Stern-Bräu Festbier
Brewery: Scheubel’s Stern-Bräu
Town: Schlüsselfeld
Style: smoke Festbier
Color: deep mahogany, nearly black and opaque
Head: tan, rocky, massive, lasting
Nose: smoke, roast
Body: full
Palate: roasted malt, light smoke, underlying hops
Finish: clean, dry, bitter
Served: from a bottle bought locally
Impression: I quite liked this unusual smoky Festbier on tap at the brewery but since Schlüsselfeld isn’t the easiest place to get to, I decided to get one when I made an online order recently. Every beer in the case was new to me aside from this one so wasn’t sure I’d made the right choice until I poured this bottle out. Either this was a very unique batch or they brew a different Fest every year as this was nothing like the one I had on tap a few years ago. I’d also bought some bottles that year and they too were like the one I had on tap: light amber and lightly smoky. This one was nearly black and opaque and much richer with fair roast to go along with the light smokiness. It was quite dry with a clean bitter finish and though “heavy,” it was all to easy to drink at 5.5%. I tried to order more the next day and they had sold out. Hopefully, I see this version again.
