Impossible Germany

You've got to hand it to the Germans in a few areas: cars, beer, and well...cars. On a recent trip to Bonn, I got to reacquaint myself with German beer IN GERMANY. Very important distinction as some of the imports get a bit swampy or skunked from being warm and cold multiple times before the beer hits your glass. Around the city of Bonn and Cologne (Koln) the regional beer served is called Kolsch.

This delicious, crisp, slightly hoppy light ale is traditionally served in skinny, small glasses. In most restaurants and bars if your glass is empty a new one is brought almost automatically. A German colleague told me the basic idea is that the beer is meant to be fresh, cold and consumed quickly. It's a bit hard to keep track of your consumption however given the tiny glasses. At the end of the evening you may have had twenty glasses. Or maybe that's just me.

The list of beers I sampled is to big to include here but I did want to give the nod to Schneider-Weisse, arguably the best wheat beer in the world. This is what hefeweizen is all about. With its amber-mahogany coloring and streaked with fine top-fermenting yeast, this beer has a fine, persistent head that adheres well to the glass. It is pleasantly spicy with a typical top-fermented smell. An aroma of clove and nutmeg apple tantalizes the nose. On the tongue it is fresh, clean, full-bodied, harmonious and well-balanced. It finishes lightly sparkling with a light and fine bitterness. I feel a beer coming on...