The wurst

Nobody:

Germans: pic.twitter.com/KBPtqfElqM

— Kristi Yamaguccimane (@TheWapplehouse) May 20, 2024

Some fine Netflix recommendations

I tuned into Netflix for the first time in a week or 2 and I got some fine recommendations first thing on my home screen.

Learn how to wield a German longsword

Someone is teaching an "Introduction to German longsword" class at the Goodman Center. I wonder if German longswords are bigger and bulkier than other varieties.

From the Vaterland: Döllnitzer Ritterguts Gose

I recently found that Riley's had some gose from the Fatherland in stock - Döllnitzer Ritterguts Gose. I just had to try it and bought one of the half liter bottles.

I'm not exactly sure where Ritterguts is brewed currently but, according to Ron Pattinson, it was originally brewed in 1824 in the eponymous establishment. The name comes from that of a country estate called "Rittergut Döllnitz" which was in the vicinity of Leipzig. Leipzig, in turn, was ground zero for gose production in the 19th century. Pattinson says that one Johann Philipp Ledermann began brewing gose at Rittergut Döllnitz in 1824 and that he had been a brewer in the town of Goslar, the ancestral home of the gose.

I apologize again for the rather lousy photography. That's two (or more) posts with sub-standard photography in a row. Apologies aside…prepare for unapologetic, sub-standard writing!

When writing these reviews I sometimes wonder if I should bother to define the style. I mean, if you were to write multiple reviews of gose beers in a short period, you wouldn't bother to write that gose is a sour wheat beer flavored with salt and coriander in every one, would you? This is exactly the type of situation that prompted someone to invent paralipsis, I suppose.

Ritterguts is a brilliant yellow that is slightly hazy. My pour resulted in a nice white head but, unfortunately, it didn't last very long. Truth be told, there are times when my glass just looks perfect. It's got a great head and there's effervescence everywhere. I click the button to take a photo only to be told by the camera that there's no memory card in it. By the time I go find the card in one of my computers and insert it into the camera, the beer is no longer ready for its close-up – the head has gone. This, however, is not one of those times. The head really dissipated very quickly. There was a smattering of bubbles going up the beer. Another insider's secret: I've been reviewing so many Berliner Weisses lately that there are times, such as here, when I look at the beer and see it as being under-effervesced. "So much for being a 'Champagne of the North'," I think to myself. Then it dawns on me that the beer at hand is, in fact, not a Berliner Weisse and can have whatever level of carbonation it damn well pleases.

I got some lovin' good vibrations upon taking a whiff. The expected tartness was rather low on the nose and so I caught bread, the coriander, and even a bit of salinity. Ooh, I could just tell this was going to be a full-flavored premium gose. That lemony/citrusy tartness was much more prominent in the taste than it was in the smell. Having said this, Ritterguts was by no means an extreme beer in this regard. The sourness was happy to let you know it was there but I could, joyfully, taste the coriander. I've tasted more than a few goses where either the coriander was indiscernible or buried by fruit. Here there was neither too much nor too little. Just the right amount. I was also surprised by the amount of salt in Ritterguts. It wasn't salty per se but one could definitely taste how the bread-like/crackery malt flavors as well as the coriander were enhanced by it. The beer had a light body but I think the salt gave it a slightly heavier mouthfeel as it amplified some of the flavors. There was also enough carbonation to lend a little dryness.

This beer is not filtered and so there was a fair amount of yeast on the bottom of the bottle. Had I been paying attention I would have noticed that there are instructions on the label saying to gently shake the bottle so as to mix the yeast into the beer. This I did not do and so my terminal pour was quite yeasty. I rather liked how the yeast brought its own slight tartness to the beer and complemented the lactic sourness.

Ritterguts finishes slightly dry. The tartness slowly fades while the dryness from the carbonation lingers for just a bit. I could taste no hops.

Döllnitzer Ritterguts Gose is one of the best examples of the style I've tasted. I loved how the yeast abetted the sourness while the salt highlighted the malt and coriander. The interplay of the flavors here was just wonderful. There's nothing extreme with each flavor getting its turn to shine. Everything was in correct proportion and in its place. Ausgezeichnet! I suspect that it was fairly fresh which goes a long way. It is 4.7% A.B.V. and I gleefully drank the whole bottle in a short time.

Junk food pairing: Pair Döllnitzer Ritterguts Gose with Ethiopian chechebsa. Chechebsa is flatbread fried in clarified butter seasoned with berbere. (Think Buraka's doro wat.) Dip in yoghurt for added tartness.

Düsseldorf Calling: Uerige Alt

My little altbier trifecta ends with a taste of Düsseldorf - Uerige Alt. Credit must go to Riley's Wines of the World for carrying Uerige's bier as I haven't seen it anywhere else.

Uerige was established in 1862 which means it's been around for most of the time there's been this beer that we call the Düsseldorfer Alt. I did some reading on the origin of the altbier and ended up getting thoroughly lost in a labyrinth of 16th and 17th century Westphalian and Bavarian alimentary laws. The altbier's cousin, the Kölsch, springs from Cologne's brewing traditions shaped by a 1603 law banning bottom-fermented beers. As far as I can tell the point of this law was to preserve the city's brewing heritage against the encroachment of lagers but surely it also had something to do with protecting the city's indigenous breweries. Did Düsseldorf have any similar laws? I could find nothing at Ron Pattinson's blog indicating that it did but this could very well just be lazy researching on my part.

It seems that the brewers of Northern Germany spent a lot of Renaissance fending off the influence of Bavaria. In 1551 a Munich law mandated the use of bottom-fermenting yeast there and a couple years later Bavaria outlawed brewing in the summer because of ales going south. In what appears to be a series of laws aimed at protecting the consumer, Bavarians unwittingly elevated lagerbier above ales. The lager trend spread and brewers in places like Cologne and Düsseldorf struggled against it. It seems that the altbier and Kölsch are the products of brewers clinging onto tradition on the one hand (top-fermenting) and yielding to trends on the other (lagering). Hence the native style for these brews is Obergäriges Lagerbier - or top-fermented lager beer.

In doing my reading I also learned that the altbier and Kölsch, while top-fermenting, are fermented at cooler temperatures (55°F-60°F) than your average ale (65°F-75°F).

My photo didn't turn out too badly here and, as you can see, Uerige Alt is a beauty. It's clear with a nice copper color. My pour had a nice off-white head that was in no hurry to leave. The aroma was sweet with caramel and raisin notes in my nose. I was surprised not to catch any hops as I was under the impression that the alt was fairly hoppy – in the Czech pilsner range. But, as with any other beer style, your mileage may vary. Plus I wasn't sure how long the beer had been sitting on the shelf when I bought it.

Curiously enough, I didn't find much in the way of hops in the flavor either. The dominant flavor was roasted grain which veered into chocolate territory slightly. But there was also this slight plum-like flavor and I tasted something I can best describe as being like vermouth. The latter of these was quite unexpected. The beer wasn't very sweet but had a medium body. I think the carbonation helped add to my tongue's impression that this wasn't a particularly sweet beer.

The beer finished dry with (finally!) some spicy hop goodness coming through.

I am reluctant to make any definitive judgements about the beer as I can't vouch for its freshness. With that caveat, I will say that I rather liked this beer. The fruitier flavors weren't as prominent as roasted grain ones and I really liked the chocolate tones. These flavors melded well. Actually, Uerige Alt had a rather more complicated malt profile than I expected. There were just more fruity bits comingling with more roasty bits than I thought there would be. The absence of hops until the finish was disappointing, however.

Junk food pairing: Uerige Alt goes well with Cheez-It Duos Sharp Cheddar and Parmesan crackers. These brighter tasting snacks help provide some balance since there's not much hop bitterness to be had.

Maiwein im Juni

I made some Maiwein, or "May wine" in English, over the weekend. It's simply Waldmeister (woodruff) steeped in riesling wine. Woodruff blooms in the spring, hence the drink being associated with the month of May. The riesling was a bit too dry for my taste and I shall have to get something a bit sweeter next time. If this stuff was sweet as the gentleman at the liquor store suggested, I'd hate to taste the dry variety. I'll need to keep an eye out for some Wollersheim White Riesling or otherwise learn a bit more about wine. The woodruff was dried - I have no idea where one can get fresh woodruff in the Madison area - and it lent an herbal, straw-like flavor to the wine. A nice, cold glass of this stuff makes for some fine Teutonic refreshment on a warm day.

German Culture Making a Comeback in Milwaukee

The food and drink part, anyway.

Above is the shiny, new dining room at Cafe Bavaria which opened in Wauwatosa earlier this week. It is the latest German food establishment to open its doors in the greater Milwaukee area recently and join fixtures like Mader's, Karl Ratzsch's, and Kegel's Inn. Cafe Bavaria is a more contemporary and upscale place than the mainstays. You can get schnitzel but also Bavarian pho. (?!)

The beer menu looks good. You've got your typical helleses and weissbiers but also two Kölsches (one on tap that you can get in the proper - .2L – sized glass), an altbier, a radler, three rauchbiers, and even a German pale ale. To their credit, there is also a selection of Sprecher and Lakefront brews as well.



The north side's Estabrook Beer Garden, a public bier garten like those in Munich, turns three this year. Estabrook is a sister establishment to the Old German Beer Hall in Milwaukee which opened back in 2005.



And that's not the end of it. Also planned is another bier garten in Bay View's Humboldt Park which is, interestingly enough, just a block from a friend's house. And in suburban Glendale the former Bavarian Inn will be turned into an official U.S. Hofbräuhaus outpost. The Hofbräuhaus will brew on premises so patrons will have fresh bier.



In addition to restaurants and bier gartens, we have the Milwaukee Pretzel Company which opened last year and makes Bavarian-style pretzels.

I wonder why there is this resurgence in German food and drink. Perhaps it's simply a case of what's old is new again. I found this article about Milwaukee rediscovering its German heritage but it really doesn't have an answer beyond the possibility of people just looking back at their and Milwaukee's past. I guess it's a task for an aspiring sociologist.

Concomitant to this, I noticed last month that an upscale contemporary German restaurant has opened in Chicago - The Radler. They even have a couple haus biers including a radler.

Batch Bakehouse to Make Stollen

The folks at Batch Bakehouse are making stollen next month. Stollen is a German cake made with candied fruits and nuts and is usually consumed around Christmas. Being an eastsider, it'll be nice to not have to run out to Middleton to get some this year. I am told it will be available on 14-15 and 21-24 of December. My order has been placed.

When I went to the BB website to look for contact info, I noticed that their bread schedule includes two rye variations as well as pretzels. I was pleased to see this as it seemed that whenever I was at their old location, all I ever saw was focaccia, ciabatta, and baguette. As tasty as these breads are, I am mostly of Central and Eastern Europe stock ergo I need rye coursing through my veins at all times. To my taste, the best rye bread in town is the stuff imported from Chicago that Inter Market carries but I'd love to find a local loaf.

Now, if I could only get Batch to make pączki, makowiec, and kolache. Then I'd be set.

While I'm on the subject, does anyone know where to get rye brat buns in Madison? And while I'm asking "does anyone know where to get" questions, does anyone know where to get woodruff in Madison?

Schottenfreude

This book looks to be a must-read.



I can definitely relate to Kissenkühlelabsal.

Wie sagt man "Haute couture" auf Deutsch?

Bavarian fashion will be all the rage if Chicago's Erika Neumayer has her way. She is the proprietor of Rare Dirndl and is selling handmade nouveau Bavarian clothing. But these aren't your Großmutter's dirndls.



Her dirndls have names like "Acid Rain" and "Wicked Garden" along with ones featuring Nirvana and Soundgarden song titles. Neumayer also makes trachtenhemden, those plaid shirts men wear with lederhosen.

It all looks very nice but, unfortunately, my budget dictates haberdashery more like this.