https://craftbeer-munich.com/ I have added this handy guide for the small craft beer places in Munich. Most of them were not in BA´s data base. I had been adding them.
Thanks for the link. It's interesting that just about all of them are on the south side of the city, as if this map was created by the 'South Side Chamber of Commerce.' Do you know if similar maps exist for the other areas of town?
German cities are funny things. It s not like cities in the US. They tend to be much older. In the case of Munich it is a new city. Around 1200 years old. As it grew it ran into other cities which most keep thier own names and borders. Alot of those are in the north. There are thier own governments and dont show up as Munich. It also affects population. Munich boasts only 1.6 milllion people because of this. In reality Munich is over 3 million but those old borders still hold. Au and Sending in the south joined Munich where Dachau and Garching to the north did not. Add that to the north are huge chunks of land belonging to BMW and the massive Olyimpic complex and there is not as much north. I dont even want to get into Munich County borders which will make your head hurt as to what is actually Munich or not. Makes my head hurt. I learned a long time ago just enjoy the beer. Then to make it worst this city has more names than most people know. In English: Munich In German: München In Italian: Monaco di Baviera In French: Munich (but they say it funny) An in Bavarian, well we have our own name: Minga So next time you are at Ayinger or Weihenstephaner and say that you are in Munich don`t be surprised when the locals look at you funny. I don`t think any of this answered your question but it was fun to write.
Interesting info, and nice to know. What you described is typical urban sprawl. There are all kinds of interesting stories around large cities, and Munich is no exception.
Do German beer drinkers use the term "craft beer"? If so, what types of beers do Germans consider to be "craft beer"? Are they 'American' style beers like IPAs, Hazy IPAs, other? Are craft beers becoming more popular (increasing sales amounts) over the past 5-10 years in Germany? Are certain regions of Germany more accepting of "craft beer" than others? You are likely familiar with the 'experiment' of Stone opening up a brewery in Berlin which resulted in them closing that brewery in 2019 (sold to BrewDog). Prost
There isn't really the gap in the market for "craft beer" to fill in Germany in the way that there was in the US. Mass market beer is of very high quality and very cheap. Most people are perfectly happy with it and don't see any reason to pay a substantial price premium for "craft beer". The German "craft brewers" are trying to compete with Bitburger, Augustiner and Rothaus. But their beers cost three times as much in stores. There are a lot of new small breweries. Some are very good, some not so good.
Three times as much at supermarkets. If you count the cans that are only available from specialized craft beer shops, it's more like five times as much. What really bugs me about this is that I keep seeing lager styles dressed up as craft beers that cost the same amount of money. Like, I can see breweries charging more for a double dry-hopped IPA, but why is a Kellerbier 5€ per litre? I also saw some Schlenkerla Rauchbier at my local supermarket the other day at 2.50€ per bottle. There is no way these are more than around 1€ in Bavaria.
But somebody(s) must be buying those beers despite the high(er) prices or otherwise those products wouldn't exist. Do you ever buy them? Because they are different (a break) from typical German lagers? Cheers! @Bavarican @Bavaricana
Craft beer still is, and always will be, a very niche product in Germany. It's basically a luxury good and of course there are people who buy into that. Not that many, I imagine, but obviously enough to keep these relatively small breweries afloat. Given the prices they are charging, I'm sure their margins are significantly higher than those of bigger breweries as well. I used to buy these beers a lot and some of them were pretty good too, although for every great brewery like that there are 3 that make really sub-par to mediocre beer at these outrageous prices and they manage to stay in business somehow. I'm not sure how exactly, but marketing probably has a lot to do with it.
I am not a German resident drinking beers in Germany but I suspect that you are correct that "craft beer" will always be a "niche product" in Germany. It could reasonably be argued that this is also the situation in the US given that most American beer consumers purchase beers like Bud/Bud Light, Coors/Coors Light and increasing Mexican imports like Modelo Especial, Corona,... When Greg Koch had a 'vision' to expose and educate German beer consumers via Stone Berlin he thought that via 'exposure' there would be increasing German consumption of "craft beer" and that these 'educated' German consumers will realize that it is worthwhile to pay more for these 'better' beers. Needless to say but Greg's vision of Stone Berlin was not fully realized and Stone closed that brewery via sale to BrewDog. Do you have any idea whether BrewDog has succeeded where Stone has 'failed'? Are you of the opinion that "craft beer" is increasing in Germany albeit at a very slow rate? Cheers!
I don't think the situation in Germany is even remotely like in America because while light beers may still be more popular than craft beers, you have breweries like Sierra Nevada, Founders, Lagunitas, Stone, New Glarus, Bells, etc. that have a huge distribution footprint and you can basically buy a decent craft beer at any supermarket. Hell, you can buy craft beers at gas stations. Most restaurants have a craft beer option. All of that is unheard of in Germany. Overall, I feel like craft beer is on more of a decline in Germany rather than increasing and Brew Dog has certainly not changed that.
It's all a matter of degree. By volume "craft beer" is less than 20% of the overall beer market in the US. I have no doubt the percentage for "craft beer" in Germany is a lesser value. Still, in the big scheme of things "craft beer" is a minority player in both countries. But "craft beer" is more readily available in the US in a relative sense. Prost! P.S. Earlier today I purchased a six-pack of Augustiner Helles so I am doing my part to support the German beer industry.
But German drinkers would not regard Augustiner as "craft". That's the issue. "Craft" is seen as weird, fancy, expensive stuff.
Here at my huge beverage shop there is one small shelf for what they call craft beers. Mostly made in Bavaria. One or two US ones. Sold mostly as singles. Most Bavarians find a couple of beers they like and then buy them by the rack. Same ones most of the time. About the only time they try new stuff is when they travel.
Yes. I asked in post #6: "...what types of beers do Germans consider to be "craft beer"? Are they 'American' style beers like IPAs, Hazy IPAs, other?" Cheers!
It is pretty much the same. If I wanted These kinds of beers I could go to one of These New brewpubs that has them or in my case the Italian border is about 1.5 hours away. Italian stores have about everything
An expat living in Munich told me that Münchners mostly drink Munich beers from the big 6. They view Ayinger and Weihenstephaner as inferior. You might be as incredulous reading this as I was when I heard it. Craft beer is viewed as a novelty in Germany as far as I can tell. A new brewery like Giesinger has craft beers, but also makes the traditional lagers.
