Stahlsturm et al.

[MeridianFC]

Anything good to report from over your way this fest season? I've really been pining for some good fresh Bayerischebier.

[munich1]

And while on the topic of fests, have any of our German residents heard of the "Gäubodenvolksfest" that takes place in Straubing in August? http://www.gaeubodenvolksfest.de/
I have always enjoyed Munich's Oktoberfest, and the Straubing fest seems to be a bit similar, what with all the large tents and liter mugs of beer. This could make for a good excuse to head over to Germany in August.....

[Stahlsturm]

I'm not a big "fest goer". I hate those huge masses of people, I much rather go to a nice brewpub.

I know the Gäubodenfest and have been there in the past when I was still a wild young man, it's only 30 minutes driving from Regensburg. It's supposedly the 2nd biggest festival after the Oktoberfest.

The 3rd biggest is the Gillamoos in Abensberg which is also just 30 minutes driving (in a different direction though) from here. Info on that is here: http://www.gillamoos.de/

And there are regional festivals like that all over Bavaria from April to Oktober anyways. There's hardly a weekend without one throughout the season, including 2 lasting 2 weeks each in Regensburg itself.

[biermania]

Gents,

The Annafest in Forchheim. Every July-a 10-day Volksfest, awesome.

Give us a shout, we have trips there whole of July and October 2007, all vehicle supported and Brit run.
Happy 'festing'!
Cheers,
Andy Neil
andy@bier-mania.com

http://www.bier-mania.com

[munich1]

I must agree w/ biermania about the Annafest. I was lucky enough to go there for two days this past July......and it was GREAT! Highly recommended. Most of the kellerbiers were delicious, though two I had were of poor quality. Just a truly enjoyable fest. I found that going earlier in the day was better....later at night some parts of the kellerwald were difficult to navigate through due to bottlenecks near some of the music stages. But a great time nonetheless.
And thanks for the tip on the Gillamoos fest, Stahlsturm. Yet another fest to add to my destination wish list!

[Stahlsturm]

Originally posted by munich1
And thanks for the tip on the Gillamoos fest, Stahlsturm. Yet another fest to add to my destination wish list!

They have beer of the 3 Abensberg breweries (Hofbräu, Ottenbräu and Kuchlbauer) there and especially the Ottenbräu is really really good.

[munich1]

Stahlsturm,
even though you are not a fan of the big fests, would you recommend Gillamoos over Gaeubodenvolkfest?? Is there even that much of a difference between them? For me, part of the deciding factor would be how many breweries are serving their beer there, and what the quality of their beer is.

[MeridianFC]

For those over there what are your favorite Festbiers?

[Stahlsturm]

From a beer tasing point of view there's more variety at the Gäubodenfest. I just checled their program for the past summer and they have 7 tents which serve Röhrl Bräu (in 2 tents), Irlbacher (2 Tents), Erlbräu, Arco Bräu and Karmelitenbräu. Personally I would avoid Arcobräu like the plage, it's a rather faceless Makro and Irlbacher has the byname "Irlbacher Schädelsprenger" which loosely translates to Irlbacher Skullbuster and refers to the aftereffects you'll get from it. Röhrlbräu and Erlbräu on the other hand I have had often (and sometimes way too much of it) and I can personally vouch for those two and give my full support. Karmeliten is a very tiny place and I have to admit I never had it because you simply can't find it anywhere. Maybe I will go next year, just to have one of those, hehehe.

As for the Gillamoos, they list 4 tents with 4 breweries but one of those breweries has been defunct for decades and I have no clue what beer they actually serve there. The remaining 3 are Kuchlbauer (which is a pretty good regional brewery), Hofbräu (tiny and pretty good) and the most brilliant Ottenbräu. Those guys alone are worth the trip.

Hope that helps :)

[Stahlsturm]

Originally posted by MeridianFC
For those over there what are your favorite Festbiers?

Always the one I'm just holding :D

[biermania]

Löwenbräu, Hofbräu, Paulaner, Hackor....they all taste the same after a couple of litres!

Had a 5 litre barrel of Lowenbräu the other night, I did share it, great beer!
Prost from Düsseldorf.

[Stahlsturm]

Originally posted by biermania
Löwenbräu, Hofbräu, Paulaner, Hackor....they all taste the same after a couple of litres!
I most definetly disagree.

Originally posted by biermania
Had a 5 litre barrel of Lowenbräu the other night, I did share it, great beer!
Prost from Düsseldorf.
Löwenbräu München ? *shudders* What did your tastebuds do to you to deserve such horrible punishment ?

[MeridianFC]

What would you recommend in its place?

[biermania]

Ha ha!
There does seem to be added testostrone in it though!

Okay then I'll have Paulaner tonight then! That okay with you?

Prost!
Happy drinking!
Andy

[Stahlsturm]

Originally posted by MeridianFC
What would you recommend in its place?

Instead of Löwenbräu München ? Pretty much anything else out of Bayern except Arco and Irlbacher.

One must not confuse Löwenbräu München with Löwenbräu Passau though. The Passau brewery is a very decent regional brewery.


The problem with recommending bavarian beers is that you'll have to come over here to get them. I mean, even the Weltenburger that apparently get's shipped to the States isn't real Weltenburger, it's brewed by Bischofshof for export and you can taste it too.

[Stahlsturm]

Originally posted by biermania
Ha ha!
There does seem to be added testostrone in it though!

Okay then I'll have Paulaner tonight then! That okay with you?

Prost!
Happy drinking!
Andy

Don't let my grumpy old purist self ruin your enjoyment of whatever beer you like. :)