Heading Back to Munich/Bamberg at last

OK I went back to the Galleria department store in Munich today. Actually I went to the one at Karlsplatz, which is 5 minutes away from the one at the Marienplatz. They do have beer in the gourmet food section on the basement level. They offer craft beer from other countries, as well as domestics from other countries, and lots of varieties of German beer. I wasn't that impressed with what they had, though. Didn't see anything special, although maybe I didn't know what to look for, as it was my first time in Germany. I should have researched beforehand but I mostly saw the usual suspects and some of the bottles were collecting dust, so I didn't take anything home.

On my trip to Munich, the best beer I had was a Doppelbock Dunkel at Andechser Am Dom (from Kloster Andechs monastery). 2nd best was a St. Jakobus Blonder Bock from Forschungsbrauerei. Had a few Augustiner, Ayinger, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbrauhaus but none of those really impressed me although most were solid. Overall in Munich it seems like they have a lot of solid beer, and there is something to be said about doing things right after a thousand years or experience, but the innovation is just not there IMO. By the end of my week there, I found myself longing for an American IPA like Jai Alai or something from my local brewery, Funky Buddha. I had a feeling this would happen...

 

In FFM's Galleria Kaufhof, Sierra Nevada's Topedo and the line up of Samuel Smith. For us in Germany, that's a lot,... no irony.

Guess what it feels like after being here 5 years? That's why I homebrew. Actually, there are some online sites to buy some IPAs and hoppy beers, and... there are now some indigenous German craft brewers jumping on the bandwagon. Come back in 10 years and I predict the place will be crawling the stuff.

 

Lord hear my prayer. Please let him be wrong!

 

When I first moved to Germany, I was constantly craving big flavors in almost everything: spicy Mexican food, sharp cheddar cheese, and even Sweet 16 donuts. I really believe that it may take some serious immersion in the German food and drink culture to truly appreciate the nuanced flavors that comprise their daily staples (of which beer is one). After having lived there for 7 years (and now being back in the States for over a decade), instead of craving big, bold flavors, I instead find myself craving the "simple" flavors of a crisp, fresh Kaiserbroetchen with mild Butterkaese; a lightly spiced, air-cured Landjaeger sausage with a simple slice of buttered farmers bread; a fresh, whole-milk yogurt with whatever seasonal fruit is available; or a (compared to U.S. desserts, barely sweet) piece of Mohnkuchen (poppyseed cake) for dessert.

Say what you will about "innovation" being lacking or the absence of a "wow" factor, but Germany has really nailed the art of producing food and beer in its most elemental form and in a way very, very few other countries or cultures have. And around that they have built locally focused distribution systems, consumer-protection "laws," and traditional tavern and biergarten cultures that ensure a simplicity, purity, and freshness in nearly everything they serve. So if you're seeking a thrill with every 12 oz. you order -- sure, you may be disappointed. But if, like me, you have come to appreciate and, yes, crave, beers that are, to quote Ron P., "bereft of pretension, unassuming, self-effacing even. But...that satisfy. That d[o]n't just hit the spot, more beat it senseless," then Bavaria can be a beer paradise. And, like sergeantstogie, I pray that the place retains its focus on simplicity, purity, and freshness.

 

Tonight I drank a homebrewed Kolsch beer made with 100% German ingredients: German Kolsch/Pilsner malt, German hops, and German sourced Kolsch yeast. That beer was a tasty beer and a beer of beauty! I thoroughly enjoyed drinking that beer.

I also drank a hombrewed IPA (all Centennial Hops) and an Ithaca Flower Power IPA. Both beers were excellent American style IPAs and they were both very tasty beers!

Yup, I do enjoy drinking German style Kolsch beers and I do enjoy drinking American style IPAs (homebrewed and US craft brewed). Good beer is good beer!

Na Zdrowie!

 

Scott - this is an excellent, very astute post on a number of different levels. You have captured perfectly what I suspect is the way many of us Germany forum readers think and feel. Thanks for posting it. And BTW, your timing was perfect for me since I will be in Germany in 2 weeks visiting family in Unterfranken and Hessen.

 

“I think this time I'm actually going to bring a can or two of Modus Hoperandi with me just to get it out of my system.” Thanks for that tip!!

When I win the lottery and travel to Germany/Czech Republic, etc. I think I will bring a few cans of Heady Topper with me. Is there a German saying similar to vive la différence!?!

Cheers!

 

You make some great points here. I truly enjoyed the fresh cheese, sausage, various other meats, bread and I enjoyed the beer as well during my 8 days in Germany. As I mentioned, there is something to be said about the way they do things the right way in Germany and have 1,000 years experiencing doing them. You are spot on about the simplicity, purity, and freshness of the food and beer. I did miss the bold flavor of American beers, though. That's all I'm saying.

 

Thanks, and for what it's worth, I'm with you. I never fully kicked my craving for American C-hops while I was over there or Mexican food...despite many restaurants claiming they made "authentic" stuff). What gets to me is when people level the claim that because there is little in the way of U.S. "craft innovation" going on, that the beer culture is somehow the worse for it. Why introduce innovation to styles you've perfected? (Moreover, as Bodd rightly points out, there is quite a bit of experimentation with U.S. hops going on already, and the trend is growing.) Cheers!

 

Why.... read this again.

I posted this yesterday in another thread, my translation of an article from Bier & Brauhaus magazine.
The point of this article, which one no one except MJ has seem to seen , is that this describes the 95% of Germany that isn't Franken, München, and a few tiny towns and minor cities in Bayern. What you Scott are yearning for is extremely artery clogging food (yes, I love it!) and beer that 99% of real Germans can't get and probably wouldn't drink except on vacation because it didn't taste like their local that their Opa also drank. Yes, that 1% is great beer from Bayern, but it's 1) not representative of beer life in Germany, and 2) this article describe the bland boringness that is the German beer market. I find it sad but ironic that so many "beer-tourist" think what you find in those quaint towns is what German beer is.

But before I get to that article, why do y'all get so defensive that Germans want more than just the few varieties offered here? Why shouldn't they also yearn for beer with other flavors and get to explore the great variety that beer offers life? Again, it sounds like a tourist bemoaning progress when he visits the quaint village; whereas the locals who live there wish for modern life and variety of an international marketplace. What right do we have to tell Germans what they're allowed or not allowed to drink? Seriously, Germans adopted Pizza, lots of different American foods, Döner, etc, and there's still great German food restaurants by the 1,000s. Geesh.

The article is from Bier & Brauhaus' regular column: "Boris' Biertests" by Boris Georgiev.

On certain private broadcasters there are a lot of shows with great formats that show what professional helpers can bring about in people with problems. It may be that in a week, a pedant [neat freak] is made out of a Messie [compulsive hoarder], or a run-down French fry stand is transformed into a 3-star restaurant in three days, or on the fly a militant youth becomes a model member of society. But exactly this method is what we also want to apply to the German beer landscape: to develop within a week of a TV-commercial-driven, run of the milldishwater-beer [I}Fernsehspot-gesteuerter Einheits-plörre[/I] to elite beer. Amazing really that Germans, who's favorite drink is beer, don't have a TV show dedicated it. The "Beer Hit Parade", "The Brewery Testers," "Criminal Case: Beer" or "Germany Seeks the Superstar-Beer" [Germany's version of American Idol would be just some of the opportunities. Probably what stands in the way of such formats is that German brewers are very reluctant for us to peer inside their boiler. I have several times during my research only harvested silence from them. Even simple questions such as which malts and hops are used are shot down by beer producers and referred to as trade secrets. Often one might come back with: "Guys, you're brewing here08/15-Pils [nominal quality," used today as an adjective to denote something totally ordinary and lacking in originality or specialness."] that tastes just like 95 others I know. And you act as if you had found the philosopher's stone." Even with knowledge of the precise recipe: would someone really want to make the 97th same tasting beer? Presumably, this primal fear of German brewers dates back to the Middle Ages, when there was a really worthy of protection brewing secret in Einbeck [for Bock beer] to be maintained. (see Jürgen Ebertowski's book The Legacy of the Master Brewer).​

I had sort of the opposite experience some time ago in a brewery in Denmark. When visiting this neighboring country, I had already often found that the brewers are clearly full of information there.They proudly told me what specific hop varieties they use and with which barley they mix this or that to achieve taste. However, their background [of the brewers] is generally quite different: while most German brewers went through the classical training, the Danish mostly come from the hobby brewing scene.​

Anyway, I had tasted a fantastic beer in this a small brewery. It was so good that I thought: I would love to brew this myself. So I sent an e-mail to the brewery with a request for a few tips. The next day I received a nice response and in an attachment the entire (!) recipe provided with the note: "You just have to divide everything by 200." The amount should be by 200 because the brewery has a 6000-liter brew pot and I have a 30-liter pot. I was very impressed by that. They even answered more specific questions about malt and hops I had in detail and mentioned several alternatives. These manufacturers know well that,]as a micro brewery, I'm no threat or competition, and probably are even proudthat they find imitators due to their beer being perceived so well.​

A hobby brewer is probably fundamentally different in make up than the professional brewer, for his career is made from a hobby, which is overwhelming done as a calling with enthusiasm. Perhaps it would do many German brewers good to grab a pot and learn how beer is actually brewed.​

We take a look today at what smaller and newer breweries in Germany and abroad have accomplished.[4 beers are subsequently reviewed: Germany's Häffner Bräu's "Hopfenstopfer Incredible Pale Ale," Germany's Kehrwieder's "Prototyp" Starkbier, Poland's AleBrowar's "Rowing Jack" IPA, & Chili's Kross' "5" Starkbier.​

 

As my wife and I contemplate retirement, and where to spend it, we often think of Italy and France (my wife's choices, and I'd be in vacation distance to many of my favorite beers -- not to mention I love both countrysides and I am an artist) as options, but we aren't concerned too much about cuisine because we cook -- a rarity among Americans these days, I know, but we love the process and results -- to be blunt, we're pretty damned good.

Now, ingredients could be a problem (which may be a problem for restaurants attempting authentic recipes), but I have to think we could get all of the spices and vegetables we'd need for my award winning chili and my wife's chicken enchiladas -- among other recipes. Off to prep Greek chicken as we speak!

Uh, does Weber sell their grills in Europe?

 

As a Texan, I don't think Mexican food even translates well in NY, hell, anywhere north of Oklahoma or east of Louisiana.

 

Saw a bunch in a German hardware store just today as a matter of fact!

 

Wait...you don't want to deny Germans the right to fulfill their yearnings for flavorful "Mexican" food (despite the fact that German takes on the style resemble the authentic stuff in only the most tangential of ways), do you?

 

My hometown of Waukegan, IL supposedly has the biggest Mexican population this side of Texas. We gots some goood Mexican -- and I been learnin'!

 

Pics, dude, pics. (Bitte.)

 

Much of my wife's family lives in Brownsville TX. The food there is more Mex-Tex than Tex-Mex. I hope you know what I mean.

When living in Germany we found an "OK" place in Mainz run by a Hispanic serviceman who stayed.

 

I absolutely know what you mean! The best Chicken Enchiladas in green tomato (tomatillo) sauce that I ever had was in two restaurants: one in South Padre Island, TX and the other was in Matamoros, Mexico. Mexican food is real tasty down there. Unfortunately when I was down there the beer was just AAL type beers.

Cheers!