Veltins Grevensteiner Landbier

Veltins Grevensteiner. C. & A. Veltins. Naturally Cloudy Beer. 5.2% ABV, 23 IBU. Brewed and bottled (or, maybe, canned?) in Germany by Brauwerei Veltins.

Clear, amber-hued, slim white head.

In the nose: Malt. Grain, cereal. Sweet.

In the mouth: Clean, balanced, sweet, malty. I said half those words already, didn't I? On the fruity side. And downright tasty. Not much more to say than that. Fairly straightforward. I'd drink it again. And maybe again.

This beer has been referred to as a "land bier", but I don't know what that is. It has also been called a kellerbier, or zwickel, and I do know what they are. Those are unfiltered lagers, as this one appears to be, somewhat. I've found out that "land bier" translates from "country" or "house" lager, and can range from light golden to dark brown. But there isn't a great deal of consensus currently about what they are, and the phrase seems to be catch-all used for marketing. The name seems to amorphously apply itself to more than those above-named categories, stretching out to Munich dunkels, as well.

Here's something ripped from their website: The beer presents itself in a palely amber colour with orange reflections and a mellow soft head. The complex flavour is firstly dominated by caramel with a slight undertone of honey, roasted almonds, and fresh fruity flavours that bring tastes of green apple to mind. Grevensteiner Original appears very crisp and elegant despite its round and malty-sweet body. A smooth toasty character paired with nutty flavours opens a distinctive finale, which unfolds impressions of butterscotch.

I don't know if the above was written in the Deutsch language and translated into English, or written in English by a German, but I do enjoy reading such stuff. 

Veltins Pilsener

Veltins Pilsener. Product of Germany. Pilsener Beer. Seit 1824. 4.8% ABV. Brauerei C. & A. Veltins GmbH & Co., Meschede-Grevenstien, Germany.

This was a badly staged photo. You can't see the handle on
the clever plastic insta-stein that's gripping the can,
though you can see the lid. 

Clear, yellow, brief ivory head.

In the nose: light malt, grainy, slight hops.

In the mouth: Nice splash of hop bitterness, turning dry instantly. Brief hop attack on the palate, then all is smooth. Light bodied, refreshing, highly drinkable. Classic German-style pils, and there ain't nothing wrong with it.

Don't know what else to say. Except that I was sure that I'd had this before. So, I dug deep into the archives, and by that I mean that I checked it out on BeerAdvocate.com, and found this. From January 2003, and a sample bottle or can provided by the distributor at the time:

"Label proclaims this as a "German Pilsner Beer", but it's a pilsner like Miller Lite's a "true pilsner beer". Clear dull yellow color, moderate white head. Aroma: dry, vegetal, flat, hints of corn, flinty, and overall off-putting to this nose. Absolutely no body, texture, nil, nothing, nada. Not a single bit of taste to be accounted for. It passes through you, without a trace of it having been on your tongue at all."

Clearly, I no longer find those negative attributes in this one. It's seems that I went into it wanting to go after it. Either I got a bad or old or skunked sample, lo those years ago, or my appreciation for the style has changed. Maybe a bit of both. I think I just liked picking on lagers back then.

Type bottom fermented, Pilsener style
Colour bright shiny gold
Smell fresh hay and fresh herbs with citrous flavour and a nutty character
Taste slightly dry with a harmonic finish
Foam finely-pored and steady
Bitterness perfectly bodied
Original gravity 11°P
Alcohol content 4,8 vol. %
Calorific value
41 kcal/100 ml or 174 kj/100 ml

I love to share the verbiage from European breweries, because their word choices are just a little different from what we'd say on this side of the Atlantic. And I scratch my head at some of their descriptions. "Nutty character" in the nose, I mean, smell? No. How can bitterness be described as "perfectly bodied"? Huh. Oh, well.

It's a good German pils and you can drink it. Go right ahead.