Penning Weihnachtsfestbier
Brewery: Penning Zeissler
Town: Hetzelsdorf
Style: Festbier
Color: amber
Head: off white, bready, thinning
Nose: malty, some dried fruit, slight grain
Body: medium, low carbonation
Palate: malty, fruity, some grain, soft
Finish: clean, semi-dry, semi-bitter
Served: from a bottle bought in the area
Impression: I drank this after the brewery’s Bock and soon realized it was not the best order to do so. Since the Bock is similar to the brewery’s flagship Vollbier, I had imagined this to be a typical golden Festbier but it turned out to be another amber brew, kind of right between the Vollbier and the Bock. It was malty without being sweet and I quite liked it but it seemed lighter flavor-wise after the Bock but it was after all 5.5%, a full 1% less in alcohol. That said, I could see drinking many of these and almost a shame they come out the same time of year. It seems something to put out in early autumn but if looking for something with a little less kick than a Bock, it’s a good choice.
