Replication of Authentic European Styles

Jack, you should get hired as some kind of PA travel or chamber of commerce relocation ambassador. You almost have me convinced to leave Ohio!

 

This 100% for me as well. In my area it is getting harder and harder to find fresh European imports. Much more so than in years past as imports are getting less shelf space and seemingly not moving. Unfortunately most of the highly regarded US brewers mentioned in this thread do not distribute to my area.

 

From my experience most UK and German styles are fairly forgiving as far as water profile. Actually, too many homebrewers go to extremes by "burtonizing" their water too much, etc., and don't account for water treatment by modern Euro brewers. For commercial examples Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold stands out to me as an example of embracing a perceived water profile too much.

 

Well maybe a vacation to the Philly area is in order? There is lots of things to see and do in the greater Philadelphia area (e.g., Independence Hall, Valley Forge Park, etc.) and the fact that there is plenty of locally brewed high quality beer is just part of the 'bonus plan'.

If you have some family/friends coming along who are shopping aficionados you can show them the largest shopping mall (as measured by retail space) in North American: King of Prussia Mall. A shoppers dream!!

Cheers!

 

You're doing it again .

 

Michael, you should visit the Philly area too! Maybe a side trip when you come down to Glassboro.

Are you a shopper!?!

Cheers!

 

ESB is a murky subject as well because it doesn't exist in the UK. Strong ale yes, but that's just a vague term for higher ABV bitter, and that encompasses a host of different colours and flavours. Strong ale is not a cohesive style and certainly not something that could be templated. While plenty of UK ales fall within the pales of the ESB gammut, as a designated style it's an American invention.

 

Water treatment is a 100+ year old science and brewers of all sizes regularly treat their water to get the profiles they want. Even the old classic European brewers treat their water today for consistency. Unique water supplies for brewing may have been a significant factor 200+ years ago, but not so much today. Only homebrewers are impacted by water quality, and even many of them treat their brewing water... it's not a complicated process, even less so for a well-funded and experienced brewery.

 

Ah. No! Water varies throughout Germany. Any water can be reproduced. Process is key.

 

ESB was in fact a name which Fuller's gave to one of their beers with a view to trademarking it.It was never a style in any sense.
A similar thing happened when Fowler's introduced Wee Heavy which was simply a Heavy beer sold in wee (small) bottles.

 

Small brewery in SC called Southern Barrel that does a great Helles Lager and Saison, in cans!

 

Maybe i missed it above but in my opinion for the Northeast at least, Von Trapp and Troegs are nothing compared to Jack's Abby as far as replicated all the classic German lager styles, from Helles to Pilsner to Maibock to Rauchbier to Doppelbock plus many more.....

 

I do not see much Ami efforts beyond lagers and I would rarely call them true to style. The recently released Columbia Bierkeller version of a Rauchbier is very close if not on target to Schlenkerla. While Ami white biers have been debated in several threads here I wish I could find a true to form version in the US. Texas, NC, etc all fall short IMHO.

Amerika is hops, hops, hops. There is so much more....

 

Bierstadt's Slow Pour Pils next time you are in Denver.

 

i am increasingly convinced that the key to good weissbier is proper bottle conditioning. i know of no us brewers who properly perform this technique.

 

I like Jack's Abby a great deal, but I think that Von Trapp's beers are more traditional interpretations of most of the lagers that they attempt. Jack's Abby is doing some really innovative lagers, but I haven't been as impressed with their more straightforward takes on classic styles.

 

I'll second that. Their straightforward beers are fine, but not at that elite level.

Von Trapp, on the other hand, have the nuances and details down pat, and some of them are damn near perfect beers.

 

Allagash and Ommegang make incredibly delicious Belgian style offerings.

For American German style lagers, Victory and Troegs are my go-tos.

 

Plus, if you include retired beers, Von Trapp actually have made as many (or more) different authentic German styles as has Jack's Abby. And I love Jack's Abby beers for what they are, but around here half of the beers they sell are IPL's and Baltic Porters. VT makes an IPL too, but it's their only non authentic offering, and hardly what put them on the map, like Hoponius Union did for JA.

 

If you find a brewery that makes a steam beer using ale yeast (Dampfbier in German) then you know that it's traditional. A relatively newcomer to my area, New Paltz Brewing, really pays homage to the Fatherland and makes a good Keller and nice roggen too.