Steam Brew
Brewed by Privatbrauerei Eichbaum
Style: Red Ale/bock
Mannheim, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany
The Eichbaum Brewery was founded way, way back in 1679 by Jean du Chaine (Chêne) from Southern Belgium, originally as a small brewpub, and while the exact location changed, its home and heart has always been in the city of Mannheim, a southern German city touching the Rhine. The name Eichbaum came from the translation of his family name, .du Chêne, which means “Oak tree”, or “Eichbaum” in German.
All was going well for many years, even centuries, until the Nazis got into power. By this stage the company had a substantial Jewish shareholdership, and due to the toxic political atmosphere in the country, they were all expelled and the company was nationalized.
WW2 resulted in the company ceasing to produce any beer at all, go figure! But after the war, the company reopened and did very well since they were the main beer supplier for the American army that was now based in Germany at that time! The after war boom in Germany, attributed to the rebuilding of the country and help from the Allies, especially in the 50’s and 60’s, all contributed as well.
Since the 70’s the brewery has changed ownership many times but nowadays it is operated as a private brewery, Eichbaum GmbH & Co KG.
Today, the brewery is one of the largest and most efficient breweries in the Baden-Württemberg region of Germany. Not only is it the oldest company in Mannheim but it is also one of the most modern. State-of-the-art brewing and bottling technologies make for an annual output of 1.8 million hectolitres, resulting in more than 16 different beers produced yearly for its every widening market.
This is my fourth beer that I have tried from the Eichbaum Brewery, I had their Bottle of Eichbaum Maibock, which I have to say was a bit of a disappointment for me. I found it too bitter and a real struggle to drink. On the other hand, the Steam Brew Imperial Stout was very smooth and oh so tasty and one I will definitely be returning too. Lastly I had their Steam Brew Imperial IPA which was very hoppy, full of taste, tasty and very well balanced. A recommended brew for sure. So onto my fourth, lets see how the German Red compares
Review: 05l can of Steam Brew German Red: 7.9% vol.
Bought in Lidl.
Love the Steam Brew cans, full of character and with a story behind each one. I’m fucked if I know the exact story-line, probably some bollix, but it looks well good. A logo of what looks like a very pretty lady in a top hat, surrounded by all sorts of gadgets, wheels and rusty instruments, pretty eye catching and cool. On the very noticeable red can it says “lets oil the gears of life”, yes sure why not…….
On pour looks fantastic, lovely pour, getting a nice dark red amber colour, and a brilliant frothy white head. Lovely.
Looks full bodied and ready to be devoured. Inviting on the eye.
Good carbonation. Some small lacing left on glass…………………..
Smells are the usual read ale aromas, light and lagery, caramel, grainy, malty, yeasty, dark fruity on nose, all very light though, nearly odorless, all a bit disappointing on the nose…………….
Onto the taste, getting a very full bodied beer, with caramel notes and all very filling and clean.
Very nice mouthfuls loaded with flavour, nice and sweet with caramel and malt notes hitting the spot. Alcohol can be detected.
Tastes like what a red ale should be, nice and filling. I like it.
Took it cold from fridge, and its all good on the taste. a bloody good effort of a red ale, nice and cold.
Having said all that, after a while it does get a bit dry in the aftertaste and I wouldn’t think I’d have more than two of these in a sitting.
The Eichbaum Brewery was founded way, way back in 1679 by Jean du Chaine (Chêne) from Southern Belgium, originally as a small brewpub, and while the exact location changed, its home and heart has always been in the city of Mannheim, a southern German city touching the Rhine. The name Eichbaum came from the translation of his family name, .du Chêne, which means “Oak tree”, or “Eichbaum” in German.
Since the 70’s the brewery has changed ownership many times but nowadays it is operated as a private brewery, Eichbaum GmbH & Co KG.
On pour get a lot of carbonation, mad alive, resulting in a big creamy white head and an amber coloured beer. When it all settles down, the result is a fantastic looking beer. Great head on it, and it looks very delicious, very inviting. Lovely on the eye.
Founded way back in 1543, the Köstritzer brewery, is a market leader in German Schwarzbiers (black beers). The brewery is located just east of Kulmbach, the birthplace of Schwarzbier, and is situated in Bad Köstritz, a town in the district of Greiz, in Thuringia, a state in east-central Germany, known for its vast forests punctuated with mountain peaks and medieval villages.
Says from “1543” on bottle, wow that is some history……………comes in bottle and in can, and can be found in draft in certain selected areas, and is purportedly Germany’s most popular black beer. 
The flavours do fall off the more you get into the beer, but still enough in the mouth to enjoy.
Schöfferhofer’s Hefeweizen Naturtrüb is considered the undoubted classic in their wide range of beers. Naturtrüb means naturally cloudy, ie unfiltered beer that is cloudy because it is bottled while there is still some active yeast naturally carbonating the beer.
Getting the usual hefeweizen aromas, no surprise there, the malts, cloves, the citrus and fruits, and a hint off the spicy hops. Smell is fine, but not strong, weak and on the low level.
Perhaps a fan of the old weissbier might not be enamored, but I like it, its manageable for me at least who is not a regular drinker of these wheat beer types. 
In 1996, two well established breweries from the city of Stuttgart in South West Germany, came together. Dinkelacker and Schwaben Braeu merged to become The Dinkelacker-Schwaben Brau GmbH & Co. KG, a super brewery ready to take on the world…………..Then Brewing giants InBev came along in 2004 and bought the whole operation!
Got from a German supermarket, a four pack, coming in a very cool looking logo of a brewer and his beer, happy with his accomplishment! An unfiltered traditional cloudy beer. 
On to the taste, very soft and creamy on the tongue initially, crispy and inoffensive, not much flavouring to taste and very, very smooth. Light and not really hitting the spot.
Since its launch in 1979, Clausthaler has been one of the non-alcoholic beer pioneers, consistently voted as producing one the best non-alcoholic beers in the world!
Comes in a bottle that looks like a regular beer. Certainly fooled me, that’s why I bought the fucking thing, thinking it was normal beer. Damn!!!!
Get a lot in the bottle, which is always a big plus.
Started in July 2016, this small craft beer brewery began when friends, after a conversation in a bar, decided to do something about the general staleness of the local beer scene in the town of Freising, in Bavaria, Southern Germany. They came up the name Wolfscraft to show that there beers were unpredictable and hard to pin down!
Nice brown bottle with a very cool pic of a blue wolf, its logo. Really catches the eye. 
But it manages to settle down and after a while the taste improves, eventually getting nice big mouthfuls, nice and crisp. Exotic fruits, the malts and grains present, but all the flavours are quite light, it’s really all about the hops. 
The brewery Schimpfle is located near the old city of Augsburg. It all started when, in 1864, a Mathias Schimpfle bought a small inn with brewing rights in the quiet town of Gessertshausen, in the heart of Bavaria. 
Like the little brown bottles with the pull caps, has the logo of a little elf on the front, as a fireman. Zwerg means dwarf!
Bit of a disappointment in the taste department, expected more of a cola taste, but what I got was pretty flat, and tasteless really. Like a bad watery cola, with a hint, and just a hint, of alcohol. 
The company were formed when two former business consultants quit their jobs and started brewing beer? Timm and Mario, the well travelled duo, brought back to Germany with them hop varieties, yeast strains and plenty of ideas from their global adventures. 
“Handcrafted Beer from Bayern”, in a very cool looking bottle with a nice logo, nothing fancy but a nice written design of the the company’s name. 
Typical IPA style in the taste, not bad at all, all very hoppy but very manageable and very tasty. Sweet malts, caramel, the citrus and the hops all delicious and very well managed. 
All was going well for many years, even centuries, until the Nazis got into power. By this stage the company had a substantial Jewish shareholdership, and due to the toxic political atmosphere in the country, they were all expelled and the company was nationalized. 
Brewed for LIDL Germany, which shows how much the retail supermarket is trying to tap into the craft beer scene.
For a stout, it is not as bitter or strong in the taste that it should be, its a bit light in that regards, and I really cant feel the 7.5% vol. but it is tasty enough to allay any of those fears that it might be another limp wristed stout. Good enough to enjoy and goes down the hatch very easy. Also get a lot in the can too, so happy days!