Feeling Tarty: The First Dunkelweißbier Round

The German Beer Wars have also been a great excuse to play around in the kitchen. Luckily I have a willing guinea pig who will eat almost anything.

Tonight’s competitors: Dunkel Weißbier and 3 courses of tarts. 

 Tonight's Competitors, and the growing collection of bottlecaps

We kicked off the Dunkel Region with some Dunkelweißbiers from the Bavarian heavy hitters Paulaner, Erdinger, Franziskaner, and König Ludwig.  Erdinger and Franziskaner make only Weißbier - Erdinger is a private brewery outside Munich that brews 9 varieties, including seasonal, light, and non-alcoholic; Franziskaner brews 5 varieties and is part of the Spaten-Löwenbräu-Gruppe, now owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev.  Of the 5 Franziskaners, we have 3 in the tournament (the other two are Light and Alcohol-Free, thus not in the competition).

König Ludwig, the royal brewery, brews a wide variety of beers, covering the main types and seasonal and regional beers. Their weißbiers are pretty well-regarded around here, so we were curious to see how they stacked up with the wießbier specialists. 

 

In the first competition pitting Erdinger Dunkel vs König Ludwig, we found the König Ludwig to be extremely smooth and drinkable.  It was surprisingly light for a dunkelweißbier, which is why we had to pick the Erdinger Dunkel as the winner. It had a lovely dark color and wonderful classic dark beer flavoring combined with the sweetness and fullness of the weißbier. 

In the second, the Franziskaner beat out Paulaner's Hefe-Weissbier Dunkel due to it's slightly more complex flavorings. 

The next round was similar, with the Erdinger noticeably darker and more flavorful than the Franziskaner. We'd happily drink either, but the Erdinger just had a better, richer taste and therefore earns a spot in the Sweet Sixteen.

In terms of the food, all three were winners and the beef pie is always a crowd pleaser (and better yet, simple to make and freeze for later).

Tomato Tarts, Schwarzbier Beef Pie, and Pine Nut Tartelettes

Yes, yes, I know.... the beef pie isn’t exactly a tart, but it’s a great excuse to buy cute little ramekins…which just means I need to make chocolate lava cakes now!  Here are the recipes:

Tomato and Caramelized Onion Tartelettes – adapted from a BBC recipe here

This one works pretty much true to the recipe, other than I always need to add a little cold water when making the dough. It makes an impressive looking and tasty large tart. For tonight, I just made it in 4 tartelette pans rather than one large tart.

Schwarzbier Mini Beef Pies – adapted from an Australian recipe (I've also made with Guiness and it's equally tasty. Will try with Starkbier and some of the more flavorful Dunkelbiers soon) 

Ingredients: (Makes 6-8 pies, depending on your ramekin size)

• 2 kg (4.4 lbs) roast beef ("rinderbraten" in German supermarkets)
• 3 sliced onions
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 2/3 cup flour
• 400 mL (1 3/4 cups) Schwarzbier 
• 475 mL (2 cups) beef broth
• Puff pastry (Tante Fanny's here is perfect and flaky)
• 1 egg, beaten

 Instructions:

1. Cut roast beef into cubes and chop in batches in food processor. (Alternately you could use ground beef, but this has a better result)

2. In a large pot, brown the beef in 1 Tbsp oil, then set aside. In the same pot, cook the sliced onions and garlic in the remaining oil until golden. Sprinkle in 2/3 cup plain flour and cook for 1 min.

3. Return the meat to the pot with the onions.  Add the Schwarzbier and beef stock, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover the pot, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours until tender.  Uncover and continue to cook until sauce has reduced and thickened.

4. Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F).  Spoon beef mixture into ovenproof ramekins. Cut out circles of the puff pastry to cover - size should be slightly larger than the top of the ramekin. Press pastry firmly onto dishes and seal. Brush with the beaten egg, place on a tray and bake for 25 minutes until golden.

I often make larger batches to freeze. After step 3, wrap in plastic wrap, then in foil to freeze. Make sure to thaw fully before cooking.

Pine Nut Tartelettes – from Tartelette

This one works exactly as written...it will seem that the dough will never come together, but in the end it does work and is worth the effort!

(If you haven’t discovered her blog yet, head on over there….the recipes always work out perfectly and the pictures are beautiful!)

Where is Georgetown in the Beer Bracket?

Yesterday, Frau A reminded me, quite clearly, that in my post Understanding the Beer Bracket, Part II, there was an inexcusable omission.  Actually, two.  Without hesitation, she offered a suggestion for the appropriate analogy linking the missing university and beer.

 

Her argument goes like this:

Georgetown is part of the Big East, but lies geographically closer to ACC country, near the heart of the sport.  Franziskaner is located in Munich (beer central) rather than the German northwest like the others in Part II.  Like the brewers in Part II, Franziskaner is big - the 3rd largest producer of weissbier in the world.  The others in Part II produce mainly pilsner, but we can probably agree the Hoyas play a different style of basketball than their Northeast conference mates.  Franziskaner started as a brewery across from a Franciscan monastery (hence the name and friar in the logo).  Georgetown was the first, and is therefore the oldest, Roman-Catholic (Jesuit) university in the U.S., and was founded by the first American bishop, John Carroll.

 

Note:  I'm sure her idea has nothing to do with the fact that Georgetown is her alma mater... or that Franziskaner is probably her favorite weissbier...or that Franziskaner brewed the first Vienna/Märzen style with higher alcohol content for Oktoberfest (in 1872)... or that Franziskaner had a cool carousel-bar at this year's Oktoberfest which rotated to give drinkers a changing view of the fair (see below)... but I had to admit it was a good start.  So I looked further into the matter.

 

Franziskaner Carousel Bar at Oktoberfest, 2010 

 

Munich is the capital of Bavaria, Washington the capital of the U.S..  Franziskaner is not far from the Isar River; Georgetown's main campus is on the Potomac.  In 1683, Bavarian troops stationed at the gates of Vienna to fight the Turks are supplied with weissbier, helping the Austrians achieve a historic victory.  Georgetown had over 1100 students (most of 'em) enlist to preserve the Union in the Civil War.  But there's more.

 

There have always been concerns that beer is unhealthy, whether for physical or spiritual reasons.  (In the year 600, an Irish missionary travelling through Bavaria was mortified to observe beer being sacrificed to a heathen god.  Today our gods are sports teams?)  But in 1602, Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria recognized that weissbier is an "ideal refreshment" for the population. He places every Bavarian brewery that produces weissbier under state ownership... Is this kind of like Obamacare - government medicine for the masses?  Did G-town grads have a hand that legislation?  But that's not all.

In the first decade of the 20th century, Franziskaner started delivering beer to North America.  In the same time frame, Georgetown founded their School of Medicine and School of Nursing.  Well, now that weissbier is available over here, they probably thought they should train healthcare personnel to administer it, right?  Healthy and ideal refreshment, right?  Within the same ten years, Georgetown began its basketball team/program too.  I'm not sure if this was a place to sacrifice the beer to the new god, or simply a central place/events to administer a recurring student healthcare treatment.  In either case, I'm guessing it was quickly followed by the first visit of the police to a campus party, but there is no historical evidance to support this theory.  Overall, the evidence is clear: Frau A's idea really makes sense.

 

A few final thoughts on Georgetown, beer and Franziskaner:

In the year 719, Duke Lantfrit decreed in his code of law, the 'Lex Alemannorum', that all bonded peasants must pay tribute to their lords IN BEER.  Why can't the government-types from Georgetown change U.S. tax laws in this direction???

In 1924, Franziskaner's parent company unveiled a new slogan:  "Lass Dir raten, trinke Spaten" (literally "Let yourself be advised, drink Spaten").  The verb "advised" is interesting... a more influencial approach than just marketing?  Not long after, in 1928, the U.S. Senate passed the first bill that attempted to regulate lobbyists (but it was blocked by the House).  Georgetown is known for government and political affairs... can this just be concidence?  Hoyas in the beer lobby are out of control!

Frau A spent quite some time in Texas, and Franziskaner's web site has most of its marketing events there.  There is Spaten Pint Night at The Libertine Bar in Dallas, Spaten Sundays (Franziskaner is part of the Spaten/Löwenbräu brewery group) at Ginger Man in Fort Worth, and Franziskaner Hefeweisse avaialble at the American Airlines Center.

 

So there we have it.  Franziskaner = Georgetown.  Readers:  any other beers/teams you think should be included?

Franziskaner logo and dried hops, Oktoberfest, 2010

Understanding the Beer Bracket, Part II

This is a continuation of the post where we describe the major German beer regions and brewers by comparing them with their counterparts in NCAA basketball.  It's now time to look at the northern breweries and their NCAA basketball counterparts.

Nordrhein-Westphalia & Rheinland-Palitinate = The Big East

Nordrhein-Westphalia is the state in germany with the greatest population (18 of Germany’s 80 million) and the center of “liberal” politics in the country – think Northeast corridor in the U.S..  The breweries here, like Big East schools, often are located outside the large cities.  The brewing towns may be small, but the production is immense.  Despite having only about 10% of the 1200 breweries in Germany, they crank out 2.7 billion liters of beer each year (25% of German production volume).  Here’s who were talking about:

Warsteiner and Krombacher = Connecticut and Syracuse

These two brewers are located in the region north of Frankfurt (the NYC of Germany) and are the #2 and #1 volume leaders in Germany respectively. Each makes 450 million liters annually, with Warsteiner exporting 80 million of that.  Marketing is the priority here and it is executed to perfection – these brands are always on television with expensive commercials, sponsoring sports teams and events, and reminding everyone how good they are.  Their pilsners are good, though are missing the feeling of tradition and cultural integration like that found in Bavaria.  But it’s consumed and enjoyed in volume by locals and foreigners alike.

Bitburger = Pittsburgh

 

The town of Bitburg is in Rheinland-Palatinate, a state often overshadowed by it’s larger and richer neighbor Nordrhein Westphallen.  (Hello, Pennsylvania.)  The culture here is distinctly more blue collar, and the beer reflects that.  It’s the brew that factory workers grab after their shift.  Bitburger has a stronger presence of hops giving a, well, more bitter taste, and many northerners claim it is the real thing – not like the glossy offerings of Warsteiner and Krombacher.

Veltins = Villanova

Veltins is the seventh largest brewer in Germany and is strongly associated with the soccer team FC Schalke 04 which has a broad base of fans.  Why the match with Villanova?  Both Schalke and Villanova have blue colors. Like Villanova, Schalke is known for an open (rather than defensive) style of play.  Finally, Villanova is a catholic university… and Pope John Paul II became an honorary member of Schalke's Fussball Club after celebrating a mass in the stadium.  God, football and beer. 

Best of all, Schalke plays in the Veltins Arena, which seats 61,000 people, has a slide-out field, a Teflon-coated retractable roof, and was the first stadium with the four screens above the pitch (the new Cowboys stadium super-sized this concept).  More importantly, it has a 5km long beer pipeline, direct from the brewery to the stadium, which pumps 52,000 liters of beer to the concession stands during each home game!  Despite the fact that it’s yet another large sports-oriented beer, I have never actually tried one – but am looking forward to the tasting in our tournament.
 

 

Cologne and Düsseldorf

A final note on Nordrhein-Westphalia:  Are you familiar with the Rheinheitsgebot from 1517?  It defined “what is beer” and anything that did not conform to its definition was not recognized as beer.  Well, Cologne and Düsseldorf are not interested in obeying orders.  They’re like many teams in the Big East that will try any approach to basketball.  Stick to a zone defense (‘Cuse), go with a 4 guard lineup (‘Nova), run & gun (Louisville), or just cut and paste a football offensive line as your starting five (Pittsburgh)?  No problem.  Likewise, Cologne has “kölsch” and Düsseldorf “altbier”, neither of which conform to the RHG, and that’s just how the locals want it.  The are served in special kinds of glasses too, to make sure everyone knows this is not your grandfather’s lager.  In fact, these are not even clearly an ale or a lager, as they use mixed production techniques.

One more metaphor is quite useful for the Schnitzelbahn Beer Tournament: 

Franconia = Midwest/Grain Belt Basketball

              

Franconia is a region, not a state, comprising parts of Baden-Wüttemburg, southern Thuringia, and northern Bavaria.  Small towns, lots of local flavor, purist mentality – I think of kids shooting hoops in the driveway, no showboating or hard fouls, just great passing and accurate jump shots.  The city of Bamberg is the spiritual center of beer here (not sure if I would make this Indiana or Kansas…) and coincidentally has one of the best professional basketball teams in the German league!

Frau A and I have actually heard both Bavarians and northern Germans admit that they think Franconia has truly the best beer in Germany – and one colleague at work actually takes beer tours through the region!  Locals claim that it’s the pure water that makes the difference (water is the main ingredient in beer, after all), and everyone seems to take advantage:  there are more breweries concentrated here than anywhere else in Germany, though typically smaller (often a brewery/bar combo) and with limited or no distribution outside the region.  This is truly the heartland of beer, and Frau A & I are looking forward to a beer tour here – we will post when we do.

Understanding the Beer Bracket, Part I

Obviously, the Schnitzelbahn Bier Tournament was modeled on the NCAA Basketball Tournament.  (Yes, we know the field is now 68 teams.  We’re sticking with tradition.)  But let’s take that further, especially for those that are not familiar with Germany or major German beer brands.  In the spirit of the Sports Guy, let’s match some German beer regions with a athletic conferences, and specific breweries with corresponding basketball teams.  Of course we need to start with…

Bavaria = The ACC

 

Perhaps Bavaria did not invent beer (just like basketball was invented in Massachusetts), but they’ve taken over now.  And within Bavaria, think of Munich as the Research Triangle.   Munich’s breweries created the biergarten tradition, include the most famous beer hall in the world, and are the backbone of largest fair in the world where 6.9 million liters of beer are consumed in just two weeks.  (And yes, tickets to Oktoberfest can be very hard to get.)  Even more, the “barbeque” of choice is pork in both regions, not beef.  Carolina has its pork roasts, and Bavaria loves its pork cracklins too, in the form of schweinehaxe...  Yum.

The major players in Munich:

Augustiner = North Carolina

 

When you ask a Bavarian what the best beer is, Augustiner often is the answer.  It’s in the blood – many Muncheners will only go to Augustiner restaurants and beer gardens, as if no other beer exists.  Plus, check out the flag of Bavaria: Carolina Blue and white.  This brewer has all the tools as well:  fantastic food and desserts to go with the brew.  And yes, despite the we-do-it-better-than-anyone arrogance, when you get a cold one at an Augustiner summer beer garden… yeah, it’s that good.

Hofbräu = Duke

Just as Cameron Indoor Stadium is usually listed as one of the sports venues to see before you die, so too is the Hofbräuhaus on the short list of destinations for beer drinkers.  And like Duke, the entire Hofbräu experience/aura evokes a strong response: you either love-em-or-hate-em.

           

The Hofbrauhaus and Cameron Indoor Stadium 

Ironically, Duke doesn’t really feed the NBA like Carolina – likewise, Hofbräu is a quality beer but never discussed as the “best”.  Maybe both get too much backlash because they sell so many damn sweatshirts and steins to tourists.  But in the end it doesn’t matter, because Hofbräu is a major player year in and year out.

Löwenbräu = North Carolina State

 

Tell a non-fan you attend N.C. State and they say “isn’t that where Michael Jordan played?”.  Again and again you grit your teeth and explain no, that’s UNC, not State.  Same thing here:  Americans think of this, which was a Miller licensed product that uses a completely different recipe, including corn.  The real Löwenbräu biergartens and restaurants in Munich are nice, but between the name confusion and general bullying by the big boys, only locals really go here.  Beer is good, atmosphere nice, and schnitzel excellent, but just doesn’t have the magic of UNC or Duke.

Significant players outside of Munich:

Andechs = Wake Forest

Both were founded to do God’s work, but have grown well past their original roots, although Andechs is still run by the monks, not the Demon Deacons.  Andechs is now a producer of premium beer, schnapps, and dairy products sold throughout Bavaria.  Although the monastary is a 45-minute train ride from Munich and an additional hour hike from the station, its restaurant (in the Cloister) is routinely packed because the food is outstanding.  If it makes the finals, everyone will be rooting for them because it just feels like they deserve it.

Tegernseer = University of Virginia

It’s all about the campus – Tegernsee is gorgeous in summer and winter.  Maybe it’s not a World Heritage Site like UVA, but Thomas Jefferson would approve.  Beer is very good too, just smaller and not located in the triangle of basketball mecca.  Might not win the big event, but behind mostly-empty bottles of their Helles are smug smiles of people who know they’ve got it good.  It’s already in the Sweet 16 in our tournament! 

In the next installment, we’ll look at the northern German brewers and their NCAA counterparts.

Beer Types, Part I

In the Schnitzelbahn Bier Tournament, the structure and “competitors” were not really planned in advance.  The competitors emerged as we discovered simply what was available in two local supermarkets.  The structure evolved as we assessed the beers we had collected and started learning about formal “types” of beer – then we grouped the beers we had on hand in a way that made sense.  This is the result:

We knew that it would be Munich-biased, and so it is:  Helles (“light”), Weiss (“wheat”), and Dunkel (“dark”) are more traditionally Bavarian beers.  Although Pilsner has Czech and northern German roots, it is the most consumed in Germany (and the world) so also has a strong presence in Bavaria too (and forms the basis for most export beer).  More regional German beer types like Alt (“old”) and Kölsch (from Köln / Cologne) did not make the cut, and will be addressed in another tournament.

We also recognized that at the core, a “winner” between two beers is really a matter of personal taste.  Therefore, we decided to determine our favorite beer of each type first, before pitting different beer types against each other.  You really can’t claim a Dunkel is “better” or “worse” than a Helles, because they are fundamentally different.  When it comes to the “final four”, our champion will be just our favorite beer, regardless of type.  We’re not even tasting the beers in the “correct” type of glass (see pic below, with credits to Augustiner Helles maß, Hofbräu Weissbier glass, some random Dunkles glass, and Pilsner glass types from Warsteiner, Krombacher, and Bitburger).

But this process begs the question:  What are the formal types of beer?  What are we really comparing in the tournament?  Should we really be using different kinds of glasses???

You can spend hours reading Internet sources on the topic of beer types (also addressed as categories, sub-categories, styles, sub-styles, etc.)  Online sources range from individual web pages to the Beer Judging Certification Program, with its 1.4MB / 51 page manual! And that is before reading books by the grandfather of beer typology, Michael Jackson.

                                       

But we learned something from just the first readings on this topic.  Beer traditionally has only four components:  water, a sugar source (usually a grain), yeast, and hops (by the old laws, German beers had only 3, but the yeast was naturally ocurring, thus not considered an ingredient). 

Almost every brewer begins with the same high-level distinction:  Beer can be an Ale or a Lager.  This distinction addresses the differences in the yeast used and how it affects the brewing process.

Note:  Lambic is a third type commonly found, but how to address this type and other/mixed types is inconsistent. 

The name "Lager" actually comes from the German verb "lager" (to store), denoting that this type of beer was stored longer than Ale, and produced a clearer beer.

Below this first level of distinction between Ale and Lager, beer categorization methodologies start to fragment almost immediately.  A Google search bring up a “family tree of beer styles”, a “periodic table of beer styles”, and other amateur and commercial mappings.

                

Some sources try to get pretty scientific about measuring beer types, using color, sweetness, bitterness, and even specific gravity scales!  I also found a "flavor wheel" similar to what some wine tastings use -- basically to help the drinker put descriptors to the experience, put prose to chemistry.

                                              

              

Beer Evaluation sources:  Color, Bitterness vs Specific Gravity, Bitterness vs Sweetness, and "Flavor Wheel"

But the main point of interest for us is that about three-fourths of the beers in our tournament are Lagers (Helles, Pilsner, and Dunkel) and only a handful are ales (Weissbier or Weizen).  I think Frau A will want more ales in the next tournament, because she really likes Weissbier!

We’re doing further reading on beer categories, and overall, I find the current ways of describing beer unsatisfying for the average beer drinker.  They’re either too microscopic (who really can tell the difference between an regular ale and a “premium” ale?) or just don’t make sense (why are some beers categorized by ingredient like wheat, and others are grouped by geography like Scottish Ale and “Vienna-style”???)  This needs to change!  Look for this topic in another post soon.

German Beer Wars - Weissbier

Our next first round tasting was with four typical Munich Weissbiers.  König Ludwig and Erdinger both are well known for their Weissbiers (Erdinger makes only Weissbiers, though has a wide variety of types), and Augustiner is one of the best local beers.  Löwenbräu...well, while I love their biergarten, I never remember the beer as being good. But I may be biased by the Löwenbräu they sell in the US...

This time we reversed the pairing question and asked "What German beer works with Indian food?" While I often have Kingfisher at Indian restaurants, I decided to be daring and see if the sweetness of the Weissbier worked well with the spiciness.  It did. We paired it with tandoori chicken and chana masala.

The first surprise was our discovery that Weissbier, not Miller High Life, is the true champagne of beers. With its effervescence, it's a party in your mouth!

The biggest shocker, however, was from the underdog, Löwenweise. 

Against Erdinger Weissbier, it was not much of a contest. The Löwenweise was crisp and had a slightly sweet finish. The Erdinger was similar in appearance, but had a touch of bitterness (more hops) and was flatter. It did go very well with Indian food, though.

Both the König Ludwig and the Augustiner were good, though quite different in their appearance. The Augustiner had noticeably more head and was a stronger flavored  beer. The König Ludwig was lighter and sweeter, but overall was a more complex beer.  So we gave it the win based on complexity and good balance.

For the Sweet Sixteen berth, however, it was an OT game. König Ludwig and Löwenbräu were both great beers, but the win went to Löwenbräu. It had the perfect blend of flavors and effervescence, and the weissbier sweetness came only at the end of the sip.

Lots of surprises in the first Weissbier round and looking forward to some more beer exploration. Not a bad beer in the bunch yet!

German Beer Wars - Round 1

It turns out that choosing the beers was the easy part…pairing beer and food takes a bit more thought.  Not as easy as wine and food…

For our first round, we went with pairs of Schwarzbier and Dunkelbier.  Both are dark and much more malty than hoppy, and my first thought was cheese.  A dark beer need some cream and fat to stand up to it and bring out the flavors.

So, inspired by The German Beer Institute and the discovery of the beautiful cheese selection at my local Manufactum (English / German), I went with a Schwarzbier Cheese Fondue, garlic shrimp tapas, brie, and prosciutto.  For dipping, we used toasted french bread and ham-wrapped toast.

  

And the surprising winner was Paulaner Original Münchener Dunkel.  Surprising, because we expected one of the smaller breweries to have a superior beer.  But Paulaner pulled through to the Sweet Sixteen with a very balanced and tasty Dunkelbier. The Flensburger was nice, but had a strong, single flavor. The Paulaner had a much more complex, but perfectly balanced, blend of various flavors.  It's extremely drinkable!

Both Schwarzbiers were good, with the Mönchshof having a slightly more aggressive taste.  Schwarzbier overall was a good discovery - I plan on cooking with it in the future and enjoying the extra! 

        

Recipes:

Schwarzbier Fondue Recipe:

12 oz. / 355 mL Schwarzbier

12 oz. (4 cups) / 450g mix of shredded cheese (recommend Gruyere and Emmenthaler)

2 Tbsp / 12-15g flour (substitute cornstarch for gluten free)

A pinch each of ground nutmeg, black pepper, and cloves

1 Tbsp Kirsch or Vodka (optional)

Heat beer in pot. Coat shredded cheese in flour (using a large Ziploc bag is easiest). Gradually add floured cheese to the beer, stirring constantly until cheese just melts. (Don’t let it get too hot, or the cheese will ball up.) Stir in spices and (optional) Kirsch. Transfer to fondue pot for warming and serving. 

Make sure not to let the mixture cool too much before serving or the cheese may become stringy.

Serve with toasted bread cubes, crackers, breadsticks, or Ham-Wrapped Toast. 

Ham-Wrapped Toast: (Herr J’s invention)

Good quality bread (french, seven grain, and ciabatta work well)

Dry-cured ham, such as proscuitto or serrano

Manchego cheese (optional)

Cut bread into bite-sized rectangles and lightly toast in oven (top with thin slices of manchego before toasting, if using).  Take out and wrap each toast piece across the middle with a strip of ham. Return to oven and toast until ham is warmed and bread edges are crisp.