Many years ago, back when I first joined the
SCA and was first introduced to good beer, I tried a beer at my first Estrella War called Hofbräu Dark Reserve. It quickly became one of my favorite beers. Back then, the only place you could get it was a specialty liquor stores, such a Plaza Liquors, here in Tucson.
As the years went on, and I went to college, the beer industry went through a revolution. Microbreweries began popping up all over the place, even in the small town where I went to college, in Flagstaff, Arizona. In addition to that, rather than just mega-swill, a wide variety of beer began to show up in supermarkets, including Hofbräu Dark Reserve.
I remember one evening, in the eclectic group of neo-hippies and actors that I hung out with in college, we rented a bunch of art movies and got beer. I, of course, brought Hofbräu Dark Reserve to the party. Afterwards, I cut out the side of the six-pack box and hung it up in my dorm room, proudly displaying my affection for the beverage.
Another time in college, I had a girl over to my dorm room for a "study" session. That evening began with a bucket full of snow, with the necks of Hofbräu Dark Reserve bottles sticking out of it. Over the years, the girl's name has long since faded in my mind, but I've never forgotten the beer.
I remember vividly the flavor, now some 15 to 20 years later. It was a lager, with a very strong and malty alcohol bite, almost dopplebock like. The dark malt gave it a smooth, almost nutty flavor. It was unlike any beer I have tried then or since.
One day, it just disappeared. You could no longer find it in super markets; you could no longer find it in specialty liquor stores. It was just gone. I figured that the importer just couldn't get it anymore. Other dark lagers kind of took its place in my beer repertoire, such as Spatan Optimator. However, it was never forgotten.
There was a magical invention since then that has changed everything. You may have heard of it. It is called the Internet. Today, I was recalling that beer, and I thought, why don't I do a search for it?
This is what I found: There were not too many hits. There seemed to be a few restaurants that carry it (maybe). First, there was one in New Orleans at a place called
Cooter Brown's Tavern & Oyster Bar. They have something that they called Hofbräu Dark, close to Hofbräu Dark Reserve, but not quite the whole name. Second, there is a place in Michigan called
Hofbräu Interlochen. They claim to have Hofbräu beer, not specifying if it is dark or not.
Then there was the
Hofbräuhaus Las Vegas. According to their website, Hofbräuhaus Las Vegas is a faithful reproduction of the original Hofbräuhaus München, a famous Munich attraction that has been around since 1589. Across from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hofbräuhaus Las Vegas features a beer garden and beer hall, and offers authentic German beer and food.
They carry a beer that they call
Hofbräu Dunkel. Dunkel means dark in German. Could this be my beer? They have pictures of the bottle, and it is not the same green bottle, with gold foil on top that I remember. However, they could have changed it over the years. I guess that I will not know until I travel to Vegas and try the beer. Still, I have my doubts, as the beer I remember was more dopplebock like rather than dunkel like. Of course, my memory of the beer could have been tainted over the years, as I've tried more and more beer.
I did finally find its presence on the web, however, in an online database of beer called
Brew Palace. They actually had an
entry for Hofbräu Dark Reserve. They claimed that it was available in the States, but did not say who imported it or where to find it. Also, the entry in their database dated to June 23, 1995, 13 years ago, which is not a good sign. They included a picture of the bottle, which was definitely the bottle I remember. It was a trip down memory lane.
Could it be that my beer is simply gone for good? Maybe so. I will not give up hope until I try the beer in Las Vegas. Regardless, I do have great memories of that beer. It is a beer that gave me my send off into the world of great beer. It is a beer that carried me through college. There will never be another beer like it.
Brewers are always looking for things to do with spent grain from brewing beer. It seems like such a waste to throw it away. Many commercial brewers give their grain to farmers to feed to livestock. Some homebrewers make bread. For me, many years ago, I got a recipe for dog biscuits using spent grain. I'm not exactly sure where; I think maybe off the Homebrew Digest.
