Special Beer Review - Pax Brau

Pax Brau is a small craft brewery in Oberelsbach, Germany just north and west of Bamberg.  The name means Peace Brewery and one of their slogans is beat swords into beer spigots.  That's an interesting take.They claim to use all organic ingredients and to only brew small batches.  They had a salesman at the local bazaar put on by MWR so I just "had" to pick up a couple of bottles.  I like the fact that they came in 1 liter bottles.

Pax Brau Vollbier - This is supposed to be a helles that's brewed in accordance with the Bavarian Beer Purity Law of 1516.  That's a little bit of a stretch since the basic premise is that a beer can only have three ingredients: water, barley malt, and hops and the ingredient list on the bottle lists water, barley malt, hops, and wheat .  Wheat wasn't technically allowed until the German Provisional Beer law of 1993.  More than likely this a marketing ploy designed to get someone to buy the beer without reading the ingredient list.  To heck with the technicalities on to the beer.

This beer poured a reddish amber with a generous beige head that lasted a while and left lots of lacing on the side of the glass.  The aroma is slightly smoky.  The smoke theme carries over into the taste where the normal balance of the helles is obscured by the smoky flavor.  Evidently the hops had had a little smoke added to it and in the case of this batch probably more than a little smoke.  The finish is slightly sweet and semi dry with the smoke continuing in the aftertaste.  Not a bad beer and it would go great with one of my smoked briskets or turkeys. 

The guy who sold me the beer at the local bazaar told me it was not like the Bamberg beers when I mentioned the smoke and the Bamberg beers I've had.  He claimed there was just a touch of smoke.  I'd have to disagree, I've had smokier beers from Bamberg but I've also had some that had about the same or less hints of smoke.  The ingredients are listed as bio or organic, so interesting.  I did like it and wish I would of picked more than one bottle.  Oh well.

Pax Brau Weizen - OK the picture doesn't do the beer justice.  I originally opened the bottle a couple of days ago, drank a glass and then sealed it back up.  Even though it "popped" when I flipped the lid it was a little flat tonight.  Anyway when fresh it pours a light golden amber with a slightly off white head.  The aroma is sweet smelling fresh cut grass with lots of clove.  The taste is lots of clove with hints of other spices..cinnamon maybe?  Also maybe a little like bubblegum?  It was really good fresh and not half bad flat.  The finish is crisp.  I would call this a really good craft weizen.

Marathon Training

Week	M	T	W	T	F	S	S	Total
15	Rest	2 miles GP 4 miles T	3 miles 6x100 S	1-hour run, including 6x400 SI	Rest	Rest	1-hour run	27–29 miles

Special Beer Review - Paulaner Brau

This weeks brewery beer review is from Paulaner Brewery.  One of the the Big Six from Munich.  I will admit that when I first moved to Germany I purposely avoided Paulaner because it was a name I was familiar with from the States.  That was a mistake and as I get ready to move back I'm damn glad that I should be able to find some Paulaner.  If you have a auto web translator their website is one of the more amusing ones I've been too.  If not their international site isn't bad either.  Bottom line though here is what I thought of the beer.

Paulaner Original Munchner Hell - The Helles from Paulaner.  I original had this beer when I first got to Germany and my review is here.  I'm still obviously not a pro at beer reviews but I've come a long way.  Here are my current thoughts.  this beer pours a clear yellow with hints of amber/red.  A generous head starts thin and dissolves quickly leaving small amounts of lacing on the sides.  The aroma is of malts and hints of fresh baked bread.  The taste is fine balance between hops and malts with the malts wining in the end.  The finish is wet and crisp.  The verdict is still the same, a fine example of the Munchner Helles and I'm glad that I should be able to find this beer when I get back to the states.

Paulaner Premium Pils - This pils pours a yellow-gold with a thin head that dissolved rapidly but leaves prominent lacing on the sides.  The aroma is hops and spices and that carries over into the taste.  The taste is spicy hops....not bitter, but tasty.  The finish has a touch of bitterness but it's almost not enough to notice.  A good example of a German Pils.

Paulaner Original Munchner Urtyp - According to the German Beer Institute a Urtyp Helles is beer where the brewery tries to emphasize the authenticity of its beverage (ur means "original" and urtyp means "original type").  This beer pours a clear amber gold with a generous head that slowly dissolves leaving small amounts of lacing on the sides.  The aroma is a sweet malts and that carrys over into the taste which is competing balance between the hops and malts with the malts ultimately dominating.  The finish is crisp and slightly dry, making you want another drink.  This not just one of my favorite Paulaner's it's one of my favorite beers period.

Paulaner Original Munchner Dunkel - The dunkel beer from Paulaner.  It pours a dark brownish amber almost like a cola.  The head is beige colored and foams up well just cresting the top of the glass without going over and leaving lots of lacing on the sides.  The aroma is of coffee, chocolate and sweet.  The taste is sweet, well roasted malts with the hints of coffee and chocolate.  The finish is slightly dry.  Not my favorite dunkel but it's drinkable and definitely not a bad example of the type.

Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier Naturtrub - The regular Hefewiezen from Paulaner.  This beer pours a brilliant straw gold with a generous slightly golden head.  The body is too cloudy to see the carbonation bubbles that keep the head alive for quite awhile.  The aroma is cloves and bread.  The taste is more cloves with just a hint of bananas.  The finish is crisp and wet, and just makes you want to have a follow up drink.  A fine example of Bavarian hefewiezen.

Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier Dunkel - This beer pours a cloudy dark copper amber with a generous beige head that is plenty foamy and dissolves really slowly.  The aroma is of spices and bread.  The taste is bananas, spices (cloves?) and slightly toasted bread.  Interesting.  The finish is crisp and wet.  Pretty tasty.  Since we couldn't get into the beer tents during Oktoberfest this was the beer I was drinking that day.  For an interesting twist on the radler or shandy concept take a 50/50 mix of this and a lemon soda.  Germans call it Russ.  I'm almost tempted to think I like a Russ more than I do a Radler. 

Paulaner Weissbier Kristallklar - The filtered wheat beer from Paulaner.  This one pours a clear golden yellow with a frothy head that quickly disappeared but was fead from a constant flow of tiny bubbles from the center of the glass.  The aroma is spicy banana cloves.  The taste is bananas and cloves as well.  The finish is very crisp and tart, but not really dry or not really wet.  A very refreshing beer and probably one that goes down well on a hot day in the middle of summer.

Paulaner Oktoberfest beer - This beer came with a 1 liter glass mug to go with it. I mean how could I pass that up. A liter beer and a mug all for 1 Euro. Here's what I thought of it. This beer pours with a dark coppery tint and nice fluffy head that lasts about 5 minutes. In essence it looks exactly like all of the pictures of the beers that those well endowed barmaids are serving to all of the revelers in Munich during Oktoberfest. The aroma is fine balance between hops and fresh cut grass and the flavor is just as balanced with a slightly sweet malty hint of hops and a semi dry finish. Most definitely a very drinkable beer. 

Paulaner Salvator - A meal in a bottle, this dopplebock also packs a punch at 7.9% alcohol by volume.  It's Paulaner's take on the Catholic monks liquid diet for Lent.  It pours a bright coppery red with in my pouring a very limited head.  The aroma is slightly fruity and sweet.  The initial taste is fruity, dissolving into chocolaty, roasted malts.  The finish is dry with just a little more than a hint of the alcoholic punch that it will hit you with.  Not a bad substitute for a meal, but I'm not sure I can handle more than one at a time.

As I've stated before you can't beat a free steinkrug with a rack of beer.  It's even cooler when the handle is a carabiner that you can attach to backpack!  Actually it's not as comfortable as a normal handle, but it's still cool.

Marathon Training

I've been pretty bad posting the week's workout.  I'm going to have to go back and at least post the plan.  As for following the plan the last couple of weeks.  I've been spot on except for the long runs on weekends.  With some of our last trips around Europe and just my desire in general I don't think I'm where I need to be.  Don't get me wrong I think if I had to run a Half Marathon this week, I'd crush my PR, but the max miles I've been doing is hovering right around the 16-17 mile mark when I probably should have been doing 18-20 miles.  Oh well, that probably just means that I won't hit the 3:45 like I'd like but I'll still be able to finish and finish strong and respectable and that's the bottom line.

Here is this weeks workout.  Turning over in my mind that I should do the 20 miles that I bailed on today, I only did 16 of it.  We'll see how I'm feeling next Sunday.

Week	M	T	W	T	F	S	S	Total
14	Rest	3x1 mile C 3x 800 SI	3 miles 6x100 S	75-minute run, including 6:00–8:00 TUT	Rest	4 miles	13 miles	45 miles

Special Beer Review - Klosterbrauerei Scheyern

New Old Brewery Alert!  I have seen hundreds of brew brands since I've been in Germany, many of which you have read or will eventually read about here.  Klosterbrauerei Scheyern is one that I haven't heard of or can recall seeing in any of the getrankemarkts that I frequent.  That's interesting since their website lists them as the third oldest brewery in Germany (Behind the two who argue about who is the oldest Weihenstephan and Weltenburger).

There have been two coincidences that have caused me to start reviewing their beer, one a friend brought me a bottle of their Helles, and two I went to a local Getrankemarkt and found their beer there with a free steinkrug attached the rack.  I just had to buy a rack and pick up a bottle of the other varieties that were there.  It looks like they have a line that's only available in the local area and a line available nationally, this is the only line I can get without going to the brewery.  I'm just guessing, but it looks like they are trying to expand their distribution across the rest of Germany.

Kloster Scheyern Kloster ~ Weisse Hell - This beer pours a cloudy dark honey color.  A generous head slowly dissolves but leaves some white froth that clings to the sides.  An aroma of citrus with some hints of fresh cut hay fills the air.  The taste is light, and crsip with hints of citrus and spices.  Spices dominate the clean wet finish.  A fine Weisse Hell.   

Kloster Scheyern Kloster Weisse Dunkel - This dark wheat beer pours a dark chocolatly brown with small hints of amber.  The head was a thin off white/beige that quickly disappeared.  I think I smell cloves and bananas in the aroma.  The taste has hints of chocolate but no one other flavor seems to dominate or jump out at me, the traditional flavors of a weisse are all there just muted and blended almost to a perfection.  Quite tasty, the finish is crisp and wet and lends itself to another sip.  This beer is just a little bit different, but in this case different is good.

Kloster Scheyern Kloster - Export Dunkel - The regular Dunkel.  Since I liked the Dunkel Weisse so much and I've kind of been on a Dunkel kick lately, I had high hopes for this one.  It pours s a dark chocolately brown with hints of reddish amber and a generous beige head that slowly dissolved leaving generous lacing on the sides of the glass.  The aroma is sweet malt and that carries over into the flavor a chocolately, caramelly sweet malt with maybe some hints of coffee. The finish was wet and lingering but not bitter.  Maybe a little different than your standard Dunkel but with me different is good.  My high hopes were satisfied and I'm glad I bought a rack of this one.  Everyone I shared it with also agreed that it was pretty good.

Kloster Scheyern Kloster ~ Gold Hell - The helles beer from Kloster Scheyeren, it pours a brillant clear straw yellow with hints of darker gold.  The head is generous and frothy and crested the top of the glass but didn't overflow dissolving slowly while leaving decent lacing on the sides.  The aroma is malty and bready.  That theme carries over into the taste where sweet malts dominate, leading to a wet finish with just hints of the 5.4% alcohol by volume coming through.  Not quite your typical helles but not quite typical seems to be the norm for this kloster brau.

You can't beat it when you get a free steinkrug with the rack.  Yeah!!!!

I really wish this brewery was closer, that way I could get some of their more local offerings.  After a while some of these German beers start tasting the same.  The beers from Kloster Scheyeren were a welcome change of pace, all of them just slightly different then what you typically expect from their style.

Marathon Training

I'm back dating some posts.  Here is what the training plan was for Week 13.

Week	M	T	W	T	F	S	S	Total
13	Rest	3x1 mile C 3x800 SI	3 miles 6x100 S	75-minute run, including 6:00–8:00 TUT	Rest	4 miles	20 miles	46 miles

Special Beer Review - Regensburger Spital Brauerei

I had visited the Regensburger Spital Brauerei while home on R&R last year (You can read about it here) but I didn't really review the beers. So here's an opportunity to correct that, especially since I liked the beer when I had it in the restuarant.  The label proclaims it to be the oldest brauerei in Regensburg.  It's a shame that I'm probably not getting back down there since they have several other varieties that I wasn't able to pick up.

Regensburger Spital Helles - This beer pours a brillant golden amber with a what seemed to be a thin head that dissolved quickly, although there were generous amounts of lacing left on the side of the glass.  The aroma was very subtle and missed my nose.  The taste though was a pleasant surprise perfectly balanced with a hint of citrus, I actually had to check to make sure I hadn't picked up a Radler by mistake.  The finsih was wet with just a hint of bitterness and left you wanting another drink.  Yep, just as good as I remembered it from R&R.

Regensburger Spital Dunkels - This beer pours a dark amber brown, almost a black with hints of amber.  The generous beige lasted awhile before dissolving into lacing that coated the side of the glass.  The aroma is of malts and sweetness.  The taste is chocolately sweet with maybe some hints of coffee?  The finish has a touch of bitterness but not overwhelming, just enough to counter the sweetness that the beer started with.  Probably a little stronger than your typical dunkel but definitely not bad.

Regensburger Spital Weizen - This beer pours  the typical cloudy golden amber of a weizen.  The head is generous and lasts a while and leaves lacings that stubbornly stick to the sides.  The aroma is of cloves and spices, while the taste is of cloves spices and definite hints of bananas.  There is just a touch of bitterness in the finish.  An interesting weizen since there is probably a more powerful flavor of cloves and bananas then what I've typically seen. 

Regensburger Spital Pils -   I found this in a .33L bottle, although I think it does come in a .5L bottle.  It pours a brillant clear yellow gold with a generous white head that dissappeared fairly quickly with only some lacing on the sides.  The aroma is definitely hops.  After the aroma I expected this beer to taste very hoppy and bitter.  I was surprised, hoppy yes, bitter no.  In fact there are hints of other spices in the flavor.  A slightly different take on what I'm accustomed to from a German Pils and I actually like it. 

One of my favorite steinkrug's, plain but distinctive looking.

Marathon Training Plan

Here is this week's Training Plan.

Week	M	T	W	T	F	S	S	Total
12	Rest	2 miles GP 4x2 miles T (2:00) 3 miles GP	3 miles 6x100 S	90-minute run, including 8:00–10:00 TUT	Rest	4 miles	19 miles	45–51 miles

Marathon Training Plan

Here is this week's Training Plan.

Week	M	T	W	T	F	S	S	Total
11	Rest	2 miles GP 4x2 miles T (2:00) 3 miles GP	3 miles 6x100 S	90-minute run, including 8:00–10:00 TUT	Rest	4 miles	18 miles	45–51 miles

Special Beer Review - Schlossbrauerei Hirschau

This week is one of the local breweries, located about 15 minutes down the road from our house is the Schlossbrauerei Hirschau.  Even though it's only 15 minutes away.  I have to drive it to get the beer.  The local Getrankemarkts don't carry.  That should give you an indication of how regionalized some of these beers are.  It should also explain some of my excitment when I come across another new beer and those discoveries are really what I'm going to miss when we move back to the states in a couple of months.

Here is a picture of the castle inn that's associated with the brewery.

The crest on one of the brewery buildings.

The loading dock area.

Schlossbrauerei Hirschau Radler - I'll start with the Radler here.  It pours much darker than other Radlers I've had lately, almost the pale gold of a helles, and has a little more of frothy white head.  Does this mean it has a little more beer in it?  If so then it doesn't manifest itself in the aroma or taste.  The aroma is all lemon with maybe just a hint of hops lingering underneath.  The taste is pure lemon and is a good break from beer.  I had this one on a day where I'd already had several beers and this was a refreshing break.  I'll probably ride out to Hirschau and stop and have a Radler or two when I do.

Schlossbrauerei Hirschau 1812 Original - This is the helles from Schlossbrauerei Hirschau.  The body is an amber gold with a thin head that quickly disappeared.  The aroma is subtle and eludes my sniffer.  The taste is crisp and more hops than malt.  The finish definitely carries a reminder of hops. While not a Pils I'd say that it's hops level almost approaches Pils level.  I'm not a fan of hoppy beers.  I prefer more balance and I normally get that in a helles.  Not here though.

Schlossbrauerei Hirschau Johannibier  - I'm not sure what kind of beer this is, I think it might be a bock, maybe?  What I am sure about is that it pours goldish orange with a generous off white head that hung around for awhile and continued to leave lacing down the sides.  The aroma slight but I can detect the malts.  The taste is slightly sweet with more malt than hops and leads to a dry finish.  Pretty tasty and a very interesting beer.

Schlossbrauerei Hirschau Hirschauer Spezial - A Dortmunder or Export type beer.  It pours a cloudy orangish yellow with virtually no head.  The aroma is underwhelming and eluded my sniffer.  The taste is malty with sour undertones and a shadow of hoppy bitterness.  The finish is dry and demands another drink.  An interesting brew.

Schlossbrauerei Hirschau Pils - The German Pils offerring .  The body is not as pale as some other Pils coming in a more golden color, slightly reminiscent of apple juice.  The head on this Pils was non exsistent, not even any lacing on the sides. The aroma was hoppy and earthy.  The taste was only slightly hoppy even for a Pils, slightly surprised there.  German Pils tend to be too hoppy and bitter for my taste but this was pretty mild, almost closer to a helles. 

Schlossbrauerei Hirschau Leicht - This is no reduced calorie offering.  When the Germans say Leicht it typical means less alcholol (sometimes it also just means ligher in color), so if you are looking for a good buzz steer clear of German beers that call themselve Leicht.  This one comes in with 3.0% alc.  It pours and looks much like it's Pils or Helles siblings and the head is thin and quickly disappears leaving lacing on the sides.  The aroma is malty and earthy and the taste is a well balanced between the malts and the hops with the hops showing up in the finish that lingers ever so slightly.  Once again another interesting brew.

Schlossbrauerei Hirschau Hefe-Weisse - The Hefe Weisse from Schlossbrauerei Hirschau comes in a slightly different bottle than it's lager and ale siblings, a longer necked .5l version instead of the short necked .5l bottle.  It pours a a dark brown/gold/amber, not dark like a dunkel weisse but not straw gold like some other weizen. The head is the standard frothy white though not as generous as some. The aroma is cloves and citrus.  The taste is stll cloves with a touch of citrus and overall is not a flavor explosion.  The finish is dry and leaves you wanting more.  This is an understated Hefe-Weisse, not bad just understated.

Schlossbrauerei Hirschau Festbier - I love Fests!!! At least that's what my son Macen says and I can't say that I disagree with him, maybe I like them for different reasons (it's all about the beer and the giant pretzels!!!)  but I still like them.  Schlossbrauerei Hirschau's Festbier or Marzan type beer poured a golden amber with a thin head that quickly disappeared with no lacing on the sides.  The aroma was sweet malty with just a hint of cut grass.  The taste was malty and slightly sweet with no hint of hops or bitterness.  The finish lingered slightly but wasn't bad.  A little less carbonated then some of the other beers not much of a tingle as I swirled around the mouth looking for taste.  

Schlossbrauerei Hirschau Keller-Bier Spezial - The final beer from Schlossbrauerei Hirschau is a Keller or Zwickl beer.  It pours a cloudy copper orange with a generous white head.  The head lasted a while gradually dissipating into white lacing on the sides of the glass.  The aroma was one of malts.  The taste was crisp and malty but with a tang of hops.  It finished dry, basically begging you to take another sip.  A pretty tasty brew.