Dusseldorf: Snapping Out of It; and, Every Beer Has a Story

I confess, for most of yesterday and today, I've been languishing in a shameful and inexplicable moroseness and ennui. I have certainly done my tourist's duty and gone to see some sights, but not with my usual joie de vivre. I've also spent unforgivable amounts of time reading in the hostel. Just today I ploughed through the entirety of Amélie Nothomb's Hygiene and the Assassin, which I pretended was to steep me more fully in Belgian identity but was truly me hiding from Dusseldorf.

However, I hereby declare this the end of it. Tomorrow I shall gambol about the streets like the silly wandering girl that I am! Besides, Zelda has been insufferable and I can't take her whining about wanting to go and play outside any longer.

With that, I at long last unveil my conquests in beer, excluding today's delicious altbier on the harbour accompanying currywerst and fries, which I will share in our next episode. As a disclaimer, my palate is not very well-trained - forgive me if my descriptions are off the mark.

Copenhagen

 

G. Menabrea e Figli Amber

This is, of course, not Danish but Italian, given the restaurant my friends chose was a Pizzeria called Gorm's. It was quite tasty: sweet without being very malty, highly carbonated, and medium hop presence.

Dynamo Viking Red Ale

As soon as I took a sip, I thought, "This tastes like home," which was fitting because I was meeting up with my friend and former roommate Shawn and his travelling partner, who serendipitously were passing through Copenhagen that very night. It had a very strong hop presence which countered and nearly overpowered the medium malty sweetness. For those familiar with Hop City's Barking Squirrel from Brampton, ON, these beers could be twins. Only one is brewed by a rapidly expanding Canadian brewery and the other by a smallscale brewpub in Copenhagen called Fermentorum. It was the bartender's own recipe, although I'm still not sure if he was pulling my gullible tourist's leg.

Amager Batch 500 IPA

Although claiming to be an IPA, this beer had wheat written all over it, with its clear, sharp and effervescent taste and creamy, slow-dissipating head. But, the essential medium to high hop presence of an IPA was certainly there as well.

Brasseries des Sources Biere Blonde Extra

This beer accompanied my first serious dinner of my trip. Again, not a Danish beer, but an award-winning French. And man, did it deserve its gold medal. I always love a beer that is both unique and well-executed. It had a floral aroma and was herbal, light and medium-carbonated. The balance was unbelievable.

Braunstein Brewery Porter

I had already taken a few deep swigs of this unusually light-tasting porter when I glanced casually at the label and was shocked to see it packs a hefty 7% underneath its dark colour and crisp, subdued flavour. It sported almost no creaminess but did have some sour notes and carried an unmistakable rye quality. A nice Canadian couple noticed what I was drinking and offered me a piece of the chocolate bar they were sharing. I automatically declined - as I always do, its a personality tic I still haven't shaken - but did strike up a night-long friendship with them as we discussed their travels through Asia, our shared French Canadian heritage and swapped stories about Rob Ford.

Braunstein Brewery Classic

The hop was a strong presence in both the aroma and the taste, yet finished clean and light with almost no linger flavour, and carbonation was also surprisingly absent.

Hamburg

St. Pauli Brewery Astra

Astra is 'The Hamburg Beer,' and St. Pauli Brewery is named after the district in which my hostel was located. This was my first German beer of the trip (I'm ignoring that ridiculous pilsner I drank back in Denmark), and it did not disappoint. It was effervescent and light but overall full in flavour, and finished clean. Its aroma was faint blend of malt and hop, as was its taste. Overall quite balanced, leaning slightly toward hoppy.

Konig Pilsener

I had been wandering the streets of Hamburg for what felt like days. I had started performing a little dance that I seem to do on days when I'm feeling particularly timid: though I was craving a beer like a fire craves wood, I would sidle by every single bar that I came across, eyeing it shyly and concluding after long moments of tortuous indecision that it didn't 'feel right.' I finally chose this dumpy little pub with two tables covered in cheap plastic tablecloths outside underneath an overhang. It was conspicuously empty, cluttered to the point of being an antique shop, light could barely get through the unwashed windows, and the old bartender didn't even look up from his newspaper when I came in and stood awkwardly in front of the bar.

I stammered out, "I just need a beer." He replied, "Konig Pilsener?" and I accepted. I watched as his tap spewed out a pint's worth of foam, and when he noticed me watching, he told me I could go and sit oustide and he'd bring it to me.

Sure enough, I waited about five minutes before he came out with the beer, which tasted as flat as pita bread and had a tell-tale mount of head that sat an inch or two above the rim of the glass.

And yet, when you're craving a beer, even the most sloppily presented pilsener can taste like a life-giving elixir. It was clear, light and bitter like a pilsener should be, but I tasted the classic sourness of a badly maintained draught line. I pretended it was a hint of lemon and enjoyed every drop.

Flensburger Pilsener

My hostel in Hamburg had a great beer selection. This pilsener was the best I've had to date - frothy white head, bitter hop flavour, carbonated and very effervescent with a crisp, clean finish.

Flensburger Dunkel

This was prickly and light, with a strong malt aroma and flavour. It finished with a pleasant mix of sweetness but with a surprise appearance of hop.

Franziskaner Weissbier

This was the beer I drank on my 'date night' described in my last post. It was terrific - sweet, refreshing, very effervescent, and a hop-dominated aroma. I'm sure I've had it back in Canada.

Dusseldorf

Frankenheim Altbier

My first experience with Dusseldorf's famous Altbier. I fell in love in an instant. So smooth, so hoppy, and yet finished so malty! I am, after all, a true romantic: What's love if it's not complicated?

Uerige Altbier

Another good one, with notes of copper and toast and a noticeable hop presence. It was quite bitter but delicious.