American craft in Germany

You have no idea how over-joyed I was to learn that Hopfenstopfer was so close to where we are living; it really made it more appealing to know that I would be living in a tiny town in an area that I didn't think had much beer.

Long story, but I've already been up to meet Thomas and buy beer from him for the bottle shop I work at in Paris. We brought back 45 cases of his hoppy-goodness. I plan to head up there to stock up for myself once he releases the Comet IPA. Any input on that one? I've never had a beer with that hop, looking forward to familiarizing myself with the new German hops...

 

Thanks for the welcome!

Happy to be here and to find out that there is a little German BA community, this was not the case in France. I've been to Speyer briefly, will probably go there again, I hear they have a nice xmas market and I'd like to have another meal and try the beers at Speyer Domhof again. Hochstetten...haha, nothing here of interest.

I've been to Vogel and had the pils and the driekorn (the rotating offering at the time). I plan to pop down to Karlsruhe at least once a month to grab a pils and try the rotating beer.

One of my favorite things about beer is that it tastes better when in good company and having a good time. So I can understand the fond memories for the dunkel in Speyer...

Thanks for the heads up on Maruhn, I've been told that the list isn't current, so I won't expect anything. Yeah, that's what others have said about the German selection, which is great and definitely worth the trip. Sounds like I will find many of my favorites that aren't usually available outside of their region. I'm not all that worried about imports here, especially hoppy US stuff. I plan to start homebrewing again, so I will have those kinds of beers covered. What caught my eye on that list was FW 14, which is a couple years old and if available I would grab a few because those age very well. I was thinking the same thing, that considering the area, their list was pretty damn interesting. I've yet to see several of those breweries anywhere in Europe...Victory, for example.

We will consider a meet-up at Vetter tentative, no reason you couldn't bring your wives, I'd bring mine...[/quote]

 

The FW14 was/is part of the Braufactum refrigerator. It may or may not have been replaced by more recent vintages at this point.

 

I assumed it was part of their fridge, but thought it was odd they had a release from 3 years ago...

Granted, the one currently listed on Braufactum's site is the 16, which is last years release. BTW, I didn't see Parabola or FW Anny at the Globus that I found their fridge, are these beers only in select stores?

 

Braufactum = Radeberger = Fernsehbier = AVOID

 

Not sure how those fridges work. I don't think every beer on the website will be at a given store at a given time. I've seen the FW14 (and later?) but I don't remember seeing Parabola.

 

I realize that several people on here (mainly German) have a problem with Braufactum as it is owned by Radeberger. This, however, currently is not something that bothers me as it has no reason to (I have just moved to Germany and know very little about big beer/large corporation politics here). I would love to hear why you don't like them/support them and even more so, go to the efforts to tell people this.

I am someone who tries my best to consume based on certain principles, so I can understand why you would be bothered by Braufactum. I constantly make similar statements about Rogue (they mistreat their employees, being the main reason) and any company that is owned by AB-Inbev (I have read countless articles explaining well enough to me that I don't want to support them). Just yesterday, I reminded my wife that we can't purchase Franziskaner because they are part of AB-Inbev. (Normally we go for Paulaner or Erdinger given the general distribution/availability). If it were available, Ayinger would be my preferred weissbier fix. We opted for the local hefeweizen; Hoepfner. Not bad, but a tad sweet in general, especially considering the abv of less than 5%.

 

For me (an admitted fan of Spaten's Helles), the biggest problem with BrauFactum is that they are trying to push beer off as a high priced gourmet option when there are significantly better beers here for €1,05 (per 500 ml) or less. I've seen others do this as well, and it's a trend I'm hoping never catches on. It's OK as a treat from time to time if you miss IPA's, but nothing more.

Regarding local wheat beers, you may also want to give Rothaus a shot, although I haven't had their wheat in a while. That should be pretty easy to come by. Ayinger is awesome but hard to find in this area. You can order them from Biershop Bayern, though. The internet is your friend!

 

Articles? Or blog/forum posts? I've seen a lot of debate around the internet and no one seems to have any solid evidence. To their defense, since A-B has purchased Goose Island I've seen no change in quality with one of my favorite breweries. In fact, there are some new things going on that show A-B is letting Goose guide them into the better-beer realm rather nicely. http://solemnoathbrewery.com/sob-stories/ten-reasons-you-should-be-drinking-goose-island-right-now/

Paulaner is now owned by a big conglomo -- might want to rethink your allegiance. Or just drink what tastes good.

 

Considering the availability of Paulaner all over the world, I had a feeling that it was owned by someone else at this point. You see it in almost every European country and is one of the few that is widely distributed within Germany. I'll have to do a little research and see if the company that owns them does or does not bother me.

When I said articles, I meant all of the above, but one article in particular that was quite lengthy and touched on many things from In-Bevs roots to almost putting hop farmers in France out of business, etc. I am currently looking for it and will post the link as soon as I find it.

 

They are part of Brau Holding International; which is no where near the goliath that Ab-Inbev and from what I can tell (my German is not great) this group does not necessarily outright own the breweries that make up this "big conglomo". This is a group that "owns" Paulaner, Kulmbacher, and Sudwest which is made up of 3 breweries, one of which is stated that it's privately owned.

http://www.brauholdinginternational.de/unternehmensgruppe/portraet.html

I still can't find that article, BM me if you really want to see it and once I find it, I will send you the link in a BM.

 

Radeberger and Franziskaner are both part of gigantic brewing conglomerates who stand for everything that is opposing any form of craft imaginable.

So is Paulaner.

 

Keep digging… Brauholding is owned by someone else...

 

Thanks for your input, I'm in agreement with them overpricing their beers as the ones I tried (especially the schwarz which was no better than Kostritzer and costs 1/5 the price). I agree that this trend is not the best direction for craftbeer, especially in Germany but it is happening all over the world for various reasons and as I said, after living in Paris, I am a bit numb to what you guys are considering "expensive".

In terms of ordering online, if I have to, I will, but as someone who is employed at a brick and mortar beer store, I do my best to support local business and enjoy buying my beer in person. Granted, I know that beer stores like this are few and far between in Germany, but I would rather drive a bit to a brewery and buy it directly than order it online. Granted, Bayern isnt that close, nor would it be the same situation as lets say driving up to Hopfenstopfer, chatting with Thomas and buying a couple of cases.

As I said before, I appreciate what Braufactum is doing in terms of their fridge display and importing some beers that I like and making them readily available. The fact that the town next to me has a shop with one of the fridges and 3 month old pale ale from California is still mind boggling to me.
(In actuality, some of the high end stuff like Parabola, FW Anny, Local 1 and Local 2 are pretty much the same price in the US if you ignore the fact that euros are worth more than dollars).

 

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brau_Holding_International

Part Schörghuber (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schörghuber_Unternehmensgruppe) and part Heineken (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heineken) and should be avoided like the plague they are.

 

Well there it is, Schörghuber 51% and Heineken 49%.

Seems as if this happened in 2004, which was before I was even of the legal drinking age (US that is).

Well shit, you learn something everyday. Thanks for prompting that (like I said, I always thought it was reasonable and in a sense didn't really want to know as I do like Paulaner hefeweizen).

 

Please recommend some hefeweizen that is safe to drink...
(Independently owned/not part of a gigantic brewing conglomerate that opposes craft
and that is generally available throughout Germany)

Seems as if the "local" brewery, Hoepfner is no better than Paulaner as it is part of Brauholding as well.

 

I like the Paulaner beers too. As said previously, drink what tastes good.

 

Independently owned beers are generally NOT available throughout Germany. Sorry.

Although Schneider (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_Weißbierbrauerei_G._Schneider_&_Sohn) and Erdinger (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erdinger_Weißbräu) are both privately owned and are pretty easy to find.

 

And not to crush your spirits but Hoepfner is also owned by Brau Holding. Rothaus is state owned and usually pretty drinkable.

RE: internet orders, Bier Zwerg is a brick and mortar (I believe?) that has a big online presence. You could also order directly from certain breweries (Schlenkerla being one, there are some others), although I understand your wanting to talk to people in person, especially for networking and/or business. For a regular ol' consumer like me though, it's the best way to get Ayinger, Uerige, Eckbräu, Schlenkerla seasonals, and many other undiscovered German treats without having to commit to a road trip.