Week 5 Was A Wash

Well this week was Christmas Week, plus I was pretty busy with a several all day missions and several mini ANP crisises. So this week was basically a wash.  I didn't do a single workout.  Looks like I"ll be repeating this week next week.

Also Doc is only doing up body stuff now because he tore something in his knee and is having issues running .  SFC T also strained his back and is having to take Flexerol for it.  So we are a fine group of triathletes.  Hopefully next week is better.

Schwaben Brau Weihnachts Bier

The Christmas Beers continue with the Schwaben Brau WeihnachtsBier. This beer starts out the same as the other Christmas Beers I've tried.  It poured a light clear golden color with little to no head that disappeared quickly.  The aroma is very subtle and the outstanding note is one of malts.  The taste is more malty than hops but is fairly balanced although it finishes with a touch of dry hops.

I was kind of excited to get this beer since it is from the German State of Baden-Wurttenberg whereas most of the other beers that I've reviewed have come from the state of Bavaria.  I was hoping that it would be a little different style but it was very similiar to the Bavarian Christmas Beers I've tried. 

Oettinger Winterbier

The Oettinger Winterbier is a Christmas/Winter Beer that is a break from the Winter Wheats that I've reviewed the last couple of posts and it's back to more normal beers.  It's from the Oettinger Group and is called Winterbier.

It pours a reddish amber with a caramelly colored head.  The aroma is more malt than hops and the taste is smoky malt with a hoppy dry finish. 

I haven't had any of Oettinger's beers before so this was an interesting introduction.  I'll try some more of them when I get back from Afghanistan.

Merry Christmas

Well it's Christmas and you'll get a few extra posts today to round out the Christmas beers that I've been trying.  I hope everyone has a good day and they got everything they want from Santa.

Kapuziner Winter Weissbier

Today's Christmas Beer really isn't a Christmas Beer.  It's properly a Winter Wheat, that's something I've learned in the last few days is that German brewers will sometimes brew both a Christmas Beer and a Winter Beer.  It's still the Christmas Season so I'll use them interchangeably.  Hopefully the purists out there don't get on to me too bad, after all I'm still on a journey of beer exploration and learning as I go!

Today's beer come from the Kulmbacher brauerei's Kapuziner line.  The Kapuziner line is solely dedicated to brewing different types of wheat beers and this is the Winter Weissbier variety. 

This beer pours a dark cloudy amber with a caramel colored fluffy head that lingered for quite awhile.  The aroma is fresh cut grass with hints of citrus and spice.  The taste is crisp, with hints of citrus and spice.  A very good wheat beer.  Not my favorite but very tasty just the same.

Starting Week 5 of Training

We move into week 5 of Ironman training.  This week.  I've been pretty busy and didn't get anything posted for weeks 3 or 4.  My boss has been on leave and I've been covering down on his duties as well as my own.

Week 3 was almost a wash due to several VIPs visiting us in Zabul.  I had to spend a lot of time working with the Police Chief to get him prepared and to make things went off in a manner that was acceptable to us.  Not real sure how well that went I probably should of just done the workouts I was supposed to do.

Week 4 was a better.  I really started to hitting the Concept C2 rowing machine as my substitute for swimming.  That is a killer exercise and really works my lats and tris as well as getting some cardio.  It also tore my hands to bits but I think I've got the calluses developed now that let me get a good hour to hour and half workout in.

I also weighed in last week.  I've hit a solid 205 at about 22% body fat.  I don't like the Army's tape test for body fat percentage but it gives me something to work off of.  205 is 20lbs over my lowest when I did Ironman 70.3 Kansas and 10lbs over what I weighed when I deployed.  All that carb heavy Afghan food is killing me.  Not too mention the 3lb bags of Hot Tamales candy that Ruder sends and the Christmas Reeses Peanut Butter Trees from Shantel and Mom.  I'm not complaining because I love eating them.  They just aren't good for me.

Week 5 features some changes to the workout plan.  If I get some time I'll post them.

Jacob Winter Weisse

Today's Christmas Beer is another change of pace, the Winter Weisse from Braurei Jacob in Bodenwohrer about 90 minutes south of Vilseck to the east of Autobahn 93. 

This winter weisse pours a deep golden amber with a substantial head that lingers.  The aroma of wheat and spices fills the nose.  The taste is an exquisite blend of wheat,citrus and spices.  A very tasty Christmas Beer and more in line with the taste I was thinking of for a Christmas Beer, I've just never had a wheat Christmas Beer before.

Altenmunster Winterbier Dunkel

Today's Christmas Beer is a little different from the others.  It's the Altenmunster Winterbier Dunkel from the Allgauer Brauhaus from Kempten, Germany About an hour South and West of Munich.

Not only is the bottle different but this beer pours a deep reddish brown with a caramel colored head that quickly disappeared.  The aroma is smoky malt and that carries over into the taste which is more smoky caramel malt with a slightly hoppy clean finish.  Not much spices here but definitely more in the direction of what I've come to know as a Christmas Beer.  A great change of pace from the golden Christmas Beers of the last few posts.

Leikeim Wintertraum

Another Winter Dream this time from the Leikeim Family Brewery in Altenkunstadt, just north of Bayreuth and about a 90 minute drive from Vilseck.  I haven't tried any of their other beers so this was a new brewery experience for me. 

This Winter Dream pours  a golden amber with only a small head that disappeared quickly.  The aroma is distinctly hoppy which carries over into a flavor that is more hoppy than spicy and full bodied.  The beer finishes dry and crisp.  Not a bad beer.

Monchshof Weihnachts Bier

This week's Christmas Beer comes from the Kulmbacher Brewery's Monchshof line, the Weihnachts Bier.

This beer pours a clear golden amber with almost no head.  The aroma is light and the subtleties elude my sniffer.  The taste is light and crisp with just a hint of hops and it finishes light and clean.  Not a bad drinking beer.

This was the third Christmas/Winter beer that I've tried and they have all not been what I've expected.  All are crisp and light with clean finishes and virtually no taste of spice.  Most of the Christmas/Winter beers that I've had in the states were all heavy and dark with hints of spices and chocolate.  I don't know if I'm disappointed or confused.  I'm still looking for some more so we'll see what other varieties I dig up.

Tucher Christkindlesmarkt Bier

This weeks Christmas Beer is from my second favorite brewery, Tucher Brau from Nuremberg.  They call it Christkindlesmarkt Bier. 

This bier pours a light golden color with virtually no head that quickly disappears as you can see in the picture.  The aroma is very subtle so it eludes my sniffer.  This is a very light beer with more of a malty taste than a hops.  It does have a slight after taste. 

I must admit I was slightly disappointed.  Not quite what I expected from Tucher.  Good but not great and much lighter than I expected from a Christmas beer.

Week 2 Ironman Training

Well week 2 of my Ironman training is complete and I was pretty good in accomplishing my tasks this week, only missing the long run yesterday.

I have to thank the members of the active.com triathlon message board who have given us numerous ideas on how to get around the lack of spin bike and swimming pool at our small FOB.  We'll be giving all of the recommended exercises a try.

We were sitting down the other and talking about races next summer and I think SFC T, Doc and I have all agreed to try and do the Cologne half iron distance together in early September 2011.  Check out the tentative schedule I've updated it accordingly.  Doc ran it last year and said it was a great race.

On the flip side it is starting to appear that I may be running Ironman Regensburg on my own.  My buddy Andy who had agreed to race with me is having sever issues with Achilles tendon and may have to have surgery.  He's pretty angry about it since running is his stress relief and he can't run.  I've told him to get on the bike and get in the pool. 

Stand by for more updates next week.

Weltenburger Winter-Traum

Today's Christmas beer is from Weltenburg Abbey, a brewery that is a personal favorite of mine, and I was glad to see that they had a Christmas offering.  I was not disappointed in this beer and Shantel even thought it was pretty good.  Here is what I thought.

The Weltenburger Winter-Traum, (Winter Dream) pours a deep reddish amber with virtually no head that leaves only slight tracing on the sides of the glass. The aroma is caramelly with some fruity overtones.  The flavor is tart and full of malt and the beer finishes sharp and clean.  Not a bad way to start the Christmas Season.  Go out and find yourself one of these.

It's Time For Christmas Beer

I was pleasantly surprised when I came home for R&R in late October and found Christmas beers on the shelves of the Getranke Markts. I had already resigned myself that I would miss out on the good German Christmas beers this year and have to make up for it next year.   I actually found so many that I'm going to schedule two posts a week since I don't want them to carry over outside December.  So look for posts on Wednesday in addition to the normal Sunday posts. Enjoy.