No kidding? The bottles showed up several years ago at a bottle shop near me for about six months then never came back. When I asked the beer buyer he said it's hard to get. About two other places here in GA have it sometimes but they are too far from me. You lucky dog!
What's everyones opinion of Rothaus? This is my favorite. Well balanced. Clean, snappy bitterness. Very nice
Wasn't talking about Rothaus specifically, only Pilsners just as good. Maybe better. Like the Trumer I'm drinking now. But we have local breweries putting out some world-class German-style Pils as well. Such an improvement from 25 years ago when they were a difficult style to find fresh.
Sorry, last one I had was pretty thin. But I've never been able to try it on tap, might be an improvement.
Your impression is the same as mine. I think they make a great pils, though I've never been able to find it out here. However, I had it on tap at a beer bar in Cologne and thought it was excellent.
Fresh near the source and vom Faß is probably exponentially better than imported any format. But I bet you got some stink eye looks in Köln for sidestepping Kölsch.
You guys who have had this at the source always point that out too us poor beer serfs who have to drink it imported.
That's why I often look for good, locally-brewed beers. However, finding it on tap, as you did, is probably better than a six-pack that might have been sitting on a shelf for months!
We are the same, along with @JackHorzempa. I'm always looking for locals who do German styles justice. And luckily, I have a few here in GA who are on point like you guys. One of these days my son and I are going to Germany to enjoy some of these.
Rothaus Pilsner is the best Pilsner for me. But I haven't done an extensive search (I like it better than modern Urquell).
Greatly appreciate the BA's who participate Weihenstephaner Pils is pretty close behind it and my local German restaurant usually has it on draft. But otherwise, it can be a little hard to get here at retail stores as well.
LOL! I actually was with a German friend who isn't a huge kolsch drinker, so we ended up in a beer bar that focused on other styles. They had around 20 beers on tap, only a couple of which were kolsch. That being said, we also did a Viking sponsored brewery pub crawl excursion that was fantastic. We hit 4 different breweries, so I had my fair share of kolsch (and then some).
What was your impression of the four different brands of Kolsch? Did you find much difference between them? Cheers!
There was a notable difference, but I wouldn't call it a huge difference. Kolsch isn't my favorite style of beer, though I'll still order one every once in a while. The brewery below was my favorite of the crawl, but the cool taproom ambiance and great customer service could have been factor. As you probably know, when you're drinking kolsch in a Cologne beer bar, the tradition is that the waiter keeps topping off your glass if you don't put a coaster over the top of the glass. So it's easy to over do it if you aren't careful. God knows how they figure out the bill.
I have yet to have the pleasure to visit Cologne, but I have been told by a number of folks that they keep track my marking your beer coaster (see photo below). You never saw this going on during your four visits? Prost!
They did, but not every time as I recall. A lot of times my glass was still half full when they topped it off, so I'm not sure it would have been appropriate to mark my coaster every time. Even if they had marked it every time, maybe you're not getting charged for a full glass (for every mark)? I wasn't paying for the beer I drank, so I'm not sure how it worked.
This is a really nice beer. It's an American Pilsner in the German style. Sadly, some people can't swallow that description. I'll buy this beer again soon.
I was fortunate to enjoy freshly bottled Rothaus Tannenzäpfle in Germany two winters ago, and it was delicious! I had been searching for any Rothaus beers locally (St. Louis) for more than a year without any luck. After my trip, I did manage to find the Tannenzäpfle at two retail spots I'd never previously checked, but the price ($20 a sixer) and the age on the bottles turned me away.
Apropos of some chatter in other active forums ... I've long wanted to sample some "authentic" Kölsch from Köln/Cologne, but the age of the product I've encountered here made me pass it by. Last week, I ran across a newly stocked supply of this Früh, which has a BB date of 08/11/2026. As I was deliberating over it, a store employee pointed out the beer had come in only a week earlier. I figured what the hell, I've been passing it up for at least a couple years, this is as fresh as I'll probably see it. (Admittedly, I tried to convince myself the BB date was Nov. 8 and not Aug. 11 -- but after arriving home and checking closely, I noted the 223 2025 stamp below the BB date, indicative this was packaged on Aug. 11, 2025.) So, what do you think? Am I going to enjoy even a reasonable approximation of this beer? I've read/been told that Kölsch starts "declining" after only minutes in the glass -- hence the preferred 0.2L stange serving vessel. And we're talking 8 months since packaging, not 8 minutes, before I'll even pour one of these (currently on an alcohol break until early April). I'm definitely looking forward to drinking one, but I've really tempered my expectations based on the aforementioned. Part of my reason for buying this time is a Viking river cruise we'll take this summer, with a stop in Cologne. For an extra $169 per person, Viking offers a Kölsch crawl, with stops at four local establishments, plus dinner, plus a tour guide (and camaraderie with the tour group). I'm currently debating whether to sign up for this or do my own self-guided tour with Mrs. ElBirdos. I'd also like to know how many 0.2L servings are permitted at each stop for that $169.
