Coffee in the “Craft Bier Bar”
Michael Solms has 24 beer taps and two Melitta® Cafina® XT4s in operation at his bar in Hanover
Beer and coffee, do they really go together? “Perfectly” says Michael Solms, whose “Craft Bier Bar” in Hanover (Ballhofplatz) has 24 rare beers constantly on tap and a further 90 specialties from around the world in bottled form. Next to the long row of beer taps, there’s not much room for coffee, but the boss uses what space there is in the best possible way: with two slim Melitta® Cafina® XT4s.
Michael Solms organizes beer festivals in 12 German cities, runs the “GiG” and “Wohnzimmer” in Hanover and, as of September 2015, can express his passion for the newly discovered culture of artisan beers through his “Craft Bier Bar”. 24 beers on tap: as far as he knows, there are only two other bars in Germany which offer such variety – in Hamburg and in Munich. “We have the complete ‘Who’s Who’ of Europe on tap here,” says the expert of his impressive range of craft beers.
Clipboard orientation
The extensive menu is suitably hand-made in the form of a loose collection of notes held together on a rustic clipboard – a vital orientation aid. As well as listing such expressive names as “Abraxxxas Smoked Weisse”, “Poltergeist”, “Bayrisch Nizza” or “Horizon Tokyo Black”, the notes also provide information on the type, price, amount and alcoholic content, as well as describing the respective look, smell and flavor.
Espresso in the whirlpool
Coffee also crops up several times on the menu – most obviously as the coffee stout “Noscos Café” produced by “Freigeist-Bierkultur” of Cologne. Just 29 years old, owner Sebastian Sauer is already regarded as one of the founding fathers of the nascent German craft beer scene. Asked about the recipe for “Noscos Café”, he can only reveal this much: during fermentation in the whirlpool, crushed espresso beans add a delicate hint of coffee which harmonizes well with the roasted malt flavor of the black beer.
Scent of chocolates
Michael Solms goes into raptures when he describes his beers: the black milk stout made with fermented lactose “By Udder Means”, for example, with delicate hints of chocolate and citrus. But he’s not only an expert on beer, coffee is another area of his expertise. Melitta technician Ralf Thomas has fond memories of the tasting session when he set up the machines: “This man knows how coffee has to taste.” The two piston-driven coffee machines use the bio and Fairtrade blend La Tazza Verde from Melitta Professional.