Stephans Bräu is the house brand of the German “hypermarket chain”, Kaufland, brewed by Feldschlößchen in Dresden. There’s another famous brewery called Feldschlößchen in Switzerland which is an entirely different company.
Pils Premium
The standard offering from Stephans Bräu is the Pils Premium. Yes, they really had to mention that it’s “premium”. The label boasts that this is a German beer brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot, which doesn’t mean much seeing as the majority of German beers are brewed this way, anyway. Alcohol content is 4.9% and price is 29 cents for a 500ml can. It’s also brewed with real hops and not hop extract.
This bad boy pours a very pale straw yellow with a surprisingly robust head (it lasted about 4 minutes and left plenty of lacing). Smells of metal and white sliced bread. Unlike some of the other beers, the upfront sweetness of the malt is high, but not sickly, then a pronounced bold bitter note hits the tongue quite abrasively. Mouthfeel is actually pretty decent and markedly less watery than the other shit beers I’ve sampled. It has a weak minerally aftertaste and medium carbonation.
Surprisingly, there are no particularly unpleasant flavours. Due to head retention, mouthfeel and the fact that it actually kind of tastes like a pils, this is one of the better shit beers I’ve sampled so far.
Rating: 5 Stars out of 10
Export Premium
Here we have an export-strength lager in a sexy red can, which is slightly stronger (5.2% alcohol), but at the same low, low price of 29 cents per 500ml can.
This brew also pours a pale straw yellow with a feebler head than the Pils but with plenty of lacing. Smell is pitifully weak. Taste is very similar to the Pils but without a hoppy kick; there is some malt sweetness upfront but basically no aftertaste and only a tender whiff of bitterness. Mouthfeel is also quite decent and the carbonation is slightly higher than the Pils. There are no putrescent flavours to speak of.
This has far less character than the Pils but is definitely more quaffable, and it might even be the perfect general party beer because it is cheap, highly drinkable and is slightly stronger (for faster marination).
Rating: 5 Stars out of 10
Green Bear 