Beer Scene in Feuerbach-Stuttgart

Discussion in 'Germany' started by raverjames, Sep 25, 2013.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. raverjames

    raverjames Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2003 Virginia

    My time in Bamberg was too short, but a coworker there gave me 10 beers from the various local breweries. I am a big fan of Keesmann-Brau Herren Pils. There were a few others from Bamberg that also had some good qualities.
     
    seanyfo likes this.
  2. raverjames

    raverjames Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2003 Virginia

    I was never looking for American craft. German craft was an accidental discovery. Germans should be proud. This American can tell you the German craft is on par with some of the better American breweries.
     
    JackHorzempa and Gutes_Bier like this.
  3. raverjames

    raverjames Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2003 Virginia

    Yeah that one wasn't very good. But it is served at quite a few bars, so I drank a few liters.
     
    JackHorzempa likes this.
  4. raverjames

    raverjames Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2003 Virginia

    Bamberg beers:
    Rauchbier (Schlenkerla?)
    Gunther-Brau Lager
    Krug-Brau lager
    Fassla Lager
    Fassla Swergla?
    Klosterbrau Schwarzla (drinking right now) - big fan of this.
     
  5. boddhitree

    boddhitree Pooh-Bah (1,765) Apr 13, 2008 Germany
    Pooh-Bah

    Don't' forget, the Döner kebab is a Made in Germany invention. Having lived in Istanbul in 1994 for a year, there 's never been anything like it, until it was invented in Berlin by Turks who combined German, Italian and Turkish ideas to what we now call a Döner, which was then reimported back to Turkey. Just like the hamburger started as a Frikadellen.
    What, you've never had Handkäs mit Musik?
    Funny, I've never heard of this place/beer... have you had it and why haven't we discussed it before?

    They say on the website:
    "Beer is drunk where it's brewed. Or where you take it with you."

    I'm insulted (think anyone has noticed?), and I'm not even German.
     
    Gutes_Bier likes this.
  6. herrburgess

    herrburgess Grand Pooh-Bah (3,053) Nov 4, 2009 South Carolina
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Interesting assortment. Were those hand-selected by your co-worker? I will admit that most of those are beers that you'd ideally want to consume in quantity to truly appreciate their nuances. Just one bottle is unlikely to impress.

    That said, what would you say the brewer might be doing "wrong" to create what you feel is a "bland" flavor profile?
     
  7. raverjames

    raverjames Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2003 Virginia

    Some of them didn't even have much flavor for the style, and others were decent. These were selected by my coworker, because he liked them. Honestly, the stuff from Bamberg was better than most of the stuff I bought in Stuttgart.

    Btw, I am not claiming that people are making their beer wrong. I would have liked to try more than just pilsners brewed 10 different ways, and I really love pilsners. I was sad that no one here knew anything about Berlinerweissbier, eisbock, or many other wonderful German styles. Things are very regional here.
     
  8. herrburgess

    herrburgess Grand Pooh-Bah (3,053) Nov 4, 2009 South Carolina
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Not sure what you mean here. Can you explain a bit further?
     
  9. raverjames

    raverjames Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2003 Virginia

    Pilsners with no hop crispness. Schwarzbiers with almost no roast. I was happy anytime I could find a hefeweizen that had stronger clove characters.
     
    JackHorzempa and boddhitree like this.
  10. herrburgess

    herrburgess Grand Pooh-Bah (3,053) Nov 4, 2009 South Carolina
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Ah. Got ya. Thx.

    EDIT: Are you referring to the Schwaerzla regarding Schwarzbiers? Because I would place that beer more in the tradition of Franconian Dunkels (tending toward Czech Tmave Pivo) than something like a Koestritzer. Did you try the Mönchshof Schwarzbier?
     
    #70 herrburgess, Nov 4, 2013
    Last edited: Nov 4, 2013
  11. Gutes_Bier

    Gutes_Bier Maven (1,339) Jul 31, 2011 Germany

    Just heard of it myself in a NY Times article about Düsseldorf. I considered posting the article but it was more about the city than the beer per se (although alt does get a mention). So I looked them up. There are two ratings on this site, neither of which make me want to rush over there. I may buy a bottle, we'll see.
     
  12. raverjames

    raverjames Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2003 Virginia

    No, the Bamberg was the first Schwarzla I tried, and it is quite good. I had a few Scwarzbiers from Stuttgart and Munich. Never tried the Monschof, or at least I don't remember it. Breznak was one of the big name Schwarzbiers. That was a fairly bland one.
     
    herrburgess likes this.
  13. Gutes_Bier

    Gutes_Bier Maven (1,339) Jul 31, 2011 Germany

    OK, apologies if I inferred incorrectly from your statement about "palate overload" when returning to the States. I took that to mean that you were missing the hop bombs of home. It's a common lament from American beer geeks re: German beers, from what I've seen. Re: the Belgian beer comment, I didn't direct that at you personally but that's also something that comes up from time-to-time here when Americans visit, and the conversation in this thread went that direction which prompted my response. Again, glad you were able to find something you liked!
     
    herrburgess likes this.
  14. raverjames

    raverjames Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2003 Virginia

    Yeah man, I checked the ratings for Camba. They need more love. Great German adaptations of other styles. Just drank the German IPA tonight. Great balance and a wonderful hop character. It isn't like US hop bombs. Something very different and clean.
     
  15. herrburgess

    herrburgess Grand Pooh-Bah (3,053) Nov 4, 2009 South Carolina
    Pooh-Bah Society

    May sound like a crazy question, but what did you think of the food? Try much bread or yogurt? (Promise this is beer related, UncleJimbo! I find that there are similar differences between U.S. and German bread and yogurt as there are between U.S. craft and German beer.)
     
  16. raverjames

    raverjames Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2003 Virginia

    German food is excellent. Especially Schwabian cuisine. We went to a small suburb south of Stuttgart on Saturday and had a traditional meal on top of a castle. I had a schnitzel dish with local wild mushrooms and noodles. Very tasty. I also have a weird obsession with blutwurst.
     
    russpowell and Gutes_Bier like this.
  17. steveh

    steveh Grand Pooh-Bah (4,030) Oct 8, 2003 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society

    It's got to be so difficult visiting Germany after "growing up" on the type of craft beers so prominent in the US these days. Traditional German beers are so far from the hop/bitterness kick or ABV bounce you get so often over here.

    If you look at style guides and study how the beers are supposed to taste, I'd bet you'd be surprised that a majority of what you tried tasted just as it should -- whether bland to your palate or not.

    For one thing, not all Scwarzbiers are roasty -- and the ones that are certainly aren't as roasty as an Imperial Stout or Porter. To crispness, well -- that's more mouthfeel than flavor, so it's a difficult character to question. What beers do you consider to have "hop crispness?"
     
  18. steveh

    steveh Grand Pooh-Bah (4,030) Oct 8, 2003 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society

    ...or, Bitburger.

    Tell ya, given the choice of Bitburger, Radeburger, Warsteiner, or Dinkelacker... I have a hands-down choice.
     
    Gutes_Bier likes this.
  19. raverjames

    raverjames Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2003 Virginia

    I grew up drinking plenty of imported German beers. I rather enjoy Jever and one of my favorite German pilsners is brewed by Trumer. Not all German pils are bland. Same with schwarzbiers. Not sure how much time you have spent over here, but many beers seem to be macrobrewed now. I imagine German beer was very different 20 years ago.
     
    JackHorzempa likes this.
  20. steveh

    steveh Grand Pooh-Bah (4,030) Oct 8, 2003 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Is this your first trip? I've been to Germany quite a few times and while I understand the idea of too much industrialization, I was rarely disappointed in my choices.

    Why haven't you reviewed it, or did I miss it in your list? It would give us a good idea of what you consider good in a Pilsner.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.