"Maybe it takes Americans to make a good German beer.."

Hops wanted but didn't try Hopfenweisse.

I rail the opposite way - I'm aggravated that it's so hard to find a bit of the German bier culture and those styles here. I wish more made the Weiss, Pils, Marzen.... the right way.

The last time I enjoyed a bit of 'garten culture in the US was at Urban Chestnut with Spartan1979

@herrburgess - hit it out of the park on the 14th

 

There are exceptions - but I've traveled through a lot of Germany, lived in five different cities here, and the sentiment is accurate. Those exceptions certainly are interesting, but they don't necessarily redeem the majority of the country's lack of beer diversity.

 

Maybe its because where I lived, but I'd go so far as to say- the exceptions are kind of the rule.
And-aigan, dunkles is NOT all over germany. Try finding draught Dunkles outside of bavaria.
And for bavaria, the sentiment isn't true as well because there,Pils is kind of rare in some places. If he had said something like" "But I’m left cold by the dull triumvirate of Hell, Weiss, and Dunkel that dominates almost every bar in bavaria.", I would not have complained

 

Definitely not true anymore. Probably 90% have at least macro-craft if not local or national craft brands. Things have changed very quickly over here.

 

True - the selection can get even worse than he implies.

But being serious, in much of the country you go into a bar and you can just order a "beer" and that's not confusing at all to the person taking your order, other than perhaps asking what size. And really with some exceptions, you aren't going to notice a whole lot of difference from place to place in what you receive.

 

Ordering "Ein Bier" outside of Hipster craft beer bars will get you the default local beer. Yes. But that can differ a lot- it can be: Helles,Kölsch,Rauchbier,Altbier,Pils,Kellerbier,Märzen, Weizen,Dunkles.......Sure,it depends if you are in a region with a strong beer tradition or not, but, since the author was in Munich, I'd say there is a lot of difference between different breweries, bars etc. in the region......

 

Yeah I think the difference between our views on this is that the idea that it *can* differ is different than whether it frequently does. In my travels throughout Germany I've been unimpressed with the frequency of how often it does.

 

I think evaluating a culture using "diversity" as the bench mark is a bit short sighted.

Do I enjoy diversity? Yes. But if you assess the scene in the US under a micrscope, you'll notice that diversity is a bit deceiving. If I stroll into a random bar in Bavaria, it may only have Weiss, Dunkel, Pils...etc., but in all likelihood those will all be fine examples of those styles.

If you stroll into a random bar in the US today, yes, there will likely be craft options and multiple styles represented. But I'd bet nothing close to 100% of all those styles represented have above average offerings in their respective category.

Don't get me wrong either, the US is becoming better at brewing all styles with each growing year, and I believe you can find great examples of most styles SOMEWHERE in the US. But this fact is hardly ubiquitous. Diversity is only as good as the quality of the options.

 

Well, I think there is another thing to factor which I feel is kind of overseen here. I mean keep in mind I've never been to the US, but from what I gather and hear, aren't the basic craft styles kind of the same through the country? I mean yeah some argue that west- and east coast IPAs are totally different beasts,and you'll find different styles here and there, but basically in the grand picture would it essential matter in which part of the country I stroll into a random bar?
Is that "cultural,regional diversity"?
Please don't get me wrong here, but I think I just have a different picture of "regional diversity"; If I stroll into a random bar in Munich,Cologne,Mainz or Frankfurt, the experience will be very different. And this is not a question of "what I can possibly find", but what is regarded as the local norm and local culture. Try ordering a Kölsch in Munich, or an Ebbelwoi in Cologne...
And that is for me the beauty of german beer culture and what the author, and many around here i fear, totally misunderstand.

 

http://hamiltonstavern.com/

http://www.lordhobo.com/#!droughts/c1pl4

You are correct in your assumption. Above I've posted two links, one to a popular beer bar I googled from San Diego, with their current draft list. Another, local to me, on the other side of the country in Boston.

They both have a few pilsners, witbiers, then some sours, and a litany of IPAs. And some stouts thrown in there for good measure. The styles won't change much (if at all) region to region, but what you will get is a lot of local beers you may not get elsewhere. But that simply means in California I can stumble upon one of the top rated IPAs in Pliny the Elder, and in Vermont I can stumble upon one of the top rated IPAs in Heady Topper. It doesn't mean I'm going to be in IPA country in Vermont, and stout country in California.

I would say the closest thing we may have to what you described in Germany is Philly appears to be a bit more "lager-centric" than other parts of the country.

 

Here is list at my "local" craft beer bar. Just like with @AlcahueteJ, we have IPAs (and more IPAs...as well as red hoppy ales and a hoppy lager); then there are the obligatory Belgian styles...a sour or two...and the flavored porters, stouts, and imperial stouts. It is like this every day...just the names change.

 

@Lurchus, the other thing to keep in mind is that in the US a popular beer drinking venue are brewpubs and there can be a difference there.

This past weekend my wife asked me to take her to the Sly Fox Brewpub for dinner (and a few beers).

I started off with a sample set of Bock beers:



In the photograph above the three Bock beers from left to right are: Rye Bock, Maibock and Helles Bock.

For the next beer I drank a Pilsner that was collaboratively brewed by Sly Fox and Stone which they called Fuchstein Pils pictured below.



I have been to other brewpubs which specialize in other types of beers. For example the Forest & Main Brewpub specializes in English style beers (on handpumps) and Belgian Ales.

The above does not necessarily illustrate regional diversity ala Cologne, Dusseldorf, etc. but it shows that a beer drinker can go to differing venues that have differing beer styles on tap.

Cheers!

 

This is very interesting. Very. It's entirely a different culture which I would link to "new world vs orld world wine making"...On the one hand, nature and regional traditions defining what is brewed, and on the other hand the individual apporach and tastes of the brewer play a way bigger role. But still, those are "isles" of diverstiy are not the rule, right? Maybe comparable to revived german styles like Gose and Lichtenhainer, which sure are there and aviable for enthusiasts, but not really part of everyday live or everyday culture?

 

Well, note that I wasn't the one that brought up diversity as a benchmark in the first place - just sharing my experiences as to whether diversity is truly the norm in Germany.

And as far as the quality of the offerings - not to be pedantic, but you can't have 100% of offerings being above average everywhere, or they wouldn't be above average. I certainly don't find technical *quality* problems at most places I visit - many don't knock my socks off, but that's a different story. But honestly the only place I seem to routinely run into quality issues is amongst some of the new German craft brewers.

But for example I'm back in Amiland and in Ohio now. The speck of a town I'm in has a brewer, and I sampled no fewer than a half dozen distinct styles while there - and I could have kept going: http://www.yellowspringsbrewery.com/beers/ (there was also a Gose on tap, and the American Cream Ale was available on cask or coffee infused). They were all fine examples of their styles - some of course stronger examples than others, as is often the case with any brewery. Diversity does not necessarily mean a lower quality or less interesting result - and a concentration on a few specific styles in a region does not necessarily imply the result is one you'll want to drink or that the process yields a quality result.

 

That is a very challenging question to respond to since it is multidimensional.

Permit to comment on two aspects: geography and time.

From a geographical perspective the US is a very, very large country. I am unable to fully compare and contrast the beer scenes in the Pacific Northwest (e.g., Portland, Oregon) vs. New England (Vermont) vs. the Mid-West (e.g., Wisconsin) vs. …

From a time point of view @bulletrain76 already posted: “Things have changed very quickly over here.” A few years ago in Massachusetts there were limited offerings of what some folks now call the “New England” (or “Northeast”) IPA but with Trillium (opened 2013) and Tree House (2012) those types of beers are more readily available.

There are other dimensions which could be discussed but I will confine this post to just two.

Cheers!

 

I feel misunderstood.
I mean, in most bigger german(and european) cities, you can get barrel aged stouts, IPAs, and so and so on, sure, there is also this "diverstiy" now- if you know where to look. But there is a huge difference between "going to a random bar" and "going to a select brewpub/craft beer bar".
And what I try to get across is- the random munich bar will be very different from the cologne bar, and not only in the beers or food served, but also in look and feel, in the attitude of the waiters, in atmosphere, in clientele. And THAT is what I mean with "diverse beer culture", the terroir, if you will. It's not just about what beers you can possibly get or not, it's about what "normal" beer drinking experiences feel like. And I am convinced that in that regard, germany is as diverse as you can get...Bier braucht Heimat. That as a core concept is very different from going to a specific brewpub and being happy about all different kinds of styles...

 

I drink this craft garbage over here and start to question whether or not I even like beer. Then I go to Germany and find everything I drink to be awesome in my Bavarian enclave of Bamberg. I like beer that tastes like beer. Not coffee, pineapple or whatever other innovative hot crap is the genre of the day. Maple, raspberry, vanilla, whatever. It always cracks me up when Americans have the audacity to degrade German beer. Up to 10-15 years ago you guys were all drinking swill and loving it. Dollar for dollar German beer is far superior. You really have to ask yourself, if a beer does everything but taste like a beer, is it really good beer.....ok that's my homer rant of the day. Honestly, German beer may be a bit boring, but take it for what it is, a culture. Makes no sense to go to a real beer garden or Keller and want to drink craft. Like going to Paris and seeking out burgers.

 

Ok, since you where in Bamberg:
Take a Rauchbier, a Weizen, a dark Bock, a simlpe Helles and a Kellerbier, all radically differently tasting beers. Which one of these "tastes like beer"? What is "beer taste"? I always found this an odd concept.... like "tastes like wine". Different ingredients and brewing methods, yes also traditional ones within the RHG, produce different taste sensations....

 

That's easy. They all taste like beer. My point is don't try to downgrade a whole 1000 year old beer culture because you think you are all high and mighty because you added Food flavoring to beer for the past 5 years.

 

By the way, as a side note. Your question alone seems to blow the premise of the article completely to bits doesn't it?