https://mahrsusa.com/ Anyone have any insight into this? I recall some drama with Stephen and the crew in Bamberg a few years ago. Did he just go rogue and open his own place? Their website and social media offer almost zero info or where they're brewing in California.
With no physical location mentioned anywhere, I'm guessing they're contract brewing somewhere in SoCal. Could be a place that specializes in their type of beer (Enegren and such), a large place with tons of capacity, or even just a friend's place that can decoct and package.
Might be Malibu Brewing Company. See a post on Stephan Michel's social media from last year discussing U and Pils being brewed there. https://www.instagram.com/st.michel.71/p/CtMV2pFLpW1/?img_index=2
Seems like Malibu is the most likely place that's contracting for 'em. I'd love to know the story behind this, too. If those beers are in the ballpark of the Bamberg versions, I'm okay with it. Especially if they distro to my area. The Mahr's cans on my shelves are older than hell and the stores don't seem to care.
Yeah, it's Malibu. I get the impression that it could potentially expand to other facilities if the concept is a success. The folks at Churchkey already brought some to DC. I hope everything about the product origin stays as transparent as the text on the cans. It seems like they weren't as transparent when they were pouring it at the Firestone Walker fest. It's funny how the Churchkey people were "thrilled" to have the beer, but if we were talking about AB-InBev moving production of an import to the US it would be seen as a disgrace in the eyes of many. You can read some info here with some difficulty (it's a bit blurry): https://www.instagram.com/p/Cz83p7ltHI-/?img_index=1 @Domingo , I wonder if this thread is more fitting in the North America section than the Germany one, but it's your call. Thread visibility in the NA section seems like a joke, so being here might have advantages.
Seems odd to be so low key about this. And working via contract brewing can be sketchy - not all equipment is the same and different techniques. With some savvy and decent distribution they could move some volume, especially draft IMO. I'll have to find a mule going south to pick some up for me.
Would love to see this and would order on sight. It's been enough years since I had the pleasure of enjoying a Mahr's Brau beer so I would never be able to speak to the American brew's fidelity, but I know that that Mahr's U label is forever burned in my memory and filled away as an insta purchase
For me it's the opposite. Every time I see the current branding, I think, "Wow, that's modern looking... oh wait, it's been that way for a while hasn't it." I always forget the current look (not knocking it though) and can't mentally shake the old Shelton-days label:
The Shelton-era bottles and labels still come to mind for me, too. I have a major soft spot for Mahr's. I discovered their weizenbock pretty early in my beer journey and they were THE spot I wanted to hit when planning my first Bamberg trip. They didn't let me down, either. The crew there was super nice and I found their weissbier to be the best I'd ever had. Sadly, they killed it off a couple years later, though. I know the locals have said that their quality has declined, but I haven't been exposed to their stuff enough to really notice or have an opinion. They do seem to have an oddball social presence compared to the other places in Bamberg (instagrammy posed shots with a younger audience), but for all I know that's super effective. Personally, I'm just holding out hope of getting those core beers that taste roughly like the ones in Bamberg. It sounds like that's the eventual goal, so I'm crossing my fingers. Sadly, rough approximations are still going to be better than those old ass import cans that only 1 store around here gets.
I can see how those labels would be hard to shake. And it's funny how impactful marketing is. Only knowing the newer labels I have always thought of Mahr's Brau as a slightly younger, more "hip" or maybe just less stodgy, german brewer. Those older labels give me the opposite impression. I don't know anything about the history of the brewery so I have to wonder how different my experience of their beers would have been if they'd been presented to me in the older labels.
One of the listed points of sale is in my neighborhood. I'll set a reminder to go by there. You can trust me, and I never lie.
and then there's a fair amount of people who got turned on to mahr's because of this one, which co-existed with the old-style labels. weird:
You scored - I hope it lands somewhere close to me, it seems like most of points of sale listed on the website are bars or restaurants, not stores.
We'll see how it plays out for them, but I think the strategy of introducing your contract brewed product through bars/restaurants rather than trying to stand out on a shelf. I know I'm a lot more adventurous at the bar than I am at the store. And you can much more easily rise to meet demand than deal with the problems of bottles and cans not selling.
