Aldi Special - Karlsquell Weizen & Maternus Premium Pilsener

Scraping the bottle of the barrel here but curiosity got the better of me on a recent trip to Aldi. Not a shop I visit very often as it is the worst of the discount stores here mainly because it has not adapted to Denmark and the local produce however I am a big fan of their imported Nurnberger sausages, brilliant for the barbeque ! Walking up the small discount beer laden aisle I spotted these two in PET bottles. Both with German labels but on closer inspection there is a catch, one is actually brewed in Belgium. So, how good or bad can these be ?

Karlsberg ?- Karlsquell Weizen

I had to look this one up and some sites say Karlsberg while on the bottle it says brauerei braunschweig, which leads to Oettinger then hits a blank. No matter, lets twist the cap...

Light wafts of banana, wheat, fruit and cloves from the pour.

Karlsquell Weizen pours hazy orange with frothy white head. Moderately sweet and fruity intake with wheat, banana and just a faint touch of cloves while the finish is with a dry and sour citric bitterness. Not a lot going on in the short aftertaste apart from some mild citrus and cloves. Lively carbonated and the mouthfeel is light and watery.

Not the worst wheat beer I have drunk and a bit better than I was expecting. A bit too lively in the carbonation department for my liking and I did not really like the sour finish. Not one I would buy or drink again. Summing up, it is drinkable but that's about it.

This scored a generous 3/10 on the 'well, that's my first wheat beer from a plastic bottle' Beerometer.

Alc : 5%

Where to buy/avoid CPH : Aldi

Martens - Maternus Premium Pilsener

German label and brewed to the German purity law... in Belgium and styled as a Czech Pilsner, confused ? The label blurb says ' Fresh and aromatic pilsner in premium quality with a fully developed taste. Brewed with choice ingredients'. Are your alarm bells ringing ? Time to twist that cap...

Lights aroma of malt, herbs, hay and wet cardboard.

Maternus pours a very pale urine yellow with a washing up liquid white head.  Malty and very grainy rough intake with wet cardboard and herbs. The finish is lightly bitter some faint hops. Next to no aftertaste apart from a little of the weird hops/herbs lingering. Thin bodied and watery in the mouthfeel.

It is drinkable but I am not that impressed with this. I like the herby profile which at a good stretch almost reminds me of a Jever or Dithmarscher pils. I don't know where the Czech bit comes in as to me it tastes like a very cheap version of the two afore mentioned pilsners. Not one I would bother buying or drinking again, at this level I would rather have a Perlenbacher from Lidl for a cheap German pils. Summing up, thank f... I only bought one.

This scored 2/10 on the 'that's not discount, THIS is discount' Beerometer.

Alc : 4.9%

Where to buy/avoid CPH : Aldi