Posted by KB on April 28, 2009
On April 23, some of the kluster kids helped celebrate German Bier Day, courtesy of the lovely ladies from Liquid Ideas. The day is the anniversary of the Reinheitsgebot, or Bavarian Purity Law, that was issued in 1516, declaring that from that day forth, beer should only contain four ingredients: water, hops, malt and yeast. 493 years on and those lovable Germans are still making beer with the same four ingredients. And while the kids at kluster are well-acquainted with a lager or two, we thought we’d find out if beer tastes any better when you spell it ‘bier’.
It’s always a good sign when you’re greeted at the door with a cold drink. Better still when served by girls in traditional German busty outfits. Nice. And to cement that time-traveller experience, a young “Duke Wilhelm IV” read out his official beer decree (good work on the costumes Bavarian Beer Cafe – though I’m not sure where the posh English accent comes into it).
Now for part we’d been waiting for. A beer tasting of four brews, ranging from the Steigl Goldbrau pale lager, to the dark Hofbrau Dunkel. It was like tapas, but much better. My vote goes for the Franziskaner Hefe Weissbier Hell – cloudy but light, and tasting of banana. As expected there was some hearty German fare on offer, from the entree of organic pork terrine to the main course of beef cheek braised in beer, pure bier of course. Follow that up with a deep fried pear with chocolate sorbet and it’s just about time for a nap.
