Problems with Erdinger bottles?

gurramok

Over the last while, i've noticed a few bottles of regular Erdinger Weissbier(5.3% vol) have resulted in an absolute flat dead twang taste after pouring into the glass.

Once poured, give a minute for the froth to settle with no bubbles appearing, then absolute flat drink with no froth hence bad taste and this all happens within a couple of minutes of pouring the drink.

Rest of the bottles seem like the real thing with good thick froth and fresh taste with bubbles floating in the glass, wondering if there a faulty batch going around?

I have drunk about 30 bottles of the stuff in the last month and it seems about one third of them are not the real thing, (serial L091204 i reckon!)

I havent been a regular drinker of the stuff until this year but just noticed a huge difference in taste and appearance between bottles when poured, anyone else experience the same?

rubadub

Are you sure your glasses are washed properly. Any fats (e.g. from milk or just your mouth after eating fatty foods) or detergent on the glass can destroy the head.

^^^what he said..never drink milk out of your erdinger glass,...

IrishSerf

Try drinking a Heinekein from the same glass and if it tastes lovely burn your house and all contents. Stop blaming the Germermans and wash your glasses properly... Erdinger = yummy always

gurramok

Will check next time to doubly make sure the glass is clean. Have always used the same glass, never drunk anything else out of it!

kenon

gurramok wrote: »

Over the last while, i've noticed a few bottles of regular Erdinger Weissbier(5.3% vol) have resulted in an absolute flat dead twang taste after pouring into the glass.

Once poured, give a minute for the froth to settle with no bubbles appearing, then absolute flat drink with no froth hence bad taste and this all happens within a couple of minutes of pouring the drink.

Rest of the bottles seem like the real thing with good thick froth and fresh taste with bubbles floating in the glass, wondering if there a faulty batch going around?

I have drunk about 30 bottles of the stuff in the last month and it seems about one third of them are not the real thing, (serial L091204 i reckon!)

I havent been a regular drinker of the stuff until this year but just noticed a huge difference in taste and appearance between bottles when poured, anyone else experience the same?

In the pub at the weekend and I started to notice that some of the pints of Erdinger were coming down with a flat head which I never saw before. I only had one of these flat ones but I didn't notice a different taste (although I had a few on me at the stage when I got a bogey one).

gurramok

I drank four bottles last night and still had the same issue with 3. To get a bit of a head from a flat drink to make it drinkable, you have to swirl the glass to lose some of that twang, bloody annoying.

Glass was clean dry upon first pour. Clean as in..I washed it, rinsed it it loads to make sure no residue of detergent(fairy liquid) was evident, wiped it fresh with the towel so it was bone dry before i poured the drink in.

What am i doing wrong?! Also, explain why one of the other bottles was the fresh real thing of Erdinger keeping its head till the last gulp using the same method of wash and dry!

kenon

gurramok wrote: »

Rest of the bottles seem like the real thing with good thick froth and fresh taste with bubbles floating in the glass, wondering if there a faulty batch going around?

Maybe you are right that there is a bad batch. As I said when I was in the pub, some of them were fine and some of them were flat.

I'll be getting a few bottles this week and I'll be keeping a keen eye on their performance.

kenon

You could also try the classy pour...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jjiJkztAKk

gurramok

Hmm, thats mad, is it a good way?

Did a googling

They say here http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=5759455986 and what appears to be from the makers http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=cache:Zb6Xj0TJFyIJ:erdinger-weissbraeu.com/downloads/download.php%3Ffilename%3Dwheat_beer_enjoyment.pdf+pour+erdinger&hl=en&gl=ie to do the following:

Step 1:

First rinse the glass well in cold water. By the way: never put wheat beer glasses into the dishwasher - traces of aggressive detergent on the glass will make even the frothiest head collapse.

Step 2:

Hold the glass at a slight angle and pour the beer in slowly along the side of the glass. Don't empty the bottle though - leave about a finger's width at the bottom.

Step 3:

The yeast is still missing - together with the other ingredients, the yeast is essential to give the beer its true flavor.

Step 4:

Swirl the bottle gently in order to agitate the yeast. Then pour the remaining beer into the glass.

Step 5:

The yeast is now evenly distributed throughout the glass and helps form the perfect frothy head - now comes the moment of complete Erdinger wheat beer enjoyment!

I never knew about that it has to be A- wet glass and B- step 4. I was using a dry glass!!

I suspect the vid you posted is the expert way and the above is the standard way?

munchkin_utd

the way to pour a Weissbier above in the Video is the way a bar tender looking to throw out the pints would do it, you can do 2 at a time if you are coordinated enough. And no consideration given to the yeast at the bottom of the glass which is where a lot of the flavour is.

The standard proper way though would be as described in the text quote, with every trick in the book used to ensure the yeast gets into the glass.

And the more clumpy the yeast lands into the glass the better for some.

EDIT:
and the weissbier is Erdinger so yer man obviously is clueless in the first place. Could well be a northern German head, cos above there Weissbier is a novelty and Erdinger seen as a speciality. A bit like Budweiser in Ireland. Amazing what adverts can do!!

kenon

gurramok wrote: »

I suspect the vid you posted is the expert way and the above is the standard way?

I've only seen that pour once in person, it allowed him to pour it very quickly. It didnt really add or take away from the taste. He even did the swirly thing at the end to "agitate" the yeast. Wetting the glass is probably so you dont get too much of a head on it.

I tried the fancy pour at home once and it didnt go so well, it just headed over.

Imposter

The way gurramok described is the right way to do it. Glasses are wet as in germany they (should) 'wash' every glass before filling it.

That trick in the video also works with beer and soft drinks. It's how busy barmen serve coke and the likes over here.

interlocked

Any barperson with even a modicum of training should know that you should never put the head of a bottle into a drink that they are pouring.

If any barman is clueless enough to pull the above stunt, tell him that you want a fresh bottle and glass and pour it yourself.

I finf the best way to get the yeast out is as described above, but stopping halfway to roll the bottle fast between the palms of your hands getting the yeast off the side of the bottle, pour again, stop and repeat rubbing at the end, to make sure you get the yeast at the bottom of the bottle onto the head, might get a few funny looks, but then they're probsbly Coors Light drinkers anyway:D

JIZZLORD

would the beer be light struck?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_bottle#Lightstruck_beer

BeerNut

Erdinger comes in a brown bottle, so unlikely.

deise48

only prob i have is i fall down after six of them lol

gurramok

I've drank 4 bottles(from that serial number in first post) from the rinsed glass tonight. Did the classic pour as described in various steps. Tasted great initially but as again, it goes flat after a few minutes, it just made no difference!

Then again, i did get these bottles for 2quid a bottle in Tesco on their specials June as per my postings on Bargains alert forum. All in date by about a year.

JIZZLORD

BeerNut wrote: »

Erdinger comes in a brown bottle, so unlikely.

i've had a good few lightstruck erdingers over the years

kenon

Ive been "testing" a few erdingers (Serial no: L021106) and havent experienced any flat ones. Using standard pour techniques.

gurramok

Don't have that serial number! Mine were bought in Tesco on their special offer in June. Not all mine were bad, just a small % of them were and i *think* it was L091204.

The only other serial number of bottles i have is 231104, i reckon all have been fine so far.

I've been drinking erdinger for ages now and the beer is always consistently good(I know there are erdinger detractors here,but I think it's good:pac:).

kenon

I am concluding intense scientific research into this "phenomena" tonight and I havent found any faulty erdingers tonight.

I'd say there is a limited batch of bogey erdingers out there but it is not widespread.

P.S. Batch: L021106 has performed magnificiently tonight.

Weissbier

I've over the past year noticed a degredation in the quality in the Erdinger Weissbier, Cloudy, cream label; exactly as you've described. I've been drinking this beer for years, and it is only since Christmas 2008/2009 that I've noticed the same problem that you've encountered and described, so your not the only one, friends of mine have also had the same experiences.

I assumed it was a one off batch at Christmas and decided not to contact Erdinger, despite the fact that this batch was absolute rubbish and that I purchased it in many different shops in various counties while doing my Christmas visiting, so was not attributable to local storage conditions (all were the same batch): this batch was flat immediatly after pouring and tasted off.

I've noticed that this problem has occured more often than not since, albeit not having the same bad taste as the 'Christmas Batch'. It is true that a clean glass is important, however I always rince mine. Therefore my question, as I've asked Erdinger themselves is there a problem with their process, or transport/storage conditions? Most people don't realise that it is bottle fermented beer, are they having problems with rincing their bottles correctly??

I assume you are a fan of Erdinger like myself, and have persisted in buying many bottles hoping it would pass? I suggest you contact Erdinger also, maybe they are not aware of these problems.

gurramok

How do i contact them? (they are in Germany ).

I can confirm that the batch number L091204 has defo problems with them. I've opened other batch numbers since my original post on a few nights(so has Kenon) and they were top notch.

kenon

I'm on batch L231104 tonight and they are exemplary.;)

Weissbier

Contact name: Barbara Huber
e-mail below:
info.export@erdinger.de


The link below will bring you to the correct erdinger website below:

http://www.erdinger.de/en/Company/Contact-partners.html#Europa

If not follow this series of links from the home page:
Home Company Contact Contact partners > Europe > Ireland


Thanks Kenon I'll keep a eye out for this batch, I almost lost hope!!

gurramok

Will do Weissbier. I too have had L231104 tonight(2 bottles) and they have been delicious!

BeerNut

I'd have thought you'd be better going to the importer, Noreast.

gurramok

Thanks Weissbier and Beernut. I have fired off a complaint to all 3 of them: Tesco, Noreast and Erdinger.

I suggest anyone else who has had the same problem do likewise.

gurramok

I've heard back from all of them bar Tesco(don't think they can do anything anyway) expressing sympathy with the situation.

Erdinger are asking for the bad bottles to be sent to them but i don't have any as they all went to the bottle bank! :mad:

kenon

gurramok wrote: »

I've heard back from all of them bar Tesco(don't think they can do anything anyway) expressing sympathy with the situation.

Erdinger are asking for the bad bottles to be sent to them but i don't have any as they all went to the bottle bank! :mad:

Thats funny.

Keep any stinkers you get in the future.

Maybe erdinger will give you a complimentary pallet of good erdinger...

gurramok

Yeh, i last opened 'em on the 30th, its always the obvious that one forgets to do!

At least maybe someone somewhere will check their quality processes!

Weissbier

Attached is an example of how this beer is now; flat with no head and no gas after 5 minutes with an off taste. I hope the links below work.

This current poor quality of Erdinger Weissbier (although I'm a huge fan) has caused me huge dissatisfaction with this product. Almost 9 months of bad beer is making me think again. I'm considering moving to others as a result of these huge inconsitencies in quality. When you add this poor quality (resulting in disposing of alot of bottles) to the high initial cost of the beer it now makes this a hugely expensive product.

Can anyone shed light on whether Erdinger Weissbier is now produced in more than one facility other than that of the original Erdinger facility at Erding due to increased worldwide consumption? This may explain why it so bad now.

Also can anyone reccommend an alternative to Erdinger of old, I've tried almost all Weissbiers out there and none meet Erdinger of old, hopefully there is something else out there that I've not tried.

Erdinger.jpg

Erdinger1.JPG

BeerNut

Weissbier wrote: »

This may explain why it so bad now.

I doubt it. I'm sure they can recreate the same Erding experience anywhere they like. But I've no idea if Erdinger is made anywhere other than their big factory at Erding.

Weissbier wrote: »

Also can anyone reccommend an alternative to Erdinger of old, I've tried almost all Weissbiers out there and none meet Erdinger of old, hopefully there is something else out there that I've not tried.

You really need to do some blind tasting. Get a bottle of Erdinger, Paulaner, Schneider and Maisel and have someone set them up blind for you. Pick your favourite.

Weissbier

I've tried all (and more) except for Maisel, is this readily available? Another I would recommend is Franziskaner (although not as nice as Erdinger of old) is now available from Aldi or Lidyl at a good price.

BeerNut

Weissbier wrote: »

I've tried all (and more)

But have you tried them blind?

Weissbier wrote: »

except for Maisel, is this readily available?

Dunnes has it, I think, as do most of the specialist beer offies.

Weissbier wrote: »

Another I would recommend is Franziskaner

Yep. Add that into your blind tasting.

kenon

Weissbier wrote: »

Attached is an example of how this beer is now; flat with no head and no gas after 5 minutes with an off taste.

You make it sound widespread, which it is not.

I haven't had a bad one for a while now and I'm continuously testing this fine beer.

gurramok

Weissbier, thats what happened to my Erdingers as well.

Complain like I did and you have an advantage as you can send that bad bottle off to Erdinger themselves.

Weissbier

I e-mailed them (both the supplier and the lady at Erdinger) the photos of what we are experiencing over the last few months and the location it was purchased. I hope they are not ignoring the problem as I got no reply. I see no point in posting the bottle or the beer as it will be impossible to seal correctly, and placing the beer in another container will only contaminate the sample.

Hopefully they will get a sample from the shop for analysis (??).

gurramok wrote: »

Weissbier, thats what happened to my Erdingers as well.

Complain like I did and you have an advantage as you can send that bad bottle off to Erdinger themselves.

gurramok

Both the supplier and Erdinger replied to me, fairly fast i must say.(within the day). Tesco still haven't.

The lady at Erdinger should be able to advise on how to send of that bottle I'd have thought.

Hopefully they will get a sample from the shop for analysis (??).

I suppose it depends if the same batch is still for sale? (I don't think mine were as they were mostly from June)

ardinn

Did we ever hear anymore about this?

Weissbier

In all fairness the reply from Erdinger has been the best I've ever received, they seemed to be genuinely concerned and offered real advice and seemed not to be dismissive of the fact that there have been problems with their product.

They advised that the cleanliness of the glasses was of utmost importance, you must especially rince your glass in cold water before you pour your beer as any residues in the glass will most likely cause a flat beer. This was not the solution to my my problem as I always rinced my glasses after washing and before pouring. They suggested that the bottles may have been shocked during transport or storage eirther by increased temperature or movement upsetting the sercuity of the caps, thereby allowing gas to slowly escape.

I was duely compensated, a few free bottles! This was very nice of them but considering the amount of beer I disposed of, only fair.

kenon

Weissbier wrote: »

I was duely compensated, a few free bottles! This was very nice of them but considering the amount of beer I disposed of, only fair.

Intriguing...I think I'll get working on a big complaint...

BeerNut

BeerNut wrote: »

But have you tried them blind?

Dunnes has it, I think, as do most of the specialist beer offies.

Yep. Add that into your blind tasting.

Dunnes don't do Maisels anymore. It wasn't selling so they got rid of it.:(

Ishindar

i love my erdinger longtime. i havent had any problems with quality.
if u want an alternative supplier i get it relatively cheap here http://www.beerangel.com/index.php sent straight from germany.

kenon

Ishindar wrote: »

i love my erdinger longtime. i havent had any problems with quality.
if u want an alternative supplier i get it relatively cheap here http://www.beerangel.com/index.php sent straight from germany.

I had a quick look at this and yes at €1.17 a bottle thats quite good but their delivery certainly ups the price, €29.50 for 30 bottles.

Still, seems like you could save a tenner or so.

rubadub

kenon wrote: »

I had a quick look at this and yes at €1.17 a bottle thats quite good but their delivery certainly ups the price, €29.50 for 30 bottles.

And €59 for 60 bottles, I was hoping it was one of these €29.50 "up to so many kilos" things. I wish more places offered "slow boat" economy postage, many do not want a reputation of being slow to deliver.

Is there any UK places doing the same? It might be worth it for more speciality beers.

Ishindar

i usually order 63 bottles and get them for 133euro delivered. so thats approx. 2.11e a bottle and a significant saving! takes about a week to arrive.

kenon

Ishindar wrote: »

i usually order 63 bottles and get them for 133euro delivered. so thats approx. 2.11e a bottle and a significant saving! takes about a week to arrive.

Thats alright I suppose...you would be saving exactly 40c a bottle compared to what I get my stock for. (Dunnes)

I'd actually like to see 63 bottles of Erdinger, I'd say its a glorious sight.

redhugh

I have experienced the same
i put it down to that it was too cold as it was in the fridge for a few days
also do you put wheat beer in the fridge or is it supposed to be drank at room temp as some are reccomended at chilled while some at room temp?