Beer Man: German lager Edelstoff is the real deal

Augustiner Edelstoff

Augustiner Brewery, Munich, Germany

www.augustiner-braeu.de

5.7 percent ABV

Edelstoff is another German lager among several I picked up a few weeks ago and will continue to write about in the coming weeks.

The first I reviewed was Weihenstephaner Original Premium, and while Augustiner can’t make a claim to being as old as that brewery (1040 A.D.), it still has credentials dating back to 1328, which is nothing to sneeze at. After all, we live in a country where it is now a big deal for a brewery to last 25 years and “vintage” applies to action figures purchased last Christmas at Walmart.

Augustiner’s reputation is such that it is considered the go-to beer at the annual Munich Oktoberfest, where it is only served from wooden barrels.

Edelstoff translates to something like “noble substance.”

At 5.7 percent ABV, Edelstoff could almost be considered a bock beer. Bock beers are not all dark, such as maibock varieties. There are some bocks that are only 5.5 percent, though most are between 6 and 7 percent. I found that Edelstoff’s higher ABV gave more body to the beer, creating a more solid mouthfeel.

Like all fine lagers, Edelstoff started out with a bright white head and crystal clear golden body with nice effervescent bubbles floating about. The aroma consisted of light malt with sweet background notes of vanilla and honey, and grassy hops.

The flavor was mostly fresh malt grain with some sweetness that was tempered by a slight lemony tartness. Faint vanilla was present in the background and the body was creamy.

Compared to the Weihenstephaner, Edelstoff had less of a head after the pour, a bit less carbonation and was a touch sweeter. It also had a sharper hop flavor and creamier mouthfeel. It’s a tossup which beer was better — I liked the extra carbonation of the Weihenstephaner but also the mouthfeel and sweeter nature of Edelstoff. These differences were minor, however, and both are fine examples of the style.

Augustiner beers are imported by Global Village Imports and are distributed in nearly every state. The list of distributors is at www.gviimports.com/distributors.html.

Beer Man sez: Edelstoff has all the right stuff for a fine German lager.

—Todd Haeferof Scandinavia gets paid to drink beer and write about it for Weekend. He can be reached at beerman@postcrescent.com. Read past reviews at www.postcrescent.com/beerman.