Posted in Travels | No comments

Märzen and Bock at 7 Stern

Back from my vacation in Vienna. The city is beautiful, classy, easy to tour both on foot and with the public transport. It is not one of those European capitals that have made me fall in love (London, Prague, Berlin to mention a few), but it is absolutely one that worth a  visit, above all in winter, when the rigid temperatures make you appreciate the so many interesting aspects of the city and its inhabitants.

The food is one of the best feature of the city, not only for what concern the sweets & cakes that have made it famous worldwide, but also for a refined foreign influenced cuisine. I have often found myself walking through Christmas markets with a Wiener Punsch cup in my hands, a must during this cold period, but I’ve obviously not missed the beer, founding some respectable ones.

The Vienna beer scene is quite peculiar, obviously German influenced but without the limitations of Reinheitsgebot, the purity law. This allows the brewers to widen their horizons, brew unusual beers and look to other international beer cultures too.

The first touch with Vienna’s beers has been the 7 Stern Bräu, in Siebensterngasse 19, close to the city centre. Is a spectacular brewpub, with an at sight plant surrounded by an immense horseshoe-shaped counter. The main room is really wide, full of customers that crowds both the counter and the tables on the perimeter. There’s other small rooms with wood tables too, that allow the pub to host a huge number of customers.

The Hanf Bier, can you guess the main ingredient?

Beers are all German inspired bottom fermenting ones. We started with standards: a malty and drinkable Märzen and a Christmas Bock, pleasant even if a bit unbalanced on the alcohol side. Subsequently we drank specialties: a Rauchbier and a hemp Lager.

The Rauch is really superb, the best beer tasted at 7 Stern: it has a Schwartz aroma, with clean notes of coffee and chocolate accompanied by a very light smoky ; easy drinkable with the smoked note that remains quite hidden before emerging in the long end. A different and scheming Rauch indeed.

The hemp Hanf Bier is a more appreciable experiment than what I thought. In the nose the principal ingredient shows itself as a vague and indistinct vegetable note, that melts with the malts’; in mouth the hemp becomes more evident, marking the aftertaste in an unexpectedly pleasant way. It’s not a perfect beer, being quite unbalanced, but that worth the taste.

Bianca appreciates Pils from 1516 Brewing

I had great expectations about 1516 Brewing (Schwarzenbergstraße 2), another at sight plant brewpub within a stone’s throw from the Opera. Is modern looking, with a very young clientele, that usually follows the sporting events transmitted by the so many screens tv sipping house beers. The beer range is distinctive for a city like Vienna considering that their most renowned beer is an IPA: the Victory Hop Devil. Nothing special after all, but it is however a very pleasant India Pale Ale with a strong hopping, a quite sensational thing in a country like Austria. What a pity an excessive carbonation (found in other beers too, not only at 1516 Brewing), due probably to a not that careful pouring.

Their Pils is excellent too, perhaps also better than the IPA, and it has wonderfully hoppy end. The general good level has also been confirmed by their Quinoa Weisse, a wheat beer brewed with the homonym grain-like crop. It’s a very good Weisse, excellently perfumed and so pleasant to drink, despite an excessive carbonation that spoilt it a bit.

Märzen and Helles at Wieden Bräu

Last leg of our beer discovery journey in Vienna has been the Wieden Bräu (Waaggasse 5), the most traditional place among those we visited. Is a German style beer house with a range of classical beers. Frequented since the first afternoon by a rather various clientele, the Wieden Brau is a warm and calm place, where is possible to match the beers with good food.

We have tasted a Märzen and a Helles, both well done, clean, perfumed and with backbone. The guest tap beer was a Bock, that has appeared less appealing than the other two, being however without defects. Carbonation is a problem at Wieden Brau too. That’s a real pity.

The Vienna beer scene showed to be very various, alternating tipical German brews with completely different inspired Ales, as well as the reinterpretation of classic bottom fermentation through the use of special ingredients. The result is a many facets scene, surely interesting for all the beer hunters.