Brauhaus Schmitz Review

Brauhaus Schmitz

Website: http://www.brauhausschmitz.com/

A place I wanted to visit for a long time. Ever since last year's "Winter Beer Fest", where I was able to meet one of the chefs there. So I ventured there on a day I had some business up in Philadelphia.

It did remind me of a German restaurant, which I did visit when I was in Germany, minus the bench seating and German people. Dave was my bartender. Greeting me with the standard have you been here before, and the run down on the specials. He also knew all about his beers. A major plus. Also being the dog I am, I really like the German Bar Maid outfits the waitresses wear. And they wear them quite well.

So looking over the chalkboard of beers, and the menu of beers, I figured I get a German beer. Then my stomach began to rumble. "I should eat", which I said in my head. So I browsed the menu and I saw one of my favorite dishes. Potato Pancakes. Served with apple sauce and sour cream. There would be a photo next to this paragraph, but I forgot to take one before I started eating. Let me tell you that it is hard to screw up Potato Pancakes, but even harder to make really good ones. These were really good. I might even venture to say better then my Mom's. I was still a little peckish, so I order another item I thought I should get while drinking the three beers I ordered.

The German Pretzel! Okay a little cliche, but it was a Carb craving day. Now it wasn't like the pretzel's I had in Germany, but damn good none the less. Kind of a cross between a bready German Pretzel and a Philly Pretzel. It also came garnished with White Pickled Radishes. Which I enjoyed as well. Only thing I was a little disappointed in was the mustard they gave with the pretzel. One was a Sweet Honey Ground Mustard Seed, and a Dijon Hot style. The mustard were good, but I like the strong spicy horseradish type of mustard with my pretzels. This time I remembered to take a picture only after I had a small bite of it, which I put the pickled radish into to fill the gap. Sorry, but I was really hungry. So now onto the beers I had to round out my Carb craving meal.

Ramstien Oktoberfest. Light smell of grassy hops and a nice white head. The mouth feel was light, crisp, and clean. The bubbles lightly scrubbed the tongue while drinking and you get a nice little bitter from the hops. It finishes up a little like club soda, but a nice starter beer for the meal. Went really nice with the Potato Pancakes and apple sauce.

Website: http://www.ramsteinbeer.com/

Kulmbacher Kellerbier. The smell had some sweet fruits, like plums, and also a light malt sweetness. Hand a nice white pillow head. Mouth feel was light and just slightly dry. Was sweet on the tip of the tongue, some bitterness in the middle, some plum hints on the end. Finishes up dry and clean. Really tried to think of what you could pair this up with, but it really could go with just about anything. Even Hot Cheese Soup.

Website: http://www.kulmbacher.de/de/klbag/

Stoudt's Brauhaus Hausbrau a.k.a. Stoudt's Gold Lager. A white head which gave off a nice sweet fruity smell. Another light, clean, crisp mouth feel. Starts off with a light sweet maltyness, then the bitter hits you in the middle with a little roasty flavor, and finishes up dry. This went really well with the pretzel, pickled radish, and mustard. So to pick a dish with a little zip and tang to it. Like Frankfurters boiled in beer, or even a nice Micro green Salad with a Pomegranate Vinaigrette.

Website: http://www.stoudtsbeer.com/

Next time I visit, I have to try a Schnitzel. The guy down the bar from me was having it and it looked awesome, but i wasn't feeling it at this afternoon. Another great thing about this place is the atmosphere. A great place to take the family, even little kids. There was this one little kid there at the time and he was doing what kids do, but what impressed me was the Bar Maiden was really cool with the kid. Made me smile. Now I'm not sure what this place is like at night, but the staff there seemed to gel really well with each other as well as the patrons.

So like always, "Be Well, and Drink Well!!"