American craft in Germany

Germans believe that American, Belgian and Dutch beer was brewed by ignorant new-world-adjunct-loving-blind-bastard-heathens. So very little is available or actually sold.

 

Belgians and Dutch aren't really "New World" but other than that you pretty much nailed it. Bavarians are even more extreme and usually consider everything that wasn't brewed within a 20 mile radius around their home village (or that's distributed beyond said 20 mile limit) as undrinkable heresy and an insult to nature. Those a little more open will admit that beer from Czechia is actually not akin to Satan's urine but you won't find many Bavarians looking beyond the rim of their Beer Universe which is somewhat odd because in other matters we're actually rather cosmopolitan folk. Well, for Europeans anyways

 

I know that there are some places that you can get a few Firestone Walker beers, distributed by Braufactum.

 

Everything above is generally true but it would nevertheless be helpful to know where you're staying. There are some things here and there. Did you see the NY Times article about craft beer in Berlin? It was posted in another thread on this forum. Galeria Kaufhof is a chain department store. Bigger ones will have a Braufactum refrigerator, normally in the wine section. As bulletrain76 said, Braufactum has some Firestone Walker beers, and I think some Brooklyns beer as well.

 

If the story I read is true, the first Pilsner was brewed by a Bavarian, so it counts!

 

The guy was from Landshut.

 

“Is a specific German city more accepting of foreign/American brewers?”

The ‘answer’ would appear to be Berlin. You should read the thread entitled NYTimes on 'craft beer' in Berlin (and the article linked within the OP of that thread).

Prost!

 

This is not a German regulation. Actually, for a country which loves regulation, the beer industry is a wild west and lacks regulation - as Americans know it - completely. Braufaktum might have agreed with Kaufhof to supply them with refrigerators, or it's possible that the Braufaktum people simply wish to give the (infrequently purchased) hoppy beers increased shelf life.

 

As much as I adore Firestone Walker beers (same with Brooklyn Brewery): I don't want to buy them from a brand run by something like Radeberger.

 

What's wrong with Radeberger?

 

I don't like the way all the big breweries are jumping on the "craft beer" bandwagon now, isn't that the opposite of what makes up the "craft movement"? If you'd try to find one major point all craft beer drinkers agree on what defines "craft beer" I think it would be: Made by an independent brewery with the goal of achieving a really good beer.
I'm not saying that Radeberger or Braufactum are "bad" beers, it depends on the way you define quality or what's good and bad! My honest opinion: None of the beers brewed by Braufactum are worth their money. I think it was Garrett Oliver saying "good beer does not have to be a luxury".
On top of that it's just hard for me to believe that these "craft beer projects" by the big players were started with the desire to produce good and interesting beer. It looks like the only reason behind it is to secure the "big player" status in the new ( and growing market) and make a lot of profit...

Long story short: "Craft beer" brands by the big players seem like the wrong way into this beer movement to me...

 

Well, that's one consequence of beer geeks only associating the new/experimental/big/bold with "craft" instead of the traditional, small, good -- of which there are already thousands such breweries in Franconia/Oberpfalz/Bavaria. It's very easy for the big brands to co-opt these new "innovative" ideas and sell them as their own than to co-opt beers with tradition, regional loyalty, and soul (Malz ist die Seele des Bieres!).

 

For the most part, I agree with this statement. But OTOH, this is how the German brewing scene has been functioning for 30 years: one brewery has a *good* idea (pre-mixed radler, Fassbrause, Ice beer, Biermischgetraenke, clear bottles, etc.), has a certain amount of success and everybody copies them. This is their version of innovation.

 

This is pretty much how every industry everywhere functions.

 

I am an American living in western Germany. The area I live in has around 60,000 Americans in the area. The local drink markets usually have the following imports.

Corona
Pilsner Urquelll
Budvar
Guinness
and sometimes Bud

In my two plus years here I have never seen an American craft beer locally. I can sometimes get craft on Ramstein AFB. If not I will overpay in Belgium when I go on a beer run.

 

If that were so, I think we would have a Budweiser IPA, Miller Imperial Stout and a Coors Light Sour.

On a serious note, you may be right depending on the product, I was shocked to see it happen so quickly in that industry, and how closely the "original" was copied.

 

As an American who has settled (more or less permanently) inGermany, I have mixed emotions about Braufactum. On the one hand, their beers are wildly overpriced for what they are, and their selection of foreign beers is not actually that impressive. However, they offer an opportunity to buy foreign beers inGermanyin a variety of places, and anybody who lives inGermanyknows how rare and valuable that can be (if you like those types of beers). Plus, I appreciate that they are investing the money and resources in marketing non-German beer styles in numerous places and markets.

My hope is that, rather than “co-opting” the “craft” beer movement inGermany, they instead succeed in opening the eyes of Germans to the possibilities of “different” (non-Fernseh) beers. If they manage to do that, then perhaps it won’t be so difficult to find Belgian or American beers in a German Getränkemarkt. Moreover, maybe Germans will become a touch more adventurous, and embrace the opportunity to try out alot of those exceptional, small craft breweries that they rarely even notice, which will help keep some of these older breweries alive and thriving. Indeed, Braufactum’s overpricing might even drive those adventurous souls directly to such German craft options. And if all goes well, Braufactum’s overpriced, unimpressive versions of foreign beers will be priced out of the market, and slowly either adapt or disappear. If that happens, then Braufactum will have served a very valuable purpose, and in the meantime, I can occasionally indulge in a Firestone Walker.

 

I was amazed by the extent to which England has embraced American craft. I went to two separate stores in Birmingham that each had an impressive variety of American craft. Germany just isn't like that. The only imports that can be easily found - as others have said - are Czech beers like Pilsener Urquell or Budvar, or other well known international beers like Guiness or Corona. Some British beer can be found if you know where to look, but not much. The only things that I've ever seen that could be considered American craft here in Germany would be Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, or Anchor (at Maruhn's in Darmstadt). I have only seen BMC beers at that same store, and they also carry some well-known Belgians like Orval, Westmalle and the like (no Cantillon).

I have no idea about regulations here, but I think the Braufactum refrigerator thing is more salesmanship/gimmick than a legal requirement. Also, I agree 99.99% with what JHDStein has to say about their beers.