German colleagues, American beer.

Try Anchor Steam and Brooklyn Lager . They are both top shelf beers that are nothing like German Lagers.

 

You don't mention how long they have been in the US. Are they here on a temporary assignment? It may be that they want to try typically American fare. You might want to introduce them to some of the better American lagers. Great Lakes has Dortmunder Gold that they might like. Sam Adams Boston Lager might be another choice. Here in NC, there is a nice lager, Red Oak, but I don't think you will find it in GA.

 

Find the thread earlier on "Pilseners." There was a lot of discussion of which US brewed Pilseners are most like those brewed in Germany. Also IIRC there are a couple of older threads about German style beers.

Based on what your group are used to they won't like a lot of strong hop bitterness in their beers. Since this is Maibock season there may also be some of those fresh and available to you. Point out to your guests that they won't find beers here exactly like those they are used to in Germany but, there are some that are similar and worth trying. Once you've gone there you can probably get them to become a bit more daring in their choices but don't push IPAs or other strongly hopped beers. Have fun!

 

Granted it depends on where you are in Germany, BUT most Germans I have met (at least in my experience of living here for 7 years) want nothing to do with anything outside of lagers, pilsners and weizens.
Most usually reject the likes of bocks as well. I recently was talking to a few friends from Bavaria who were telling me how disgusting Weihenstephan Vitus and Korbinian are.

In my experience the Germans I have introduced new beers to are not very receptive to imperial stouts and ipas (think the typical North American beer drinker), so I like the suggestions of Anchor, Sam Adams Lager etc...
In your area what about something from Terrapin (golden ale), Sweetwater (the pilsner or wheat) or something from Red Brick.

cheers

 

In our Class 6 (liquor store) on Post, I see German guests and retiree family members buying BMC by the shopping cart full. Many of my German friends and their families love it as well. To them it is just like sparking water. The less flavor, the more PURE it must be in their opinion. They aren't beer people by any means, just average joes.

 

Introduce them to the German beers of Sly Fox, Victory, Troegs, Stoudts, Great Lakes, and New Glarus.

 

I had a German guy tell me he likes pilsners but not lagers. I told him that a pils was a lager and he laughed at me.

 

You'll likely be hard-pressed to find something that is fresh enough and close enough to what they are used to, i.e. beers such as Jever, Koenig, and Warsteiner (assuming these are Northern German VW folks visiting the Chattanooga plant), to please them. Some guys on here will tell you that SA Noble Pils and Victory Prima Pils are very close to the aforementioned German beers. My cynical answer is to do a test with Noble and Prima and see what happens (I think I can guess). My less cynical answer is to go with dennis3951's suggestions: Anchor Steam and Brooklyn Lager (both pretty unique U.S. beers that my Northern German wife likes).

 

Also, don't forget that a vast majority of Europeans get their jollies from Stella, Heineken, etc.

 

I have a friend who says the same thing about when his family comes to visit. In their case price is the determining factor- they expect beer to be cheap as well as good, but will take cheap over anything else. They really do like Brooklyn Lager, and beers like that, but would rather pay the lower price and complain about the taste. Take a horse to water and all that...

 

This is very true...and understandable. A case of Jever or Koenig (or Schlenkerla or Mahr's) will cost you around 15 Euro ($20) in Germany, or the equivalent of about 2 six-packs of a beer like Prima. Not to mention the differences in prices at the pub/restaurant.

 

Herrburgess beat me to it. I was going to guess VW. I have a friend that works there. He was out my way a while back, and his German co-worker had no interest in a locally brewed Pilsner. He seemed more interested in the coffee stout.

I don't know what styles to suggest, but I would suggest staying away from German style beers. I had another German visitor one time, all he wanted to do the 2 weeks he was in the US was try as many hamburgers and American brewers' beers as possible. He wasn't interested in Doppelbocks or Marzens. So maybe go for easy pale ales, IPAs, and stouts that are very American in nature. Possibly work your way up to the bigger beers from there. Heck, just give them what you like to drink. I'd probably give them lots of Sweetwater because that's what I like to drink when I'm in GA.

On a side note, are you from Ringgold? I grew up in Chatsworth and a little in Marrietta.

 

This. Even though my Slovak fiancee surprisingly enjoys beers like 120 min, quads and barrel-aged stouts, she typically gravitates towards wheats (hefes, dunkels, Belgian wits), several pils (Zlaty Bažant, Staropramen, Urquell) and an occasional pale or IPA. If your German counterparts are willing to try a few American attempts at those styles, I'd recommend the beers mentioned by herrburgess/dennis3951 and, to push the envelope, maybe something like NG Dancing Man and even a few pales like Dale's, SNPA, etc.

 

Well, case price v. six-pack price is (depending on market, of course) not usually a fair comparison. I typically pay $30 a case for Prima Pils, so, yeah, still 50% more than Jever in Germany. I suppose if I was driving home from the liquor store with a German visitor who was complaining about that price, I'd just silently point to the next gas station we passed with the big $3.63/gallon sign out front. What I save when I fill up the truck I can spend on beer and still pocket the difference.

 

The problem with that is that you would deprive your German guests of one of their favorite activities: having something to complain about.

 

it is possible, maybe not likely, that your German colleagues are not very interested in beer. it is more likely that they are not interested in American beer.

as others have noted, German beer culture is great but it is not adventurous or even open minded. these Germans like lagers, probably the exact lager from their hometown and not the one made from the next town across the river... America does not make any lagers as well as Germany, so why bother?

my opinion is that German beer culture is frustrating for Americans. Germans i have met (in America and in Germany) are not very interested in our thing and do't want to be conviced otherwise.
Cheers.

 

Everybody is different of course but one of the beauties of travelling abroad is to enjoy the local food and drink.Why should a German look for German beer in the US ? I certainly wouldn't , much as I like it, look for UK beer if I visited your country.That's simply missing out an experience.

 

Yes, unfortuntely many Germans don't know as much about beer as we think they do. Its the same thing with the British and the rest of the world to with the fascination with banal international lagers. Makes me glad to be here on BA actually.