German craft beer

Huh, curious. They seem to have expanded their range quite a bit but they haven't really updated their homepage. I also remember my flatmate bringing me one of their Pale Ale's from the Edeka he works at - something the previously didn't even bottle. Am I assuming correctly that this Pils is also bottled (and where'd you find it)?

Because if so, I may have to give that a try.

 

The Pils and Wiener Lager are from the Edeka in Tarforst, Seb's Pale Ale is aviable at the Edeka Getränkemärkt at Kürenzer Str. near HBF as well as Edeka Saarstr.
Gladly for the new releases, they did not use a sexist label
Anyway, at the brewpub you'll always find very different styles... They also had some options at the Altstadtfest.

 

Oh, I'm very aware of their selection at the brewpub. I just barely get up to Olewig and I don't really like drinking alone in a pub so I'd rather have some as bottles. Also because - if they turn out to be good - I can take some of them with me when I visit friends.

 

That's quite shocking -- I figured the non-traditional styles would be the outcasts, but you're suggesting it's the traditional ones. Very interesting indeed.

 

So, as promised, here’s my short review of the two Welde craft beers that I mentioned:

Welde Hopstuff Ella+Equinox

Pours beautifully with a slightly darker yellow than expected, and a fantastic puffy head. Flavor is actually very nice. As I mentioned, this is the beer that I have been waiting for a German brewery to make. It is really a mixture between a Pils and a pale ale. In other words, it is a hoppy Pils. Notes of mango, banana, lemon, a bit of pepper and spice even. But this is all very subtle and in the background. It’s wonderfully crisp and very suffig. Actually dangerously so, really. The bitterness is very much in check. A very good beer. I would happily drink this. But more importantly, it’s the sort of craft beer that I think normal Germans can get interested in. However, at €1.99 for a small bottle, it’s a bit expensive.

Welde Badisch Gose

Let me say upfront, that I have no idea what a Gose is supposed to taste like. Having said that, I doubt seriously that this is an attempt at an “authentic” Gose. As you can see in the ingredients list, there is Citra in this. So, I’d classify this as a modern Gose, or perhaps a reinterpretation? Having said that, I’m not sure I care much, because this is a very good beer.


Pours very much like a Belgian Wit beer, a much brighter yellow than the photo shows, and quite cloudy. Smells like a lemon bomb, and the flavor is very Wit beer as well. There is some coriander spiciness to this, but mainly in the background. Above everything, it is wonderfully crisp and assertive. There is a bit of fruitiness to this, some lemon and maybe even lime sourness. It's a touch acidic, but not too much. And perhaps because I know it is in there, I also taste the salt. Either way, this is an excellent beer, and one that I would gladly drink again. Very impressed. If this is what a Gose is all about, then sign me up!

 

I really have no idea. I would guess not, but you never know. I'm happy for Welde to establish a new tradition though, especially if it tastes like this!

Happy to report, though I'm sorry to say that I won't be in Heidelberg much in the near future. Moving to a new job, new town, new beers... At a minimum, I'll be much, much closer to Holland and Belgium!

 

Good luck with everything and I'm glad to hear you'll still be in Europe - I miss it over there from time to time...usually when I'm at the cheese counter...

 

Regional specialties like Rauchbier (especially Rauchbier), even if they are traditional, are still often looked at as oddities outside of their region.

 

Both of those beers sound awesome to me. I wish I could drink these beers!!

Cheers!

 

Traditional- for a certain region. The beer marketed here is highly fragmented in regions. All franconians had most of their native styles, trust be, but probably no Kölsch,Altbier or Gose.....And it is the same the other way around...Seeing that IPAs get brewed "bundesweit"nowadays, I think my assumption makes sense.

In another news, I just recieved answer from the Kraft guys. Very nice guys!! They said it was probably a bad bottle, something went wrong, and they invited me to come over to the brewery and pick something else. Yay.

 

Just jumping in here as I'll admit I am a bit bored with only the Weisen, Dunkel, Pils, & helles beers that you can buy nearly anywhere. Looking for something more interesting to disperse my Belgian collection a bit.

 

Maybe try: Pax Bräu, Camba Bavaria, Gruthaus, Riegele, Schneider Weisse, Uerige and stuff like that.

 

Schneider Weisse-yes they only do "wheat beers",but different.

German craft beer will cost you a bit more.
KöstritzerPale Ale
Ratsherrn IPA
are good "low cost" options

Braukunstkeller makes really good IPAs
Hans Müller Backbonesplitter is my fave german IPA.
Riegele,Schönramer,Hopfenstopfer,Maisel & Friends are worth drinking and have multiple non-traditional styles

 

The question is-where are you- and what stores and breweries are near you? This would make it easier to recommend...Because also "traditional" styles can be out of the usual "Pils-Helles-Dunkles-Weizen" scheme......(for instance Steinbier,Rauchbier,Rauchweizen,Eisbock,Gose,Lichtenhainer,Berliner Weisse,franconian Kellerbier,and so on and so on..)

 

And not all "traditional" styles are bland clones of Warsteiner or Bitburger.

There is a new brewery in Bavaria that is a 360° hybrid having a German born brewmaster who made his name in the U.S. at a small brewery and then decided to open a branch back in Bavaria. He has some traditional styles as well as new takes on other styles. Look up Urban Chestnut.

 

Florian Kuplent does indeed have an interesting resume including brewing for a number of years at Anheuser-Busch.

I have had the pleasure to speak to Florian several times and as a homebrewer I asked him lots of technical brewing questions which he patiently and conscientiously responded to. Florian is a class guy!!

We also got a chance to discuss family topics. He met and married his wife (from North Jersey) when he worked for AB in Newark, NJ. My wife is also from North Jersey.

Cheers!

“Brewmaster Florian Kuplent brings nearly two decades of artisan brewing experience to Urban Chestnut Brewing Co. From serving as a brewer’s apprentice in a small Germany brewery to developing award-winning beer recipes for one of the world’s largest brewers, Florian now shares his distinctive brewing creations with the craft beer enthusiasts of St. Louis from the brewhouse of his start-up brewery, Urban Chestnut Brewing Company.

At UCBC, Florian makes use of a unique brewing philosophy UCBC refers to as Beer Divergency—a ‘new world meets old world’ brewing approach wherein UCBC contributes to the “revolution” of craft beer through creations of artisanal, modern American beers, and pays “reverence” to the heritage of beer with

offerings of classically-crafted, timeless European beer styles. READ LESS.
More on Florian

Passion, skill and the utmost appreciation for good beer were the key ingredients in Brewmaster Florian Kuplent’s journey to becoming co-founder and head brewer of Urban Chestnut Brewing Co (UCBC).

Florian’s story began in one of the world’s most revered beer cities, Munich, Germany.

Surrounded by artisan brewers and great beer throughout his young life in Bavaria, it was no surprise Florian developed a passion for beer. And in 1994, Florian’s dream to become a brewer started to take shape when he was able to convince the local brewmaster at Brauerei Erharting to take him on as its first ‘brewer’s apprentice’ in decades.

This early, small brewery experience provided Florian with his first hands-on involvement with the very complex aspects of malting, yeast control and brewing. Hence, it was during this time that the brewery’s highly skilled Bavarian brewers, who had little in the way of modern brewing luxuries, instilled a fundamental, artisan-based passion of brewing tradition in Florian—something he carries with him to this day.

While learning the craftsmanship of beer and meticulously brewing time-honored recipes at Erharting, Florian also bolstered his technical skill as a brewer by enrolling as a student at the Bavarian College of Food and Beverage Science, and later at the prestigious brewing University of Munich-Weihenstephan, where he earned a Master’s degree in malting and brewing science.

Florian was able to experience the world of American craft beer for the first time when he spent a year working as head brewer for the small New England Brewing Co. in Norwalk, CT.

Following this stint in the United States, and prior to heading to London where he helped Meantime Brewing Co. launch its first brewery, Florian continued to expand his brewing experience with posts at other well-known European breweries, including Brauerei Beck’s (Bremen, Germany), Brouwerij Moortgat (Breendonk, Belgium), and KHS Filtertechnik, (Dortmund, Germany), and Mash (London, England).

While it certainly was something Florian considered during his studies and during his time in Europe, it was mostly the experience at Meantime—being involved in all facets of setting up, launching and operating a small brewery—that proved to Florian he was ready to launch his own brewery. However, before pursuing this dream he chose to follow a unique opportunity to work for the world’s largest brewer.

So for the next several years, Florian worked at Anheuser-Busch, Inc., learning many of the aspects of the brewing business that A-B is most respected for across the industry: batch consistency, quality assurance and yeast propagation and control.

During this time at A-B, Florian was also given free rein to experiment with new ingredients and different recipes at the brewery’s experimental microbrewery, which was where he created a series of award-winning craft-style beers under the well-known Michelob brand.

Outside of his paying jobs, Florian has kept himself immersed in the general brewing community; as an active member in many brewing associations and clubs, as a regular beer festival/competition judge (St. Louis, national, global), and as an occasional contributor to industry publications.

Ultimately for Florian, Urban Chestnut Brewing Co is the realization of a life dedicated to beer and to the brewing community, and it is in founding UCBC that Florian endeavors to create and brew Urban Chestnut beers with the vision and promise that others will enjoy and share in his passion.”

 

Probably, yeah. I think the Bavarian brews are pretty much the most commonly known traditional styles but stuff like Gose, varieties of Alt and so on are likely flying under the radar.

Sounds good. I may have to check whether they also sell these up at the brewery, I still have a Halbkasten to get up there for the Pfand.

 

Helles and Weizen perhaps, but I'd argue that Kellerbier, Märzen, Franconian Dunkles, true Zoigl, Rauchbier and to some degree even Bocks fly even more under the Radar than Alt outside of their, limited, native region.

 

I'd agree on some of these styles but I'd say that with wider distribution and Bocks even brewed as far North as Mecklenburg Vorpommern these days that at least some of them are more present now. I've at least met a lot of people my age range (20-30) that have tried Bock and have at least heard of Märzen.

It's definitely a different beast if we look at what's on tap in pubs or really dominates markets. On a semi-related note, I did actually try the "Senatsbock" the last time I was in Hamburg and it was pretty good IMO. Not as good as SW's Tap 5 but good nonetheless.