Meckatzer Löwenbräu
Heimenkirch, Germany
Imported by: Bavaria Imports
Brooklyn, NY
Available: MA, PA, NY, VA, NC, GA, FL, IL, NJ, CA, WA
This brewery is probably the only one in Germany that still uses a wort filter to remove trub particulate before fermentation.
Alcohol (vol.): 5.2
Alcohol (wt): 4.1
Color: gold
Bitterness: 25
Original gravity: 1050
Gently sweet notes of malt and silky honey on the nose and palate, along with curious, fleeting notes of citrus, honeydew melon and vanilla paste. Delicately creamy in texture too, with a measured, dry finish that lingers. I am surprised by the conservative 11.2 ounce (330 ml) bottle for a beer of such drinkability. My lonely half liter German mug will have to wait for another day.
The color of this lager is perhaps a shade or two of gold darker than you might expect, but that only reflects its malty body, something that can also be said of the sweetish, honey-accented aroma. All of this, of course, culminates in a malty, lightly sweet taste which is almost but not quite balanced by some dry and only faintly bitter hop and culminates in an off-dry finish. Overall, I’d say this works well for a first beer of the day — an eye-opener, if you will — or a well-chilled accompaniment to a sandwich lunch.
John Hansell is an equal-opportunity drinker. He writes about beer, wine and spirits. He is the creator, publisher & editor of Malt Advocate, a magazine for the whisky enthusiast.
Stephen Beaumont boarded his first plane at the age of 15 and hasn’t looked back since, obsessing about travel to the point that he gets nervous if he doesn’t have a ticket or two stacked on the corner of his desk. When he’s not running around in search of new taste experiences, he makes his home in Toronto, where a new cultural experience is only as far away as the next neighborhood.
