Local Styles in Bottleshops/Breweries/Webshops

In past threads German BAs have mentioned various online beer retailers where they order 'specialty' beers and have those beers delivered to them. Hopefully they will chime into this thread with links and their recommendations.

You made mention of Freigeist and ironically I purchased my first bottle of Freigeist yesterday (the unfiltered Kolsch).

Cheers!

 

Maybe Ludger Berges (@LBerges) will chime in. He has a thorough understanding of the Berlin beer scene.

Cheers!

 

The best answer really is to travel there. I know Trier is out of the way a bit (you're in Trier, right?) but regional specialties like those you mentioned very seldom make it out of their region. Websites seem to be devoted to traditional Bavarian (like Hier-gibt's-bier) or new-wave/"craft" (Bierzwerg). Except for maybe Rauchbier, it's hard even online to find regional specialties like Gose and Alt. You could try e-mailing Freigeist and ask if they are available near you. I did that once with St. Georgenbräu and they pointed me to a Getränkemarkt in Mannheim that carried their Kellerbier. Some places may take orders directly on their website. I'm not sure anyone makes even a medium-scale Berliner Weisse. For the Gose, I would take a weekend trip and do the tourist thing, then stop by a bottle shop (make sure it's early on Saturday) and grab as many as you can, or buy takeaway from the breweries themselves. I actually wanted to do that myself but just never got around to it. Düsseldorfer alts are pretty easy to find in Düsseldorf, pretty hard to find anywhere else.

Good luck, it can be a tough nut to crack.

 

If you want to learn more about Sebastian Sauer you need to have a conversation with Don (@digita7693). He knows Sebastian.

Cheers!

 

Or the best is come to the beer-festival in Cologne (last May-weekend) and meet hin in-person! The festival there is "his kid" - he is organising it since the first time

 

it is very different to braukunst live i would argue.
the 2015 lineup is already announced here https://www.facebook.com/festivalderbierkulturen , see.....bayerischer bahnhof will be there, so you wont have to go to leipzig for their gose.

 

I think this is changing with some of the newer craft brewers making their own, but for a long time it's my understanding that was it. Certainly when I lived there Berliner Kindl mit Schuss was pretty much the only game in town. I would frequent an Eckkneipe that had the base Berliner Kindl Berliner Weisse and add the flavoring for you, so a friend would order it without the flavoring (much to the disgust of the bartender).

 

The Festival der Bierkulturen is really low key, mostly focused on the little guys. Braukunstlive is much more corporate, glossier, making the atmosphere in both totally different. Both are great and serve totally different approaches to the beer world. I recommend visiting both. Braukunstlive is more about craftbrew breaking into the mainstream; whereas the one in Köln is more about the little guys and pretty much promoting unusual stuff. I love both because they're different. The ones you see in Köln you will not find this weekend in München.

 

1. Alt: It is difficult to get what is considerd the "real" Alt (Uerige, Füchschen, Schumacher, Schlüssel) outside the Rhineland. The Trinkgut stores have it from time to time, but the chance goes down with the distance from Düsseldorf. Anyway, drinking it from the bottle is half the fun, you need to feel the atmosphere in Düsseldorf. Good stuff from outside Düsseldorf is Bolten Ur-Alt.
2. Festival in Cologne: Strongly recommended. You can meet Sebastian there, drink and buy Freigeist beer. On the list is also the gose beer from the Bayrischer Bahnhof.
3. For Gose. Available here in Berlin is the Rittergutsgose (Leipzig) and Gose from Goslar (home-town and eponym of gose). Ale*Mania from Bonn also makes a gose from time to time, and will be at the festival in Cologne.
4. For Berliner Weiße: I live in Berlin and cannot get that stuff when I need it. Demand is still low, batches are small, distribution is inchoate. (And Kindl is not worth mentioning)
5. For new old styles: Le dernier cri: http://www.bier-entdecken.de/moll-der-offizielle-sondersud-der-braukunst-live-2015. Maybe that will be in some bottle shops soon.

 

The brewery list for the festival in Cologne includes Freigeist, Bayrischer Bahnhof, Projekt 777, Ale*Mania and Heidenpeters. That are five of Germany's top craft brewers.

 

Hi...

I will be there once again, working at the Freigeist and Ale Mania stands. Wonderful wonderful fest that has grown beautifully. I remember a few years ago when the festival started the Mikkeller guys off loading 2 cases of mixed beer to me bc they didnt want to haul it back to Denmark
It is a great relaxed fest with some wonderful beers, and an ever changing lineup. I am always initially sad bc brewery X is missing from last year and then I find a few new gems.

re: Freigeist (and Sebastians accompanying online store, bierkompass)
Great guy that loves beers and likes to try new things. Focussing on new interpretations of old styles, eg a smoked imperial berlinerweisse, newer styles such as Imperial Stouts, and classic styles with his take on them; Kölsch, Gose, Alt etc... He has also done a lot of collaborations with people such as Jester King and with Uli, Eszett geuze and Ohrwal.

Monarchy is a collab between Sebastian and Fritz (Alemania) and they are trying to recreate old and forgotten styles.

hope that helps and hope to see some of you in May! or next week in Düsseldorf for Latzen bier day at Schumacher.

cheers
Don

 

Will these be attempts at true recreations, or more "new interpretations." Just trying to understand whether he's doing similar things to what he does at Freigeist or something...well...new?

 

Monarchy is attempting to make true recreations of older and or forgotten styles. Though they have done some other collabs.
Here are examples of the traditional ones:
such as Preussen Weisse: Spiced Weißbier. The original recipe of the beer was found in an old brewing book from 1831.
Ingredients: water, barley and wheat malt, sugar-beet syrup, hops, ginger, juniper, yeast.
or
Methusalem: a tradidional Dortmunder Altbier (also known as Adambier) which was especially popular in the 18th century in the area around Dortmund. It used to be one of the richest top-fermenting beers in Germany.

 

Oh man, a Zuckerrueben beer? The Lower-Saxony crowd will love it! Just don't put this on the label



Seriously, though, those projects sound excellent. Thanks for the info.