Beers I’ve Enjoyed - December 2023
I spent some time in Germany during December and even managed to get one last festival in up in Glasgow. Then I had a well-earned stay at home, after all my travel this year!
Have you picked your beers of 2023? You can find out mine over on my Instagram here. Let me know yours in the comments!
Number of beers tried this month: 93
If you’d like to see all the beers I try, come find me here on Untappd!
Nürnberger RotBier by Hausbrauerei Altstadthof
While in Nuremberg for work, our colleagues treated us to a tour of the underground beer caves. Back before refrigeration, beer would be lagered in cellars under the city and to make room for all the beer they needed to brew, a network of tunnels was built. Later, during World War 2 the tunnels were used as air raid shelters and saved many lives. If you are in Nuremberg I can highly recommend this tour!
Our tour ended at Hausbrauerei Altstadthof, who brew small batches on-site. We tried the Rotbier, which was malty and delicious with a touch of caramel and the clean bready notes you expect from great German lagers. I’ve had several Rotbiers now while in Germany and they are fast becoming a favourite style of mine!
You should try this if: you like bready, rich German lagers with a sweet depth of flavour - like a Marzen.
Dead Barn 2022 Funk Pale Sauvignon Blanc by Dead End Brew Machine
I snuck one last festival in before the end of the year and attended The Glasladies Festive Fundraiser in Glasgow. We were delighted by a selection of Scottish breweries including Overtone, Jump Ship, Dookit, Simple Things Fermentation, Two Towns and Up Front Brewing. I also got to meet up with some lovely beer people while there - so overall it was a very pleasant trip.
My favourite beer of the evening was the Funk Pale from Dead End Brew Machine. It was a sour beer aged in Sauvignon Blanc barrels and had a lovely balance of tartness, funk and dry white grape notes. It’s what I started my evening on and I recommended it to everyone!
You should try this if: you love white wine, or enjoy tart, dry beers.
Vampyre Disco by Neon Raptor
Back in the UK, I managed to squeeze in a little pub crawl with some friends around Whitstable. We had taken a similar route in the summer and stumbled upon The Sea Farmer’s Dive, which we knew we had to revisit this time. It has a great selection of craft beer in both the fridges and on tap and the atmosphere is cozy and relaxing. When we saw a Neon Raptor beer on, we had to try it! And if you haven’t noticed, a have a bit of thing for vampires as well.
Vampyre Disco is an imperial pastry gose with peanut butter and jelly flavours. It has a rich, thick body and you can taste the peanut right away, this is balanced with a tart frutiness that I tasted as raspberry and cherry. There is a salty finish that cuts through all the rich flavours and makes this very moreish.
You should try this if: you like all the flavs! This one is sweet and rich and delivers everything it says on the tin.
Riesling Blonde 2021 by Ale Mania Bonn
While in Nuremberg, I found a craft beer bottle shop, which will now be dangerous every time I visit for work! While browsing I found this grape ale from a German brewery that I thought would be perfect for Christmas dinner.
This grape ale is blended with a Riesling from the Winninger Göttchesberg and was a joint project between Julien Renard and beer sommelier Holger Beßlich. It very much reminded me of a white wine and went really well with the Christmas turkey.
Bright, clear yellow with a low white head and lots of tiny, tight streaming carbonation bubbles. Sweet white wine grape aroma, touch of woody funk, spritzy. Lightly carbonated, crisp, white grape, slate, spritzy, dry finish, very drinkable at 7.3%!
You should try this if: you like Riesling wine and a funky beer to share with friends.
What beers do you have over Christmas? Let me know!
