Is German beer really THAT good?

It's those impeccable Southern (German) manners, suh!

 

Probably because German brewers are more steeped in tradition and American brewers are far more adventurous, creative and willing to step out onto the cutting edge.

 

Good beer is good beer....and Germany produces some damn GOOD beer. I've tried many German beers that are sooo clean and near flawless.

 

Look how easy life would be for you in Usa if it allowed sale and shipment of beer. No trading necessary. No hunting whales. Just browsing, clicking, paying and waiting a few days for delivery.

These are just some random pics I had posted in the German forum over the years.







I've reviewed these beers thoroughly, so if anyone is interested, please check them out in the review section of BA.

 

Have not tried many American beers. But German I have, and Schneider Weisse Tap 7 Unser Original is my favourite beer right now. Would love to try Schneider Weisse Tap 6 Unser Aventinus, i heard it's even better.

 

The Germans are exceedingly good at what they do, and it shows in their product. From Weihenstephaner Hef, to Aventinus Tap 6, I've found a great majority of German beers delicious. However, it does seem like they've focused on a fairly tight range of beer, which probably contributed to their expertise in those styles. For example, I feel that German breweries don't do stouts or hops as well as American brewers, and that's ok.

 

Come this time next month I'll be bored with all the German beers I can get here in Stuttgart.

So, my wife and I are making a short 5 hr drive over to Belgium (Ghent & Brugge) with a day or two in Amsterdam.

Living in Europe is tough, but someone has to do it.

 

Your post perfectly illustrates the point I've made a number of times - the vast majority of German breweries are relatively small, regional, and don't export, yet many on this site make critical pronouncements about German beer and brewing based solely on the very limited range of German beer they have access to in the USA - beers from large national breweries like Paulaner, Spaten, etc. I'm not saying these exported beers are bad, just that you have to spend time in Germany to gain any real understanding of their beer scene.

 

To my knowledge they don't do stouts at all, so I guess your statement is kind of valid. Choosing to use hops in ways that provide more delicate and subtle characteristics to beer as opposed to making over-the-top, in your face hop bombs doesn't necessarily mean the Germans don't "do hops as well as American brewers".

 

Your valid point is actually addressing a special case of a very general human tendency to think that their own personal direct experience is valid and holds true universally. There are also people who make claims about German and American Beer without having spent much time in any of the "beer wasteland" areas that exist in both countries. Just as some areas of the US are richer in beer variety and culture than others, some areas of Germany are richer in beer variety (of a very important kind) and culture. Just as Philly is not typical of PA as a whole, neither Franconia or Bavaria in general are typical of Germany as a whole.

Edit: As another example, there existed a thread a while back during the period of release of Pliny the Younger. A bar in Portland known even in that city and Oregon in general for the quality of its craft beer line up, announced Pliny's presence by listing Miller Lite on draught at $7.00 for a 10 oz serving (IIRC) so the regulars could get their portion. Almost nobody outside of Portland realized what a joke this was in the context of Portland's beer culture and that it would be obvious to everyone on site that it was a) Pliny time and b) there would never be Miller on tap in this particular bar. The outrage of some people was just as amusing as the joke itself. Truly a case of "you had to be there" to appreciate it.

 

That brewery is amazing, as is the beer. Well worth the effort of getting there.

 

I still don't understand why people think the Reinheitsgebot no longer exists..

 

You would be incorrect - I have several German stouts in my bier keller at the moment.

 

Who makes them? What are they like? I've never had or seen one here or in Germany.

 

Not having done their homework?

 

I had some off the keg here in the US once which I thought was good/ok, the Marzen though was a real unique Rauch hybrid I thought, never tasted a beer like it before, really unique. There are good smoke beers in America too, but I'd be pretty impressed if a brewer in the US could make something like that beer. That wasn't even my fav beer I had when I visited either, but it was unbelievably impressive.

 

Interstate commerce laws within the U.S. are truly a pain in the posterior! I fondly recall the promise of E-Commerce in its early, glory daze, and how it has all faded beneath the reality of paying sales tax in both the originating *and* destination state, plus shipping taxes... pretty soon you're paying double or even triple retail.

Great photos, by the way, although I have to ask (since I am only an occasional interloper in the Germany forum): did you buy all of those online while living within a German state (or more generally, the E.U.) and have them shipped to you, there? Buying from online shops (in e.g. Holland, Belgium) and having the package shipped to the U.S. can be done of course, but it is really only for those with money to burn.

 

Here's a couple breweries where I get my German stouts from:

http://www.crewrepublic.de/en/home.html

http://www.cambabavaria.de/

By the way, there are more besides these examples.

 

Interesting. New German breweries making some ales and putting English labels on their bottles. They seem to be following an American model for their beers and looking toward the potentially lucrative export market. How are their stouts? I doubt that RobinLee, who claimed Americans do stouts better than Germany, has ever had a German stout to use as a reference. I don't think they are widespread or common in Germany.

 

Yes it is