Beer "connections" GER -> USA

Maybe some of the U.S. folks who come to Germany looking for Cantillon (can you help here, @BeerMoto?) know of an online U.S. store that stocks most of the Top 250 -- or at least, say, the Top 25. Good luck in your search!

 

Where do you live in Germany?

 

Welcome!

CAMBA's Tap House in Munich has some American Craft stuff and @boddhitree may know a few websites to find some American Craft, but it will be limited and you probably won't find Top 250 stuff online. Maybe someone knows better than me. Like Germany, most of the best American Craft comes from smaller producers who don't have the interest/capabilities to distribute oversees (although if you can wait a few years, Stone is working on a Berlin brewery!).

Really your best bet is to ignore that list. I realize I may be in the minority on this site, but there aren't a lot of Ami beers that I'd rather drink in place of Uerige's Alt, Kneitinger's Dunkel (or Pilsner), Brauerei Eck's Dunkel, Faust's Pilsner, Wippra's Kellerbier, St. Georgenbräu Kellerbier, Spaten Oktoberfest, Rothaus Pils, Schlenkerla's anything....

(PS - Ihr English ist ganz schon wunderbar!)

 

Maybe the Berlin Bier Shop can ship you some US craft beers: http://www.berlinbiershop.com/

Cheers!

 

Check out Bier-Deluxe. Not necessarily Top 250 but decent beers in general, especially if you're just getting into the scene.

 

Also this one here: https://craftbeerstore.de/
I never had a look at the Top 250 here, don't worry about such lists. Most of these beers won't be available here in Germany anyway.

 

Welcome! Where in Germany are you located?

 

Welcome. Glad you've found us.
Forget the 'list'. Explore the wonderful beers of Germany and you would be pleasantly surprised.

(Machen Sie sich keine Sorgen, wir wissen genau was Sie meinen. Ihr Englisch ist wirklich sehr gut.)

 

Welcome to the site. There are many valuable resources here to be explored. But as others have suggested, the top 250 list isn't worth your time or getting excited about. That's mostly a popularity contest among among American beer geeks that is heavily influenced by the beer being hard to get. The Beers of Fame list is a much better place to start since it has lots of beers that have endurance, are more easily found, and not so much just popular at the moment.

But as some have suggested, a better place to start a beer journey is learning the good and the best you can find near to where you are so that you can learn and develop your enjoyment without great expense or much work finding out what you enjoy, what there is to explore, and by being able to experience it more than once. Then when you broaden your search you have more knowledge to guide you. For example, by the time I visited a particular brewery in Belgium that is famous world wide for a style of beer that "originated" in a particular region of Belgium (but that I had never tried), I had learned many things that enabled me to more clearly understand and take great value from both the visit to the brewery and from drinking their beers at the brewery.

You will also find that, despite an occasional sarcastic comment from one person or another, the people in this forum will be happy to share ideas and experiences that can be helpful guidance as your own experience and knowledge grow.

Enjoy your journey!

(And as others have pointed out your English is good. This is also a great place to practice as some here have both English and German and are willing to share that experience as well.)

 

Welcome, @DenVrede.... If you had been in the Bamberg area, I was going to suggest the Bierothek; they carry some American craft bier, though nothing exotic.... When I visited there one day they were having a tasting with Sierra Nevada Torpedo.... Prosit!!!

 

Haha... I like Altbier, quite a lot.

A member on here (Frankenbier) and his group attend a Sticke event in Düsseldorf every year. You might want to check them out even if you don't drink Altbier (gasp!).

Another option would be a long weekend trip to Amsterdam. Direct DUS-AMS riding the IC just a little over 2 hours. Knock yourself out once you arrive. Beer-wise you'll love it, drinking and beer shopping.

Fünf Tage bis zum DUS (und dann weiter nach Baden-Württemberg)...

 

Welcome!

Take the lists here as a guide and not the gospel truth. As someone already mentioned, the Beers of Fame is a much more realistic list in terms of availability and beers that have really stood the test of time.

You may find you don't care for some of those styles also by the way...

now with those pleasantries out of the way I must ask the important stuff...

when can you send me some Füchschen Alt, or Schlussel, or Schumacher ?????

 

Also there is a list of top rated German produced beers here on this site too, you can see it here:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/lists/de/

 

I put almost no value (and often times negative value) on lists compiled by non-blind tasting. If you want a ranking of beers that were judged blindly, check out the World Beer Cup and European Beer Star lists. Or, better yet, make your own rankings by starting your own blind tasting program.

http://www.worldbeercup.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/WBC14-Winners-List.pdf
http://www.european-beer-star.de/ebs14_de/downloads/presse/Gewinner_2014.pdf

 

Well, while I also think blind tasting is the best way to judge, let's not forget the ignorance factor of who is doing the judging.

I once judged a home-brew competition, Smoked beers, where the other 2 judges knew nothing of German-style Rauchbier. Their only exposure to smoked beer was various micro-brewed smoked Porters and the like (and one of them was a pro brewer).

So yes, blind tasting and knowledge of what you're supposed to be tasting are a good base for judging a beer.

 

I typically travel to Bielefeld once a year for business and always have beer in tow from Three Floyds and Chicago area. Next time I am heading there I will let you know!

 

Hell, many of those beers aren't available to me here in the States! ...The U.S.A. is a big country my friend, and many parts of it have not so great distribution.

 

my brother just came from Berlin this week. he stopped there to pick me up some beer. he reports a lot of American micros (including New Glarus!) on the shelves.