Bayernbiere Bought and Drunk

Scored a 6pack of Paulaner Oktoberfest Märzen with 05/2016 dates, so only 3 months old.

 

Assuming Amber Märzen? I recently saw the Wies'n in 12 packs and a very close local now has Spaten, H-P, Paulaner (no Wies'n), and H-B Oktos available -- all very fresh. I'm also seeing the Paulaner Wies'n liter can with the Maß, but I just realized that I didn't check for dates on them.

I wish I hadn't stocked up on some of the U.S. versions because I feel like I have a glut of beer I really don't like as much.

 

We have the H-P, Spaten (albeit what appears to be last year's), Paulaner Wies'n and Amber 12 packs, Paulaner Amber six packs, Weihenstephan Festbier, Ayinger, and Dinkelacker Oktoberfest in 16 oz. cans.

So far I've tried the Ayinger, H-P, and Weihenstephan. I haven't seen any of them on draft yet, but all of the above with the exception of the Dinkelacker will be on draft at one of my favorite bars in a week. The Weihenstephan is my favorite so far, but the Ayinger and H-P are right up there as well.

I don't buy American unless I hear enough positive reviews, or I've had it in the past and have enjoyed it (Brooklyn will be purchased at some point). I bought the Sierra Nevada due to the positive reviews.

 

Oh yeah, forgot Ayinger -- found some very fresh stock of that too.

Dinkelacker? I'll have to check the one source I know that had the Pils, and even though I'm unimpressed with the latest incarnation of the Pils, I'd give the Fest a try if I can buy singles like I did the Pils.

 

German police uniforms used to be green and are now blue. Black uniforms are forever tained by the SS so no German police force would wear that. It was most certainly private security.

 

Yeah, the Polizei are easily distinguished from the goons that are hired by the tents... I recall the Polizei in green; don't remember blue last year.... lots of the goons wear berets which look way too small on their steroid-enlarged heads...

Prosit!!!

 

I made friends with those guys real quick -- never had any trouble with 'em.

 

Stopped at a semi-out-of-the-way local today because it was near another stop. Wanted to see if they had anything new, including Oktoberfests. Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, Ayinger. Popped for a .5l Ayinger as a mercy purchase. It honestly looked like they hadn't received a new beer shipment in a long while -- picked-over looking shelves.

Nevertheless, drinking the Ayinger because I only had one left from the first bottles I'd bought fresh from a new case.

Did anyone ever figure out Ayinger dating -- if any? I don't see anything at all on the bottle, but I'm experienced with their Okto when old; tends to gush and oxidizes fast. This isn't one of 'em.

 

I actually was in contact with the importer for Ayinger about this. He said the random notches at the bottom of the front of the labels are some sort of code for the distributor, which give them freshness info. I obviously offered that us beer geeks would love to see an actual printed date. He was super friendly, but it didn't sound there'd be any changes anytime soon, sadly.

 

Yah. I'd bet my distros don't even know what the heck those mean.

If I'm back in the spot that had the cases I'll have to see if there's anything marked on them.

 

I was gonna ask them for the secret decoder ring or whatever it is you need to read the notches, but I figured they wouldn't be into that

 

Or they would tell you they weren't the distributors.

 

B-E-S-U-R-E-T-O-D-R-I-N-K-Y-O-U-R-A-Y-I-N-G-E-R

 

That is AWESOME!!

Cheers to you Matt!!

 

Whew -- at least it was nothing about Little Orphan Annie.

 

I only give myself partial credit - I had to look up the scene on YouTube before I posted.

 

Hah. Puppy.

If they'd have put quantum physics to the tune of Top 40 songs and old movie lines, I'd be a rocket scientist right now!

 

Now, only if Spaten would get with the times and use brown bottles......

 

Answer: Covered 12 packs. It's worth the quantity.

But actually, the 6 pack of the Okto I had early on in the season and it wasn't skunked at all.

And FWIW, HB is guilty of the green bottle scourge too.

 

Funny thing is that it seems like the green bottles is mostly a US occurrence. Somehwat related to your bottle sizes at 355 ml. Here, in Sweden, all Spaten and Hofbräu bottles are brown and at 500 ml.

Of course it's no excuse, your green bottles could just as easily be brown, and should be - I've never seen a green Spaten or Hofbräu bottle anywhere in Europe over the last five years or so.