Pete Drinks: Clemens ohne Filter (Unfiltered)

Name: Clemens ohne Filter (Unfiltered)

ABV: 5.4%

Bottled/ Draft: Bottle conditioned

Colour: Deep amber

Head: Fine bubbles feeding a lingering, foamy, good sized head.

Mouthfeel: Medium body, the bubbles lingering in the mouth without becoming fizzy.

Taste: Rich, full of sweet maltiness, with a warming alcohol sharpness.

Comment: As I've mentioned before, sometimes the fact that I'm known to like my beer, results in the joy of a friend bringing me their local brews to try. On this occasion the friend in question is from Bavaria and brought me a local beer I haven't even seen in my favourite online beer shop!

It's a delicious smelling beer with the sweetness of the malt and the yeastiness that comes from the bottle conditioning. Those smells strongly bring to my mind the smell of a brewery, giving you a connection to production often lacking in beer - although I often find that a good whisky's nose will transport me to the warehouse in a similar way.

It's just as delicious on drinking, with that deep, rich sticky sweet malt and a surprisingly strong alcohol edge to it; it manages to taste as if it's a fair bit stronger than the 5.4% on the bottle. The fine bubbles give a lovely texture in the mouth. "Very tasty, very drinkable" I have on my tasting notes, right next to urgent questions of "where can I find in this country?!".

The last word, however, has to go to the Haerle brewery themselves; my German is fairly rusty, so I shall let Google do the translation of the beer's tagline for me - "Clemens without a filter - the beer for ironing".

OK, then.