It's that time of the month again, when
High Point Brewery, maker of Ramstein beers, opens its doors for
tours and tasting. Much more welcome than a visit from Aunt Flo, let me tell you.This time they released their fantastic
Double Platinum Blonde, a double hefeweizen, a rare brew anywhere and definitely worth a trip to the brewery for.
It has all the smoothness of their flagship Blonde Hefeweizen, with a deeper full body and plenty of fruit notes within its wheaty character. It's really fantastic, and it's a shame they don't bottle it. You don't see beers of this type very often, much less this quality.
The crowd was lighter than usual, and I attribute that to the Maibock season being over. Well, Maibock fans, you should have come for the Double Platinum! Your loss. I grabbed a growler of it, and another of the classic, which I've fast become fond of. Their best creation is still the even rarer
Eisbock, based on their Winter Wheat, a smooth and chocolatey seasonal brew. The Eisbock version, which requires 3 days of 25 degree weather to make, is even smoother and something like 12.5% alcohol. That'll warm you up on a cold winter day. If only they could make it every year. Maybe they could borrow a deep freeze from someone, if they could find one big enough...
The tour, now without stair-climbing for safetyHefeweizens and Weiss beers are my favorites, and Greg & company at Ramstein have been top on my list since I found the Blonde at the
now-gone Triangle Hofbrau restaurant on Route 23. I took Darth Milk there on his 21st birthday in the pouring rain, and we saw "Ramstein Blonde 22oz" on the beer list. Being fans of the German band
Rammstein, we had to try it, and we haven't regretted it since. It reminded me of the first weissbier I had at
Gasthof zur Gemutlichkeit, a brauhaus in Minneapolis, and I haven't had a better one, even when I went to Bavaria. As you'd learn on the tour, they get their wheat, hops and yeast from a Bavarian source for which they have an exclusive partnership.
Johnny finds the button which frees the beer elvesIf you like Belgian beers, don't overlook the German weissbiers, especially the ones coming out of Butler New Jersey, by High Point Brewery. Their Classic Hefeweizen with its darker character is a delicious amber brew, and their flagship Blonde is rightfully famous for being the best German-style hefeweizen found on this continent. Their Oktoberfest is another award-winner, and their maibock is my favorite harbinger of spring.
If you can't make it on the Second Saturday of the month from 2-4pm for the Open House, call the brewery and stop by during the week, where you can get a growler filled (or purchase an empty if you need one) or get six-packs. Their site also lists bars and stores that carry their beer; Bottle King is always a safe bet. Beer lover's havens in NYC such as Gingerman Pub, and Spuytin Duivil carry Ramstein on tap regularly, as does the
Kabin (home of the Tommy Danger Comedy Hour).
Andy's Corner Bar in Bogota (convenient to the GWB and Hiram's hotdog stand) also carries it on tap, including specialties like the Double Platinum and they even had the Eisbock.
Even if you don't like beer, the hefeweizen, along with Belgian whites, are the place to start. Smooth and silk and a very mild hop note without bitterness, there's nothing better on a warm summer day. My limes are going bad because I keep going for the growler instead of making a gin & tonic on warm days. Thankfully the brewery now takes credit cards, so you can buy a half-dozen growlers if you want to. And after a taste, you will. Oh, and why not stop at the
Bee Line for a chili dog on the way to or from the brewery? On a nice day you can sit at their picnic table by the stream, though I don't think you can BYOB.
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Begone, foul words of the devil! Shrink it back.
This weekend was a surprise at the High Point Wheat Beer Brewing Company, aka "Ramstein Brewery," and their open house. It was winter in August! They managed to create another batch of their delicious Ice Storm Eis Bock, which requires 25 degrees Fahrenheit or less. It was a welcome surprise, and the super-smooth black velvet brew with the sucker punch of 12% alcohol content will make for great summer drinking, despite being based on their famous seasonal Winter Wheat. They had six sixtals and they sold out within an hour. They also had their magnificently malty Keller Pilsner- their Golden Lager before it is filtered and lagered. The Lager is a fine beer, but the Keller is its own creature, full of stronger flavors and still refreshing. Amazingly they were sold out of the Blonde, their flagship beer. Let's hope the shortage doesn't last too long. It remains my favorite summer beer, when I can get it. They also had their Classic Hefeweizen on tap and in six packs.
The bar area was decorated with that rare commodity, hops! They may not be the prettiest flowers, pale green throughout, but aren't we thankful for the homely horticultural hops? Without them, we could not make beer, at least not as defined by the German beer laws. Those laws don't stop the megabrewers from using rice instead the holy trinity of brewer's ingredients: barley, malt and hops, but that's why we love craft brewers like Greg Zaccardi of High Point Brewing. If I want to drink rice beer, I'll wait for microbrewing to take off in Japan.
We inducted two new members into the Growler Club this time around- friends Liz and Sean both bought growlers and filled them. Poor Sean only got half a growler of the Eis Bock, since he hesitated before purchasing. But that's twice as strong as a growler full of other beer, so he'll be just as happy. It was also the first public gathering of the Order of the Triad, a secretive beer-lover's organization that sometimes performs costumed aggression and other acts of tomfoolery. We also found business cards for a New Jersey beer blog, The Beer-Stained Letter, so here's a shout-out to our beer-blogging friend.
