Beer Review - Schlossbrauerei Holnstein

I mentioned here how much I like being a bike rider.  It allows me to get out and see things at a pace that you typically miss while driving in a car.  That's the case with Schlossbrauerei Holnstein.  If you blink you will almost miss the village of Holnstein and directly opposite the schlossbrauerei is a rambling rustic old gasthaus that could grab your attention away from the old castle and the next door brewery.  Luckily for me they are at the top of a hill and I got a good look at both as I was spinning my way to the top.  After my ride I promptly jumped into the car and went on a quest to find a getrankemarkt that sold the Holnsteiner line. 

It took me me awhile but I finally found one, in of all places a Kaufland (think German style Wal-Mart).  I'm sure the checkout girl was cussing me in German since I only had one of each variety plus a couple of other interesting brews and the Holnsteiner beers did not have a bar code so she had to enter them manually.  She was really glad to see me leave.

OK enough of the story and on to what I thought.

Schlossbrauerei Holnstein Barons Urhell - Here is the Helles offering.  It pours a crisp clear gold with a light head that dissipated quickly but left extensive lacing on the side of the mug.  The aroma is elusive to my sniffer.   The taste is crisp and mild with a lingering finish overall it is a fine balance between malt and hops.  There might be a mild fruity undercurrent.  A pretty taste beer.  .5l brown bottle, 4.8% alc by vol.

Schlossbrauerei Holnstein Ahnentrunk - This one is a dark or dunkle beer.  It pours with a generous beige colored head that quickly disappeared. The color is  a dark brown with reddish gold hints.  The aroma is one of sweet malts and the taste is slightly sweet with spicy undertones.  The finish is dry and slightly smoky.  I really like this beer.  It was one of the first ones I found from the Schlossbrauerei Holnstein and I had drank several prior to reviewing it here. .5l brown bottle, 5.2% alc by vol.

Schlossbrauerei Holnstein Baroness Weisse.  This beer pours a light yellow gold with the slightly cloudy characteristics of a wheat beer.  The head was fluffy and white and disappeared fairly quickly. The aroma is fresh cut grass with some spicy undertones (maybe cloves?)  The taste is light with slight hints of orange peel.  The finish is crisp and dry.  A lighter weissen than normal, but that doesn't make it bad, just different.  .5L brown bottle, 5.0% alc by vol.

Schlossbrauerei Holnstein Schlossherrn Pils - As the name suggests this the Pilner offering from Schlossbrauerei Holnstein.  It pours a bright gold with a soft head that disappeared quickly but left fine lacing on the side of the glass.  The aroma is pretty subtle and eludes my stopped up nose.  The taste is slightly sweet with just a small bite of hops.  The finish is where the hops really kicks, although it is still pretty subtle as compared to a Czech Pilsner.  An interesting finish to my evening of beers.  Not bad but definitely not my favorite of the group.