Favorite Colorado Lagers!

I'm known to put down copious amounts of Negra Modelo, Bohemia, and Tecate year-round. The others (Corona, Carta Blanca, Sol, Modelo Especial, Dos XX, etc.) taste relatively close to American macros and cost 2x as much. Those are the three that have a relatively unique flavor profile to me. Tecate especially goes well with limes. The other two don't really benefit from it at all. In the last few years it seems like Mexican lagers have become a Craft staple around May, but they gather dust for the rest of the year.

 

Isn't Ska Mexican Logger year round?

 

If it is, they don't ship much.

 

Those guys won numerous medals at GABF for their lagers. Unfortunately, their system was too small, focused solely on packaging and didn't build a taproom.

 

anyone tried Weldwerks Helles?

 

It's listed as a seasonal (Spring/Summer I assume), but I think you can find it year-round if you look.

 

I think the Little Machine Sir Veza Mexican-Style Lager is a good example.

Speaking of that, Comrade will be releasing their Mexican Lager on May 5....

 

Agreed on Sir Veza. They have that on at 2 Penguins right now. I could drink a gallon of it.
Looking forward to yours, too. Hopefully you have a shitload of limes ready, even if they aren't necessary.

 

You're right! It is a keller.

 

If it was called a hellesbock, maibock, kellerbock etc would you view it differently?

 

Been to Germany 30 yrs ago but u got a lot to look forward to ., whole diff experience in foreign country and drinking there home brew .. the culture and brew will not be forgotten ..

 

Yes.

 

Much better? No, I don't think so. Bierstadt's helles is up there with Munich's best. I believe it's based on either Andechs or Augustiner and it's pretty close. It would be tough to do a head to head without flying with a day-old crowler, but I bet their hell is probably better than some Munich beers. The pils is a dead ringer for Jever, too. Not my preferred type of pils, but it's amazing for what it is. It's likely better than many German pilsners. Maybe even most. The dunkel reminds me of Germany, but it doesn't taste specifically like another beer. At least that I'm aware of. Either way, it's on par with what you'd get in Bavaria.
I'd say that where Bierstadt doesn't really go is the whole idea of "country beers" or landbiers. There are beers in Franconia that cross multiple style lines and aren't always technically flawless, but they have a certain "soul" to them. Hell, they aren't always perfectly consistent either. The closest example would be like Two Women from New Glarus, although it IS very consistent. Some of the smaller places occasionally capture that kind of magic. There's a place in Chicago, Dovetail, that does it.

Overall, if you're used to Bierstadt and Zwei, I don't think any standard Munich lagers will be a shock to the system. Some you'll probably like more, but it won't be a night and day kind of thing. Kellerbiers are really popular at the moment, so I guess those might. They're closer to the landbier sort of quirky genius I was referring to earlier. I do think there's a pretty big difference as far as weissbier goes, though. You're going to be hard pressed to find anything over here that can keep up with HB, Andechs, Weihenstephan, or really any of the heavy hitters. There's also the sheer consistency, too. The worst beer you'll get in Munich is probably better than 95% of American attempts. At least not counting their attempts at IPA's and such. Some of those are good, while others are awful.

The main thing about Germany is that the actual beer you're drinking at the time is only part of the picture. While I feel your choice of beers matters in Belgium, in Germany it doesn't necessarily. If their keg isn't old, you're good. A lot of my favorite places serve Spaten and Lowenbrau. Those aren't my favorite brands, but it doesn't really matter. The best view in Bamberg is home to pretty average beers, but you'll find that it doesn't matter. That's the difference.

 

all of a sudden a trip to Germany sounds awesome.

 

Maibocks only tend to stick around for about 6 weeks, so they're one of the more limited styles. I've seen them through mid-June, but I don't know how much longer they keep 'em on. There are plenty of year-round doppelbocks, but Maibocks and Christmas bocks seem to be seasonal only.
The only year-round pale bock near Munich I know of is at a little place called Forschungsbrauerei. It's accessible via their main train system and is definitely worth the trip.
I was there last summer and I think the only major change going on is the small'ish influx of American style craft beer. While some of them are quite good, most aren't. Especially when you're used to the IPAs, ambers, and stouts we have here.

 

Looking forward to trying the bierstatd slow pils .. when I was in Germany 87 .. me and buddy rode train from West Berlin to eastern sector before wall came down .. gov had a Biergarten close to Brandenburg gates to showcase to tourist and hide there deal .. best pils I ever had !

 

Just killed my last JA copper legend. It's not a native beer, but out of all the shit we get for GABF, Jack's Abbey has to be my favorite of the lot.