Beer Review April 2013 St. Pauli Edition: Astra Urtyp and Elbperle Pilsner

You may be wondering why there is a beer review on a blog dedicated to fitness, diet, and health. I've loved beer and trying new brews for a long time and if I'm going to expend some of my precious daily calories on beer I want to make sure that it is worth it. I've nobly decided to share my experiences with you so you can make an informed decision about your precious calories. I don't have a refined set of beer tasting skills so, I won't be going on about bouquet and mouth feel. I may make a formal rating system at some point but for now I'll just go with my gut. Just because I like to exercise doesn't mean I have to stop liking beer!

It's a very special month here in beer review land because, we are giving you two reviews for the price of one. I had so much fun at the Luftgitarrenwettbewerb (Air Guitar Competition) in St. Pauli (the red light district here in Hamburg) that I decided to attempt to share some of that great time with you.

First up we have the Astra Urtyp which is an extremely popular beer here in Hamburg. If you are a fan of the local St. Pauli football team (by which I mean soccer) then you proudly and obnoxiously drink and swear by this brew. This is proof to me that many locals have taken one to many soccer balls to the head because this beer although passable is nothing to be proud of. It pours with that classic light golden beer color and a decent head. The flavor seems to consist of a little bit of malt and a little bit of hops and a whole mouthful of meh. This beer isn't bad it is just boring overall. People will always exclaim about how it must be amazing for a beer lover such as myself to be in Germany (and at times it is) but I often have to dourly explain that a large portion of German beer is cheaply made and boring and most of the good and especially the rare brews are difficult to find (especially here in the north). If you find yourself terrorizing the red light district sometime in Hamburg then by all means grab one of these because you may not have any other choice!

Coming in at 4.9% alcohol with 147 calories for a 12 oz serving isn't to bad. I'm guessing this combined with all the walking is how most Germans keep their beer guts manageable.

Overall: 4/10

This beer is so boring that my camera lost interest focusing!

Up next we have the Elbperle from Colbitzer Heidebrauerei. I'd never heard of the beer or the brewery but, I was feeling very local and native so I wanted to be adventurous and give it a try despite my sinking feeling that it was a bad idea. 

There is a pretty decent 24 hour kiosk/store on the Reeperbahn a couple shops down from the Burger King and Davidstraße which has a decent selection of single cold bottles (which aren't for sale 24 hours a day I believe). The bottles are more expensive than they would be in a grocery store but you can get a cold beer cheaper than a takeaway/imbiss or a bar and drink it on the street. I really enjoy being able to drink beer on the street here and walk around. But anyways we were going to walk around for a bit so I decided to grab a road beer and the Elbperle caught my eye mainly because I'd never seen or heard of it and I wanted to try something new. 

This wasn't a total mistake because I'd rather know then not know but this beer was pretty vile. The flavor was kind of bitter and grassy and generally kind of gross. It had all the aspects I don't like about a Pilsner. It actually tasted like it could be a little off as there was something not quite right and artificial in the flavor. I drank this straight from the bottle and finished it and I won't be going back. 

I could include the calorie information but quite frankly you should never drink this beer so I don't think it is necessary!

Overall: 2/10