Beer NRW

Germany 1 v England 0

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Played in Dortmund

Wednesday 22 March 2017

Twitter @ball_sup

25 German Beer Ticks on this trip. Taking me up to 40 on the list to date. Look. It's been a nice long trip. So, there are a lot of beers & Breweries to Blog about. It's mainly beer. If it's the football you're after, look away now. Indeed. You need a list of Contents.

German Beer Tribalism
The marvellous Bergmann Bier Kiosk (Dortmund)
Hovels Braurei (Dortmund)
Dusseldorf Altbier Tourism
Moritz Fiege Brewery Tap (Bochum)
Lucky pukka craft stumble in Dortmund
Best bar in Duisburg (opinion)
Other ticks
The AWARDS

German Beer Tribalism

I'm giving a ruling here. It's mainly tribal ain't it? If you're a brewer. You're model is to brew the style that has taken hold in your region. In Koln, that'll be Kolsch. In Dusseldorf, that'll be Altbier. In Dortmund, that'll be so called Union style. OK, there are your Weizens & your Rauchs & your ubiquitous Pils. But, your American IPAs & your West Coast Pales & your Citras are all excused boots. You've got to dig for those.

Bergmann Kiosk, Dortmund

Great place. A Dortmundarian institution. (Check opening hours, it's 4pm on some weekdays). Literally. A Kiosk. A few trestle tables & benches appear. And, other perching opportunities. Under an awning. Somewhat exposed to the elements.

Bergmann, Export from a bottle at 5.2%. Full bodied & sweet. Just as this style should be. Superb.
Bergmann, Hopfensunde on keg. Spicy on the tongue. Got an abv kick to it. Full of boiled sweets.
Bergmann, Craftbier 1972 on keg. Simple bitterness up front. The background sweetness spoils it.

Hovels Brewpub

On matchday. Was not busy. Then was very busy. Then was not. Bit chaotic if I'm honest. I checked that all the beers they had were listed on the Karte. And then after a few, saw a fella drinking a bottle NOT listed. Under cross examination, the Barmaid gave it the old “and that one” defence. I hate that. Not good.

She (correctly) wouldn't serve members of our group at the bar. Asking them to sit at our table and she'd be over. Yet. When it got busy & came on top. In response to my hand raised for service. She yelled across from behind the bar - “what do you want?”. Not good.

Hovels, Dortmunder Naturtrübes Zwickelbier on keg. Very good. Refreshing. Some orange in the mix.
Hovels, Hop Pale Ale on keg at 5.5%.Very woody smell. A little salad leaf bitterness. Good effort in the land of few hop.
Hovels, Original on keg at 5%. Lovely darker lager style. Well defined flavours. Lots of sweetness, balanced​ well.

Altbier Tourism

Altbier tourism is very very straightforward. There are industrial brands & a small number of independents. The independents still brew out the back somewhere. Or on a unit. Or they have a bit of show Kit in with us drinkers. But, it's a bit unrewarding​. All the beers are very similar. All the Braurei or Brauhaus experiences are very similar. Whisper it. If you've done one, you've done them all. Whisper it.

The waiters are all male & are cheeky chappies. The single bar area has a barrel rolled over towards it. No settling, nor conditioning. But, maybe it's natural fizz. The appropriate cheeky chappy taps it. Pours it into those dozy straight 25cl glasses. If it is too busy, he lets it settle before topping up. He has a piece of 4x2 he uses to prop the barrel up to get the last knockings out. Also comes in useful for waving about should the Cheeky Chappy Banter all come on top.

The table waiters sort of play the game of just bringing you an Alt. Even before you've ordered & despite what you might actually want. And, then they have a pretence of keeping 'em coming until you make it clear that's your lot. It's all - “that's how we do it around here”. Nah.

My palate isn't bad. Good on bitterness. But, I couldn't really tell much difference between Alts. Brown. Bit of wood. Bit of nut. Hint of bitterness. But, it's a great afternoon trailing around the different Brauhaus in Dusseldorf. We did;

Brauerei im Füchschen
Ratinger Str. 28, 40213 Düsseldorf
Brauerei Schumacher Stammhaus
Oststraße 123, 40210 Düsseldorf
Hausbrauerei Zum Schlüssel
Bolkerstr. 41-47
Uerige
Berger Str. 1, 40213 Düsseldorf
Alter Bahnhof (Gulasch Alt)
Belsenstraße 2, 40545 Düsseldorf

I had an Altbier in each, abvs various. It's a lottery mind, but I'm giving the Altbier Of The Trip Award to Schumacher. Whisper it.

Fiege Stammhaus, Bochum

Lovely place in Bochum. We had a quick walk up to the Brewery & descended on the separately located Tap (Stammhaus). Right in the centre of town. The beer range & quality shoves this place up the recommendations.

Moritz Fiege, Bernstein on keg 4.7%
Maybe Vienna Lager style. Full of flavour. Sugar rolls in.
Moritz Fiege Helles on keg at 4.8%. Nice n light.
Moritz Fiege, Schwarzbier on keg at 4.9%. Very good. Intense red fruit gives way to a little toast.

Dortmund Stumble

Cafe/Bar/Restaurant called Lokalmanufaktur in Dortmund. Made locally or similar. Around the world, I often find these sort of Local Produce outlets are good for local independent ticks. This place D. Livered.

4 kegs. A nice list of bottles. Which you could view in the fridge.

Maisel & Friends, Pale Ale on keg Lokalmanufaktur, Dortmund
Oohh a lovely Pale that. Elderflower into just right bittering.
Craftwerk, Hop Head IPA from a bottle at 8%.Underpowered. But, the hop bittering gets there in the end.

Duisburg Hunting

Finkenkrug
71-73 Sternbuschweg
Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia 47057

It's got the numbers. Styles itself as having 24 keg & 250 bottles. I didn't count them myself. But, let's give it them. However, I found the model quite odd. It had a feel of tried & trusted Industrials from Many Countries. The bottle list was styled as a glossy magazine. But, each one has many crossings out. Untenable that. The Barmaid didn't know her stuff. Couldn't point to small German Independents in the mag. I asked about the country of origin on one on the kegs. She didn't know. (It was a German beer - FFS).

But, you know, with perseverance. And that many bottles. We were bound to get there in the end. I'm giving it a resounding thumbs up.

Engel, Keller Dunkel from a bottle at 5.3%. Lovely peach smell, which comes thru in the 1st mouthful. Bitter finish.
Maisel & Friends, IPA from a bottle at 6.3%. Nice beer. Lots of upfront citrus & pineapple. Bittering needs more ooomph.
Ratsherrn, Backyard Beach from a bottle at 4.5%. Slight toffee in the malt. Refreshing. Nice tangy finish.
Maisel & Friends Citrilla Weizen IPA from a bottle at 6%.Weiss/Wit & IPA hybrid shit. Very tasty. Just too hybrid imho.
Theodor Konig, Zwickl Kellerbier on keg at 5.3%.Glorious. Barley sugar. Into wine gum. Full of flavour.

Rest Of Germany Sweep Up

I also did the Dusseldorf branch of a small upmarket brewpub chain.

Brauhaus Joh. Albrecht
Niederkasseler Straße 104
40547 Düsseldorf

Brauhaus Joh. Albrecht, Craftbeer on keg. (Yes, that's the name of the beer).

At least you can see where their marketing is heading. Nice n opaque. Mandarin. Marmalade. Maybe West Coast Pale style. Gently hopped.

Köstritzer Schwarzbier 4.8%. In Ratskeller Mülheim an der Ruhr. Industrial Black Beer. Some toast in it. Not much else.

BraufactuM, Progusta IPA from a bottle at 6.8%. In Pfefferkorn NY Steak House, Phoenix See, DO.

And. In true German Football Stylee. Brinkhoff's No.1 from a tin at 5%. It's wet & you drink it....... Currywurst stand down from the ground. Get in.

The CRAFTAS

Beer Of The Trip goes to that Maisel & Friends, Pale Ale on keg at Lokalmanufaktur in Dortmund.

Podiums go to that superb Moritz Fiege, Schwarzbier on keg at the Stammhaus in Bochum. And, the Bergmann, Export bottlejob at the Kiosk in Dortmund.

460/953