Bayernbiere Bought and Drunk

Augustiner Salzburg is one of the only traditional places in Europe where I've encountered an American-style beer line. We showed up about 10 minutes before they were about to open and there were already 15-20 people lined up. By the time the doors opened, there were probably 50 people there. The biergarten was at 95% capacity within 30 minutes of the doors opening. The only other place I've ever seen anything like that in continental Europe was at In De Vrede (Westvleteren).

 

It was pretty similar to this, maybe even worse, when Lommi was still the landlord in Lommerzhein in cologne Deutz. Then, there is a pub that is famous for serving chicken (but nothing else food whise) in my home region that was also notourious for long lines in front of the pub before it opened. I'd guess you'll find this often in certain legendary locations, at least in germany..can't speak for all of europe though.

 

What always surprised me is that Cantillon and Drie Fonteinen don't really have lines or huge crowds. Both are pretty laid back destinations. Cantillon’s tasting room audience might be 90% Americans, but it’s not exactly crowded. We stopped by 3 times in 2 weeks and I don’t think there were ever more than a dozen non-employees there at any one time. Jean Van Roy will talk to you all day if he isn’t busy. Drie Fonteinen’s visiting hours used to be limited to one weekend a month. I figured there would be a line akin to a hazy IPA can release. Yet the day we went there were only a handful of others there. Not-surprisingly, they were all other Americans, though. Armand's wife spent a half hour giving us tips for things to do in town.

In Germany the only lines I've encountered were at Andechs, and those specifically related to the week of Christmas and Catholic holidays. I suppose the HBH would have lines if it wasn't so massive, yet its size keeps things under control.

 

I think the establishments which have lines in front of them are just very different in germany and the us. You won't find people waiting in line for a hazy IPA or an imperial stout release here (yet?). But you will find people waiting in line in front of a really old school pub in a building that looks like the bombing of WWII just happened, with beer crates as chairs and a totally wacky landlord that sends people away because he does not like their face, even if this pub serves only one beer you'll find in quite a few other pubs around townJust totally different cultures, and different things people are looking for in a beer drinking experience.

 

I wonder if Stone has any releases in the pipeline?

 

Even if- I highly doubt the hype will be big enough for lines to form in front of Stone Berlin that are even close to the lines that used be in front of Lommerzheim

 

How's Stone Berlin doing anyway? Obviously I don't care about their financials - but is the tasting room pulling a crowd? Anecdotally, does it seem like they're getting repeat/regular business or is a curiosity thing?

 

I went to Stone Berlin on a Tuesday lunchtime in October, predictably it wasn’t very busy. I don’t live in Berlin so I can’t say if it's attracting a repeat crowd.

The two main problems are the location, it’s hard to reach on public transport and the prices. The food in particular was really pricey.

I think they are changing San Diego prices in Berlin, where generally speaking, people have less disposable income.

 

I wonder how the beer is turning- the Kaufland I regularly visit seems to seel a lot of Westcoast IPA, but it's in the centre of anot so small city, so this might not be representative of how the beer turns in the countryside- I've seen arrogant bastard being sold at reduced prices because it did not sell in the Oberpfalz...

In other news, a Edeka near me started carrying Riegele beers, the "traditional" lineup as well as the more crafty offerings and, honestly, I think it is surprisingly good stuff. So far I had the Weizendoppelbock, the dark Doppelbock and the Kellerbier. The Weizenbock in particular was very very nice after a long walk in the snow. The Kellerbier was rather nice and very unique as well, being top fermented with an english Ale yeast.. and the pices aren't exactly cheap for german standards, but compared to the craft line up, they seem like a total bargain at around 1 Euro per bottle...

 

A guy who is now helping us out at the brewery (and used to live and run a craft beer shop in Germany) went there recently. Said it was dead when he was there. Also said that the can thing seems to be proving a big hurdle for Germans. There is still a stigma attached to cans. Environmental and cultural. He also mentioned the location and prices, as many others have.

 

I shomehow find this article kinda depressing because, also from the author of hopfenhelden, it shows a total ignorance towards the hundreds of small village breweries that are mostly concentrated in bavaria/franconia that were there long before stone brewing was founded and are still there, and make excellent brews. Yes, they are kinda too cheap, but they are not cheap because they are badly and cheaply made.

 

I'm currently drinking a new pilsner from the monopoly, Egerer pilsner. 4.9% abv, 11.9% plato. It's a really solid pilsner imo. The higher original gravity provides a good foundation for the crisp hop bitterness and typical German hop flavors to lean against, but it's still decidedly dry. It's also super clean tasting. It doesn't stand out in any way compared to alot of other German pilsners but it's still a solid beer and if Egerer was my local brewery I would make this my go-to pilsner. Having access to fresh, quality pilsner at a good price brewed locally would be great indeed. Throw in some bottles of Hell and Export (which they also seem to brew) of the same quality and I'd be set.

 

There’s still a queue at Lommerzheim.

https://refreshingbeer.blogspot.de/2017/02/saturdays-at-lommi.html

 

Ignorance and snobbery are the hallmarks of German “craft beer” ideologues – Klotz at Hopfenhelden is one of the worst.

 

I think the more interesting question right now is, how's Stone US doing?

 

Fascinating. Did not know that, nor would I have expected that. Have not been there since,what,2003? Maybe? I always assumed that when they reopened long after the passing of Lommi, it became a normal pub without the hype. Looks like I was totally wrong. Is it still worth going there?

I just find it weird that they complain that people are ignorant towards american craft, while they are themselves ignorant towards traditional german beers or often traditional european beers in general.