Sucking down Hamburgers

The destination was Hamburg for the 2018-19 New Year's trip, largely because it's close and easy to get to, though I'd been hearing good things about the beer scene there in recent years. I got a modest bit of exploring done over the few days, stymied a little by holiday opening hours and the brewers' own winter breaks. Here's what I did find.

Ratsherrn features pretty big, its beers finding their way into local bars, specialist beer shops, convenience stores and supermarkets alike. They operate from a complex of converted warehouses by Sternschanze station which includes a microbrewery (presumably they do full-scale production elsewhere), a roomy off licence, event space and a bar/restaurant called Altes Mädchen.

I had their Pale Ale before, so we'll start here with Ratsherrn Pilsener, which comes in a green bottle for reasons best known to itself. It's one of those dusty, musty, noble-hopped pilsners, not the sort I like. There's an almost sandy, throat-scorching acridity that severely limits its ability to be refreshing. I get crêpe paper, old furniture and cobwebbed attics, finishing on a bitter kick of green spinach -- the one pleasant note. I'm sure this is stylistically all above board, and I've certainly tasted plenty like it. It's just very much not for me.

Nevertheless, on a visit to Altes Mädchen I decided to chance a flight of their special edition pilsners: the New Era series. They seem quite proud of them.

The one which intrigued me most from the list was Pfeffersack, a pils with ras el hanout spice mix added -- is that even legal in Germany? I hope so because it came out lovely: a lemon zest aroma leading to a flavour which mixes piquant white pepper with a bergamot and lime citrus. Very different and extremely tasty; the sort of thing that brings me back to a time when adding weird ingredients to beer was out of the ordinary and more fun.

The Dry Hopped one mixes German variety Sapphire with Citra and Simcoe resulting in an aroma that's unmistakably citrus fruit, but warm and rounded, not sharp. Like the previous two it's 4.9% ABV but feels somehow stronger with a thick and slightly syrupy texture. The first sip brought an unpleasant twang of washing-up liquid, followed by a serious dose of dank resin, and nothing more subtle going on in between. This is trying too hard to be all cool and American-style, losing the run of itself in the process.

Unsurprisingly, the darkest of the lot is the 7.5% ABV Imperial Pilsener. I've disliked this style intensely enough in the past to swear off choosing it altogether, for the most part. This one was rather good, however. I think that's mainly because they didn't go disproportionately overboard with the noble hops and there's a pleasant black pepper aroma plus a flavour of freshly-baked cookies on a rich and warming malt base. A gentle layer of marmalade is as citrus as this mellow fellow gets.

When I came to the Session Pilsener next I realised I was probably drinking them in reverse order. "But all pilseners are session pilseners!" I hear you squeal. Well this one is 3% ABV so sessionier than most, I suppose. It does just taste like a watered down lager, though. There are some nice grass notes and a dusting of lemon sherbet, but it all fades to nothing indecently quickly. I don't see a use case for this beer.

We return to the standard 4.9% ABV with Nordic Pilsener. I had the same problem with this as with the flagship pils: just too musty, bitter and dry. I was very glad, finishing off, that the others had ventured so much further from the original recipe.

Flipping to the warm-fermented side, Ratsherrn's IPA is called Coast Guard: an old-school dark and bitter lad of 6.3% ABV. The new-world resins are off the charts with this, "balanced" by a deep dark caramel that leans towards roastiness. And yet despite being heavy and filling, it's not sticky or cloying. I'm never not impressed by how German craft brewing instils a cleanness to the most unlikely of beer styles.

Altes Mädchen has an extensive list of guest beers too, local and international. Landgang Brauerei is another Hamburg outfit, and that's their Dunkle Macht rye porter next to the Coast Guard. This is 6.8% ABV and a cola-red colour. I wasn't expecting peat, but peat there is aplenty in the aroma. The flavour is rather more subtle, mixing smoke with chocolate in a way that's (yes this is obvious) sweet yet dry. Again with the cleanness, and no acrid phenols outstaying their welcome. This is peat porter done very well.

The other Landgang beer I got to try was an IPA called Amerikanischer Traum, discovered in an Irish bar which was one of the few neighbourhood options early on New Year's Eve evening. They weren't fussy about glassware and we weren't fussed. The beer itself was lovely: a spicy grapefruit aroma, leading to sour candy and a bath-bomb of mixed herbs, flowers and minerals. It's a little on the sticky side but never becomes overwhelming or difficult.

The final Hamburg brewery for today is Buddelship. I didn't get to the place itself but did drop by their pub in the city centre, Oorlam. It's a cosy corner premises with a bit of a '70s living room vibe. The taps pour a mix of Buddelship beers and guests, and genever is another speciality.

Just beer for me, beginning with the silliness of a "New England Pilsner" called Mr W. And they say Germans have no sense of humour. It was only slightly hazy, though definitely had that smooth NEIPA texture, plus a rocky head of foam. Yet from that came not pineapple nor garlic aromas, but a proper north-German pilsner grassiness: heady and resinous. Despite the softness, the flavour is crisp and clean, if not especially bitter. I went in cynical but came away charmed: they really have harnessed the best elements of both styles without any flaws or weirdness. Don't knock this style until you've tried it.

The small glass of dark beer beside it is Smook in de Piep, a smoked porter of a sizeable 9.6% ABV. It smells of all that alcohol and more, intensifying to marker pens and adding hot burning turf. It's less dramatic on tasting, but still shows lots of complexity: dry at first, before opening into coffee, cherries and Jägermeister. The smoke does get a bit lost, but that's probably a mercy. Though its body is lager-light it still works well as a sipper. While a little off-kilter it does the style justice.

We'll be back to Oorlam for guest beers later in the week. Meanwhile, for takeway drinking, The Steelyard is Buddelship's pale ale. It's a substantial 5.6% ABV. A lime and grapefruit punch starts it off, but it's quickly rendered sweet by the crystal malt base, turning to marmalade or chew sweets rather than pure citrus flesh. The texture is beautifully soft, which adds to the easy-going candy vibe. It might be a little heavy for prolonged drinking, but one was very tasty.

And Buddelship's core IPA is called Great Escape. It's 6.5% ABV, pale and hazy, with lots of sharp grapefruit in its aroma. This time the bitterness gets free rein to dominate the flavour, the only brakes on it being a touch of savoury yeast. It doesn't turn too harsh, however, finishing nicely (and typically) clean, while also benefiting from the same softness found in the previous one. It hides its strength well too. I think I'd like a little more bitter power in this, but it's still tasty as is, and likely much more sessionable than the pale ale.

More of what's brewing in Hamburg next, and we'll even get to see a couple of the places where they do it.