What Is Franz Beer Like

Franz Beer is an Oktoberfest beer from the Rhinegeist Brewery of Cincinnati, Ohio in the US. Not your traditional Lager type Oktoberfest beer with the use of ale yeast, but apparently true to style.

Franz Beer is pretty good, fruity, sweet with a mild bitterness. It pours a mid gold with a fairly thin head. On the nose it has a biscuit malt base with a fruity aroma. The taste starts with a slight caramel malt flavour, but then fruity notes kick in giving it a sweetness that nearly cancels out the bitter finish. A pleasant beer that gets a rate my beer score of 4.3 out of 5.0.

A nice drop of beer for a German style brew made in America.

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Franz Beer Review

A little late in the day to be drinking an Oktoberfest beer, but hey better late than never.

This beer sits in a little 330ml can with a blue, white and orange label. On the front it says Cincy made, meaning it is made in Cincinnati, which is all good.

However take a closer look on the back and it says it is brewed and canned by Beer52 at Full Circle Brew Co in the UK in partnership with Rhinegeist Brewery in the US.

So a German style beer from America brewed and canned by a beer shop at a brewery in Newcastle, England. A little bit round the houses, but lets see what this beer is really like.

Drinking Franz Beer

Franz pours a mid gold with a close to one finger white foamy top. Its body is slightly hazy with plenty of visible tiny bubbles rising to the top.

On the nose it is pretty subtle with a little biscuit malt and a slight fruity aroma.

The taste follow suit with a malt base laced with a little caramel, then a fruity flavour pops in. I got apple or pear, but Lou says plum, what ever it is, it makes it quite sweet.

On the back end there is a little bitterness trying to come through, however it is hardly noticeable. The sweetness holds it down, but a smooth decent beer all the same.

At 5.4% ABV it is not for session, but I could of done with a little more than 330ml. It gets a rate my beer score of 4.3 out of 5.0.

M’Lady likes it too, saying “I get very little on the nose, maybe a slight biscuit malt. But I really like the taste of this beer, sweet and smooth with caramel undertones”. Lou scores it a higher 4.6 out of 5.0.

So Lou prefers it to me, probably because it has a sweet flavour and not much bitterness. Overall a decent little beer though.

Rhinegeist Brewery

Rhinegeist Brewery was founded in 2013 by Bob Bonder and Bryant Goulding in the Over-The-Rhine neighbourhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, US.

Bob had the idea in 2011 and shortly after Bryant moved to Cincinnati and the pair searched for a brewer. They Found Jim Matt a Chemist and avid homebrewer.

Two of his homebrews turned into two of the breweries core beers Uncle mild ale and Truth IPA. The premises they settled on seems like a huge facility that they have grown into over the years.

But they hit the ground running serving an impressive 2500 people on their opening day in June 2013. Since then they have gone from strength to strength expending their beer distribution to many other cities.

Their core range of beers consists of around nine beers. However they have put out many seasonal and limited beers over the years.

The brewery also cater fro private events, including weddings in their several function rooms, The Clubhouse, The Signature Room and The Annex. Of course there are plenty of Rhinegeist beers on tap for any event.

All in all a pretty exciting brewery producing a lot of beer.

Rhinegeist Beer Range

There always seems plenty of beer to choose from this brewery. A core range at present of nine beers, seasonal beers showing at thirteen at the time of writing.

As well as an impressive four hundred and eighteen limited edition beers showing on their website. Plus some barrel aged beers, cider and even alcoholic iced tea.

They are a busy lot at Rhinegeist Brewery. Here are just a few beers I would like to bump into one day.

Beer For Humans

Beer For Humans is labelled as an ‘Easy Hop Ale’ crisp and bright with plenty of hoppy and citrus bite. In fact it uses a selection of five hops which make it certain to pack a punch.

However it is an easy going beer made for everyone, supporting many charities and doing good work everywhere.

At just 4.5% ABV it is easy on the strength too, making it a go to session beer with plenty of flavour.

Truth

Truth is an Indian Pale Ale that has been on the Rhinegeist journey from the start. A real veteran beer with plenty of hop kick and tropical flavours of grapefruit and mango.

A solid IPA with a dry finish and plenty of strength at 7.2% ABV, so not for the faint hearted. Sounds like a decent beer though and one that is on my beer hit list.

Titanoboa

Titanoboa is an imperial IPA named after the giant prehistoric snake that was more than forty feet long. Brewed with a huge amount of hops this beer is dense with tropical passionfruit and pineapple notes.

It is not lite on strength either at 9.0% ABV it demands some respect or it will be sure to show its bite. A monster of a beer, but one I would like to try, just the one though.

Final Thoughts

Rhinegeist Brewery then is a relatively young brewery that has made a big mark in the craft beer market. They produce an exciting range of beers that seem pretty endless.

I have only tried the Franz beer, so have a long way to go. That said Franz is a decent beer with plenty of flavour. A little on the sweet side, which is why I think Lou likes it, but nice all the same.

I look forward to trying more of their beers if I come across any of them in the future.

If you have tried Franz from Rhinegeist then do share your thoughts below and let me know what you think of it. Or any other Rhinegeist beer you may have got to try, share it here.