'Beer' of the Weekend #449: Kaiserdom Club-Malz
Zee German has been telling me to try Malzbier — German for “malt beer” — for a while. So when we met in San Francisco, he gave me two bottles of Kaiserdom Club-Malz, brewed by Kaiserdom Privatbrauerei of Bamberg, Germany.
Yep: this is my first review of a low-alcohol beer. Zee German is straight edge and does not drink alcohol, so I feel his recommendation of Malzbier is both ironic and fitting (it is supposedly beer, but has no alcohol). However, despite the fact it is considered non-alcoholic, it does have an ABV of 0.05 percent. Though I could be mistaken, I am sure someone could drink this all day, every day, and never get drunk.
Serving type: 330 ml bottle. No freshness date.
Appearance: Poured into a pint glass. The color is non-opaque black; light passed through when I held it to a lamp. Two fingers of dense, lightly tanned head left a bubbly lacing, ring, and razor-thin skim.
Smell: What the hell is that? I cannot put my finger on it, exactly, but it smells like some kind of boiled vegetable. It has a really funky, husky grain aroma; it smells a lot like the inside of a brewery. Another reviewer mentioned flatbread, and it does smell a lot like lightly toasted Wasa brand crisp bread.
Taste: This is an absolute trip. The mouthfeel is similar to flat pop. And the taste— Whoa. Really tough. It truly is like liquid bread. It is like half-made beer — which I suppose it kind of is. Being cold almost works against it. Basically, it tastes like water that was drained and squeezed from toasted grains that had been soaking for days. There are hints of chocolate skim milk and caramel.
Drinkability: This is special stuff. I think only those who were raised with it can drink it. I thought I could handle it, thought I could share one beer with Zee German. Nope. My glass is half-full and I cannot bear the thought of taking another sip.
Fun facts about KCM:
-Style: Low-alcohol malt beer.
-Price: Not sure. Zee German picked it up at a German store somewhere in or around Berkeley.
-Serving temperature: 40-45ºF.
-Alcohol content: 0.05 percent ABV.
The Quiet Man’s grade: I am not giving it a grade because I am not a fair judge for this stuff. I will say, though, that it is awful.
Yep: this is my first review of a low-alcohol beer. Zee German is straight edge and does not drink alcohol, so I feel his recommendation of Malzbier is both ironic and fitting (it is supposedly beer, but has no alcohol). However, despite the fact it is considered non-alcoholic, it does have an ABV of 0.05 percent. Though I could be mistaken, I am sure someone could drink this all day, every day, and never get drunk.
Serving type: 330 ml bottle. No freshness date.
Appearance: Poured into a pint glass. The color is non-opaque black; light passed through when I held it to a lamp. Two fingers of dense, lightly tanned head left a bubbly lacing, ring, and razor-thin skim.
Smell: What the hell is that? I cannot put my finger on it, exactly, but it smells like some kind of boiled vegetable. It has a really funky, husky grain aroma; it smells a lot like the inside of a brewery. Another reviewer mentioned flatbread, and it does smell a lot like lightly toasted Wasa brand crisp bread.
Taste: This is an absolute trip. The mouthfeel is similar to flat pop. And the taste— Whoa. Really tough. It truly is like liquid bread. It is like half-made beer — which I suppose it kind of is. Being cold almost works against it. Basically, it tastes like water that was drained and squeezed from toasted grains that had been soaking for days. There are hints of chocolate skim milk and caramel.
Drinkability: This is special stuff. I think only those who were raised with it can drink it. I thought I could handle it, thought I could share one beer with Zee German. Nope. My glass is half-full and I cannot bear the thought of taking another sip.
Fun facts about KCM:
-Style: Low-alcohol malt beer.
-Price: Not sure. Zee German picked it up at a German store somewhere in or around Berkeley.
-Serving temperature: 40-45ºF.
-Alcohol content: 0.05 percent ABV.
The Quiet Man’s grade: I am not giving it a grade because I am not a fair judge for this stuff. I will say, though, that it is awful.
