German craft beer

Well, the sheep majority will embrace it as the new big thing for a few years and then the "Craft Beer Revolution" will wither on the vine just like every other revolution in Germany has for the past 300 years.
It's all an elaborate plot. Big breweries whining about sinking consumption is usually their way to pave the way for their next application for EU subventions on one side and to play down their taxable income on the other.
Anyone thinking this has anything even remotely to do with beer or it's quality is just living an illusion. We are sheep to be led to the watering hole by the good shepherd aka InBev and their ilk.
If you are serious about beer, make sure your local brewer lives well and stop trying to sample beer from 5 continents in one afternoon. It's that "I must have everything right now and at any time" mentality that is killing this planet.

 

We spell it “Americanization”.

Since you are going to be Americanized, you should learn to spell it correctly.

Cheers!

P.S. Drowning in some good beer is not a bad way to go!

 

I think Stahl meant to say Americani$ation. Since one growler of "innovation" costs more than a crate of "boring."

 

Nice one -- it's what I wanted to say about the advent of German IPA. Marketing? Naaaw.

 

Amen!

 

How about you say that in German...?

 

Once I'm fully Americanized (Happy Jack ? ) your constitution prevents me from suffering cruel and unusual punishment.

 

In my perfect world you will never become Americanized.

If you recall I postulated a beer company called German Alps Brewing Company (GABC) and that brewery only made German style beers (Pilsners, Alts, Kolsch, Hefeweizen, etc.) but they would make these wonderful, traditional beers available to all German beer drinkers regardless of what region they lived. In no way did I ‘advocate’ that German breweries should make beers like: “a single hop pale ale, a Belgian Style Tripel and an American India Pale Ale”. Having stated that, I am not against a German brewer making those beers either.

As an American I strongly believe in freedom and one of those freedoms is freedom of choice. I do not think that a German should be compelled to drive (or take a train) to Dusseldorf to drink a Dusseldorf Alt beer like Uerige. I also don’t think a German should be compelled to drive (or take a train) to Cologne in order to drink a Kolsch. If German beer drinkers also want to drink American IPAs. Belgian Tripels, etc., than that would be good too.

Does the above paragraph discussing freedom of choice equate to “Americanization”? If so, then I suppose I need to rescind my first paragraph of this post since I do indeed advocate that German beer drinkers have freedom of choice in buying beer at their local retailers.

Prost!

 

After reading this thread I found it interesting to see that three beers from Braufactum will be sold as limited releases in the alcohol retail monopoly here in september:

Braufactum Roog
Braufactum Marzus
Braufactum Darkon

They will be distributed by a Swedish importer which also carries Radeberger (which is the owner of Braufactum if I have understood things correctly). I suppose it makes sense to try and establish an export market for these brands but I wonder if they will sell. The price for Marzus and Darkon will be something close to 8.4 USD, and 9.2 USD for the Roog, all three being sold in 65cl bottles. Highly hyped American craft beers might sell for those prices (Oscar Blues Deviant Dales and Ten Fidy sold out pretty quickly with similar price tags in smaller packages), in limited quantities, but German craft/y beers from a major brewery conglomerate?

 

I'm stunned about how quickly my last mention in this post has become reality.
Had a look at their website. I'm not compelled to order from them, but I surely will try them once I see them somewhere.

 

Well, actually you can find fresh Jever Pils, Diebels Alt, Kueppers or Gaffel Koelsch, and Erdinger Hefeweizen at most any Getraenkemarkt (beverage shop) in Germany. And while those are by no means the pinnacles of their respective styles, they are (in most cases) very good, authentic takes on the styles; IMO a U.S. brewer would have a very hard time mastering or even replicating them in a way that would find purchase in the German market, especially at a much higher price point.

 

How are you going to get the equivalent of a glass of Uerige served by gravity from an ultra-fresh wooden keg, tapped just minutes beforehand, into your customers' hands, then? Schlenkerla from the bottle -- which is available at many outlets throughout Germany -- is a great beer, but it is a shadow of the beer you get straight from the wooden keg at the tavern. No amount of American "freedom" or "innovation" is ever going to change that...and that, IMO, is a very good thing.

 

As an American, this was very difficult for me to understand at first. I've come around, though. But it's also something I find difficult to explain to an American. This article helped my understanding and maybe you will find is useful as well, Jack: http://aktiongutesbier.de/german-beer-market/

The parts about "Where to find Schlenkerla" and "How to buy German beer in Germany" are particularly useful to this discussion.

Otherwise, what Herr Burgess said.

 

Unless there's reasonable suspicion.

 

Always a loop-hole so you end up doing legally whatever you want anyways, is there ?

 

Whatever you can get away with!

 

Wow! Thanks for that link! There is tons of great information in that article!

I took note of the following:

“The figure of 1339 breweries includes about 400 brewpubs founded since 1985, the year when Rudi Vogel started the German brewpub movement.” I did not know that there was a “German brewpub movement” and at 1985 this is a recent phenomenon.

“Total beer production in Germany was 94.6 million hectolitres in 2012, more than 20 million below the all-time-high of 1992.” Beer production has decreased over 20% in 20 years. That is significant.

I was a little surprised at the amount of the differential in Pilsner consumption between the north and south: “Regional preferences are different: Pils has a clear North-South divide with 73% north of Elbe River, but only 24% in Bavaria”

I also really like the top 10 lists of various beer styles. I took note that Waldhaus was ranked number 1 for the Pils category. As a ‘reminder’, the Pilsner at Waldhaus was the principle inspiration for the brewing of Victory Prima Pils.

I was already cognizant of the market dynamics for the selling (or lack of selling) of beer in Germany. The paragraphs of "Where to find Schlenkerla" and "How to buy German beer in Germany" were an interesting read. It appears that the wholesalers have tremendous influence in which beers are sold. One discussion topic I do not really understand is:

“Beer from small breweries, in particular in Franconia, is good for four or six weeks, because it is not treated. The same applies for beer from brewpubs. It is unfiltered and not pasteurized. Four weeks is simply too short for wholesaling.”

While I am an advocate for drinking beer fresh, the timeframe of 4 weeks is perplexing to me. As a homebrewer, my beers are not pasteurized and they are unfiltered. I regularly drink my homebrew with one year of age (and sometimes more for some of my higher alcohol beer styles). I would not suggest that 1 year is a more appropriate ‘best by’ date than 4 weeks but the timeframe of 4 weeks is really small.

Given that the market dynamics in present day Germany does not seem to support true freedom of choice it seems to me that now would be a good time for change in that regard. If breweries like Radeberger and Bitburger can make a business decision to produce craft beer then other businesses can make decisions to improve the availability of beers to their customers. I know that the Berlin Bier Shop is providing more choice to their customers. Hopefully other business entities (including wholesalers) will ‘see the light’ and provide more choices to the German beer drinkers.

It seems to me that you are on the cusp of something in Germany; a beer revolution? Hopefully the traditional beers and traditional breweries will not be ‘overcome’ by what is happening but in the words of Bob Dylan: The times they are a changing.

Cheers!

 

Yeah, I'm not sure I get that 100% either. But I haven't been to the small towns of Franconia and Eastern Bavaria so I will only speak to the example that I know, Düsseldorfer Alt. The four independent Düsseldorf alt pubs give their beers: 1 month (Schumacher), 5 weeks (Füchschen), 8 weeks (Uerige), and 3 months (? this is a guess as Schlüssel doesn't have a "bottled on" date, only a "best before"). Even though I live only 2.25 hours away by train, I will never see any of these beers in my local shops. While that used to bug me, would it be better for them to change the beer for the worse so they can ship it all over Germany? As HB said, these beers are best experienced in the pub, straight from the barrel. It seems to me that this is how the brewers want you to experience it. The bottles are just to hold you over 'til you can get to the pub.

In a related story, I have friends who sadly are moving to the Düsseldorf area this Fall. They were up in the area looking at apartments and (unsolicited!) brought me back a Schumacher, a Schlüssel, and a Füchschen. I'm drinking well this week! I love alts.

 

“While that used to bug me, would it be better for them to change the beer for the worse so they can ship it all over Germany?” For the sake of discussion, let’s utilize the Uerige date of 8 weeks (2 months). I believe that distribution of this beer throughout Germany could be accomplished in 1-2 weeks. For example, I think it is reasonable to assume that a beer from Uerige could be on a beer store’s shelf anywhere in Germany in less than 2 weeks. So, the beer store owner has 6 weeks to sell that beer. That could be the more difficult proposition since there seems to be some aversion by many (most?) German beer drinkers to drink beers that are non-local. As long as the beer can be sold in a timely fashion, there is no reason that this beer could be made available to German beer drinkers with no “change for the worse”. As an example, Stone Brewery is able to sell their IPA Enjoy By with a clearly labeled best by timeframe of 5 weeks. Below are the details on their latest release of this beer:

“Stone Enjoy By 08.02.13 IPA

Style: Double IPA

ABV: 9.4%

Bottled On: 06.28.13

Enjoy By Date: 08.02.13

You have in your hands a devastatingly fresh double IPA. While freshness is a key component of many beers - especially big, citrusy, floral IPAs - we've taken it further, a lot further, in this IPA. You see, we specifically brewed it NOT to last. We've not only gone to extensive lengths to ensure that you're getting this beer in your hands within an extraordinarily short window, we made sure that the Enjoy By date isn't randomly etched in tiny text somewhere on the label, to be overlooked by all but the most attentive of retailers and consumers. Instead, we've sent a clear message with the name of the beer itself that there is no better time than right now to enjoy this IPA.”

You state: “these beers are best experienced in the pub, straight from the barrel. It seems to me that this is how the brewers want you to experience it. The bottles are just to hold you over 'til you can get to the pub.”

I have no quibble with drinking the Dusseldorf style Alt beers at the Pubs. My original post was: “I do not think that a German should be compelled to drive (or take a train) to Dusseldorf to drink a Dusseldorf Alt beer like Uerige.” In other word, give the German beer consumer the choice! If they want to ‘hit the highway’ or take a train then so be it. If they have ‘issues’ whereby they can’t travel for a given beer or beer style, why not give them the opportunity to drink bottled versions in their home? Simply give the beer drinker that choice.

So, because of good friends you have a choice of: “a Schumacher, a Schlüssel, and a Füchschen. I'm drinking well this week! I love alts.” Instead of being beholden to friends, wouldn’t you prefer to walk to your local version of a Berlin Bier Shop and purchase those beers any time you want?

Cheers!