Dr. Brauwolf
Brewed by Dr. Brauwolf
Zurich, Switzerland
Dr. Brauwolf is a Swiss version of Breaking Bad, but instead of Walter White step forward Stefan Wolf, the owner and visionary behind Dr. Brauwolf. In the place of crystal meth we have beer. Dr. Brauwolf is where beer meets science!
The brewery is still very new in the market, just opening in August 2017. They make 5 different beers and a monthly beer that changes every 30 days or so. All beers produced are the hard work of Lidka and Stefan, two young scientists, who bring a systematic and methodical view to the world of craft beer, with just a dash of fun as well to spice things up (no doubt!).
Their tasting room (“The super lab!”) is open to all, and the couple are more than happy to invite people to their public tastings and brewery tours where you can have the chance to meet the brewers and to visit the company. But remember all you have to do is respect their chemistry! (cough!)
Review: 33cl Bottle of Dr. Brauwolf’s Rye IPA: 6.1% ABV
Dr. Brauwolf ‘s “craft beer of the month” so this is a beer I am looking forward to so.
Also on the label we are told that this is “where beer meets science”
It looks absolutely fantastic, a great white fluffy head, with a lovely colour of amber orange.
There is some slight lacing, and the head maintains well. There is some small amount of sediment buzzing around inside, showing that this beer is alive!
It is truly an excellent looking beer, one of the best lookers I have had in a long time.
For the aroma, the smell is very good, a typical IPA smell, very fruity, and very hoppy. Not bad.
On the taste it was very fruity, bit like a Club Orange with a load of hops in it, which sounds strange but that’s what it felt like to me. And everyone loves Club Orange!
Was hoppy, got the sweet rye and barely, I got a bit of caramel (possibly from the Rye). Smooth enough to enjoy and very fruity, really like this beer a lot.
Hoppy, but light enough to enjoy for me who is someone who sometimes struggles with IPA’s, it was a beer that I drank over the hour, a beer to sit down, slowly sip and enjoy the football, perfect!
Would love to drink some more of this beer, will definitely have to check it out again. Recommended.
Review: 33cl Bottle of Dr. Brauwolf’s Boho, a Czech style Pilsner: 5.2% ABV
Dr Brauwolf, Boho, a fresh local craft beer from Zurich, concentrating on the Bohemian Pilsner beer style.
On pour, got a nice whitish head, light clear golden coloured beer, the nice Pilsner look that we all love so well.
Head is fine, smallish but maintains well.
Oh boy, the smell is strong and typical of a Pilsner. Malty and spicy, perfume aroma as well. Nice.
Went on a bit of a journey with this beer. To be honest wasn’t liking it initially, thought it was far too hoppy and bitter on the taste, a bit too sour and bitter at the front.
But after a while when I started to drink more of it, it settled down, or rather I did, and I started to enjoy the tastes. By the end I wished I had another few to skull down!
Definitely a very tasty brew, complex, the Saaz hops doing the business by the end. Got the spices and malts as well.
A hoppy, strong pilsner.
Ok, enjoyable enough. Yeah not bad.
Review: 33cl Bottle of Dr. Brauwolf’s H2OP, a non alcoholic Hop water: 0.0% ABV
This one stands out from the collection as it comes in a green bottle and its actually water! But it isn’t just any old water, it is water with hops!
On the pour was a bit surprised as it was very fizzy, bubbling all over the place, was not exactly expecting that.
Looks ok, a well carbonated mineral water, nice and sparkling.
Has a smell of hops, easy to find, and generally a pleasant smell.
Get a hoppy taste. Has a slight citrus taste as well.
Pure clean Swiss water with a hint of hops. Nice and refreshing. Better than tap water for sure!
Review: 33cl Bottle of Dr. Brauwolf’s Red Ale: 4.8% ABV
A lot of carbonation, very lively on the pour. This resulted in a very frothy head. The colour was dark red. All looking great. Head settled well after a while.
A nice aroma of toasted malts was very prominent.
Taste was light, a little sweet, with a nice caramel flavour.
Soft on the tongue, very smooth and very easy to drink. Fruits at the back ground, the malts lingering, and the beer is perfectly balanced.
Overall its a nice red ale, nothing that is going to amaze but good enough to enjoy while the TV is on the box. Not bad.
Review: 33cl Bottle of Dr. Brauwolf’s Chocolate Stout: 7.4% ABV
A previous “craft beer of the month” choice from the Brauwolf boys.
On pour, I get a lot of carbonation, a lot! When it all eventually settled it results in a very big frothy tanned head. The colour is pitch black. All in all its a nice looking beer, very nice appearance.
Smell is very chocolaty, very nice on the nose. Get the chocolate malts, the cocoa and the barely. A nice aroma.
On the taste I found it a little too sweet for me to be fully enjoyable. The chocolate was very strong in the taste and the hops were also quite difficult.
The malts, barely, and other flavours and tastes don’t really have a chance to shine as the coconut chocolate takes over from start to finish.
If you like your chocolate heavy on then this is the beer for you, but I am not a chocolaty person so……..
Review: 33cl Bottle of Dr. Brauwolf’s Witbier, a Belgian style wit beer: 4.6% ABV
A fresh local craft beer coming all the way from the wonderful city of Zurich.
Remember a Witbier (white beer in Flemish) is wheaty, fruity, and spicy, and usually very smooth.
Decent enough white frothy head on the pour, a nice pale golden colour, looks ok, a typical Witbeer look. Head maintains very well. Not a bad looker.
Nice sweet smell, very nice. Can smell the yeast and all that wheat, pleasant on the nose.
Very fruity on taste, as to be expected got the orange peels straight away, very nice to taste, refreshing actually.
Also got the coriander easy enough to taste and also quite nice in the mouth.
Yeah I liked this beer, was very easy to drink, very smooth, crisp tastes from the wheat, nice and fresh and very relaxing to drink. Nice one to experience on a beautiful hot summer’s day.
Review: 33cl Bottle of Dr. Brauwolf’s APA, an American Pale Ale: 5.3% ABV
On pour I get a nice white frothy head and a dark golden orange colour. Looks good, very appealing. Some lacing.
The aroma is malty and very hoppy. Bit strong on the nose, very pronounced with the hops.
Taste is hoppy, especially at the start, but its all slight and not over bearing.
It is light bitterness and light maltiness, its a light drinking beer, easy to drink and smooth.
Didn’t get many flavours or any fruit tastes, and overall it is the aroma that stands out in this brew. Too light in the taste for me.
Review: 33cl Bottle of Dr. Brauwolf’s Vanilla Cream Ale: 5.0% ABV
Another “craft beer of the month” special here.
The appearance is not the best, truth be told it is not much to look at, and the head dies a death. Hazy amber colour. Some sediment Knocking around.
Wow, what a fantastic smell. Wow, the vanilla is very prominent on the nose. Also smells like a nice perfume as well. Lovely smell, nice.
On the taste, got the vanilla ice cream, very overpowering but all good. It is so nice to taste I ran to the wife to get her to try, and she doesn’t even like beer! Just showing how exciting and fun this beer is. It really is a light vanilla ice cream, very soft on the tongue mixed with some malts and wheat to give you a fantastic beer. Don’t know if I would drink a lot of these beers but the brewer gets the balance just perfect.
What it lacks in looks, the taste and aroma certainly makes up for that. Lovely, very exciting beer. Recommended. A FUN beer!
Review: 33cl Bottle of Dr. Brauwolf’s Black IPA: 6.0% ABV
A black IPA? Because it is black is it a porter or a stout, but how does that work in an IPA? So lets see…..a black IPA is a relatively new style originating from the US, basically it is a hop forward beer that happens to be as black as any stout! Can sometimes be classed as a Cascadian Dark Ale, a nod to where it originally came from, the Cascadia region of north-west USA and parts of British Columbia in Canada, and an Indian Black Ale, but overall it is termed a Black IPA.
Looks nice enough on the appearance, got a lovely creamy white head and a dark black coloured beer. Some good lacing. Not a bad looking beer.
Get a stouty smell, coffee aromas and toasted malts. Smells like a regular IPA too.
Nice mouthfuls from the beginning. There is a slight “Guinness taste” there alright. But its not quite a full stout, and that’s why it is an IPA, even if it is full of the dark roasted malts and coffee flavours that you can expect from a regular stout but there is something else there.
It is not that bad, smooth and enjoyable enough all the same.
The hops have a bit of a kick, a bit bitter and sweet, but its slight and manageable, a nod to the fact it is an IPA after all.
Overall it aint a bad beer, certainly worth a tryout and it just about strong enough and tasty enough to be enjoyable.
The last World Cup, they were thoroughly shocking. Did the bare minimum to get out of an easy group that included a poor Ecuador, and an even worse Honduras, and lost 5-2 to an average French team. But the worst for me was when they had a piss poor Argentina on the ropes for a good twenty minutes. They basically were playing touch football and toying with them while the crowd were doing ole ole’s from the stands. But the obscene thing is that after getting the better of the Argentinian midfield, they gave up, totally. Was truly an awful sight to see. Compare a team like Iceland to a team like Switzerland and you can understand what I am talking about, men versus boys. Ok to be fair some of their players played well, Rodríguez, Shaqiri, Fernandes all having a decent tournament, but as for the rest of their prima donas, meh! 
Don’t get me wrong, they have some seriously good players. Xherdan Shaqiri is world class, without a doubt, but Jesus can someone have a good chat with him and tell him to get his finger out. One can see the attitude with his club choices, from Bayern to a relegation bound Stoke tells us all you need to know here, in it for the money. Johan Djourou, Michael Lang, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Ricardo Rodríguez are all excellent players that work well together, but getting from defence to midfield is always a problem when you have such muck in the centre, Granit Xhaka and Valon Behrami are simply woeful. Gelson Fernandes is a gem in the centre but he is definitely a confidence player and needs to be clicking with his teammates to hit form. Shaqiri plays as an inside forward, and he needs to because they struggle to score goals. Breel Embolo is a big lump of nothingness up front, I still laugh at how great a deal FC Basel did when they sold him off to Schalke, while Mehmedi, Derdiyok, Drmić and Seferović are all journeymen. So its a bit of hot and a lot of cold with this team. I find this disjointed team terribly frustrating to watch. And whats worse is that Vladimir Petković could have included a few of the Swiss champions Young Boys team in the squad. Kevin Mbabu for me should walk into that squad, even Christian Fassnacht or Steve von Bergen, but no not even one player makes the cut from the Swiss champs (as of going to press). 
The city also has a rich cultural tradition with many high-quality museums and art galleries, but for someone who is into more modern pursuits, the city holds one of the largest and most popular dance music festivals in the world, a techno “street parade” around August every year that attracts about a million ravers and the like dancing alongside the lake Zurich. 
A large Irish pub not too far off from the train station. Was my first stop of the day, and ventured in to the quiet bar with a small midday crowd. 
Was in this bar before, so it can get very busy and lively on a weekend night. It is a fun place to be for sure, but the prices of the beers are something to behold. Not going to be doing a large drinking session in a bar like this unless you are very flush with the cash! But this is Zurich one of the most expensive cities in Europe so its par for the course here. 
The Strauss bar is a small dive bar located on the crossing of the Langstrasse. Looked like an interesting place so I ventured in. 
I ordered a pint of Hürlimann. I actually thought the bar was called Hürlimann since they had it in big lettering over the front of the bar’s entrance, but no it is in fact a local lager. The first thing I noticed was the huge price differential compared to the Smithwicks I had just up at Kennedy’s Irish Pub. The beer I ordered was virtually half the price!
Final pub before I got the train home. Decided to head to this bar as I was told it is infact the oldest bar in the city. Located in the Old Town with its nice cobbled streets. 
Has the usual look of the chain, wooden interior, nice and comfy setting, English beer on tap, British food on the menu, darts to play, the Premiership on the box, and an English style setting. 
Playing in green, white and red, Red Star are a small club based in Zurich, playing in the 1. Liga Classic, the fourth tier of the Swiss football league system. Founded in 1905 by Charles Seiler and Alfred Merk. The idea for the name they found in a newspaper article of that time, which reported on the steamship line “Red Star Line”, and nothing to do with communist ideology or socialist principles, they were in fact originally attached to the local Catholic youth club, later becoming an independent club. 
Even though the game was nil all, it was pretty entertaining. Both teams had chances to score, and the level of quality on show wasn’t too bad. 
Grasshoppers were founded on the 1st of September 1886 by Tom E. Griffith, an English student, who set up a team made up mostly of a group of students who were originally from Manchester and were studying in Zurich at the time.
In the 1950’s they won two more league titles and two more cups, but the 1956 win in the Swiss Championship was to be their last silverware for quite a while, 15 years in fact, winning nothing in the ’60s. The long wait was over in 1971 when they beat FC Basel in the last game of the championship, in extra time, to clinch their 16th title. The 17th came in 1978. 
The 90’s were good times too, winning the league five times in the decade which wasn’t a bad achievement, and the cup twice. But just the two titles the decade after, in the 2000/01 and 2002/03 season, 2003 proving to be their last Championship. Apart from a Cup win in 2013 , which ended a ten year trophy drought, the club has gone through a mostly barren period with little to show in many recent years of football.
The Letzigrund stadium is some stadium though, wide and expansive, at night with the floodlights on it is a sight to see. An athletics stadium first and foremost but owned by the city of Zurich (buying it off FC Zurich who were in debt at the time), with the popular IAAF Diamond League taking place here every year, it also has held some pretty big music concerts down through the years (both the old and updated version of the stadium) from U2, Bon Jovi, Madonna, Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Rihanna, Beyoncé, the Rolling Stones right up to today with Ed Sheeran playing booked to play this summer 2018. The current capacity is 25,000, for football events, 30,000, for athletics and 50,000, for concerts
That goal did eventually come, in the 68th minute when J. Suárez scored a nice goal, scoring from a loose ball just outside the box slotting it home with the goalkeeper no chance. A very well taken goal. By this stage Grasshoppers were piling on the pressure, and they got a second when M. Basic scored from a penalty after Pusic was taken down in the box. 
Acquisition of the brewery by Bernhard Füglistaller-Sprenger. The Warteck beer quickly gained a good name and so shortly afterwards the first depot was opened in Bern and the first “Pilsener” was brewed in Basel.
Bought it in a ten pack as I couldn’t get any singles in the shop. Clever marketing? 
Taste is nice enough, the initial mouthful feels good. Nice maltiness there. 
Well if you haven’t guessed by now, the company name and logo were inspired by the faithful pet boxer of brewery founder and first director Mr. A. Hauser, on April the 6th, 1960. The new business was to have the start qualities of honesty, loyalty, independence and resilience, traits that he found in his beloved dog, Aramis.
Got it in a can, could not pass by and had to buy it what with the very eye catching logo of a Boxer dog on the can. Logo really is cool, love it, it really stands out. 
A little bit hoppy but not overpowering, nicely balanced and pleasant. 
