After his disappointment with Schwanenbräu the day before, Mike was determined to eat in Resengörg. It could have been the recommendation of the bloke in Schlößla. "What was the restaurant called?" I enquired of Mike. "Something beginning with an 'R'." Must be Resengörg he meant then. There couldn't be two restaurants in town starting with the same letter, could there?More likely it was pretty blond waitress that attracted Mike. He'd commented on her the day before, as we sat outside Sonne. "We should have eaten there. Look at that waitress." He had a point. We'd been served in Schwanenbräu by a lady with quite an impressive moustache. And the makings of a decent goatee.
It was agreed then. Resengörg for tea.
We were served by the blond waitress. A very helpful and friendly girl. Especially as she was entering the 13th hour of her working day. We'd seen here moving tables around outside the pub on our way to the station in the morning. "I wonder where she gets the energy?" "She's young. " Mike replied. I guess that was it. It's so long since I was young, I've forgotten what it was like.
Neither of us was that hungry. A little snack was all we needed. And some beer, of course. Penning Vollbier again. Pleasant if not overly exciting. They should barrel-age it. Bourbon barrels would be perfect. And bump the strength up a bit, to say 9-10% ABV. Add some more hops, too. Chinook or Amarillo. Or both. Then a touch of black malt to darken the colour. Calls itself a Dunkles, but is only the same colour as Bitter. That just won't do.
As much everywhere else in the area, Resengörg has its own distillery. It would have been rude not to give at least one of their spirits a try. The Schlehengeist had been so yummy at Buchwaldstüberl, I went for one again. Not quite as good, but it warmed my innards pleasantly.
We didn't linger long. Too bloody hot inside. We wound our wearily all the way over the road to Sonne. This time we tried their Kellerbier. Very nice, it was. As the light faded and couples strolled by, arm in arm, we sipped away at our beers. Reflecting on another near-perfect day and wondering why we hadn't the luck to have been born Fränkisch.
Sorry I didn't get around to the unusual coolbox today. That, Haxe, bookshops and a pet peeve will all be detailed tomorrow, when we hit Bamberg on the final leg.
Sonne
Hauptstrasse 29,
91320 Ebermannstadt.
Tel: 09194-767-480
Fax: 09194-767-4880
E-Mail: info@brauerei-gasthoft-sonne.de
http://www.brauerei-gasthof-sonne.de/
Hotel-Gasthof Resengörg
Hauptstraße 36,
91320 Ebermannstadt.
Tel. 09194 / 73930
Fax 09194 / 739373
http://www.resengoerg.de/
I'm pretty sure Hetzi is described as "dunkel" only by third parties, FWIW, and that the brewery itself just calls it a "Vollbier". Either way, when fresh, it can be really good.
ReplyDeleteI'd personally call it "amber" or "copper" coloured.
I'd agree with you on the color. Nice drop, anyway. It certainly slid down a treat.
ReplyDeleteI have never tasted beers in Geremany (never been there) except once in an airport in one of the large cities where I had excellent pils and export beer from a regional brewery. I recall asking the barman about the beers and just the request amused him, as if he had never heard a discussion of the relative qualities of beer. However, after a few minutes chat, he started to "get" what I was asking and enjoyed my comments on the beers available at his bar. I recall distinctly that when I left he said he had learned a lot. He said his own preference in beer was Carlsberg and Grolsch but I think in part that was due to the foreign factor, the beers at his bar were much superior in my view.
ReplyDeleteI asked him what the difference was between the pils and export. He said the export was stronger, which I could see from the brief menu description, but they were (in his opinion) basically the same.
He said when a customer ordered a beer, he would draw indifferently from the pils or export tap. The taps were arranged in a way that he could do this, there were no name plates over the dispensing equipment. I was amused by this but actually did not take offence since both beers were very good (I had one of each) although I could see one was heavier-bodied and, well, different somewhat.
This was just an airport bar but even there the quality of an unheralded provincial brewery was really high. I can imagine how good the Franconian beers are and your descriptions bring them to life, Ron, as do the excellent snapshots. If a beer can "look" like it tastes great, those do!
Germany is one country, and Bohemia, that I have not had the chance to tour for beer (or anything else). One day. To date though, I have canvassed Holland, France, Britain and Belgium reasonably widely, and the U.S. and Canada.
Of these, Britain by far offered the best beers in my experience. The others had some beers that were great but seemed either too narrowly or too widely focused as it were. Only Britain - and really England, I mean, offered a consistently reliable yet interesting range of fine beer, i.e., real ale, almost right across the country.
In Belgium, in some parts you would run into into some Trappist beers, say, or Saisons, but of these I might only like one or two here and there. In England, given good condition, the real ale was excellent from one end of the country to the other because the style of brewing was one I like a lot and it was based on the excellence of English malting barley and local hops. It was, and is, a national style of beer of high excellence albeit somewhat diminished from the 1800's heyday we discuss here daily.
One day I will visit the German and nearby lands and decide for myself if it can be as good on its own terms - or maybe better.
Gary
Seems that you're still in Franken. If you both are in mood, return to the Roter Ochs and taste some beers.
ReplyDeleteI was very pleased to be a friendly chap for you ;-)
It's coming back to me now, the barman said (regarding which beer to pour) that he would pour pils if the export had run out and vice versa, or one tap was in use and the drinker looked in a rush. Quite reasonable.
ReplyDeleteAgain I was impressed with the quality of both beers, and this was just a random encounter with German beer in a regional airport somewhere.
Gary