When my wife’s friend visits us from Germany, she, naturally, laughs at what we drink. And when my wife visits her there, the beer they drink down at the pub is nothing my wife has ever heard of.
Are there any German beers that Germans drink on a regular basis at home (i.e., that they consider to be non-crap) that is available in the US? I know my wife’s friend has nodded approvingly at Pilsner Urquell and Budweiser (thinking it was the Czech one, not the American one), and she won’t throw away a Heineken, but none of those are German beers. What domestic beers are Germans drinking?
But those are generally consider to be okay but not great beers in Germany. And they can taste a bit off when consumed here, since they may have sat a bit longer or not been tended properly. I’d take a different tack and find a good microbrewery somewhere close to Toadspittle Hill.
No argument there, but that wasn’t the question asked.
toadspittle, you realize, of course, that the only way to insure a steady supply of good German-style beer for TWF (toadspittle’s wife’s friend) is to brew your own!
Oh, that I’ve done already. Only ales, though. (And a lot of cider…this is apple country.) Didn’t have time this fall to brew a lager (my basement is actually cold enough for lagering…).
But, yes, not the question asked. Any Germans here? Spechen sie Dope?
In most German cities the dominating breweries are local or at best regional. Few of those are available nationwide - let alone internationally. There are a few brands that can be found in all reasonable supermarkets or gas stations: Warsteiner, Krombacher, Beck’s, Veltins, Jever, Paulaner… Those are beers that you will rarely find on tap outside their hometowns. They are for home use - or for some places that serve only bottled beer and aren’t really pubs or restaurants (cinemas…)
Of those I prefer the Jever or perhaps the Veltins and I hate Beck’s with passion, but you will easily find someone who argues the other way.
Hmm. Plenty of Germans visiting here are very receptive to the local ales & bitters, fully appreciating that they work from the same principles, with the same brewing skills, and they drink them quite happily, often very happily. Maybe yours just weren’t very good? (Or, maybe they were just determined to be snooty about anything?)
We have an excellent beer store here with about 600 labels, of which probably 60 or so are German. I find myself most commonly going for the Jever or Warsteiner. If you don’t specifically need the beers to be German but just want something good there’s been an explosion in the importation of Belgian beers of late. Honestly a lot of small American breweries are doing a fine job these days… as was the case many decades ago when European immigrants were brewing great local stuff here before the McBeer giants took over…
löwenbräu is a decent beer, brewed in munich, that is available at every beer store & lcbo in ontario, at least… not sure if it’s as available through the rest of north america, but if so, is worth trying out if you are an enjoyer of the lagers.
Celebrator Dopplebock is one of the finest German beers available in Germany, and you can find it in some U.S. stores if you are lucky. Another to look out for is Aventinus. They make lots of great products, especially their Heife-Dopplebock.
Try looking for Trumer Pils. They have opened a second Trumer Brauerei in Berkeley, CA ( the original is in Salzburg) and by all accounts they make an excellent European pilsner. If she likes PU she’ll probably like Trumer.
I remember Henninger and Koenigsbacher from a long ago visit to Germany; I would love to try them again to see if they were as good as I think they were.
(Jeez that’s a torturous way of saying I need to go back to Germany).
Not necessarily a Great German Beer, but an everyday beer that was pretty popular in Hessen was Römer Pils. I saw it once in a store offered as an import. But it’s not exactly a good pick- it’d be comparable to you going to Germany and being offered a Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch). Sort of anticlimatic.
DAB beer (Dortmunder Actien Brauerei) is a pretty popular German import around here, I imagine it is a mundane everyday beer in Germany.
I still swear by the New Zealand import, Steinlager. Although not a German beer, it’s a great German style lager that would be familiar to and satisfy even the pickiest German palate. It is full bodied yet very clean and refreshing. Definitely a world class beer. You might introduce her to it, chances are she hasn’t had it.
Oh yeah, I forgot about DAB, excellent beer, just make sure you buy it in the fully enclosed 12 packs and keep it out of light. It goes skunky in about 3.5 minutes.
Most of the good German beers aren’t readily available in the US, unfortunately. It’s hard to even find a Krombacher in the US, which is (IMO) the best large brewery pilsner. (There are some pilsners that are better, but usually from smaller, localized breweries.)
The thing I’m going to miss is the ability to get good CHEAP beer when I go back to the uS. When I go to the store, I pick up a crate of twenty (yes, 20) half liter bottles of darn good beer for about 12 Euro. Imagine being able to buy five six-packs of outstanding beer for only $15. In the US, beer of this quality usually runs about $6.75 a six-pack. Oh how I’ll miss German beer for cheap!
(Or, maybe they were just determined to be snooty about anything?)