Beer Hall in TallinnApr 10 '05 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Good not great beers in a fun setting
I tend to do research on cities I am visiting. I look up museums and restaurants and other things to do. I am also very diligent about finding local beers. I take my beer seriously and I want to try out as many local beers as possible on my travels. This extends not only to travel within the US but also travel abroad. I pride myself on having tried a pretty broad range of beers. This is important because many local beers have very limited availability outside the home base. Many beers I tried in the Baltics are unavailable in America. I learned of a brewpub in Tallinn called The Beer House. It was listed in the regional brewery guide on beerme.com. This was easy enough to remember. I made sure to jot down the address and phone number so I could look it up when I arrived in Tallinn. A glance at a map was very encouraging. The brewpub is located just off the Old Town Square. That really simplified the process. The Beer House was recommended in the free guide book I got at the tourist information office. I only wanted to try the beers but it is also an established restaurant in the city. When I got there, I found it is similar to a German beer hall. The first floor is a large room with long tables. People will very often end up sharing the table with other guests. There are also night clubs on the second and third floors. In two visits, I only went to the first floor. They have a food menu that includes German fare as well as wood baked gourmet pizzas. I shared a kebob pizza with a friend. This kebob included mutton and pepper and several kinds of cheese. The crust was thin and crisp. I found it to be very well made although I am an East Coast American with very provincial views toward pizza. It was still a tasty snack. There were only three beers served at The Beer House. All were done in German styles. They had a pilsner, a marzen and a dunkles. They occasionally have other styles. The waittress was proficient in English and explained they did sometimes have seasonal offerings like weissbier and bockbier. My bad to miss out on that fun. I would try all three during my two visits. I found them all to be adequate versions of the styles although they are not likely to put any German brewers out of jobs. The pilsner was my favorite of the three beers they offered. The beer had a nice golden hue and the hops asserted themselves in the nose. It had a nice delicate quality to it. There was a nice hop finish. It actually struck me as being closer to a Czech pilsner than a German pils. There was a nice malt character but the hops came shining through very well. It weighed in at 4.8% abv. The dunkles was based on the dark lager style. It was a nice brown hue. It had a good nutty maltiness. There was a bit of a roasted character in the flavor. I don't think any Bavarian darks will be put out of business but this is a nice beer. It had a nice drinkable quality. It could easily be a session beer. It weighed in at 4.4% abv. That actually makes it a bit of a lightweight beer but still tasty. The Marzen was the last beer I tried. This beer was a rich amber hue. This is a pretty good interpretation. They managed to get a nice juicy character in the beer. It had a heartiness but didn't really have the complexity of many German versions. It was also a nice session beer. I enjoyed it although I wasn't blown away. This one checked in at 4.6% abv. The Beer House is an enjoyable place to visit. It is a friendly environment although it can get pretty loud when full. I guess that is very similar to the German beer halls in that respect. I have been in a few boisterous German beer halls in my day. It is a lot of fun though. One evening I was there early and it was fairly empty. That night it almost seemed lonely but I still managed to enjoy my beer. The beers were all good without really being great. I would also advice one to be aware that a small beer is half a litre. If you say yes to a large beer, expect to see a litre of beer presented before you. Half pints don't seem to exist here. I would definitely go back again if I return to Tallinn. The food is good and the service is good. It's a nice comfortable place to enjoy a beer.  |
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