Ayinger Bräuweisse Review

“Bavaria Goes Bananas”

Country: Germany

Brand: Ayinger Bräuweisse

Brewery: Brauerei Aying, Aying (Franz Inselkammer KG)
Package: Bottle (500 ml) 

Type: Light Coloured Wheat Beer (Hefe Weizen)

Age: NAS

ABV: 5.1%

Ingredients: Water, Wheat Malt, Barley Malt, Hops and Yeast.
Antioxidant: Not Indicated 
Stabiliser: Not Indicated

Colour: Hazy Pale Gold

Foam: Nice Dense Foam that unfortunately disappears very quickly. Only a Thin layer of Foam remains in the glass while enjoying your Ayinger. No traces of Foam remain in the glass once you finished it.

Nose: Yeast, Banana Ice Cream and Bubble Gum are the first impressions. I also find Lemon, Clove, Nutmeg, light Grassy Hops, Honey, Sweet Corn, Caramel Malt, Floral tones and Bread Dough.

Wrong Glass, Correct Beer!

Palate: Quite Light and slightly Watery. Adequate Carbonation. It's mainly Sweet with only a very light Bitterness for balance. The Banana Ice Cream is back together with Vanilla, Sweet Grain, Yeast, Honey, light Hops, Butterscotch, Bubble Gum, Orange, Lemon, Clove, Nutmeg, and Fresh Coriander.

Finish: Light and Short with Sweet Grain, Yeast, Banana, Green Apple, Vanilla, Bread, Clove, Pepper and a hint of Aniseed. Quite Dry and a little Bitter towards the end.

Rating: ******* (Seven out of Ten)

General Remarks: The Ayinger Brewery was founded in 1877 and is a medium sized independent Brewery, located in Aying (Bavaria) close to Munich. About 10% of their beers is exported, mainly to Europe and the USA but also for instance to Brazil. Their main line of Beers include Doppelbock, Dunkel, Lager, Keller and Dark Wheat Beer. Ayinger Beers won many trophies in European Beer Contests. A new Brewery building was opened in 1999.

Drinking Experience: Good 

Conclusion: In general I like to drink a Wheat Beer from time to time. I did have a few over the last couple of years, mainly from Germany and Austria. The Ayinger I'm tasting today is a nice representative of this type of Beer but not the best I've tasted. I find it a bit too Sweet and the initial Freshness of the Banana Ice-Cream and Bubble Gum becomes slightly annoying over time. This beer could do with some extra Hops in my opinion. It's certainly a well-made Wheat Beer but given the ample competition in this segment I don't think I will re-visit this soon. I will review another Wheat Beer from Germany in the coming weeks!

Jan van den Ende                                                                      June 12, 2015

Oettinger Extra Strong Review

“I’m a Fan of German Beer But…….!”

Country: Germany 

Brand: Oettinger Extra Strong

Brewery: Oettinger Brauerei, Gotha
Package: Tin Can (500 ml)

Type: Strong Pale Lager

Age: NAS

ABV: 8.9 %

Antioxidant: Not Indicated
Stabiliser: Not Indicated

Colour: Golden Yellow

Foam: Slightly Off-White Foam that dissolves very quickly. Almost no head of Foam while you drink your glass. Almost no laces remain once you finished the glass.

Nose: Very Sweet with Grains (Corn), White Bread, Sugar, Yeast, light Honey, Caramel, Hay, Grass and Lemon. There are some Fruity notes as well but I can't quite pin them down. Peach maybe. Very light Hops. It doesn't smell like real Beer to me. Although the ABV is strong, the Alcohol doesn't bother me on the Nose.

Palate: Terribly Sweet with a light Bitterness. The Alcohol is more present now but it doesn't add anything to this Beer. You just get drunk more quickly. The carbonation is Light/Medium. I find Caramel, Sugar, Yeast, Corn Syrup, White Bread, Floral Soap, Cheap Alcohol, Candies and traces of Acetone. I'm sorry but this is nearly undrinkable. I'm not going to finish this whole tin.  

Finish: Sweet and very Short, almost to the point of non-existing. I find Sweet Bread (Brioche type), Musty Grains, Yeast and Sugar. Slightly Bitter and Dry towards the end.  

Rating: ***  (Three out of Ten)

Oettinger Brewery in Gotha (Picture Credit: Oettinger)

General Remarks: Since 1956, the Oettinger Brewery is owned by the Kollmar family. The Head-Quarters and main facility are located in Oettingen in Bavaria but there also Breweries in Mönchengladbach, Braunschweig and Gotha. Since 2004 it's the best selling Beer Brand in Germany leaving Krombacher behind. The company strategy is to sell huge quantities of Beer at the lowest possible price. Most of the production is sold in Supermarkets and Gas Stations. One of the reasons their products are so cheap is the fact that they don't make any sort of propaganda.

Drinking Experience: Unpleasant and way too Sweet.  

Conclusion: This Beer is very cheap, at least in Europe. Because here in Brazil I paid Euro 3,50 for this! So you can't and shouldn't expect paradise. But I must admit I'm going to drain the rest of my can. This is not Beer in my world. It's a mixture of Corn Syrup and Sugar. At least it tastes like that to me. According to the label, Oettinger Extra Strong is made with Water, Sugar, Malted Barley and Hops Extract. So be it. Well, the Brewery does not make propaganda for this Beer and neither will I. Won't buy this again. What a disappointment!   

Jan van den Ende                                                                     May 13, 2015