Old haunts

"The less gimmicky beers will have to wait for my next visit" I wrote after drinking hemp beer, chilli beer, rauchbier and whatnot in 7 Stern on my last visit to Vienna in 2011. The place hasn't changed much since then, nor since my first time there in 2003. I suspect the fundamentals have been the same since this vast rambling premises opened its doors in 1994. It's a sound formula and there's no need to change it. The chilli beer still tastes amazing, but less gimmicky I promised, so less gimmicky I will review.

Wiener Helles is your typical brewpub kellerbier, 4.9% ABV and hazy yellow. Beginning from a very dry, almost acrid, base, it adds unsubtle perfumed hops, ramping up the bitterness as it goes. The experience is jarring, the overall flavour rough and jagged, its malt and hop elements not really melding well together. Taken together it's quite the opposite of what I look for in the beer at the top of a brewpub menu list. 7 Stern's fondness for the weird stuff leaking through inappropriately, perhaps.

I had better luck with 7 Stern Dunkles. Though only 4.9% ABV, this is a big fellow. Heaps of dark unctuous molasses is suggested by the aroma, followed by dense treacly goodness as the flavour. A vaguely herbal cola-nut bite is the only nod to complexity. But this one doesn't need complexity. It's made for chewing through and then ordering another. I wasn't there to do that but appreciate the use case nonetheless.

1516 is another 20+-year veteran of Vienna brewing, and still at it, still brewing its licensed clone of Victory Hop Devil, though the pub is now wonderfully smoke-free. I opted for something called Kimber Ale, described as being Alt-like. It looks the part: deep brown with a lagery foam on top. The foretaste is slightly roasty, giving it a porterish character. The crisp middle and caramel finish bring us back to Alt. It's fine, not very exciting, and strong for what it is at 5.2% ABV. This is another one designed for drinking, not analysis.

I figured the Dubbel Winter Ale would have more to say for itself, brewed as it is with fig, plum and cinnamon. This is a deep garnet shade and smells somewhere between a Christmas cake and a mince pie: currants and brown sugar, with a late pinch of clove spicing. For all that, it's still a bit thin and I don't think the base dubbel is up to Belgian standard, making it seem like the fruit and spices are there to cover up its shortcomings. The discussion on whether to stay for a second round was a brief one, and off we went.

While I had been back to both of these since 2003, one place from that trip I hadn't revisited was Fischerbräu. I recall drinking in the twilight of a crowded beer garden so it was a different experience late on a January afternoon, the outside space deserted and only a few of the tables inside the small inn occupied. Still, they fry a good schnitzel, and the beer...

Just two on the taps. Fischerbräu Helles is a dun hazy yellow and tastes a bit... unfinished. There's a dense malt weight and a porridgey sweetness. It's hearty fare, loading you up with honey and brown sugar, but it doesn't resemble what I understand as Helles, as was the case at 7 Stern. Maybe German brewpubs have spoiled me for Austria.

The other one was Meistertrunk: 6% ABV and red-brown, so I'm guessing some class of a winter bock. This one is also weighty but suits it better than the Helles. The flavour delivers caramel and marzipan, but in a clean way, finishing with a proper noble-hop leafy bitterness and a twist of black pepper. It's interesting and also fun, very well suited to sipping and exploring slowly.

Vienna certainly has no shortage of brewpubs and I got to try a few that were new to me as well. They'll be covered in tomorrow's post.