Bergbrau Pale Ale

Review Date 12/28/2017 By John Staradumsky

           

For Christmas of 2015, my wife bought me a really cool present: BeerAdvent Calendar 2015 from Kalea. In truth, my wife got me a lot of nice presents (she’s the best wife ever), but the nice thing about the Beer Advent Calendar is you get it early. You have to, since it’s comprised of 24 different imported German beers in a box with little doors that you open, one per day from December 1st through December 24th. All of the beers are listed on the side of the carton, however, so be careful not to look and spoil the daily surprises!

I love German beer more than beer from any other country on Earth, so this was definitely right up my alley. Knowing this, my wife got me another for 2016. I told you I was lucky! Last year we got no bocks and doppelbocks and they are back! Overall, this is an amazing way to sample 24 German beers over 24 days, and I look forward to it every year. I got mine a Costco here in Georgia and paid $59.95 for the box once again. That might sound steep, but when you distribute that price over 24 different half liter cans, it only works out to $2.50 per can. Not a bad deal at all looked at that way. It certainly does not stop these from selling; I stopped in at Costco for the first week of November and they had two huge pallets. I was on my lunch break and had to get back to work so did not buy one then. A week later when I went to get one, they were almost gone.

For 2017, there are few differences in the beer advent calendar from last year. Once again, it’s labeled as the “Brewer’s Advent Calendar” but the year is back, it is clearly marked as 2017. Last year it was not, the year before it was called the “Beer Advent Calendar 2015”. Nineteen of the beers are returning favorites from the prior two editions, with five  new ones I have not seen before.

For Day 4 I got a can of one of the more interesting, if not my favorite, beers in the assortment: Bergbrau Pale Ale. This is a variation on Bergbrau's popular Bernstein Pale Ale. Bergbrau, of Uslar, Lower Saxony, mentions citrus aromas and imported Cascade hops on their website. I didn't really get the citrus in Bergbrau Pale Ale, although it was awash in earthy aroma from them. Bergbrau has been in business since 1868.

Kalea says this about the beer:

The brewery uses only its own malting barley from the Weserbergland, and hop specialties from Germany and the best growing areas in the world. By means of the beers and roasting processes adapted to the beers, it retains full control over the most important raw materials: 100% non-GMO, 100% regional! Searching for the perfect taste combination, the brewmaster of Bergbräu found the sun-loving Cascade hops in the United States and instantly fell in love with the great smell and the fruity-citrusy aroma this varietal provides. The yeast for this beer comes from the British Islands and creates a perfect marriage with a soft and round taste.

Bernstein Pale Ale has an alcohol content of 4.4% by volume. My can of Bergbrau Pale Ale has an alcohol content listed at 4.1% by volume. Both feature the words Handmade German Craft Beer on the can.

Bergbrau Pale Ale pours to a deep amber color with a moderate head of creamy foam and a soft, tea-like herbal Cascade hop nose. Taking a sip, the beer is very clean with caramel and nutty malts and a very leafy, herbal tea-like dry bitter hoppy finish. Similar to some English bitters I have tried, but frankly not as well executed. It is quite interesting in how the Cascade was used to produce an English-style pale ale.  Not the best beer in the calendar for me, but interesting indeed and tasty and quite English. It's even flinty!

My can has no production date stamped on the bottom as these generally do, just:

EXP 03/2019

Looks like they got smart and abandoned the European date formatting, which was confusing to Americans. They have also extended the shelf life.

I’m greatly enjoying my Beer Advent Calendar 2017 with the day 4 beer. Here’s looking forward to the remaining 20, and another assortment of 24 in 2018. We’ll be on the lookout next year at Costco once again! Follow them on their Facebook page.

The beers of the 2017 Beer Advent Calendar:

Day 1 Schlossbrau Rheder Original Pils

Day 2 Herrnbrau Tradition Bayerisches Festbier

Day 3 http://Holzknecht Hefe-Weisse Dunkel

Day 4 Bergbrau Pale Ale

Day 5 Egerer Altbayrisch Dunkel

Day 6 Kartauser Doppelbock Dunkel

Day 7 Alpenkonig Gold

Day 8 Ankerbrau Nordlingen Grandl Helles Lagerbier

Day 9 Herrnbrau Jubilaums Sud

Day 10 Lowenbrauerei Passau Urtyp Hell

Day 11 Bierkutscher Edel Pils

Day 12 Zwonitzer Rauchbier

Day 13 Wittmann Urhell

Day 14 Hofbrauhaus Friesing Huber Weisses

Day 15 Perlernzauber German Pale Ale

Day 16 Alpinebrauerei Burgerbrau Alpen Stoff

Day 17 Egerer Das Besondere Festbier

Day 18 Schlossbrauerei Herrngiersdorf Publiner

Day 19 Rieder India Pale Ale

Day 20 Memminger Gold Marzen

Day 21 Egerer Eaglebrau Weizenbier Dunkel

Day 22 Edel Bayer Urtyp Hell

Day 23 Kress Bayrisch Zwickel

Day 24 Egerer Kress St. Bonifacius Bock

Glad I tried it?  T

Would I rebuy it??

 

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled, Canned

(D)=Draft





 

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