Very refreshing. Easy to drink. Like it

Blend 2020-04

Kurzrezi: Kemker Kultuur Smauk Dunkle rotbraun , klar, altweißer schaum Nase: ähnlich zu Flandern Rot, leichte Schärfe Geschmack: Schwarze Johannesbeere, trocken, beerig, säuerlich, weinartig, leichte Eichenfassnote Sehr nah am Flandern Red, also genau mein Ding

Now something unique: a Historical Smoked Sour. The beerstyle is actually Lichtenhainer. This is my first ever Lichtenhainer. I've had a few Polish Grodziskies which are close relatives but still different. This beer colors semihazy, pale amber. Carbonation is tame, only a mediocre soapy head forms on the top and melts then rapidly away. The scent is quite interesting: smoked apple slices and lemon zest, escorted by a remote funky twist. The smoky vibe is nicely balanced, not at all acrid, neither sweet-leaning. I could bet that there's a wheaty, yet moderate, skeleton to it. The taste identity is thin, slightly sour and truly remotely smoky: sour apple juice, apple peel, lemon pulp, raw green gooseberry and wheat malt. The smoky side is neatly embedded in some of the components, most likely smoked wheat malt but it tastes like the apple was smoked. However, there's nothing funky in the taste. The body is thin. The finish carries an identical gustatory package forward. The aftertaste travels to the 19th century Thüringen with a time capsule and has a frolicking time with those strange people. The mouthfeel is thin, distantly smoky, moderately tart, dry and drying. It's zesty but flat and rather characterless. I'm trying to imagine life two hundred years ago, and this would have probably been refreshing at that time. And it still is. Very easily gulpable.

My beer #5️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ in Pint Please!! Something special to mark this milestone. I have several options to choose from, and I know 100% surely that some of them would be real treats. However, why play it safe? Beer is not that serious that it should make me risk averse. Rather vice versa. Beer is great fun. Beer invites me to strange places to explore strange flavors. Not are all of them beautiful but no need to be. Beer has taught me to expand my universe of experiences. And I have enjoyed those micro adventures from the bottom of my heart! Therefore, today's wild card is Aolt Beer. It sounds like Altbier because it actually is an Altbier. Nevertheless, you may be aware that Altbier is a classical copper-brownish beerstyle from Düsseldorf. This Aolt Beer is an Altbier from Münster — a so-called Münster Alt. It's very different from Düsseldorf Altbier. It's blond and sour, actually it has nothing to do with the Düsseldorf Altbier. Münster Alt or Münstersch Alt is a historical beerstyle whose heyday was in the mid–late nineteenth century. It has then become more or less extinct. Well, not entirely since there are still a couple of breweries left in Münster producing this ancient beerstyle. This particular batch had been macerated with purple grape. The beer shows a translucent crimson tint. Timid carbonation produces a bright white, miniscule-bubbled head that grows one finger tall. Short retention presses the foamy lid down to a gossamer lace ring on the top. The scent portrays purple grape, damson, some dry red wine and hefty lactic acid. The fragrance is somewhat sour but to a modest extent only. The taste is sourer than the scent suggests. I find especially purple grape, damson, a pinch of dark plum and its skin, arrogant dry red wine and a proposal of dry oak. Maybe also a bit of blueberry. Lactic acid is evident but not overwhelming. I anticipated also something Lambic-y, like funky yeast, but there's nothing like that to be found. The body is light-medium. The finish offers loftier red wine and soaked barrel whereas grape and other fruits seem to contract considerably. The aftertaste is felt especially in front of the teeth as some kind of dryness. Otherwise, the finish lingers quite long in the mouth. The mouthfeel is a tad tart, mildly puckering, moderately vinous and barrel aged. It's dry, drying and acidic. Otherwise, the mouthfeel is relatively flat but nicely refreshing. This is really interesting as a historical Münster Alt (my first ever) but at a good standard level as a sour ale. I'm glad I tried this. And the journey continues...