Hey guys, i'm headed to my factory in Nuertingen for a week 26. I am interested in Lambics, Sours, vintage alt beers, Berliners, anything I cant get here. Let me know if there are any local shops I can try, I know its hard to find "Imported" beers like this in Germany, but id like to get some dialogue going. I'm willing to bring Three Floyds, Founders, Dog Fish Head, etc (quite a collection of stouts too)
There is a wine store in Stuttgart that sells Cantillon, that's the good news. http://www.wein-kreis.de/cgi-bin/shop/iboshop.cgi?show1200500389,243501455020949 The bad news is everything else. I am not a trader and don't have anything that you're looking for. However, for the sake of the conversation I would say your best bet would be to go to a Getränkemarkt (beverage store) and look for something like Andechs, Rothaus, or Stuttgart locals (there are actually a few breweries down that way) that you can't find in the US. I'm curious as to what you mean by "vintage alt". Düsseldorfer Alts ("true" alts, in my mind) have a very short shelf life. If someone offers you a 2008 alt bier I'm not sure you should accept. In terms of a Berliner Weissbier, the only one you are likely to find anywhere in Germany is Berliner Kindl. I have seen on these forums that this is not a true representation of the style, but I don't know much about all that. It will likely be on grocery store shelves and probably in Getränkemärkte as well. The blue label is without flavoring, the red is ... raspberry? strawberry? ... and the green is Waldmeister which I personally did not enjoy but others do. Cheers and enjoy your stay!
dankeschon sehr viel MJ. I should also have said i am looking for Cantillion, Mikkeller, 3 Fonteinen, and Westy. And that I am from Chicago, lots of good stuff here.
You won't find most of those beers in Germany. If you want sour, try Apfelwein, which is also called "Most" in the area you will be in. Succumb to the thought that Belgium is only hours away by train and that this area must have these styles available, because according to Germans, the Beer Devil and the Adjunct Angels are from Belgium. Enjoy some fresh Rothaus Tannenzäpfle as mentioned and look for Gutmann and Alpirsbacher hefeweizen.
Again, why do we keep getting guys coming to Germany looking for Belgian beer? Should I go to Indianapolis expecting Chicago style pizza? Do we need a sticker here stating, "if you want Belgian beer, go to Belgium; if you want German beer, go to Germany"? Or have I simply become too German? Also, what's up with obsession of Americans with Belgian beers? I love 'me, but come on.
I won't say you're "too German" but I do think you're looking at it wrong. He's trying to set up a trade. It's not so unlikely that there's an American living out this way that has some Belgians in his basement, is it?
Truthfully, these days you could -- and maybe that's the root of the problem. Over here you can go to New Jersey and get Uno's Chicago style pizza and come to Chicago and find New York cheese cake. It's a mentality that can only be diffused by experience. Me, I go to Stuttgart and I want Dinkel Acker -- plain and simple!
I didn't get it until I returned from a 16 year stint in Germany in 2008. Never even saw one bottle of Belgian beer having been in 100's of "Getraenkemaerkte" from Flensburg to Füssen.
I completely understand that there is little Belgian beer in DE, the key here is that I am looking for and have trading partners in DE. On my trip there will be little time for traveling.
