For the past seven years, PA drank only Edelweiss, usually Dunkel, but at
times Hefetrüb. Recently, for some unknown reason, Papa Bier found
his favorite Edelweiss Dunkel to be somewhat bitter to his palate. Since
Papa Bier did switch from Edelweiss Dunkel to Edelweiss Hefetrüb, as
well as drinking both with or without a slice of lemon, he decided to try
mixing the two, approximately half-and-half, enjoying the changing color
of the mixture, and watching the yeast filter down through the beer. Since
then, many an evening you will find Papa Bier playing with his personal
mixture, although I question if he has any exact receipe. However, it has
become apparent that he pays much closer attention to the specific flavor
of "His Brew," and enjoys it much more. The next thing that we'll
hear is that he's concocting different combinations and tasting them with
various foods, - heaven forbid that I must also suffer through that.
Within the past six months, PA added to his Austrian emphasis, importing
Zipfer, a Pislner-style lager, as well. In order to properly represent Zipfer,
he has returned to drinking a lager beer as well, switching between Edelweiss
and Zipfer, - another new world of flavors. Let PA continue with his latest
experiences, and revelations.
Varying temperatures play an active role in the flavor of a beer. The Austrian
brewmaster suggested (mandated) that the proper temperature for Edelweiss
is between 44 and 47 degrees fahrenheit, and hence the beer, although usually
poured a little too cold, in a short time warms up to the proper temperature
to allow the full flavor of the beer to emerge. I just read on the web that
some German suggested ca. 57 degrees fahrenheit for a Weizenbier - OUCH!
Climate most certainly also appears to be a factor, influencing the flavor
of the beer, although it may be more psycological.We mentioned this to the
Austrian brewmaster, and he concurred that climate and temperature also
appear to affect one's impression of a beer - impression - very diplomatically
stated. When he's in San Marino, Italy, he too found that Edelweiss had
a totally different flavor, - more of the dominant wheat flavor coming through.
On our fishing trips to Baja, we invariably take a few cases of Edelweiss,
Hefetrüb, and Dunkel with us. The Mexican officials appear to question
why we are taking our "strange" beer into Mexico, but then we
turn our back to display the Edelweiss emblem on our T-shirts, and they
happily wave us on. However, in the hot Baja climate, about the Tropic of
Cancer, we generally prefer a good Modelo, or a Tecate, albeit intermixed
with our occasional Edelweiss
Even here at home, on a particularly hot day, I often begin with a light,
refreshing Zipfer (or two), but follow it with a "Beer of Summer,"
an Edelweiss. Despite the connotatiion that a Weizenbier is a summer beer,
I totally disagree. This appears to be a newly created American myth which
most certainly does not apply in the bavarain and Austrian Alps. As a matter
of fact, for a really cool and refreshing beer (?), I will drink a Schnee
Radler (60% Edelweiss hefetrüb and 40% lemon-lime), not yet available
in the U.S. (See THE RADLER above.)
Altitude also plays a certain role in the pouring of the beer, especially
on the amount of head which is produced. Recently in Mammoth, PA demonstrated
one of the proper pouring techniques for Edelweiss, and, to his amazement,
seriously overflowed the beer and the foam. Well, even PA "goofs"
now and again. Don't worry, he did the same thing high in the Austrian Alps
recently, but it froze too fast to cause any serious damage!
Be your own "beer gourmet," try your own mixture of Edelweiss,
Kristallklar, Hefetrüb, and Dunkel, practice the proper pouring
technique, and pay more attention to the real flavor of the beer, - a new,
small world of taste enjoyment
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