Bayernbiere Bought and Drunk

Matt, have you seen that beer in the US?

Cheers!

 

No, had it a few years back in Deutschland. Made an impression. Had it again a few weeks later and it was badly skunked. First one I got at a bottle shop, subsequent ones from a grocery store. Such a shame...

 

This one was an impulse buy from Kaufland, so...

 

Kaufland (HD) is where I bought the badly skunked bottles...

 

Nope, Licher Hefeweizen is still around.
But they really push the Benediktiner brand. I mean, many pubs in my city that used to sell Erdinger now have this. And that is what annoys me, it is made too look bavarian through its marketing and advertisements, yet is simply not brewed there...
I personally love some well known amber Hefeweizens, like Schneider Weisse Original or Maisel's Original. But they seem much smoother and well rounded than Benediktiner to me.
Again, not a bad beer by any means. It's "OK" for my palate as well. But nothing I would ever seek out.

 

the weatherspoons chain in the uk have started selling benediktiner on tap in some of their pubs so they really are giving the brand a big push

 

Isnt Benediktiner part of Bitburger? That might explain the expansion into new markets

 

Well Licher belongs to the Bitburger Gruppe, yes, which explains the dominance in my city. But how the deal with Ettaler really works, no idea. On the bottle it's stated that it is brewed under their guidance with their yeast.
Whatever.
I mean, Hefeweizen has become a popular style for the last 20+ years throughout germany. But somehow still, non-bavarian versions are given a hard time, so much so that they make their non-bavarian Weizen "appear" bavarian now..
Schöfferhofer used to be the only widely aviable non-bavarian example. I remember that it was seen very brave by the public when Krombacher released their Version..
Still makes you wonder why the others did not follow. No Veltins or Warsteiner Weizen...XD

 

We started receiving Benediktiner cans (their Helles I believe) in the US a few months ago as well...

...and those Benediktiner cans showed up alongside four packs of Bitburger Pils and Kostrizer Schwarzbier at my local liquor store.

 

Skunked brown bottles? I mean, I know it's possible -- given all the right conditions, but that rarely ever happens.

 

In my admittedly uninformed opinion, that's exactly what it was. If memory serves, the local Getränkemarkt had the beer first, exclusively(?) for about two weeks with release of the conglomerate Oktoberfests, and it was delicious. Then it sold out, was nowhere to be found for a week or two, and then the Kaufland had a few cases. I'm under the impression that they sat out on some loading dock in the heat and sun for a very long time.

 

Heat doesn't cause skunking, only over exposure to sunlight.

 

It's here, it's fresh, and it's delicious. Big, bready malts with just enough floral noble hops for balance. Finishes very dry to me. Slowly becoming a favorite Märzen of mine. Prost.

 

It really is an incredible beer (as is their Helles).

 

Still only one retailer near me that got it in, it's popular in their store so they bought about 6 cases. Still haven't seen it anywhere else, still haven't seen 12-packs. What was yours, 6-pack or 12-pack?

It is dry in the finish, especially compared to most Ami-Oktos -- but try it next to a Paulaner or H-P Amber Märzen and you'll really know dry! It's got to be the differences in yeast strains because, other than that, Spaten, Paulaner & H-P are very similar. Similarly good -- that is.

 

Sorry -- too distracted when I replied the first time -- I meant to ask what kind of packaging the Löwenbräu came in, sealed cardboard or the ubiquitous plastic return cases found in Germany?

 

Mine was a 6-pack. Haven't seen the 12's around and I don't recall seeing them last year but I'll be on the lookout.

I'll have to do a side-by-side of the Spaten with Paulaner or H-P. My favorite is Ayinger but I haven't seen that at all yet. Already saved a bottle of the 2016 Sierra Nevada to compare with either the Weihenstephaner Festbier or Paulaner Wiesn so maybe I'll do something similar with the Märzens. Ahhh, I love this time of year.

 

The story is that Spaten only packages 12-packs for the Okto season. The cases (4 6-packs) are what they have available year-round to the adventurous markets who will order them off-season... unlike mine.

What was the date on your bottles? Mine were July, 2017 -- meaning they were probably bottled July of this year -- pretty fresh.

Me too... but it's breaking my budget!

 

When Spaten's beers are available fresh, they're amazing. Corporate ownership and all, there aren't (m)any American examples that can equal their helles, dunkel, maerzen, or doppelbock. Franziskaner's weiss is terrific, too. Prime example of a "factory beer" putting out a product that is tasty and consistent. Could it be better? Maybe? Probably? Still, there are tons of smaller places that can't match it.

 

What's so bizarre though, is that despite the great quality of Spaten's products, the brand in itself it fairly restricted to the greater Munich area. Just a guess, but I'm betting that a very large portion of Spaten's sales are for export to EU & North America where they have been enjoying a great reputation for many years now.