Hello from Stone Brewing Berlin

Any chance we ever see the 12th anniversary beer again? I miss it.

 

Honestly, I do NOT get the Radler discussion at all. There are already many german "craft" places in Berlin (and i bet elsewhere in germany...) that don't offer Radler.
Can you get Radler at Heidenpeters at Halle 9? And... does the absence of Radler make it less popular?
People go there to have craft Ales.

Complaining about a "craft"-place,esp. the size what the Stone Berlin will be, not serving Radler is like complaining that they are not serving Non-Rauchbiers Schlenkerla, or that there is no other beer than Kölsch to drink at Päffgen.

It's just a different culture, and I think people will get it. You don't go to Curry 36 and ask for a rare filet steak.

I personally am looking forward to 2016.
I remember getting my hands on Stone beers the first time through trade on this very Forum back in 2007 or 2008. Something like the Stone Berlin operation was surreal at that point, and now..
Things have changed.

 

Perhaps you need to have been in the U.S. to see the irony about the "make our beer into a Radler and you'll be asked to leave" marketing stance. Just last week, there was a Stone event up the road in Asheville, NC, where their beer was run through a different Randall every hour for a whole evening. So it's apparently OK to put fruit, vegetables, peppers, etc. in a Stone beer in the U.S., but not lemon soda -- or woodruff or raspberry -- in Berlin.

 

But really, you are right @Lurchus. It's mostly just marketing-speak and nothing more. I think most if not all of us here agree that Stone makes high-quality beers across the board, and we are all interested to follow their progress as they work toward the 2016 opening. Doing an event like this that raises money for charity is a very good thing and a nice start to their presence in Berlin.

 

Is the plan to feature most of the same Stone beers from the US or will there be a local spin? Any plans to feature some of the newer German hops like Hull Melon, Polaris, Mandarina, and Hallertau Blanc? What about sourcing? Are the American style hops being shipped over or is someone like Barth growing them in Germany now? Just curious about the logistics. You guys are breaking some new ground with this concept.

 

I was going to say something similar. To me, it seemed that Germans didn't necessarily care what you offered, as long as what you offered was good. If Stone doesn't sell Radlers, then Stone will just be "that place that doesn't have Radlers" (or ketchup, apparently) and Berliners who want their Radler fix will end up somewhere else.

I apologize in advance if this this is just a variation on the Radler question, but do you ever foresee Stone Berlin making a Pilsner?

 

Some collaboration beers with local brewing companies could be wonderful as well.

 

I wholeheartedly agree with you, Greg, that in Germany, Stone should focus on what it does best and what market niche is least exploited: IPAs and Ales. I could imagine a collab with Scheider or Mahrs Bräu, or even using the distribution network of one of the smaller Mainstream national brands, such as Veltins or Rothaus to make a collaboration brew.

My questions are...

• besides having your own products on tap, are you planning to allow other American brewers to follow on your coattails by featuring them on your beer menu?
  
• What about other German craft beer start-ups... will you put them also on your menu? I would if I were you. At their "Tap House" craft beer bar in Munich, Camba Bavaria has over 200 beers either as bottles or on tap, many direct competitors from the German craft beer scene, as well as many American craft entities. By selling German craft IPAs, it would be like the rising tide lifting all boats.
• What's the public transport situation leading to your location? Is there a tram/S-bahn/U-bahn stop within quick walking distance? A majority of people living in the big cities in Germany like Berlin (your customers) don't have cars because a) parking is well, like Manhattan or worse, b) cars are totally unnecessary if you live in a big city. I live in Frankfurt and don't own a car, don't ever need a car, and don't want a car and its accompanied expenses and hassles. If I need a car for a day in country, there are ride-sharing cars parked all over the city that you can rent for an hour or a day. I know I won't be visiting your bar in 2016 if there's no public trans. to get there.

I'll be in Berlin this July for a week. Too bad you won't be open then. Maybe next year.

 

As I observe in German, the linguistic interpretation of the English word Craft Bier in German (not English!) is an American style IPA or something non-European, i.e. not British or Belgian in origin. To describe a place such as Schlenkerla or other small, older breweries, or even Belgian and British styles, I'm hearing the word traditionelle Brauerei, or Ur-Brauerei (Ur meaning "origin" or "traditional." I think delineating it through those definitions are easier for me and for Germans to know what they're talking about. German needs a word to describe "innovative/creative beer styles" and they've chosen the English word because Handwerksbier (lit. Craft beer) sounds silly and in German makes you think it's a beer for someone you've called to fix your pipes. A Handwerker is like a handyman, a repairman, or a bldg. superintendent; not exactly sexy and what most Craft Bier start-ups want to be associated with.

 

This is a good point/question. One of the first things I did when I learned of the new location was to look it up on public transport to see how I'd get there from Kleinmachnow. The nearest S-Bahn stops I could see were Marienfelde (or Atillastr.) and U-Bahn is Alt-Mariendorf -- each of which is 1+ km away. Not terrible, I guess, but not necessarily "quick walking distance" either.

 

I think @StoneGreg had a good response to this in relating it to American Adjunct Lagers.

The point being is that Stone isn't trying to cater to the masses. Wine coolers have a big market in the US maybe the should make those too? Don't want to leave people out that enjoy wine coolers do you?

Stone opening in Berlin (or Europe in general) is a big step for American craft beer, but in the grand scheme they will be starting with a smallish brewing system and one restaurant. I know Greg is genuinely excited and realizes it will still take a lot of work to get the Stone vision across to such a different culture, but it seems like a lot of you are unnecessarily trying to blow up small "issues". Yes I'm sure Greg has tried other beers, yes they've done research on the city, region, country, and no I doubt he just woke up yesterday and started building without thinking any further into it.

Now I'll go back to drinking my coffee that was roasted and brewed down the street, cause industrial Folgers sucks.

 

Welcome to Germany. This should be good practice for operating in a culture whose national pass-time is finding "problems" to discuss and debate for hours (or centuries) on end.

 

Hey @boddhitree! Greg is tied up, so I thought I’d jump in and answer your questions. Happy to provide some clarity!

• Much like our restaurants in San Diego (and Richmond, VA in a few years), we’ll definitely have other American craft beer on tap. We’ll let others decide if that’s riding on our “coattails” or not.
• Of course we’ll have German craft beer! We have always been firm in our support of craft and those who do it well, no matter where the brewery is located. The “rising tide lifts all boats” is a foundational philosophy here at Stone Brewing and one of the great things about this industry. So you and other traditionelle Brauerei (or Ur-Brauerei ) aficionados can get the full craft / artisanal beer experience.
• As for getting to Stone Brewing Berlin, we took into account the difference in “transportation culture”. If you scroll to the bottom of our Berlin FAQ page we have directions from the S-Bahn, U-Bahn and bus stops! Or, you could be like Greg who rides his bike to StoneBerlin from central Berlin when he’s in town, and find yourself a bicycle. Makes the beer reward even all that more satisfying!

Hopefully that covered everything, but if not, feel free to ask again.

Cheers!
Stephanie

 

Yeah, Stone has a pretty great reputation in SD re: helping out other craft breweries, collaborating, etc. Their distribution arm is a big reason for small breweries getting their stuff on shelves in the area. Good writeup here on their general ethos in that regard.

http://blog.stonebrewing.com/index.php/collaboration-not-competition-a-look-at-craft-beer-culture/

 

This is true, and certainly kind of a pain - but places like The Bird have thrived even while not being just off an U-Bahn stop. Make a good product and people will be willing to walk to it. Or just take a cab.

 

Very true. Spezialkeller is quite a hike from any public transport stops, and it is always packed.

 

Some German weirdness I saw at my local Edeka this past weekend:

 

Uerige does a "Fass Brause" IIRC. Supposed to be pretty popular.

 

But rhubarb? WTF???