Saturday, November 3, 2007

The taste of Oktober

One of the pleasures of this time of year is that bottled versions of the Oktoberfest beers from the Munich brewers appear in the shops. Typically coming in around 6% ABV, these are full-flavoured, malty beers bursting with character, far removed from the typical British conception of thin, insipid “lager”. They can also often be found at surprisingly low prices – the Löwenbräu version is currently available in Morrisons at £1.29 for a 500 ml bottle and – possibly because of a mix-up with the regular beer, which has a similar label – the Paulaner brew was a mere 89p in Tesco. Others to look out for are Höfbräu, Spaten and Augustiner – well worth trying if you come across them.