Back at Frankfurt airport

Another stopover at Frankfurt airport took me back to the Beyond bar in Terminal 1. As I promised myself during my last visit, I would now try the Paulaner Kristallweizen as a draught beer. I ordered the beer, but I must have misunderstood. The wheat beer was only available in bottles, but it was to late to stop the order as the waiter had already started pouring the beer into a glass.

The beer was pale in colour and had a medium sized head. There was nearly no carbonation in the beer, that had aromas of banana and sweetness. In the mouth there was some assertive banana followed by spices and a touch of bread. It was a fine wheat beer, and I really enjoyed it.

On tap there was also the local Licher Premium Pils. This was a pale lager with a medium sized head and some carbination. The nose was unfortunately metallic, but there were still scents of malts. In the mouth grass and flowers dominated before a partly bitter finish. I would have liked this lager beer a lot, but there was also a metallic taste that I did not enjoy. Perhaps Beyond had a problem with this beer pipe?

It was time for me to find my plane, so I drank up the lager beer and went to the gate. Another short visit to Germany was about to end.

A visit to the Schweizerhaus

The easiest way to get to the Prater park in Vienna is by taking the U-Bahn to the Praterstern metro station. The park is next to the station, but first you must walk through the fun fair.

There are several eateries and restaurants in the Prater park. One of them is the traditional Schweizerhaus, which has a large beer garden. The menu has an extensive selection of Austrian courses, and there are several beers available on tap.

The Czech Budvar golden lager is the main beer at Schweizerhaus, but you can also get Budvar's dark lager or a G'mischtes where you get a mix of both lagers. Also available as draught beers are Grieskirchner Dunkles, Paulaner Hefe-Weißbier, Rotes Zwickl and the alcohol free Clausthaler.

I have had my share of Budvar on my visits to the Czech Republic, so I started with a Rotes Zwickl after sitting down at the beer garden. This brownish beer from the Ottakringer brewery is a naturtrüb beer. In the glass it had very little carbonation and a medium to small sized head. The nose had malts and a touch of yeast. In the mouth malts and caramel had a dance together with a touch of sourness before a bready finish with some yeast. A lovely beer!

In retrospect I should have taken another Rotes Zwickl or tried the Grieskirchner Dunkles. Instead I went for a beer I know very well, Paulaner's wheat beer. For some reason I had a craving for a weizen, and I knew that I would get a good one.

Paulaner Hefe-Weißbier has a lot of banana in the nose, and the taste is dominated by banana, bread and a touch of spices before a sweet and lasting finish with more banana. The beer is lovely, and it is one of my favourites. It is also better as a draught beer than from bottles, so it was pure bliss. The Paulaner brewery knows how to make an excellent wheat beer.

I left Schweizerhaus knowing it was a great experience being there. The beer was good, the weather was good and the beer garden was good. Actually, life and Vienna was good.

Oktoberfest beers

Oktoberfest has been tempting me for years. I have wanted to go to Munich to be part of the festivities, but so far it has not been possible. Next year there will be a new opportunity, and if everything goes well I can sit in one of the tents at Theresienwiese enjoying schweinehaxe with sauerkraut and a Oktoberfestbier or three.

Fortunately the Oktoberfest beers are available outside Germany, so it is possible for us not attending to try the different beers. Here in Norway well stocked bars can have some of the beers available, but you will not find them in supermarkets and shops. Due to their strength at about 6% alcohol, these beers could only be sold at the state owned Vinmonopolet outlets. This year I have not seen any bottles in the Vinmonopolet shops I visit, and Oktoberfest beers are not among the 15 German beers in the web catalogue.

A short trip to Sweden made several Oktoberfest beers available to me, as the Swedish alcohol outlet Systembolaget sells several of them during Autumn. Here I will review some of these beers.

Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier was sold with several cartoony labels. In the glass this was a pale lager with some carbonation and a large head. There was fruit and yeast in the nose, while the taste was malty with hints of bread and yeast before a fruity finish. I liked this beer quite a lot, but with a strength of over 6% alcohol it could never become a session beer.

I liked Spaten Oktoberfestbier even more. In the nose there was fruit and sweetness, and the fruitiness was also present in the mouth. It had notes of apple and biscuit before a nice finish with a hint of hops. This was another pale lager that felt sessionable, but at 5.8% alcohol I can see that it would be better to stop after a litre glass or two. Spaten's Oktoberfestbier was also fullbodied and a nice treat.

Weltenburger Kloster Festbier had a coppery look. It had a large head and some carbonation. The aromas were of fruit and burntness. In taste this was a typical Baviarian style beer with a combination of caramel, a hint of toffee and the burnt notes. I liked this beer as well, but Spaten's effort was my favourite among these beers.

A good neighbour in Trondheim

There are some beer bars in Norway that are really worth visiting. Some have the ambience, while others have the beers. In the last category you can find Den gode nabo in Trondheim.

Den gode nabo (English: The good neighbour) is situated in the Bakklandet neighbourhood of Trondheim. It is a great setting with outdoor tables next to the Nidelven river and a great view to the river from the bar itself. It is not that difficult for a bar to make a good beer selection in bottled brews. Den gode nabo has a lot of bottled beers, but what makes this restaurant special in Norway is its great variety in draught beers.

Sure, Norwegian beers like the local Dahls pale lager and Frydenlund bayer is available on tap. In addition to this there is an international representation on the taps with Pilsner Urquell and Carlsberg.

But there are more draughted beers than this. You can find San Miguel, Paulaner hefeweizen, Newcastle Brown Ale, Oyster Stout and Samuel Adams Boston Lager together with a beer of the month that was not available the day I visited.

The Norwegian Kinn brewery started up last year in Florø. Their beers are available in a few selected bars across Norway, and Den gode nabo is one of them. I usually drink Kinn beers at Naboen in Bergen, so I chose to not have any Norwegian beers during my visit.

At Den gode nabo I first tried out Samuel Adams' Boston Lager. It was a nice lager with a golden coolour and a large head. There was also a lot of carbonation. I felt yeast in the nose, and in the mouth the yeast was supplemented by some malts and tasty, bitter lemons. The finish was rather bitter, but in all I liked the beer very much.

At home I usually have bottled Paulaner when I want a wheat beer. Den gode nabo had Paulaner's hefeweizen, and I wanted to have a go at this weissbier from tap for the first time. That was a wise choice, as the wheat beer was excellent. In the glass it had a large head and some carbonation. The aroma had cloves and yeast. In the mouth I felt bananas, more cloves, some yeast and a touch of bread. Lovely!

Den gode nabo is a must for beer visitors to Trondheim. I know I will return the next time I am in the town.

More wheat

Erdinger's Dunkel Weissbier has been waiting for me at the local Vinmonopolet outlet for some time. It was time to try it out, so I took home a bottle. Poured into the glass, there was a lot of carbonation, and the beer got an enormous head. The colour was very brown, almost black.

Like the other Erdinger beers I have tried, the nose was really anonymous. This Dunkel had some malts, but otherwise there was nearly no aroma. In the mouth there are some burnt notes together with malt and hints of coffee. The aftertaste is watery. In all this is another boring beer from Erdinger. There is little taste and little to get excited about.

I also had a bottle of Paulaner's hefeweien. This is another cloudy wheat beer, but the head is smaller and there is no carbonation. It has a much more interesting nose with sweetness, yeast and a hint of bread. The bread and yeast are also in the mouth, but the sweetness is balanced by some bitterness. The body is much more solid than the three offerings from Erdinger, and this is the best of the four beer. And one more thing: This is the real thing! A tasty wheatbeer!

I am not sure if it is the best weizen I have tried. I liked the Franziskaner wheat beer I tried from can in Spain earlier this year, but I have not compared it head to head with Paulaner's hefeweizen. And then there is the excellent Primator weizen from the Czech Republic. A great beer as well!