Schnickelfritz (Dunkel Lager)

Schnickelfritz (Dunkel Lager)
1 draught pint, $3.75, 5.8% ABV

Purchased at Cambridge House Brew Pub, Granby

pimpleschnickelI was all gung-ho to do a page exploring the anagrams of Schnickelfritz. I would have written a bunch of clever short little stories about them.

Like how when I was single and had a couple beers in me, I could smoothly move into zen flirt chicks mode. You know, that’s when I just serenely sit there and stare until they come hither. (Note: This doesn’t actually work and they think you’re a psycho. Rightfully so.)

Or how when my lamp was shorted out and when my friends would try to turn it on, we’d call it Clicks Then Friz and then we’d all celebrate with a beer afterwards.

Then there’s all those great hikes that have Zilch Tick Ferns so as to eliminate the chance of Lyme Disease. Always a reason to have a couple beers.

Refs Lick Chintz – yeah, not sure where I’d go with that one, but it made me chuckle.

Or how I was at a bar once with a Trick Zinc Shelf that was hilarious! Everytime someone ordered a beer, the shelf would somehow flip the cup and keep the drink intact inside.

You see? It was gonna be awesome. But then I googled “schnickelfritz” on a whim and, well, let’s say I found the explanation of the German-derived German-Americanism so much more interesting. Before that, there’s this:

CBH says:

A traditional German dark lager slightly sweet with a dry finish.

cal21Great. You probably could have guessed that. This is a good dunkel lager. I rather liked it and am finding that the darker, maltier German beers are ten billion times better than their awful lighter beers.

Okay, so what’s a schnickelfritz? I turn to the wonderful Dictionary of American Regional English. It’s basically a mischievous little boy; a scamp—usually used endearingly. Cute huh?

Here’s my little schnickelfritz

But where does it come from? Well, it turns out that a “Schniggel” is little boy’s penis and it’s couple with the common name Fritz.

Weird…

But it IS German after all. Actually, not really. Remember, this was from the Dictionary of American Regional Dialect. Schnickelfritz is more of a Pennsylvania Dutch/Mennonite/Upper Midwest German/Americanized thing. So I poked around a little more and found an interesting Yahoo discussion of the world.

Who knew how many people were called Schnickelfritz as children?

And who knows how the boys at Cambridge House knew to call their dunkel lager it. Whatever the reason, I dig it.

Overall Rating: B+
Rating vs. Similar style: B+

Beer Advocate’s Reviews of Schnickelfritz n/a
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