Drinking less European beers?

Did you go to Bamberg? Just cruise around Bavaria and there are surprises everywhere. You can even go off of the beaten path and be better rewarded.

 

What exactly is high-end? And what high-end British beer could you not find in London that you can get over here. Please don't say Sam Smiths

 

The thing is knowing where to look. Expecting American conditions here in Europe is just plain inadequate, just as it would be to do the same in the U.S.
I mean you could go to Rome for a few days and be equally disappointed at the food if you don't know where to go because you can easily wind up with something mediocre or overpriced. Finding anything in the major cities should actually not be an issue. If you know people from the area you're also a lot more likely to find city breweries that are usually flying under the radar. As Stahlsturm pointed out numerous times, most of the traditional German family or city breweries brew at their capacities and aren't very interested in big expanses, advertising and the likes.

 

German doppelbocks were my gateway to good beer back in the early 90s. And when I lived in German in the 90s I drank a lot of bocks and hefeweizens. But I mostly had to drink what was local. The average German beer drinker is just as uninformed about beer as the average American beer drinker. Fortunately for them, their macro breweries are better than our macro breweries. But you really have to seek out the good stuff when you are over there. I think this is finally changing, though.

While I mostly drink American craft beer these days, I make a habit of looking for German beers and for a while there was almost no good German beer available. About four or five years ago German beers seemed to be at their absolute low point in terms of availability in liquor stores. But all of a sudden in the last year I am seeing a LOT more German beer on the shelves. Not sure if this is a real thing or if maybe the Belgian moment is over and the importers are pushing the German beers again.

Two of my regular bars usually have a good selection of fresh kegs of interesting German (and less often Czech) beers and I almost always start with those beers. And I am rarely disappointed. At NERAX I always go straight for the German cask beer when it is available.

And nothing I can find here can top Schlenkerla for rauchbier. Their Fastenbier is the only whale I care about.

 

The Aventinus Weizenbock is indeed an excellent beer. If you are willing to drink a beer that is not Aventinus but a high quality Weizenbock nonetheless, then Victory Moonglow is worthwhile.

Cheers!

 

I hope this is a wave that's heading west. Back in the early 2000s there was always a lot of German imports on shelves around here, now they seem to have disappeared.

 

I drink tons of Weihenstephaner, Ayinger and Samuel Smith, not to mention various Belgian quads.

 

I've been drinking more European beers lately. Particularly German and Belgian. I'm sure I would be pretty much an even split between US, German, and Belgium if the price was similar.

 

Jack's Abby makes some fine beers, but they do not brew any traditional German styles (or their Czech offering) that can compete with fresh imports.

To answer the OP's original question.

I would say I purchase imports quite regularly, especially if I'm at a bar. I've had more luck with fresher imports on tap than finding them in the bottle. They taste better anyways, as I don't have access to the keg's dates at a bar.

Recently I bought a few half liters of Andech's Vollbier Hell this weekend. Two weeks ago I purchased Freigeist Ottekolong Kolsch.

But I'll also grab some decent American versions of European styles that I enjoy. Not QUITE as much as the best imports, but sometimes freshness trumps quality if it's close enough.

Recently I had Sierra Nevada Kellerweis on tap this past weekend, Troegs Dreamweaver Wheat and Sunshine Pils the weekend prior, and I also picked up two bottles of Allagash's Resurgam gueuze. I'd take Weihenstephan's and Andech's Hefeweizen over Sierra Nevada's and Troegs' any day. And a number of German pils over Sunshine as well. And probably Cantillon over Resurgam (haven't had Resurgam yet). But these American attempts are still quite enjoyable.

 

If I had access to Cantillon, I would be drinking it all the time.

 

I still drink Weihenstephaner hefeweizen and pilsner, Guinness, Monk's cafe, Bitburger, Duvel, Sam Smith's lager and stout, the occasional Heineken, Delirium Tremens and Pilsner Urquell.

There are American equivalents for almost of them except Guinness and maybe Duvel/Delirium Tremens (Matilda lolz).

 

For me it just varies on what's fresh at the store. I buy German imports when I know they aren't stale, but if I have any doubts I won't.
With Belgians, I buy Cantillon and 3F whenever I see them, period. Unfortunately that isn't very often. Luckily I still see Hanssens, Timmermans, and some others often enough.

 

I'd chose to drink a beer of the Aecht Schlenkerla line from Brauerei Heller over an American sour any day. But hey, my preferences for smoked beers and sours is not common.

No American equivalent to those beers.

 

Well sours and rauchbiers are worlds apart. I do enjoy Aecht Schlenkerla a lot, but I will say Rauch ur bock from Caldera is one of my favorite American rauchbiers and I personally enjoy just as much as Aecht Schlenkerla.

 

I buy the occasional German beer (maybe once a month), random new things I haven't had before from other countries, I go to England once a year so I get my fix for English beer then... but when it comes to Belgian beer. I drink lots of that still. Cantillon, 3 Fonteinen, trappist beers, etc etc. So many amazing breweries to choose from.

 

I find that I drink more German beers during the summer but more craft beers during the winter. The spring and fall are about an equal mix.

 

You missed it, and it was pretty durn good.

 

I just don't appreciate sours despite trying many very highly rated ones. I don't get the hype, but that is okay - my wallet appreciates it.

Drink what you like, to each their own. I just don't get the appeal.

 

I drink little Euro beer. The only euro beer I constantly drink is Belgium saisons, Orval, Cantillon gueuze and Drie gueuze. Now from time to time I'm out and about I drink some Bit(burg) or other schieße beer cause that's what the bar has...but if I'm at home (90% of drinking) I'm sipping imports or my American style hombrew.

 

I won't argue with that. Moonglow is good, but I rarely come across it.