Plank does it again...

I love that style!

 

It's pretty nice that we can actually get the Plank beers over here in the US. While I'm sure they aren't as nice as the fresh ones, the bock-strength beers hold up well.

 

I've had others from Stahl's hometown, but haven't seen the Plank -- have to keep my eyes open.

 

Not sure if they're everywhere, but Plank's pretty common out here in CO. We get a pale weizenbock, a dark weizenbock, pale doppelbock, normal weiss, and I've seen the pils here and there.
The pils and dark weizenbock seem to be the least common ones, but the others are at most of our decent local shops.

 

There are a couple places around here that carry a good variety of European beers, including a couple Regensburg breweries, I'll have to check for the Plank.

 

We get Plank down here in SC. I've had the Hefe- and pale Weizenbock and, although I wasn't necessarily blown away, I was very pleased with them. (Never been one to look to be "blown away" anyway.) Plan to go pick some more up soon. Are they freshness-dated? Congrats to the brewer. Prost!

 

Just checked one of the locals that carries some diverse stuff (we have a big Slavic population in our county), no Plank. I'll keep looking.

 

If you come to Michigan near Grand Rapids go to Dills Restaurant and Bar there is Michael Plank on the Bar and same good German food and "die Gemuedlichkeit"

 

Strange, isn't it. Y'all in the USA can get this beer but in Germany, zilch. First, until I saw this post, I hadn't heard of the brewery. 2nd, this is another example of the crappy state of affairs of the German beer industry. They sell Plancks in the USA but the German consumer can't get it here because all you get is the mass produced Radeburger group or In-Bev group beers in the supermarkets or Getränkemarkts (drink markets), but world class beer with great flavor is very hard or impossible to find here in Germany.

Also, for those of worried about "freshness," think Reefers, or refrigerated containers. I doubt the beer will taste any different in the USA or Germany until at least 1 year or more.

 

Did you misspell that or is that how it's really spelled? It's GeMÜTlichkeit. GeMÜDlichkeit would mean "the tiredness," as in a beer that makes you tired. Just asking, b/c a GeMÜDlichkeit beer would be a hilarious name for a beer that was so strong that it knocked you out.

 

I believe you need to motor over to Regensburg to find it. It's a smaller brewery so it hasn't been sucked up by In-Bev -- sort of makes the trip worthwhile.

As to it's availability in the U.S., it's not nearly as widespread as you imply.

If it's been Pasteurized for export it will definitely taste different.

 

Distribution in Germany is horrible
Never heard of these beers until now, Regensburg is a bit away.

Anyone heading to Kassel for Documenta?

 

I suppose it isn't too shocking. Depending on where you are in the US, we get a lot of different German beers and some of them are pretty obscure. If you're living in Munich, you probably don't really care about another weissbier when you have dozens of good ones brewed within 30 miles of you.
Over here it just comes down to what the distributor carries, especially if they're trying to compete.

 

Seems like there is a bit of hype in the U.S. surrounding these beers (and the price can reflect that: $3.49 vs. $1.99 for a Maisels). Every time I see them in the store they are accompanied by the little ratebeer score. Good beers, all of them, but really nothing extraordinary IMO.

 

I remember finding out about Plank from the BA magazine. I think they had (good) reviews for their two weizenbocks in the very first issue. Locally they tend to sit on the shelf, although I buy the dark weizenbock often enough. There aren't enough of those. I did a side-by-side with Aventinus, and it was good, but I still preferred the Aventinus. However the Plank is a little cheaper...and different in a good way. It's one of those beers where the hops come across as a strong herbal note.

 

I just picked up some of the Weltenburger beers from a local grocery that caters to immigrants (and that is not to be derogatory in any way -- they have a great variety of different foods that my wife and I enjoy trying all the time). The Weltenburgers were all $3.50 like the Plank, but well worth it for a .5l bottle.

I haven't seen Maisels in some time, but the Reißdorf Kölsch I bought the other day was around $3 here and the Hofbräu Helles was about $2. I'm guessing that the bigger names, with greater distribution, may be able to price lower.

 

Freibier für Alles!!

 

Almost 2 months later? He's probably out of beer!