I had over in Germany.

The big difference is that Schell’s dry hops this beer (puts hops in the fermenter, not just the boil) which the Germans don’t do partly because of the purity laws, but mostly because it just costs more money. The result is a beer that is more aromatic, herbal, and grassy. In a Pilsner style, that’s just wonderful. It keeps this beer thoroughly in style but gives it some real character and kick that the style deserves yet so often lacks. It is thoroughly quaffable and satisfying on all levels.

Brouwerij Bosteels

After our visit to Brouwerij De Glazen Toren, we went over to Brouwerij Bosteels. Bosteels brews three of the very best beers in the world: Tripel Karmeliet, Kwak, and Deus. Tripel Karmeliet in particular is one of both the fiancee’s and my favorite beers. It is darned near the perfect beer.

 

Brouwerij De Glazen Toren

During the trip through Belgium, we stopped at a couple of nice breweries. The first one we took a tour of was Brouwerij De Glazen Toren. If you are a serious beer geek, you may have tried their Saison D’Erpe Mere. That is one of the best examples of my personal favorite beer style, so I wanted to check out where it was made.

 

Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’

Name: Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’

Brewery: Lagunitas

ABV: 7.5%

Impression:  That old rope swing down by the river.

Description: This is my favorite hoppy beer. While in Germany, I seriously missed bold American beers. The two I missed most were Arrogant Bastard and Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’. Getting to drink this again is happiness in a bottle.

This is a hard beer to categorize. It’s like a hybrid of an IPA, Golden Ale, and Wheat Beer. It is strong and hop forward, but not super punch-you-in-the-mouth angry hoppy beer like so many IPAs. It’s just good. Hop forward, but not over the top. The hop bitterness is also balanced by a lot of dry body from the wheat. This is a wheat beer brewed with 50% wheat. So it makes for a nice full beer that is big, bold, and fun but still quite drinkable because you’re not fighting through unnecessary hops or sweetness.

Good lawd, I’ve missed this beer.

An Interview with Brewer Cameron

I was contacted several weeks ago by one of the writers from Brewery Jobs Headquarters. They had found my blog and were interested in what I had done with going to Germany for the VLB Certified Brewmaster Course. They wanted to do an e-mail interview with me, and here is the resulting article for your enjoyment:

http://breweryjobshq.com/2012/08/09/brewmaster-interview-cameron-lloyd/

Ring of Power

Despite the nature of this blog and my overwhelming love of beer and brewing, I actually have quite a number of other interests and hobbies. I have a major love for sports cars and racing. I even own and race a Porsche 944 in regional club races. My trip through Germany and into Belgium offered me a nice opportunity to indulge my other addiction. On our way out to Belgium, I took the opportunity to do something I’ve dreamed of for years: I went to the town of Nürburg, rented a race car, and spent a day driving like crazy around the Nürburgring.

Hang Loose

German Regional Beer Styles

After graduating from brewing school, it was time to do a bit of traveling. I was already in Europe and had a flat I could come back to, so this was the ideal time. My girlfriend (now fiancee, but that story comes later) came out to visit me in Berlin, I rented a car, and we spent some time touring Germany and Belgium.

One of my goals while in Germany was to drink the most iconic regional beer styles of Germany in their cities of origin: Berliner Weisse in Berlin, Rauchbier (smoked beer) in Bamberg, Gose in Leipzig, Kölsch in Köln (Cologne), and Altbier in Düsseldorf. I’d already had plenty of Berliner Weisse and got to drink fresh Rauchbier when the class went to Bamberg on the final excursion. This trip would be an opportunity to drink the last three though.