Stein of the Day

Here’s a half-liter stein from the Reichelbrau brewery in Kulmbach. The city is known for its several breweries and more than 20 varieties of beer. The Reichelbräu brewery was added to the Paulaner group of breweries in 1986.

Here’s more from beerhunter.com:

Reichel, founded in 1846, has wooden lagering vessels ranged as a memory of tradition outside its white-painted tower. Its Risbock, sub-titled Bayrisch G'frorns ("Bavarian Frozen") has a gravity of 1096 and is made from five malts, one with an intentionally-sour, lactic character.

After a conventional bottom-fermentation, the brew is frozen for 11-14 days. Between 5 and 7 per cent of the volume of the brew stays behind as ice. Because water freezes before alcohol, this concentrates the brew, which then has six months' lagering.

The beer is released at about 7 o'clock in the evening at a public festival in Kulmbach town hall on the last Saturday in March. If you have missed it for this year, perhaps you should think about booking a trip for 1994.

The festival opens with the ceremonial hacking open of an icebound wooden cask. The beer that emerges is very complex, with a deep, reddish-brown color; a malty aroma; a smooth palate; a warming, faintly bitter, finish reminiscent of a coffee liqueur; and a strength of 10 per cent ABV.