Barbarossa Pilsener
Review Date 4/9/2016 Updated 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. My one criticism of the calendar is there are no bocks or doppelbocks (not fair!), but otherwise it’s just an amazing way to sample 24 German beers I’ve never seen before. I got mine a Costco here in Georgia and paid $59.95 for the box. 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.
Today is Day 13 of the German Beer Advent Calendar and we're working non the second half of our 24 can selection. Currently, that means Barbarossa Pilsener contract brewed for the Barbarossa Brauerei by Egerer. Egerer has done the past few beers in the calendar under license from smaller breweries. One problem here is that there are several Barbarossa breweries in Germany, though the importer says this beer is brewed for Barbarossa Brauhaus Schollkrippen, though they don't seem as old as the 1897 date on the can.
The beer is named for the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, called Barbarossa (red beard) for his, well, red beard. If you ask me, this would be a better name for a Roggen or Marzen, but obviously nobody asked me.
The cans says Barbarossa has an alcohol content of 4.9% by volume and a best by date of September 1st 2016. It was packaged on July 1st of 2015.
Barbarossa Pilsener pours to a pale yellow color with a towering pillowy head and a soft biscuit malt nose. A fine layer of Brussels lace clings to the sides of my glass and follows the liquid all the way to the bottom. Taking a sip the beer has a crisp biscuit malt palate and a dry very grassy long dry lingering bitterness. Barbarossa is uncomplicated to be sure but but beautiful in its malt and hop purity.
I’m greatly enjoying my Beer Advent Calendar with the day 13 beer. Here’s looking forward to the remaining 11, and another assortment of 24 in 2016. We’ll be on the lookout next year at Costco, and following the beers on their Facebook page.
The beers of the 2015 Beer Advent Calendar:
Day 1 Alpinebrauerei Burgerbrau Alpen Stoff
Day 2 Ankerbrau Nordlingen Grandl Helles Lagerbier
Day 3 Herrnbrau Tradition Bayerisches Festbier
Day 4 Schlossbrauerei Herrngiersdorf Publiner
Day 5 Hofbrauhaus Friesing Huber Weisses
Day 6 Lowenbrauerei Passau Urtyp Hell
Day 7 Spath Brau Osser Osser Gold
Day 8 Hosl Marzenbier
Day 9 Wittmann Urhell
Day 10 Kloster Urstoff Marzen
Day 11 Egerer Eaglebrau Weizenbier Dunkel
Day 12 Egerer 1516 Schloss Weisse
Day 13 Barbarossa Pilsener
Day 14 Lausaria Romergold Export Hell
Day 15 Egerer Winter Weisse
Day 16 Kress Bayrisch Zwickel
Day 17 Egerer Winterfestbier
Day 18 Egerer Konig Wilhelm Ur-Weisse Dunkel
Day 19 Egerer Das Besondere Festbier
Day 20 Egerer Baren Weisse
Day 21 Bierkutscher Edel Pils
Day 22 Alpenkonig Gold
Day 23 Egerer Altbayrisch Dunkel
Day 24 Edel Bayer Urtyp Hell
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