‘The box’ beer no 3

After the disaster of hating beer number two, I had high hopes for number three. Luckily, I was not disappointed.

It was the Tegernsee Spezial by Herzoglich Bayerisches Brauhaus Tegernsee, a Helles-style lager. Unlike some of the hideous stuff you find everywhere over here (seriously, why would anyone choose to drink Carling??) German lagers are much more appealing.

It was light, not too fizzy and had a satisfying aftertaste.

For me it invoked visions of drinking in a Biergarten in Munich in the middle of a warm and sunny late summer afternoon.

I found it very pleasing and drinkable, and it would definitely hit the the spot on a hot day!

7.5/10

‘The box’ beer no 2

My second selection from the German beer box was considerably different to my first – a strong, doppelbock brewed by the sensational Augustiner brewery.

Augustiner is without a doubt one of my favourite breweries. During our visit to Munich last year, we dined twice at the Augustiner-Keller and could not get enough of their Weissbier (just thinking about it is making me so very thirsty). And one of my cats is also named Augustiner (but known as Tina) in honour of their sensational beer.

So I had high hopes for Augustiner Maximator.

It’s a very dark beer and probably isn’t something I would have picked for myself. It had a lovely smell but when I sampled it, it was just far too strong for me.  I persevered and gave it  a few more tastes but I just couldn’t drink it.

I was very disappointed but it’s all part of the fun of trying a wide range of styles of beers.

Ross however did finish it and described it as having a “weird taste” but was “ultimately enjoyable”. He added it left a “warm feeling down to the belly”.

2/10 (1 point for being different and another for being Augustiner)

‘The box’ beer no 1

Selection number one from my joyous box of beers is Müllerbraü Müller Weissbier Leicht.

This is a low alcohol (3.1%) Weiss with all the smell and most of the flavour of the more alcoholic versions.

But it doesn’t feature the usual after taste so all the flavour is only there while you’re sipping it.

There is also less of a head on it.

For a one off beer say on a week night or at lunch time, it’s ideal.

I also think it would be a great way to introduce someone to Weissbier as the flavours aren’t quite as strong but Ross’ view was the complete opposite.

Non-alcoholic Weissbier was something I wasn’t a particular fan of but low alcohol versions seem to have most of the things I love about the beer but just on a lower level.

7.5/10

‘The box’

For our anniversary Ross treated me to this amazing box of beer all the way from Germany.
It features a mix of Weissbier, Helles and a few Radlers and non alcoholic ones from various breweries chucked in for good measure.

So over the next few weeks I’ll be sampling the various beers in the box and blogging about them.

They came from http://www.web-bier.de and for a box of 24 it cost €40 including shipping so great value for money too.