Quick Beer Review: Stiegl Paracelus Zwickl

To kick off craft beer week I figured I would do a beer review for you to digest.  The other night I wandered over the Laschett's Inn on Irving Park Rd in Chicago to get some German beer and food.  The bartender informed me of the draft selection, and specifically mentioned the Stiegl as a German unfiltered summer lager.  He also mentioned it is quite rare on draft in the states, which I confirmed upon further research.  I decided to try one.

The beer came in a 0.5 L mug with about 2 inches of thick, foamy head.  The beer was a golden/yellow color and very cloudy.  I would say similar to your typical German Hefeweizen.  That is not where the similarities stop, either.  The beer has a similar mouth feel to a wheat beer, and a ever so slight sweetness to it.  It goes down smooth and finishes clean and dry.  This really is the perfect session summer beer.  Just enough body and taste to  but still highly drinkable and refreshing.  I have included a link to Beer Advocate for you to read more about this lager.