Ranking your favorite German breweries.

So which ones from Hofbrau Munich pass muster?

I recently revisited the Original, and it had me wondering why it took so long- it was damn near everything I'd want in a Helles. Now I need to hit up the Traunsteiner again...

 

We are two peas in a pod in that regard. HB Original is pretty much my favorite year-round 6-pack lager right now. I like it that much. It's just fantastic and hits all the right notes. (I need some more Traunstein in my life too). I also think the HB Munich Oktoberfestbier is terrific.

It's not that I think the others are bad, but I'm just not a fan. I think their Hefeweizen is really nice but I don't typically drink beers in that style. Their Maibock and Doppelbock don't do it for me at all. It's not because they might be atypical. Maybe I'll come around to them one day. I like the Dunkel but it doesn't work for me like the Original. I haven't had their Schwarze Weisse in ages, so I can't really comment on it. The first time I had their Sommerzwickl, I thought it was fantastic... and then each time after that I really disliked it. Tried it again this year as well. Hated it. I don't know if it's the beer's fault or mine or the bars'. Sorry - that's probably a longer answer than you wanted.

 

I forgot Ayinger. Please add to "love some of their beers but not all of them" category.

 

@TongoRad , which non-gold-lager HB Munich beers would you suggest I try again and why? (if any) You know I'll do so with an open mind and your input. The Dunkel?

 

Definitely. There was a while there where it filled the role of the best widely available dunkel for me, and I'll always have a soft spot for that. Not that there are tons available nowadays anyway, but still...

I just might do the same, soon enough. That Original from last week has gotten me looking their way again in terms of revisiting the year-round offerings.

Fwiw, I am with you on the doppelbock- for a brewery whose pale beers scream hefty huge malt, that one comes across as surprisingly shallow, especially when I'd expect them to hit it out of the park instead.

 

What else is even competing for that spot? Warsteiner?

 

Bwah- right? Not too many, that's for sure. At the time (late 90s through early 2010s) it was Ayinger and Dinkel Acker for me. Then I really got into Flensburger and the afore-mentioned in this thread Furst-Wallerstein, although those aren't really 'widely available'. They were damn fine beers, however.

Here's a fun tidbit- in Tampa a few weeks ago, while visiting friends, we stumbled across the Furst-Wallerstein at their local shop. So it's out there, even if TW isn't carrying it any more. And I was all "omg, I haven't seen that in years!", yet still, we didn't grab any because it would've been too 'similar' to the Coppertail Porter we were also getting for the card games. Beer geeks are gonna beer geek, amirite? It's unfortunately a rule that any 'alternate' beers have to be a totally different style and type...

 

Yeah their Helles is really nice. I consider it the little brother of their Oktoberfestbier, which is also fantastic.

When I was in Munich, I had Paulaner's, Hofbrau's, and Augustiner's Oktoberfest. I preferred Hofbrau by a mile.

Probably not their tent though. Among thousands and thousands of people extremely drunk, that was the only tent I saw someone get the crap beat out of them and dragged out of the tent.

It was a wild tent, but to this day I want to know what he said to that cop.

I noticed you also mentioned Weihenstephan. Which beers from Ayinger and Weihenstephan do you like and dislike?

Finally, do you and @TongoRad get Von Trapp's Dunkel? That's a good one. Unless you were speaking strictly to German imports.

 

Michael, thanks for that tip!!

It is good to know that Furst-Wallerstein is still being imported to the US. I will have to keep my eyes open when I visit beer retailers.

Cheers!

@RobH

 

Yep, we do. (@TongoRad ) Good point. I normally don't prefer Von Trapp over an import even when factoring in distance traveled, but there's so little choice for Dunkels that this could be an exception. I'll need to revisit it (and I've been meaning to do just that... thanks for the reminder).

I think the Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier is my favorite of it's type. I also think their Festbier is a fantastic hoppy beer. I don't recall having anything from them that I didn't like (except the alcohol-free Hefe, but I'm not really going to hold that against them). It's just that I don't like anything else enough to buy over other imports... and this seems to run counter to the attitude seen on BA that they're masters of everything they do.

My feelings on Ayinger are far more extreme and are likely to get me kicked out of beer club. I absolutely love Jahrhundert Bier. Their Dunkel knocks my socks off. Their wheat beers are very nice but I don't gravitate to Hefes as a drinker. The stuff that gets more attention around here just doesn't do it for me. Celebrator and the Pils don't click with me. I used to enjoy their Festbier but these days I dislike it. I didn't care for their Maibock at all, but I need to revisit that.

It's worth saying that these two breweries make some of my favorite beers (which is why I included them in my post in this thread to begin with), but I'm just selective with what I like from them (as I am with any other brewery) and this might be at odds with how some others view them. It's just a personal reaction and could change. I give really high praise to Schlenkerla but I'd be OK if I never have their Weizen again, and their Helles is far from my first choice for a Helles.

 

Chris, I would encourage you to revisit Von Trapp Dunkel; it is one of my favorites (along with Andechs Dunkel).

Unfortunately I am with you here. I was not a fan of last year's Ayinger Festbier, it was a disappointment for me. I do not intend to buy it again for this year's Oktoberfest season.

Cheers!

 

I really enjoy the Von Trapp, although I don't think of it as a "Munich" dunkel, myself. In fact, it's been my default beer of that type lately, which is kind of why I'm feeling the itch to get to that Hofbrau again now.

 

I was in Stowe last month. The Dunkel and Bock were OK. The lighter beers were not to my liking.

 

feel same

 

#1 Ayinger (dunkel)
#2 weihenstephaner (origional)
#3 hofbrauhaus (oktoberfest)
#4 andecher (kolsch)
#5 reissdorf

 

1) Weihenstephaner
2) Ayinger (Celebrator--pow)
3) Schneider-Weiss
4) Andechs
5) Uerige
6) Aecht Schlenkerla
7) Münchner Augustiner
8) Kulmabacher
9) Hacker-Pschorr
10) Paulaner

Honorable mention goes to Schöfferhofer, d-mn those fruit blends are just "da bomb" on weekend mornings.

 

I just gotta ask: how long do those beers 'stay' with you? My wife will order a Schöfferhofer and I will take a small sip and for a long time (10-15 minutes afterwards) I still 'feel' that beer even while I am drinking my beer. I can't imagine how my palate would 'react' if I drank an entire bottle/glass of that beverage.

Cheers!

 

What beer is that?

 

I drink the Kool-aid. Happy wife, happy life.

Slainte!

 

And you are still alive!

Cheers to you!!