Bayernbiere Bought and Drunk

Augustiner is the tricky one. You can get it online, but maybe not for a few weeks still.

 

I thought the one good Löwenbräu Oktoberfest I had was delicious, unfortunately the next three or four seemed to be poorly handled and were terrible. Let us know how yours is!

 

I picked up some Weihenstephaner Fest today and saw Spaten, H-P and Paulaner -- both Amber Märzen and Wies'n Fest in 12 pack bottles in the Paulaner, haven't seen that before. Also spotted the Paulaner Wies'n in the liter cans with the Maß Krug. Haven't seen those in a couple years. $10.50, for those keeping score.

 

My local grocery store had Spaten last year, a bit after the Late July/Early August rush. I'm hoping to see some more this year but nothing yet.

 

I forgot to mention that I found all of those over the state line in Wisconsin -- out of state, let alone out of my county. My area is far behind the curve.

 

My store just got shipment of Spaten O - bottled 8/11 of 2014!!

Paulaner with best by of 5/16, though. And Hofbrau mini kegs later this week. Went through about half dozen of those last year.

 

Whoa -- I'd send that stuff back so fast it would make the distorts head swim. That just ain't right, especially since the new stuff I've been seeing has a clear "Best By" date on the label -- and that date has been May or June of 2016.

I'd be interested to know what comes of this old stash. By "my store," do you mean the store where you work, or just the store where you shop?

Spaten (and most imports) allow a 1 year shelf life for their beer, this beer is past that date and the retailer and distro both need to know it -- I'm betting one or both of them is betting that no customers can read the Julian date code.

 

I'm referencing the store where I shop. Owner is very conscientious and never deceitful; I pointed out the date and he was happy to send back. Owner was not aware of date code structure. Definitely deliberate move by distributor.

 

I often wonder how many retailers know how to read the dates -- talk about blind trust. Glad to hear he's sending it back.

Love to hear what the distro's reply was. I've pointed out dating codes to distributors in the past and they often seem to tap-dance -- once got an answer along the lines of, "Well, that's European beer and they reverse their dates over there." Really? So, this was bottled in the 14th month?

 

As you may remember, I have been quite successful in pointing out expired beer, and having fresh stock ordered. A few years ago we had the Schneider gift packs (not cheap at ~$30 - 40 if I remember correctly), and upon opening them I discovered they were about a year old (or older). They returned them and discovered the distributor knowlingly packaged last year's stock, and apparently got into some trouble because of it.

And of course, this past winter I e-mailed Schlenkerla and discovered I had a bottle of Eiche that was two years old. After that, multiple stores in my area received newer stock (again if I remember correctly, at the very least, the store I returned them too received all new stock). Also, once Schlenkerla became involved they dug deeper and I even received an e-mail from the distributor.

Great beer is too expensive to tolerate that shit. Always speak up, even if it goes no where, you'll at least let the store know you'll do business elsewhere if they're going to participate in that bullshit.

 

"Seidl" is local Franconian dialect for what a Bavarian would call a "Halbe".

 

Only people who seriously resist Police orders are rounded up. It's too much paperwork for the cops to bother otherwise.

 

I saw one guy in the Hofbrau tent start yelling something at one of the cops, and then all of a sudden they put a black bag over his head, beat the crap out of him, and then dragged him out.

I also witnessed a petite young girl holding a weapon just like this in the same Hofbrau tent. The police didn't seem to care about her.

 

That's a well-practiced look... believe me, they knew right where she was.

BTW -- was this actual German Polizei in either incident, or the brewery-hired security for the tents? I made friends with those guys real fast.

 

Which said..?

I hope it wasn't some sort of, "What the hell are you doing trying to tell us how to run our business?" notes -- I've heard subtle tones of that sort from some distro reps.

 

I bet it was the security guys...

 

I believe they were dressed in all black if that helps.

 

With natty little berets?

 

Ahhhhh....

 

Had my first Ayinger Oktoberfest of the year a couple nights back. I agree w/ @steveh that it represents a sort of middle ground between the wies'n-style Oktoberfests and the amber ones, a la Spaten or HP. Color leans light amber, nice, light yeast notes in the nose accompanied by some of the stronger melanoidan character I've had in an Oktoberfest so far this year. Palate is a bit of sweetness -- certainly more noticeable than the Hofbrau I had last week, but not overbearing -- and a nice, bready finish, with the slightest hint of that dried barley malt character I picked up so prominently in the HB. Really loving that note -- that sensation of being in the kiln room, freshly dried barley crunched between your fingertips. The Ayinger is a little richer in feel. I like it...but I love the drinkability of the HB more. Either way, the Ayinger is a fine brew, and I'll be sure to have a few more of those before the season is up.