Beer Tasting: Thalheim, Bad Santa and Bura Optimist

about 11 hours ago

Hello, beer lovers! 🍻

Happy December in all its glory here. Christmas and the end of this year are fast approaching, and the celebrations have already begun. My wife and I are putting up the Christmas tree at our house. The children are no longer interested; they have gone their way. Although I believe they will keep our tradition later on, they are now in a different mood.

Of course, I also put my beers under the tree for today's #beersaturday, 390 in a row :)
My wife will start baking biscuits, and I'll stand back. As you can see, I have three bottles: Austrian, German, and Croatian.

I will be happy to empty them and report back. Exclusively and only on the Hive network!

First, the one with less alcohol.

🍻 😎 🍻

Thalheim Pils

Brewed by Thalheimer Heilwasser Gmbh, Thalheim, Austria.
Bottle, 0.33 l, alcohol 5% ABV, IBU 30.
Pils or Pilsner is a classic German-style beer with German malts, hops, and floral aromas.

What do the Master Brewers say?

Selected hop varieties meet unique Thalheim healing water. Pale straw color, spicy-floral with light citrus and elderberry notes.
A beer is as unique as the origin of its water.

🍺

The beer is clear and light yellow, and the head is average and disappears quickly. It smells of cereals. It goes down the throat quickly and smoothly, and at first, I taste the sweetness of the malt, which is then overpowered by the bitterness of the hops, a little biting bitter herbs, and hints of citrus.
In the aftertaste, everything disappears except the bitterness of the herbs, which lingers for a while.

The beer is drinkable and refreshing. The hops and herbs impart quite a bit of bitterness, but the sweetness of the malt balances it just enough not to distract. It is a classic German Pilsner. I would have it as an example, but it is unavailable here except in the December Kalea BeerBox.

🍻 😎 🍻

Let's move on to Croatia!

Bura Brew Optimist Golding Ale

Brewed by Bura Brew, Poreč, Croatia.
Bottle, 0.33 l, alcohol 5.4%, IBU 25.
It's Blonde or Golden Ale style, hop-forward and bitter, with more herbal than fruit aromas.

What do the Master Brewers say?

Top-fermented blonde ale. Unpasteurized, unfiltered, bottle-fermented, no additives or preservatives. Brewed with passion and expertise by our Brewmaster. Golden Ale with hoppy Styrian GOLDING (and Magnum) taste. Very drinkable, sweet barley malt at the beginning and bitterness right after. OPTIMIST is the boat children use to learn to sail: it’s light and breezy and can go wherever the wind brings it. Natural yeast sediment.

🍺

Cool. Styrian GOLDING is the most well-known Slovenian hop. Bura, or burja in Slovenian, is the name of the strong winds that blow across the Adriatic Sea.

The beer is cloudy and golden in color with a bit of head. It smells of herbs and hops. It goes down the throat smoothly and develops a malty sweetness, which is immediately overpowered by the bitterness of the hops and the aromas of pine and coriander. I also detect hints of caramel, but not much.
Everything disappears in the aftertaste, except the bitterness lingers for a while.

It is a very drinkable and tasty beer with a perfect balance of bitterness and sweetness. It's available here in almost all local food shops. Where have I been so far?
I'll undoubtedly taste more, if not at home, then at sea.

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I had one German beer left at the end.

Bad Santa Dunkler Doppelbock XMS SPCL

Brewed by Bürgerbräu Bad Reichenhall August Röhm & Söhne, Bad Reichenhall, Bavaria, Germany.
Bottle, 0.33 l, alcohol 7.3%, IBU N/A.
It's a Doppelbock-style beer, which means dark-colored, intense, rich, and malty German lager.

What do the Master Brewers say?

Every year, Bad Santa visits a different brewery to fill his precious beer cans. This year he stumbled into the Bürgerbräu, Bad Reichenhall, where he found a cloudy Doppelbock which he just could not resist. Santa loves this Doppelbock because of unique fruity and caramel nose. After enjoying the first bottle, this beer makes you want to enjoy more!

🍺

The beer is dark brown, and its head is considerable and creamy. It smells of dried fruit. It goes down the throat smoothly, and I first taste the licorice's sweetness and the roasted malt's slight bitterness in the mouth. Later on, I tasted caramel and prunes with a bitter background.
In the aftertaste, everything quickly disappears.

Beer is drinkable and complex, with different flavors that blend. It is pretty solid, but I have to say that this kind of beer is not "my cup of tea." Although there is nothing wrong with it, it doesn't suit me.

Most dark beers I've tried so far have not sat well with me. Very rarely have they fascinated me enough to keep drinking them. It must be something exceptional. But if one doesn't try it, one doesn't know.

🍻 😎 🍻

And what am I listening to when tasting beers and writing this? Something from yesterday's #newtunes post. It's a new band for me, Finnish avant-garde psychotic metal.

ORANSSI PAZUZU - Muuntautuja

Thank you for your attention.

More stories about beers? You can go back a little further in history! 😁

2017 🍻 2018 🍻 2019 🍻 2020 🍻 2021 🍻 2022 🍻 2023 🍻 2024

Enjoy your beer!

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