Hofbrauhaus Freising Graf Ignaz Premium Pilsner: A Southern Sparkler

Abv  4.9%

 

Definitive German Pilsners tend to come from north of Munich.   Franconia has more than its share, including the late lamented Jahns Brau,  a hoppy wonderbrau that inspired our Tuppers’ Keller Pils.  Still, pilsner beers took Munich by storm about a century ago and held their own in the Munich market for several decades.  Helles beers took a back seat for a while as a couple of dozen Munich breweries vied to capitalize on the pilsner frenzy In the last 20 years, pils have stepped back in the Munich area giving market share to draft Hefeweizens and resurgent helles.

A few pilsners continue to hold their own in Munich.  Spaten’s is good and Lowenbrau brewed one of our top rated beers in the world in the late 1970s.   By volume, pilsners are almost an afterthought.  We think one of the reasons is that pilsners are usually served in third liter bottles in beer halls that specialize in half liter helles beers.   And the pils is usually a bit more expensive for that shorter beer.   We spent some time in the Augustiner Keller with one of America’s best brewers last year – he’s a graduate of the world’s best Weihenstephan’s brewing university—and he suggested that the pilsner are a high profit item.  The brewers like to suggest the pilsner is much more expensive to make; our brewer friend highly doubts the cost is much more.

We loved the Hofbrauhaus Freising’s pilsner at their Keller overlooking the brewery on one of Freising’s hills.

A superior pilsner at a very fair price, the  Graf Ignaz Premium Pilsner pours at the Hofbrauhaus Freising Keller at a bargain price of 3 Euros – about 9 Euros a liter, a bit less than you’ll pay for a liter of helles at most Munich beer gardens and beer halls.  [Beer Review # 0121  20170920]

Tasting notes:  It’s the malt that balances the hops in this yummy, crisp, very German pils. An eventual helles malt supports moreish ness but the big noble hops return time and time again.  We don’t know how long it ages, but it’s clear they don’t cut corners;  six weeks or more would not surprise us.

Food Pairings:  The light hoppy spice of a pilsner pairs beautifully with a schnitzel, but it’s versatile and can hold up to spicier foods than a helles.   [Beer Review # 0121    20170920]

NEXT WE’LL START A WEEK IN ATHENS – WONDERFUL PEOPLE AND SURPRISINGLY GREAT BEER

Hofbrauhaus Freising Urhell: Typically Wonderful

Abv  4.9%

Talk about a tough historical break:  Dating from 1160, Hofbrauhaus Freising is probably the third oldest brewery in the world, but it’s only the second oldest in its small town of Freising.  It hasn’t been an easy century; crosstown Weihenstephan is globally known and has the power of the State of Bavaria behind it.

 

Hofbrauhaus Freising, however, has produced good beers and, with a couple of smart acquisitions along the way, developed a local following that seems to exceed that of its older rival.

Its location is easier to reach from town, the setting of its beer garden is really attractive, and the beers are very affordable.

The beer garden suffered a decline in popularity a few years back when the Keller owner (breweries often don’t own or operate their associated beer gardens) banned the traditional practice of bringing food from outside into the garden.  New owners quickly rescinded the rule and the locals returned promptly.

The garden is of modest size by Munich standards, no more than 800 seats.  Most of the seats are in a truly attractive almost garden setting with self-service beer and food.  Food choices are less than at the larger gardens, but quite sufficient to accompany a lovely afternoon of drinking.

Tasting notes:  Grainy and chewy malt but clean with <just> enough noble hops to balance and keep it drinking easy though an evening.   Comfortable in its own stein.  It’s not quite a world classic but, but it surely is a new good friend. (picture from http://www.hofbrauhaus-freising.de/hofbrauhaus-freising.html)

Food Pairings:  It’s a mainstay at beer gardens and brings out the best in typical garden foods: sausages, roast chicken and massive pretzels all work well, but it will provide a clean backdrop for any food that isn’t overly spicy.   [Beer Review # 0121    20170918]

NEXT WE’LL FEATURE ONE MORE LOOK AT HOFBRAUHAUS FREISING’S EXCELLENT BEER

Hofbrauhaus Freising’s Jäger at Schlossallee Haag— A Tradition Continues

4.9 Abv 

When we first decided to write about European beer we chose to focus as much or more on the places to drink beer as on the beers themselves.  We’ve gotten some heat for not including more beers in our first book, but we still maintain that information would be of limited value since so many of the beer lists change daily – and sometimes hourly.

The tried and true beers of Germany, however, don’t change so much and we probably could have done more to talk about them.   These beer reviews are intended in part to fill that gap.  It’s impossible to separate the place we tasted Jäger from the beer itself.

You can read more about Schlossallee Haag inn our Freising (Just Go) post; it’s one of the best of the hundred or so gardens in the greater Munich area.  Until fairly recently by German stadards, a brewery on sight provided beer for the garden, and the specialty was Haag Brewery’s Jäger, an unfiltered lager.   In 1970, Hofbrauhaus Freising purchased the brewery and shifted production to their larger, more modern brewery.  They claim that the recipe is unchanged, though we’ll never know, it certainly doesn’t taste like any of the other HBF beers.

The setting is perfect: a massive garden with an exceptional range of food choices and an occasional strolling accordionist.

Service at beers stalls in beer gardens is almost universally focused on speed and though the people are almost always professional and cordial, they’re rarely actually friendly.   Not so here; get a beer and make a pair of new best friends in minutes.

Tasting notes:  The gentle tasty yeast seems to increase to increase the bready flavors and decrease the grain.   It teams with the hops at the end to balance nicely.   I’m not sure what I’d think about the second liter, but I hope I get the chance to find out.

Food Pairings:  It sang with the charcoaled grilled mackerel at the garden, but it would have worked just as well with spit roasted chicken or a massive pretzel.   Beer Review # 0119    20170916

NEXT WE’LL FEATURE HOFBRAUHAUS FREISING’S UR-HELL  [Sept 18]

 

CAN YOU GET A GOOD BEER AT WEIHENSTEPHAN?  HELL, YES! WEIHENSTEPHANER ORIGINAL HELL.

5.1% Abv   24   IBUs

We were among the first true hop heads in the mid-Atlantic and we still appreciate well-designed hoppy beers even if they’re over the top.   But like so many long time Greenies, we’re increasingly crawling out of the hop pocket to seek out more a more balanced beer as an evening’s companion.

A good pilsner can still satisfy the need for a hop fix, though at reasonable levels. A well-made helles is an absolute delight even at barely noticeably hop levels.

The overwhelming favorite in Munich is Augustiner’s and it’s ours too, but there’s a boat load of other excellent helles beers that aren’t far behind.

One of the best of the also-brewed is Weihenstephan’s Original Hell.  The brewery has the resources of the world’s best technical university for brewers as well as the world’s premier source of yeasts in its backyard, so it’s no surprise that they brew well.   Our main problem with Weihenstephan (other than the walk uphill to the brewery that we now avoid by taxi), is that they offer so many good beers.   They have close to a dozen on tap; beer styles that are often mediocre, such as the Crystal Weizen, are quite good and styles that you would expect to be good, like the Helles, are to die for.  If you have the stamina, you can have a .3 liter glass of each and leave bitterly unhappy that you couldn’t have two or three half-liters of each of these world-class creations.

Tasting notes:  Augustiner’s Helles is a masterpiece, but it’s sweet; Weihenstephaner’s is nearly perfectly balanced with a firm body that makes it satisfying without having to chug it.  The clean malt echoes tastes of dinner rolls – more rich than sweet, but plenty of both.   A touch of grain in the finish gives character and somehow manages to avoid marring the smoothness.

Food Pairings:  The brewery says it “goes very well with salads, poultry, stews or with a hearty snack” and it’s tempting to say “sure…what’s left that it doesn’t go with,” but the brewery is right on target.   It’s too mild for the spiciest of foods, but so clean and refreshing that it will go with almost anything else.   Roast chicken, an enormous pretzel, and a half (or entire) liter of this beer will make you feel you’ve gotten as close to heaven as the monks who brewed here centuries ago.   Beer Review # 0118    20170914

NEXT WE’LL FEATURE THE BEERS OF CROSS-TOWN RIVALS, HOFBRAUHAUS FREISING [starts September 16]