Monday, June 13, 2011

Another great brewpub in Vienna

Vienna has several great brewpubs. One of them is Siebensternbräu in Vienna's 7th district. It is easy to find. Take tram number 49 to Stiftgasse. From there it is a short walk to the brewpub in Siebensterngasse 19.

When you enter the pub, the first thing to see is a vending automat. Here you can buy bottles of Siebensternbräu's various beers to take away. Inside, Siebensternbräu is a large beer hall with prominent beer kettles next to the large bar. I sat down at a table looking at a beer coaster. It had a clever design presenting the brewpub's seven standard beers. These are Wiener Helles, India Pale Ale, Chilli Beer, Märzen, Prager Dunkles (dark lager), Hanf Bier (hemp beer) and Bamberger Rauchbier (smoked beer). In addition to these beers, the food menu offered a seasonal special. At my visit this was Oster Bock, an Easter beer.

Being in Vienna, the Helles was the right place to start. This was a cloudy, pale lager with nearly no carbonation and a large head. The nose was yeasty with a touch of malts. The taste was sweet with some bread before a slightly bitter finish with more yeast. This was quite different from the ordinary Austrian helles beers I had tried in Vienna, and it felt more like a Czech kvasnicove.

For some reason I have no pictures of the next two beers I tasted at Siebensternbräu. Oster Bock was one of them. This was a golden beer with some carbonation and a medium sized head. The taste was sweet with some malts before a touch of vodka dominated the aftertaste. This bock beer was ok, but it was not a favourite.

The Bamberger Rauchbier was a very nice dark beer. It had a large head and some carbonation. In the nose I felt smoked bacon. In the mouth there was malts, smoke and more bacon. I liked this beer a lot, and it is probably the best smoked beer I have ever tasted.

The last beer I tried at Siebensternbräu was the Märzen. This was a cloudy copper coloured beer with a large head and nearly no carbonation. I felt a solid dose of yeast in the nose. In the mouth this beer had a malty touch together with some caramel and some burnt notes. This beer felt like a hefe version of a Bavarian lager. It was tasty, but I felt that the Rauchbier was the best beer I tried at this brewpub.

Siebensternbräu is a brewpub to be recommended to visitors to Vienna. The beers were very good, and I also enjoyed being in the pub. It is one of the best places for a beer tourist in Vienna.

1 comment: