Keg Volume

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Zeigenbock tastes much cleaner (less corn, I wager), acetaldehyde aside.

We did a side-by-side comparison of Zeig with Shiner Bock and we could not tell enough of a difference to justify the much higher cost of Shiner Bock ($86 vs. $64).

The probably make it up with rice.

Nasty stuff - the byproduct of ethanol oxidation - responsible for the hangover.

There ought to be a law that every bottle of beer must contain an aspirin.

I'll bet as a class of people, beer drinkers have fewer cardiac moments, because they regularly consume aspirin.

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

--Benjamin Franklin

lol. And yet, I found the Zeigenbock I tried(bottled) to be bordering on the undrinkable. Shiner Bock? I just had a couple of bottles of it after attending the GABF and it twasn't bad at all.

Best regards, Bill

I find the Shiner pretty much undrinkable. I can't stand that enormous corn flavor. Havne't had the Zeignbock to compare. Not in a hurry to get around to that.

-Steve

"Steve Jackson" schreef in bericht news:4Okdd.93516$Lo6.4865@fed1read03...

And I rather like the Shiner Bock. Had it on draught at the Falling Rock, and was agreably surprised. To me it has a very bready nose and palate, which makes it quite in style with German Bocks. Joris

One Shiner Bock is my limit, since after that the corn starts really annoying me. It works well as the liquid when making baked beans, though. Probably good in red chili con carne, too. Ziegenbock tastes like Shiner Bock without the corn (so it's more drinkable IMO).

Unless they've changed the beer in the past year or two, the malt is wrong for a German bock-- caramel malts and flabby domestic 2-row rather than tasty German malts (including Munich).

I had pretty much had my fill of Shiner Bock when we emptied that keg. I think it will be our last.

But the yups sure go for it. They also go for Velveeta cheese laced with jalipinos on dried out corn chips too.

I sure hope so - we just tapped a keg last night.

I haven't had the zeigenbock but I've always wondered if it wasn't merely just Michelob Amber Bock with a different label.

Consider we're talking A-B it wouldn't surprise me

It is called "Zeigenbock Amber" in Texas.

I will have to try Michelob Amber Bock and compare now that I have a keg of Zeig going.

BTW. what is the difference between Michelob and Budweiser in terms of taste?

"Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future."

--Niels Bohr

I tasted them side by side at the St. Louis brewery. I found the Michelob to be a bit fuller in body and to have a fuller malted barley flavor, versus a slightly lighter and rougher/grainier flavor to the Bud. Both had what I consider too much carbonation-- I know the style calls for relatively high CO2, but when it's the prime characteristic it's just not enjoyable to me.

Bud tastes too much like breakfast cereal soaked in water. The grain adjunct flavor is oppressive. I haven't drunk enough Michelob to have an opinion.

FWIW, the keg Zeigenbock is good stuff - I can recommend it over keg Shiner Bock (the bottled stuff for either of those is swill - keg is the only way to go). The Shiner had a cloying off-flavor finish whereas the Zeig has a pleasant finish.

I realize that Zeig is probably Michelob with a little roasted malt, but I like it for now. Of course we still have 15 gallons left, so I'll have to see what I think when the keg is empty.

Can you relate the level of carbonization to something quantitative, for example, the CO2 Volume shown in the chart on:

An educated guess will be better than nothing.

"Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future."

--Niels Bohr

As the little chart says, I'd peg it around 2.5.

I'm surprised they have Belgian ales listed as lower than American lagers-- some of the Belgians I've had were more carbonated than your typical NAIL. And it works better for the Belgians due to the higher body and flavor.

I was always under the impression that Michelob, as a so-called Premium beer, had a slightly higher malt to adjunct ratio than Bud.

More than slightly higher malt/adjunct ratio. But to me the difference was the ratio between 6-row and

2-row malted barley. From memory jogged by googling the HBD (and not guaranteed to be accurate):

Bud: 33% rice, 53% 6-row barley, 13% 2-row barley Mich: 20% rice, 16% 6-row barley, 64% 2-row barley

Or to be a snobby beer geek about it, Michelob has a lot more of what I expect from a beer-- smooth 2-row malted barley.

What volume would you consider enjoyable?

I am running about 2.2l. I measure the beer temp with a dairy thermometer directly in the glass, not relying on the refrigerator thermometer. There is about a 4F drop to the glass.

Normally I would want more carbonation only because I am used to it, and this is the first time I have been able to control it in a systematic way.

"Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future."

--Niels Bohr

I used mash Klages, which is 2-row. It produced a very smooth ale.

"Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future."

--Niels Bohr

It all depends on the style of beer. A highly carbonated doppelbock wouldn't work well. A flat Tripel would be equally bleh.

If you need to keep your system at constant pressure regardless of what style you're serving, from what I recall of CO2 volumes and pressures, that seems to be a reasonably good compromise.

If you can, play around with the carbonation depending on style. A good British-style bitter or pale ale really does benefit from lower carbonation and warmer (mid-upper 40s to start if you're not used to the typical cellear temp of around 50 or slightly higher). Many Belgian beers benefit from being very spritzy (but you're not likely to get a lot of them in kegs anyway). A good pilsner benefits from moderately high carbonation.

Carbonation levels really are as much a part of the style characteristics of a beer as bitterness, maltiness, etc., IMO.

-Steve