German beer series: Schanzenbräu Rotbier
The second beer from Costco's Biergarten Collection is Schanzenbräu Rotbier, a red lager from Nuremberg. I went in expecting a red ale and got a lager instead: drier, cleaner, and lighter than the red ales I usually drink, and a pleasant change from them.
The beer#
Schanzenbräu Rotbier, 4.9% ABV and 25 IBU, unfiltered, in a 500 ml (16.9 fl oz) can. The brewery lists Vienna, melanoidin, and caramel malts, with Hallertauer Tradition, Spalter Select, and Mandarina Bavaria hops. The owner has since said he dropped the caramel malt, so that list may be out of date.
The brewery#
Schanzenbräu is a young brewery by German standards. Stefan Stretz started brewing in 2004 in a backyard cellar on Bärenschanzstraße in Nuremberg's Gostenhof district, which gave the brewery its name. He moved to professional equipment in 2007 and opened a larger brewery in the Höfen district in 2016. The pub and beer garden are still in Gostenhof.
Stretz still owns and runs it. It brews about 15,000 hectoliters a year, and Nuremberg's tourism office calls it the city's second largest private brewery. Rotbier makes up about 30% of its output, though its Helles now sells more. The brewery reports a gold medal for the Rotbier at Meininger's International Craft Beer Award in 2019 and a bronze at the World Beer Awards in 2021.
The style#
Rotbier, or "red beer," is a red, malty lager with deep roots in Nuremberg. The city brewed bottom-fermented, barley-only beer from the Middle Ages, and by 1597 it had 35 red beer breweries. The style faded and has since been revived by local brewers. The Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) has no Rotbier category; the closest is Kellerbier. Being a lager is what sets it apart from the red ales I'm used to, and it's the main thing I noticed in the glass.
Appearance#
Reddish with caramel hues and solid clarity. The head sticks around well for a canned beer.
Aroma#
Almost nothing. I couldn't pick out much of a smell at all.
Taste and mouthfeel#
The flavor is light and clean. Caramel comes through up front, then fades quickly into the finish. The red malt is there without the heavy, sweet maltiness of a red ale, which makes it a refreshing change from the reds I normally reach for. The flavor stays fairly simple, but what's there is pleasant.
The finish is surprisingly bitter for 25 IBU. It isn't hoppy by any means, but the hop flavor is stronger than I expected. The body is full, with solid carbonation.
Verdict#
Gut. It's quite good: pleasantly flavored, clearly well made, and a nice contrast to red ales. It lands at Gut rather than Prost! mostly because of my personal taste, not because of any flaw in the beer.
Previous in the series: Eibauer Festbier