O'Briens Wine Blog

Brewed a lager, looking like an ale and tasting incredible. Brooklyn Lager is a dry hopped lager hailing from…you guesed it… that is dangerously close to the top of my summer beer list. As soon as you pour this beer you realise it’s no ordinary American lager. It pours a fantastic amber colour and almost immediatly you get a fresh citrussy floral nose. On the palate it is almost pale ale in character with a strong malty caramel presence but still manages to maintain the freshness and cleanness of a lager with a dry and refreshing finish. A triumph and on special in all stores now at €8.45 for a 6pack (35.5cl 12oz bottle). You won’t be disappointed!

Not our words but those of Erdinger in reference to their latest weissbier; Erdinger Urweisse. It’s new to Ireland this month although it has been available in Germany for the past 2 years.  Any of you who have seen the Carlsberg ads on TV or the papers recently will no doubt have heard of Saccharomyces Carlsbergensis, the bottom fermenting yeast used in Carlsberg and kindly shared by them with all other lager manufacturers. It’s a yeast that ferments at a lower temperature producing fewer esters and resulting in a cleaner lager style beer. In contrast, the top fermenting yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ferments at a higher temperature, producing more esters and a more complex nose and taste.  The latter is responsible for  Ale and Weissbier style biers. With Urweisse, Erdinger have drawn from a 120 year old recipe that really emphasises the top fermenting characteristics to produce quite a distinctive weissbier that certainly stands proud among its peers.

It pours with a very thick white head on a pleasent golden body and we got notes of vanilla, banana and some spice complimenting a smooth finish . The trick here though is one of balance. They’ve managed to add a good twist of complexity to their standard hefe and get enough going on to make it a really interesting weissbier but still keep it light enough that it’s very refreshing to drink.  It’s rare for a beer from one of the bigger brands to come along and really surprise us but this one did. We’ve put it on offer at 5 for €10 so it’s one of the best priced weissbiers you can buy at the moment and it’s currently available in all of our stores. If you try it, please let us know what you think.