Zehendner Wachenröther Festbier
Brewery: Zehendner
Town: Mönchsambach
Style: Festbier
Color: unfiltered light amber
Head: white, creamy
Nose: rich malt, some caramel
Body: full
Palate: richly malty, slight caramel, underlying hops
Finish: lingering, semi-dry, semi-bitter
Served: on tap at the Café Abseits in Bamberg
Impression: I’d never heard of this Festbier until seeing a post on Facebook from the owner of Café Abseits. It’s brewed for a Kerwa in Wachenroth and it seems the festival was cancelled but the beer was already brewed. Zehendner’s Maibock ran out very quickly this year so as a bit of a consolation, they put the Festbier on tap in their pub and some came into the hands of the Bamberg institution. I made sure to get up there while it was still on. It came out looking quite majestic, with a very full creamy head and rich malty nose with a hint of caramel. It was quite full-bodied and richly malty in the palate as well. The finish lingered but dried out just about enough to make it a nice one beer beer and not one you would drink many of. Admittedly, it’s a powerful 6.5%, more in the Bock range. To me a Festbier should be something that creeps up on you but doesn’t taste overly strong. I’m glad I tried it and would have one again but I like their even stronger Bocks more. Go figure.
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