German craft beer

Had several batches/Suds and the sweet Emmer always gives it that sweet Hefeweizen-like bread subtexture.
Still one of the more affordable German IPAs, available in all Allnaturas along with their Dolden Dark Porter/Stout and overall decent BIO quality, using mostly local hops (Bavarian Mandarina, Cascade) and malts.

 

Interesting and available in Stuttgart.. at Heinrichs Getränkemarkt 3000 in Kornwestheim



Stuttgart is far from the "beer desert" of 2013 when I moved here.

 

As impressively featured in that latest SWR documentary with the goldrimmed Slavic sommelière.
http://swrmediathek.de/player.htm?show=b984b0f0-5151-11e5-b273-0026b975f2e6

But they are mostly "innerdeutsche" Imports as those Kuehns from Mainz...

Apart from CAST im Heusteigviertel, though: still not all that much going on in terms of new indigenous Stuttgart brews, oder?

 

True, Stuttgart grows in terms of availability of good beer. But next to Cast there is not a lot of actual brewing going on. But in the surroundings, you have some interesting stuff from bigger ones like Schönbuch Brauhaus, or Kraftbierwerkstatt in Böblingen. In the South you have Demobräu in Rottenburg and Brauhaus in Bad Urach. And as you always did, some good handcrafted traditional beers in the many brewpubs like Neckarmüller or Speidels.

 

I had the Maisel & Friends Simcoe Ale (their new limited SH PA).
Very nice overall.Reminded me of the Trillium/Tree House (unfiltered,almost opaque) stuff,except slightly more malty

 

Since the discussion came to Doldensud-who has experiences with the other Riedenburger craft beers?Any opinions?
The Dolden Sommersud is ok-ish in my opinion, nice summer quaffer,but sadly somehow it does not feel totally ballanced esp. in the aftertaste to me,does not feel as right as the Doldensud, but it is nice to have a weaker option.
The Porter, called Doldendark, is not for me. Is it very smooth and chocolate-y. A lot of my friends like it for that, but I like my Porter more to be on the stronger,roastier and more bitter side.
Still, in my book, the biggest plus about those beers is their aviability-almost all Biosupermärkte throughout germany carry them. And for me, this was long my dream for many years- being able to get a german brewed IPA(or APA) in any german city for a decent price.

 

I had the Dolden Dark Porter.
Decent overall,but very thin .

Honestly, i can get a better Deal with a 2,99EUR 0,5L Fullers London Porter (still my fave) than a 2,15EUR 0,33L Dolden Dark around here.

 

Speaking of Deals:I prefer Zywiec Porter or Baltika Porter, both can be had at russian or eastern european specailty markets (think lenta or mix markt) throughout germany for <1 Euro/0,5l ...

 

Does anyone know where that Stone Berlin forum thread went to, started by Greg Koch? Thanks.

 

Hello from Stone Brewing Berlin?

It's the 9th thread down (as of now) on the first page of the Germany Forum.

 

I was at my local Craft Beer festival (Trier) this weekend and have to say, it was- very annoying, esp. compared to last year. It was crowded with young hipsters, and the few brewers who were there were busy serving, so I could not chat with them easily as I could last year. The quality of the beers served was a very mixed bag as well- lots of IPAs and Pale Ales tasted samey, there was not a huge variety in styles- basically IPA,Pale Ale, Stout, some experiments, for bottom fermented styles you really had to search (there was only one Rauchbier served from tap ). And in general it was just too full and crowded, and some people were still very narrow-minded. My favorite situation was: One server explained a Gose to a costumer as a "sour beer", and the costumer said"if beer is sour, it is not good anymore" i was behind him in line,just smiled at the server and got myself a Gose.
Still, after that event I would say that for me, the rising craft beer movement in germany is not only a good thing......

 

Translation a bit skewed here? I would say that after that event you're seeing the rising craft beer movement as not a good thing. I would.

 

Well, I think you have to know me a bit to get it. Since I got into beer (around 2005) I wanted the german beer scene to develop, to get new small breweries, to get locally made Ales.
And still, I like that I can easily get my hands on good IPAs and Stouts nowadays if I fancy. That IS a good thing.
The lack of true diverstiy, the arrogance towards traditional local styles,the hype,the often dubios quality of newer startups-those are bad things..

 

Except for not wanting sour beers, it pretty much sounds like most beer festivals in the US. Be careful what you wish for.

 

And yet, people still look weird when I say I make trips over to border to Luxemburg or France to buy belgian or french ales
But yeah, you are probably right.

 

Just saw that they had the BA version of Riegele Noctus 100 at that festival in Trier.
Wouldve loved to try that.

 

Meanwhile in the Netherlands, Adolf craft beer from Haarlem is becoming more popular:

http://media.dumpert.nl/foto/d451014b_dumpert_ios_upload.jpg.jpg

 

Had a "Very White Pornstar" from Mashsee/Hanscraft on Sunday. It's a German take on a Belgian wit.
I was surprised at how heavily spiced it was (mainly cardamom and anise), but I found it to be pretty enjoyable. My wife and I split the 12oz bottle and while it goes down easy, I don't know if I'd want much more than a single bottle at a time.
Pretty crazy that they went that far with the spices, though. I guess if you're going to rebel against the Reinheitsgebot, you go big.

 

Another great one from Grebhan's here in Bremen - his Equinox Double IPA was pretty amazing. Most IPAs made in Germany really miss the mark for me but he's killing it. Too bad all that stuff is one batch and gone. :/