Schloßbräu Rheder Husaren-Trunk
Review Date 12/31/2021 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 not enough bocks and doppelbocks (not fair!), but otherwise it’s just an amazing way to sample 24 German beers I’ve never seen before. I get mine at Costco here in Georgia and pay on average $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.
Last year was a difficult year indeed, as Covid ravaged the world and it was not a sure thing that the Kalea Advent calendars would reach our shores. I braved Costco every week in September, masked with an N95, and finally scored my prize. For 2021, challenges of a different kind arose. Inflation and supply chain woes, thanks again to the persistence of Covid and the way it turned the global economy upside down in 2020, threatened once again to disrupt calendar distribution. On their Facebook page, however, Kalea promised that the calendars would arrive, and arrive they did. I found one at Costco in the second week of September, bought an extra for my future son in law, and stored mine safely away until December. The calendars sold for the same $59.95 they almost always have. Perhaps this was true in other years and I simply did not notice, but this year there were two box styles. One shows all of the included beers on the side, and the other does not, in case you want a true surprise each and every day.
On December 4th, behind the Day 4 door I found a can of Husaren-Trunk from Schoßbräu Rheder of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. This is the second beer I have enjoyed from this brewery, and features one of the most attractive kabels I have ever seen in the Advent calendar. Husaren-Trunk is in the Festbier style of Oktoberfest beer, and the brewery says the following about it on their website:
Husaren-Trunk
Runder feinherber Geschmack
Hochwertiges Malz
aus eigenem Braugerstenanbau
Erlesene Hopfenqualität
Quellfrisches Brauwasser
aus dem Naturschutzgebiet "Sieseberg"
Husaren-Trunk the beer has an alcohol content of 5.3% by volume. Ingredients on the can are listed as water, barley malt, and hops. My can is stamped EXP 2023/05. The first four beers in the calendar have been a Hefeweizen, two Helles, and now a Festbier. I think again this year we are heavy on the Helles style as so far we are at 50% Helles in style.
Sclossßräu Rheder Husaren-Trunk pours to a deep bright golden color with a thick fluffy white head and a nose of fresh bready malt and toasted nuts. Taking a sip, the beer is again fresh bready as the nose promised with a hint of caramel and toasted nuts. It finishes with a flash of bitter, grassy hops that balance the malt expertly and leaves the palate dry and ready for another sip.
I’m greatly enjoying my 7th annual Beer Advent Calendar with the day 4 beer. Here’s looking forward to the remaining 20, and another assortment of 24 in 2022. We’ll be on the lookout next year at Costco, and following the beers on their Facebook page.
The beers of the 2021 Beer Advent Calendar:
Day 1 Herrngiersdorf Grantler Hell
Day 2 Hoamat Weissbier
Day 3 Egerer Alms Hell
Day 4 Rheder Husarentrunk
Day 5 Kraftbierwerkstat Der Schwarze Bock
Day 6 Herrnbrau Zwickl Kellerbier
Day 7 Kurpfalz Bräu Helles
Day 8 Egerer Wiener Lager
Day 9 Teisnacher 1543 Festmärzen
Day 10 Käuzle German Pilsner Style
Day 11 Marie Hausbrendel Hell
Day 12 Ladenburger Weizenbock Hell
Day 13 Landgang Pils
Day 14 Flötzinger Hell
Day 15 Perlernzauber IPA
Day 16 Loncium Vienna Style Lager
Day 17 Propeller Bier Turbo Prop Pilsner
Day 18 Erlkonig Hell
Day 19 Meine Große Liebe Helles
Day 20 Graminger Kirta Dunkles Weissbier
Day 21 Wittmann Urhell
Day 22 Schlossbrau Rheder Original Pils
Day 23 Furst Carl Kellerbier
Day 24 Kartauser Doppelbock Dunkel
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