 FatPhil (2063), Espoo, Finland
May 12, 2008
500ml bottle (K market)
Ever so slightly hazy gold, initially healthy head, dissipate to a tiny self-supporting shroud. Almost bock-like malty aroma - quite sweet and chewy, a little grainy and nutty. Soft palate, gentle carbonation, and you can feel a little bit of the hops right from the start. On swallowing, there’s a big wave of bocky malts. Very full flavour. Slight honey and vanilla components, reminds me of a couple of the better Latvian beers (Piebalgas perhaps). Unfortunately it’s very lagery, and the hops are more of a tingle than a pronounced taste. I imagine many people finding this a very tasty beer, but it’s just not my style.
highlandlad (1184), Sydney, Australia
Apr 23, 2008 An Idiot’s Guide to Beer Hunting, Lesson One: When you find a great beer shop selling great beer, buy the beer. Don’t put it off until you’ve had time to think about it. Just buy. I speak from bitter experience after a dismal trip to Barcelona. On Day 1 of a 5-day visit, I walk into the city’s highly-regarded Cervetica beer store and bar. It’s Easter Saturday evening, the joint is jumping and I am blown away by the racks of Cantillon, unfamiliar Belgian ales and Spanish microbrews. So blown away that I retreat without making a purchase, vowing to return next day when the jet-lag after a 26-hour journey from Australia has worn off. Next day, the store is closed. It’s Easter Sunday. No problem, I’ll return tomorrow. Next day the store is closed. It’s Easter Monday. No problem, I’ll return tomorrow. In the meantime, I visit a nearby organic store and buy this organic beer. Next day, I wake up with a flu that nails me to the bed for the rest of our time in Barcelona and eventually involves a trip to a doctor, a course of anti-biotics and two weeks without beer. When I am finally well enough to drink this beer, it’s perfectly drinkable but scant consolation for all the Cantillons and Spanish micros that I passed up. Idiot. (I refer you back to the lesson at the start of this rating.) This German organic lager poured a cloudy, unfiltered gold with highly-visible carbonation and a lasting head. The unusual aroma was worty, a little sour, with cookie dough malts, hay bales and faint bubble gum. The carbonation was subdued to near-catatonia. Bit lifeless and chewy for the style. Medium bitterness for the style with some leatherwood honey, doughy malts and a sour, mouth-watering finish. Ultimately, this seemed like a lot less than the sum of its parts. It’s just not a very good pils IMO. Oh for a Cantillon. Idiot. (33cl bottle branded ""Riedenburger Brauhaus Pils" from The Organic Store, Barcelona. 4.7%. BB 3/1/09)
austone (305), Turku; Pori, Finland
Mar 1, 2008 Golden yellow with pale foam, basic. Nose is malty with wet straw, quite sweet. Flavor also on the sweet side, malty with some herbal hops. Finishes softly bitter. Smoothens further with the little hefe it has. Medium bodied and quite soft on the palate. Riedenburger labels are simply beautiful, this one including.
raymondwave (778), Finland
Feb 3, 2008 Bottle 0.5 l. Hazy yellow, lacy foam. Sweet malty nose, honey, hay and some perfume. Flavor is thick, malty and honeyish, maybe even yeast. Nice and thick brew, very good. Tastes a bit like helles in all it’s sweetish maltiness. And it’s organic!
Fin (2164), Merton, Oxfordshire, England
Oct 22, 2007 Bottle picked up from a farm shop on the A5 between Llangollen and Betsy-Co-Wed, Wales 20-10-07 Poured pale yellow, hazy with white fluffy head. This beer actually tasted bananey and soft with vanilla and came across much more in the vein of a Wheat Beer than a Pale Lager, nonetheless it was very nice and will probably be one of my highest rated Lagers.
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