Schnitzer Bräu German-Hirse-Premium
Company info:
Schnitzerbräu GmbH & Co
Innis & Gunn
Offenburg, GERMANY
Bottle size sampled: 330 mL
Alcohol: 5%
Standard drinks: 1.4
Cap type: Non-twist
Cost: $4.69
Label info: ‘Alcoholic beverage, brewed with millet malt, gluten free’
What the label really means: In various spots across the label, Schnitzer Bräu reminds us that this is an organic, gluten free brew. This has huge appeal to the gluten-intolerant community and suggests a deliciously all natural drop inside. Hardly inventive marketing prose though is it?
The Hell-Cat review starts here
Label: The large ‘Schnitzer Bräu’ text is the main feature on this label with ‘German-Hirse-Premium’ running underneath it. But look closer, up at the coat of arms image at the top and you’ll see two amazing griffins posed beside the shield, their claws grasped in anguish. It is these suckers that should be the focus of the label and not crowded text, or symbols that I think assure this beer’s organic accreditation. As it stands, griffins aside, it is a very boring dull label that simply doesn’t work. Very disappointing.
I give it a label rating of 4 out of 10.
AROMA: A strong hoppy, floral aroma. It smells fresh and citrussy. I have high hopes for this brew.
Taste: GLASS – First sip of the Schnitzer Bräu and I immediately realise any hopes I had raised for this are immediately dashed. It’s a finely carbonated, citrus-infused lager that is incredibly watery, and lacking in any predominant flavours. Frankly I am finding this brew to be a complete waste of time. It’s so bland I am nearly falling asleep as I slowly sink deeper into my bean-bag of despair.
I give it a beer from glass rating of 4.5 out of 10.
Taste: BOTTLE – Wow! Very surprising! Surprising that this beer has suddenly become even more dull than drinking from a glass. Without the accompanying aroma to carry the beer along it’s even more bland and watery. Very, very disappointing.
I give it a taste from bottle rating of 4 out of 10.
Song of choice: Try this alongside the ever-scmultzy Elton John track ‘Your Song‘
Accompanying food: Something incredibly spicy such as Mexican, Thai or other Asian cuisine may just resuscitate this brew long enough for a small spark of life. But I wouldn’t bank on it.
Best season to appreciate: I guess this is more of a Summer thirst quencher due to its half-arsed citrus undertones.
All-nighter beer? No thanks, no sirree bob. It’s too watery and un-flavoursome that I refuse to have more than one.
NEXT WEEK: Toohey’s Old
Hell-Cat's beer blog 
Dangnably shizenhausen beer, ‘Kazoo. It also comes in a lemonado version, which is half the fooze and twice the shizen. I’ve tried ‘em both. I’ll never Schnitzer Bräu again.
Your Shout! The History of Australian Beer.
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Nice one! Thanks Sniv – have watched part 1 and loved it. Thanks for posting it.
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No wuckers, ‘Kazoo. Be careful though. That show’s like a chip. It gives you a thirst.
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Dangnably shizenhausen beer, ‘Kazoo. It also comes in a lemonado version, which is half the fooze and twice the shizen. I’ve tried ’em both. I’ll never Schnitzer Bräu again. Still, at least they contain foozenol, the active ingredient in foozle, which is more than you can say for foozlewürst sausage. Utter misnomer that stuff. Nine out of ten.
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I’ll have to give this a go, but I’ve never had good experience with a gluten free beer. In other news, the second and final part of the History of Australian Beer was on the History channel last night. Told the tale of 20th century pub culture and ended with the huge rise in Australian microbreweries, many of whose products have been reviewed in these pages. As to the future of Australian beer, the bad news is the rise of supermarkets into brewing. John Singleton was interviewed about this and suggested it was only a matter of time before we had ‘Home brand’ beer. “You could go to the bar and order ‘Two Woolies and a Coles'”. Spooky.
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Further to previous, and it pains me to say this as a member of a certain major political party which was on the other side of this debate, the fantastic rise in Australian microbrewing is attributed to the GST. Prior to this, breweries paid tax as a percentage of their wholesale price. Microbreweries faced higher costs, and thus paid much more tax per litre of beer than the big breweries. Now this has changed, Australian beer is fantastically diverse and quality products can be found all over the country if you know where to look.
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Makes you think doesn’t it?
Apart from cellar door type arrangements and beers being sold over the counter at a handful of pubs, microbrewing or craft brewing really can’t compete with the big players because they just don’t have the exposure.
And i’m not talking about the Barons, Little Creatures, Mountain Goat etc. I’m thinking the real smaller scale microbreweries like Red duck, Coldstream and bridge road breweries stuff not sold in Dr Dans and that you rarely hear about (apart from this great blog).
I think some sort of online store specifically dedicated to microbrews, i.e. runs need to be less than 20,000 litres (or some other measurement) would work.
What do you think?
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I think it is the first time Barons or Mountain Goat have been called ‘big players’! Sounds awesome but aside from a few of us holding up the bar around the clock, I fear it could not be economically viable. That said, the Belgian Beer cafes around the place seem to be doing okay, and the Wheatsheaf Hotel here in Adelaide always has a great range of microbrews on tap, so perhaps if the venue is right and the marketing gets through…..
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BenO I am all for the idea! I would *love* the chance to sample brews that are particularly difficult to obtain.
BD – BenO is talking an online store not a bar. However…how good would a micro/craft brew bar be?
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Hell Cat – I’m a long time reader and occassional ‘commentor’ just stopping in to say ‘Hi’. Can’t wait for next week I know a lot of people are divided over Toohey’s Old. I for one am partial to it in the cool, darker months. I wait with baited breath to get your take on it.
I am also enjoying the lifestyle section in Charter. Keep up the good drinking.
Cheers!
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Thanks BenO – always good to have you stop by.
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