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canyonwalkerIt's time for Round 11 of my Beer Tasting 2022 project. Actually it's past time, as it's been now three weeks since I posted Round 10. 🔔🔔 Who's in the ring this time?
Continuing on my theme of generally not picking head-to-head competitors but instead two beer in slightly different segments, this time I've paired Michelob Amberbock with Köstritzer Schwarzbier.
Indeed this does seem at odd pairing at first. On one side is an uncommon (in America) import from an old and well respected German brewer. On the other is an American macrobrewer trying to offer a fancier beer to appeal to drinkers disinterested in its usual watery slop. But it is a dark larger, as is the Köstritzer.
This round of beer tasting unfolded exactly as I thought it would. The Köstritzer is everything you expect in a German dark lager: dark, nearly black color; with flavors of rich, toasty malt and hints of of chocolate and caramel. The Michelob is... basically a softer form of all that. It's a dark beer for the generations of Americans who had basically no choice other than which brand of watery slop to proclaim their allegiance to.
That's not to say the Michelob Amberbock is bad. It's just that when it's put up against a genuine representative of its cateogry it's revealed to be a weak imitation. Also, weaker is sometimes better. In this round as with Hofbräu Dunkel in round 10 I find the German dark lagers (bock, schwarzbier) a little too strong in their flavors. Michelob's Amberbock goes better with food and even goes better unaccompanied whenever I'm in the mood for a dark beer that's still easy-drinking.
Continuing on my theme of generally not picking head-to-head competitors but instead two beer in slightly different segments, this time I've paired Michelob Amberbock with Köstritzer Schwarzbier.
Indeed this does seem at odd pairing at first. On one side is an uncommon (in America) import from an old and well respected German brewer. On the other is an American macrobrewer trying to offer a fancier beer to appeal to drinkers disinterested in its usual watery slop. But it is a dark larger, as is the Köstritzer.
This round of beer tasting unfolded exactly as I thought it would. The Köstritzer is everything you expect in a German dark lager: dark, nearly black color; with flavors of rich, toasty malt and hints of of chocolate and caramel. The Michelob is... basically a softer form of all that. It's a dark beer for the generations of Americans who had basically no choice other than which brand of watery slop to proclaim their allegiance to.
That's not to say the Michelob Amberbock is bad. It's just that when it's put up against a genuine representative of its cateogry it's revealed to be a weak imitation. Also, weaker is sometimes better. In this round as with Hofbräu Dunkel in round 10 I find the German dark lagers (bock, schwarzbier) a little too strong in their flavors. Michelob's Amberbock goes better with food and even goes better unaccompanied whenever I'm in the mood for a dark beer that's still easy-drinking.
