During world war II, much of Europe's most beautiful and beloved cities were nearly razed and burnt right to the ground. There are countless examples of such cities whose historical splendor were forever marred by the ugliness of human nature. Many of the largest cities were able to retain some of their pristine beauty, but others like Caen, Cologne and Coventry were never really able to fully recover. Aside from the obvious loss of human life and incredible suffering that came as a result of the war, the total devastation leveled upon these once majestic cities is in my opinion one of the greatest losses. However, there are a few cities that remained relatively untouched amid the chaos of the second world war. One such city is Bamberg, a medium sized city nestled in the heartland of Bavaria. It seems hard to believe that Bamberg could remain so untouched from the bombings of the allied forces during the war, but there was one simple strategic factor that protected this charming little city on the river Regnitz. Bamberg was home to one of Germany's largest artillery factories, which prevented enemy aircraft from risking their own lives by bombing the city. As a result, visiting the city of Bamberg is like taking a trip through time. There are some buildings that date back to the the 15th century still stand today, and looking at photos of the city is almost like looking into a book of fairytales.
Tonight's beer Mahr's Weiss comes from the magical city of Bamberg, and a special city deserves and special beer. While Bamberg is renowned for a certain type of beer called Rauchbier(which translates to smoked beer in English), tonight's beer is a good old German classic; hefewiezen. Now I've had my fair share of hefs over that last couple of months, so I think I've earned the ability to be a bit more critical of this trademark German brew. I'm not afraid to tell my loyal readers if a hef is horrible, if it's great, or if it's just average. Unfortunately, I think Mahr's Weiss falls into the category of the latter. Mahr's Weiss is a great example of what a quality hef should be. It has a nice wheaty/grainy taste to it, the familiar golden cloudy color, and a crisp and clean finish. Sounds great right? While Mahr's Weiss does contain all of these very positive things, it just doesn't wow you as a drinker. For my money, I still like Paulaner the best out of all the hefs I've tried so far, and Mahr's Weiss couldn't quite do enough to change my opinion. Still, this is a quality hef and I wouldn't be afraid to recommend it to anyone who likes to float a lemon wedge in the brew.
Prost!
Ian
http://www.mahrs-braeu.de/
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