Winter Beer: Wodan
18 November, 2011It never occurred to me that there are standard all-year beers and there are seasonal beers. A normal beer is something that might be brewed and sold the entire year. Then per season there are special beers only available for a short time. The seasons seem to be different per brewery, but winter, summer and Oktoberfest are heavily represented.
Wodan is the winter beer that is brewed by Ganter, the local large brewery in Freiburg. The arena that is in the brewery complex is named after it as well: Wodanhalle. A nice winter warmup though. When I see it in the grocery store, I know winter has arrived.
Wodan is a dark beer that is very strong at 7.5% alcohol. So at half again as strong as normal pilsner it carries quite a kick if you aren’t careful. I remember it being sold when I got here 4 years ago at the beginning of November. It seems to usually be around until March. So the dark months are dark-beer time.
The kick is thankfully tastable. When I take a sip, I know I’m getting something strong. Not really so subtle in my opinion. The beer is also a bit on the bitter side unlike some of the dark hefes that are sweet and smooth. I like this beer, but not something I can drink a lot of. Ganter is the major local brewery, but it seems to only extend out from Freiburg a little ways. I see it in every shop here, but not when I have hit stores (in train stations usually) elsewhere. So this taste may be very specific to here.
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Not perhaps the correct glass for it, but it shows the deep rich color of the beer.
Ganter has another summer beer that they make that is lighter. The Oktoberfest beers are also a seasonal thing. So many breweries make them in September and Oktober, but will only last through the end of the festival. Seasonal beers fit to their season and are good drinking.
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Category: Postcards
Posted by Andrew
Yum! Sounds tasty – maybe more up John’s alley than mine
Andrea recently posted..Pierogi and Piwo: Traditional Polish Food Favourites
I like the idea of seasonal beers better than the actual seasonal brews itself if that makes sense. A lot of the dark ones are too bitter for me, so usually the winter brews are out for me anyways
As I said though, I like that you can play around with different beers from the same brewery as the year progresses.
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Yeah makes some sense. The idea that they can play with the beer and set it to the season, yet what they make you don’t always like? I like the dark hefe beers, they tend to have the dark rich taste but without so much the bitterness.
Maybe I need to try those
Sabrina recently posted..Best Ribs: Texas Smoked Ribs Recipe