American craft in Germany

I need to try Rothaus again ( I remember being underwhelmed by the hefe, but liked the Pils). I know Tannenzäpfle is the highest rated Pils on here...

I don't remember who it was, but either my sister-in-law or friend from Paris (who went to school in Karlsruhe) said that it was the common party beer amongst young people. Which struck me as odd, considering the "party beer" in the US (while it varies) certainly isn't highly rated for it's particular style... German youth have better taste I guess.

 

I tired the distilled stuff, I liked the one they said that they produced for the US market... go figure!

 

That is an odd choice indeed,. I haven't seen any in Mannheim, thankfully enough. I can only imagine the unsuspecting German..."Oh look, they have some of this American Craft Beer I keep hearing about, perhaps I'll try one..."

 

That's the type of thing that continues to fuel the stereotype (to people that don't know any better) that the US doesn't produce good beer...

I would imagine that the people who would buy it, aren't the ones who are looking to try "craft beer" but youngsters or people who are already buying crappy beer anyway. Not that I wish either of those beers on anyone, especially at an "export premium". But then again, look at Heineken in the US...

 

- Rothaus is one of the party beers bc it is so ubiquitous there, German beer tastes often trend much more towards the local than what is good.

-Kaufhof is chain department type store that has a very overpriced grocery store inside. This one is in Kassel.
old Torpedo = 8months plus I think... I know the best before date on one bottle I looked at today was Jan 2014... but I thought SN dated these a year out?

- I also dont think anyone grabbing Busch or Beast etc... is looking for "craft" beer. Simply a case of: as seen on TV

 

Tannenzäpfle Pils is indeed a very tasty beer and one worth seeking.

You might be interested in my review of Tannenzäpfle Pils in this thread:http://beeradvocate.com/community/t...-and-american-pils.100623/page-2#post-1488005

Cheers!

 

“but I thought SN dated these a year out?” Unfortunately Sierra Nevada does utilize a one year best by timeframe for the beers they export to Europe. Needless to say but one year is too long.

We often have the same problem with German beers exported to the US; the breweries/importers utilize a one year best by timeframe (which is also too long).

Cheers!

 

Thanks, that sadly confirms what I thought; so its an 11 month old ipa ;(

 

Faust's Auswanderer IPA has a best by of two years, IIRC. Two years!! So be careful if you happen across one at Mahrun's...

 

This reminds me of the German website americanfood4u which offers an array of American macro beer for sale online. I've been tempted to place an order for some of the budget brands we can't buy here and which I'm curious to try, but with shipping included the cost would far exceed the novelty value .

 

The only thing on that site worth drinking would be the Sam Adams or the Blue Moon. I haven't had any Swedish beers but if you have had Hansa Pilsner from Norway that is what most of those are like.

 

Well I don't mind the American adjunct lagers sold in Sweden but I realize that a country's premium brands tend to be cleaner than some of the budget brands, which makes me curious to try American budget brands. I haven't had Hansa Pilsner but I have had their Borg Pilsner, which tasted exactly like Swedish non-alcoholic pear cider, with not a hint of beer in the taste . At least there's no confusing a Budweiser or MGD with something other than (AAL) beer. I'm just curious to try some of the US budget brands and see if there's a difference in taste and quality, or if the modern AAL style simply is too standardized for that to be the case.

 

Weihenstephaner is fairly available in this neck of the woods, as is Schneider (though just their "normal" weizen) and Andechser (their doppelbock is tremendous and also readily available around here). I've definitely seen each of these at particular "alldrink" Getränkemarkts in Germersheim and Schwetzingen, for instance. They are all excellent (for me, at least).

Also available, though I can't remember exactly which stores in the area have them, are the Weltenburger Kloster Hefe-Weißbier (as well as anything else they make that you can find, such as their Asam Bock), and the Augustiner Weissbier. Unless I am mistaken (and somebody please correct me if I am...), I believe all of these are independent breweries

If you need specific Getränkemarkts in the area that have some of these, just let me know. Good hunting and let us know if you find anything new and interesting in the area!

 

Patrik, I am not a big AAL drinker so take the below statements with a grain of salt.

You stated: “I'm just curious to try some of the US budget brands and see if there's a difference in taste and quality”. It has been an extremely loooooooog time since I have consumed a beer like Busch or Milwaukee’s Best (so I do not have contemporary tasting knowledge) but my recollection is that these beers tasted like a typical AAL beer: a beer with little taste but also no off-flavors. Now, I am sure that there are budget brand beers that are not consistent with the description of no off-flavors It has been an extremely long time since I had ‘regular’ Genesee beer but that beer had unpleasant flavors to my palate.

I know that you have had PBR before so no need to discuss that particular beer.

One beer on that website which is ‘distinctive’ is Rolling Rock. Rolling Rock has a noticeable flavor from having a high(er) level of DMS. Normally the noticeable presence of DMS in beer is considered a flaw but for Rolling Rock this is considered to be an attribute (by the brewers and Rolling Rock drinkers). I could tell you how many barrels of drank of Rolling Rock I consumed prior to my ‘epiphany’ of craft beer but I would be embarrassed to mention it.

Skål!

Jack

P.S. I recognize your curiosity here but buying these beers (considering shipping costs) is really not worth it.

 

You could buy a bottle of "Vogellenium" next time you're there. It's a strong lager, usually released at the end of November, I think this years batch is a little different from the ones before. It's a 750ml bottle, around 10€, a little above 10% abv as far as I know!

If you want to we can have a Vogel Pils (or more) some day. I'm from Karlsruhe, currently in Bavaria though, will be back around christmas and on some random weekends over the year...

Cheers! Glad there are more people on BA who can enjoy Vogelbräu every now and then

Edit: You should check out Alpirsbacher, they're regional and make good beer!

 

You know, a German once told me "it's never too cold at the Christmas Markets, you just need to drink more Glühwein." In that spirit I feel confident saying - Füchschen beer is very good, you just need to drink more.

 

I know it as "There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad (choice of) clothes"

 

Oh, it is possible. Undertakings of similar scope, especially time and logistics-wise have done before in the history of man. Just google "Crusade"

 

My personal version of that is "If it's too cold for beer gardens there's always beer cellars".

 

Fair enough, I guess I will consider this my "Crusade" over the next 3 years in Germany, why not!