Good German lagers the world doesn't hear about

Quite simply: Everything from franconia. Pretty much.
There are a few bigger breweries that are only "good".And one or two only "decent" country breweries...
But most stuff is very,very good.
My personal favorites include Büchenbacher Beck'n Bier, Leupser Dunkel, Heckel Helles, Kathi Bräu, Aufsesser Dunkles... But there are hundreds of very good ones, in very different strength and colors.
My recommondation would simply be: Travel there, make a Brauereiwanderweg. Seriously, you can walk like 10km in the amazing countryside, try dozens of delicious lagers and sleep at the end of your walk for cheap

 

Löwenbräu (the Buttenheim one) Kellerbier is very underrated. Lovely beer, especially Bayericher Anstich. But there are hundreds of other good ones.

 

huppendorfer vollbier was a new one for me last time I was over and it was ace. Rollberg helles from berlin is a really great beer as well, like others have said, there must be hundreds that never leave their own town/state let alone leave the country

 

Herren Pils was the first thing that came to mind for me, and it isn't even all that obscure.
Greifenklau Lagerbier and (when it's "on") Klosterbrau Braunbier are similarly not well known but beers I really enjoyed.
Near Munich the Forschungs beers are very much under the radar. Their mention in the Beer Drinker's Guide to Munich probably leads to 99% of their non-German tourism.

 

Kneitinger Bock. Lőwenbräu Buttenhëim Kellerbier. Nikl Brau Dunkel. Hofmann Stropfen. Brauerei Reichold Dunkel. Brauerei Reichold Lagerbier. Brauerei Goss Hell. Brauerei Eichhofener Dunkel.

 

Frequently I think the problem isn't necessarily availability, but rather the freshness (or lack thereof) issue. Even stuff that is "fresh" is 6-8 weeks old, which probably lead many a brewer to pasteurization.

 

Monchsambacher by Zehendner was one of my favorites. I see some reviews from stateside pubs, but I've never seen it in the wild. I wonder if those are mistaken with the Monchshof Kellerbiers (which is OK to me).

 

There are so many good ones. We sampled many one day at the Sandkerwa in Bamberg.

The beers are Göller and Kraus near Bamberg were tasty.

Bräuerie Eck in Böbrach Niederbayern makes a very good Dunlel, and he now has a Saphir hoped Heller Bock that was dangerously drinkable.

Schönram has some very well made beers.

When we got to Munich, the Augustiner Helles in the Biergarten was made with excellent skill, but was one dimensional. We preferred the Helles from Franconia more.

 

Jeff, what are your thoughts on the Pilsner?

Cheers!

 

I have been tooting the horn of Eck Bräu's Wilderer Dunkel for some time now, glad someone else got to enjoy it! Did you have it vom Fass? I was only able to sample the bottled version, but I loved it.

@Hoppsbabo have you tried Biershop Bayern (or their Sister Site)? They deliver to the UK, although shipping will no doubt be more of a concern for you that it was for me when I lived in Deutschland. Also try Hier Gibts Bier and there may be others as well. I discovered the Wilderer Dunkel by simply picking it at random from the Brauerei Gasthofe website.

For your list, that hasn't been mentioned yet, I'll add Kneitinger's Dunkel (available from their website) and Klosterbräu's Maibock, which was one of the best beers I've ever had but is only available seasonally and at the restaurant as far as I know.

 

I think ordering from the websites I listed above is a good solution to this. Some places, like Schlenkerla and Kneitinger, will sell direct from their own website. Again, depending on shipping prices to the UK, this could be the way to go.

 

I liked the one I had, Susan had more. We were in that area two days.

 

We have been to the brewery twice now (thanks for the recommendation Ron Pattinson). Vom Fass both times. Bottles are good too, and we brought back one for an old Homebrewing friend who makes a lot of Dunkels, he loved it.

 

And Susan does indeed have a discerning palate.

Cheers!

 

I think most of the popular ones (Weihenstephaner, Spaten, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, Ayinger, Hofbräu, etc.) are stellar, so I really don't feel the need to go looking for anything more, but that's just me. I'm also in the States, where it's really easy to find those I mentioned and not so easy to find others. Maybe when I finally make another Ausflug to Germany, I'll seek out others...

 

Welp, looks like I'll be spending the rest of my evening going through my old Germany beer pictures and reminiscing again!

 

You can get stuff at decent prices here in the UK through those websites, even with delivery added, using hier gibts bier you can get stuff for around £1.60 a bottle, ive also ordered direct from schlenkerla for about £1.50 a bottle

 

Did you visit any of the smaller breweries or Brewery Guest Houses when you were last in Germany? Their beers could really make you wish for something better than what's available in the U.S.