On advice from readers, I bought two beers at K&B – Feldschlößchen Pilsner and Hop Rider Extra Stout. I had written about Feldschlößchen’s novelties quite recently, so they recommended I try the Pilsner. When it first came out, I wasn’t at all into it and didn’t even bother to write. But, I was assured that it is now a normal, bitter Pilsner.
Hop Rider Extra Stout, from the “monkey” series, I just stupidly missed it. Now I’m catching up.
Feldschlößchen Pilsner (Germany, Dresden) – 4.9/11.2 Floral-grassy aroma. Taste of grain, but not clean, with some “dirtiness. What exactly is dirty, I could not understand. But, there is no that malt purity. In the aftertaste hops are quite noticeable. It is grassy and lingers on the throat long enough. Yes, this is quite a Pils, but honestly – I would not buy it again if there are alternatives. It seemed quite unbalanced. C grade.
Hop Rider Extra Stout (Mannheim, Germany) – 5.7/12.8 The aroma is light burnt, light chocolate. Taste is flat, hollow. On the aftertaste, to the burning and chocolate is added licorice root. Simple, but not a bad stout. It’s funny to read comments like – “Rye lager”, “it’s not a stout”, “it’s too thin for a stout”, etc.. No, it’s a real stout! And yes, stouts are not just imperial. Perhaps for an Irish Extra Stout, it really is a bit runny. There’s no sense of density, although it does pass the lower limit of initial density as defined by the BJCP. Rated “C+.”
Like the Feldschlößchen Pilsner, not a delight, but if there’s nothing but K&B around, why not buy it? Tried Weizen Bock at the same time. Everything is fine. There is no more alcohol in the taste than there should be in Weizen Bock. It’s easy to drink, so it’s insidious!
