Any bier drinkers?

[Art0ir]

I was exposed to the wonders of what 500 years of the Reinheitsgebot can produce two years ago and since then haven't been able to stomach the drain water that passes for "beer" or "lager" in UK bars.

Current favourites are pils (Hoepfner, Warsteiner and Bitburger) and weissbier (Erdinger, Oettinger, Kaltenberg and Hofmann.)

Any other fans on PH?

Edited by Art0ir on Wednesday 6th March 15:52

[Vaggingquick]

Yes ,but it would be very expensive as they are specical lagers.

[NAS]

I live in the place, so i drink it all the time.

Random German beer fact -> Oettinger is 6 euros a case (20*0.5l) here. It's the best selling beer in Germany as *all* the students drink it because of this.

http://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/2164...

[Art0ir]

NAS said:

I live in the place, so i drink it all the time.

Random German beer fact -> Oettinger is 6 euros a case (20*0.5l) here. It's the best selling beer in Germany as *all* the students drink it because of this.

http://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/2164...

I spent my time mainly in Thüringen so the beer was very cheap thankfully! I also thought the deposit on glass bottles worked perfectly with the street drinking laws (carry on chaps). Nothing better than an afternoon with a case of the finest,leaving the house with one for the tram and then leaving the empty outside the bar for the homeless to collect and pay for their dinner with.

[bicycleshorts]

Ultimately, most mainstream "lagers" are st. They're nearly all brewed in the UK now, under license, and for the most part not very well. San Miguel tastes better in Spain, Stella tastes better in Belgium, 1664 tastes better in France, etc.

Your choices are:
- Drink beers which actually have been imported. Check the labels for where they were brewed. Most of the time, the price difference is fairly small.
- Drink lagers which have been "microbrewed", e.g. Brewdog 77/West St Mungo/Harviestoun Schiehallion to name a few Scottish ones.
- Drink Real Ale, though it has twigs in it

In terms of German beer, we had a trip to Cologne last year. I wouldn't say the city was much to rave about, felt very touristy. Trying all the different Kolsch beers was great though! Schneider Weisse and Paulaner also have a nice selection and are fairly easy to get hold of.

If you're ever in Edinburgh; try Brauhaus or Caley Sample Rooms - they both have a big selection of German beers (more at Brauhaus, but Caley is a nicer pub).

[krallicious]

Art0ir said:

I was exposed to the wonders of what 500 years of the Reinheitsgebot can produce two years ago and since then haven't been able to stomach the drain water that passes for "beer" or "lager" in UK bars.

Current favourites are pils (Hoepfner, Warsteiner and Bitburger) and weissbier (Erdinger, Oettinger, Kaltenberg and Hofmann.)

Any other fans on PH?

Edited by Art0ir on Wednesday 6th March 15:52

So you swapped English drain water for the German equilviant? You were in Frankonia and didn't try any of the locally brewed dark biers? Go back and try again. And Bitburger, really? There is a reason everyone in Frankfurt drinks Appelwoi and thats because the local bier is crap.

[poprock]

My local pub is the only UK brewery making all their beer to the Reinheitsgebot and their brews are all bloody glorious.

[Art0ir]

krallicious said:

So you swapped English drain water for the German equilviant? You were in Frankonia and didn't try any of the locally brewed dark biers? Go back and try again. And Bitburger, really? There is a reason everyone in Frankfurt drinks Appelwoi and thats because the local bier is crap.

maybe so, I wasn't there for as long I would have liked sadly. Still a vast improvement on what is offered domestically here.

[NAS]

krallicious said:

There is a reason everyone in Frankfurt drinks Appelwoi and thats because the local bier is crap.

Binding

[bicycleshorts]

poprock said:

My local pub is the only UK brewery making all their beer to the Reinheitsgebot and their brews are all bloody glorious.

West?

[poprock]

bicycleshorts said:

West?

Of course, yep.

[mizx]

The Reinheitsgebot is a bit meaningless anyway http://www.europeanbeerguide.net/reinheit.htm

There's some stagnation in German brewing and unwillingness to experiment with different styles, there'd probably be a hundred new styles if someone bothered look at some of the old recipies. You've got near extinct styles like Gose, and how many of even the world class German/Bavarian breweries produce more or less identical ranges. Though I've read that some are certainly aware of this problem, if it is one; this isn't to say I and many others don't love what they are doing.

Those are ok but not finest examples of German pilsners, better than any adjunct macro stuff mind. Mahr's and Neumarkter Lammsbrau pils are some of the best I've had if you can find them, Helles is worth a look too (more about malt than hops as with a pilsner), Mahr's and Augustiner are good ones. There's no excuse not to pick up Weihenstephaner hefeweiss as it's so easy to get, there are others every bit as good but might not be easy to find, I really like Kapuziner and anything from Schneider in particular. Definately consider some other styles like Altbiers, Helles, Bocks, Kellerbiers, Weizenbocks, Dunkels and Schwartzbiers the best thing to do is just see what is available locally (or online).

Edited by mizx on Thursday 7th March 14:17

[Art0ir]

mizx said:

The Reinheitsgebot is a bit meaningless anyway http://www.europeanbeerguide.net/reinheit.htm

There's some stagnation in German brewing and unwillingness to experiment with different styles, there'd probably be a hundred new styles if someone bothered look at some of the old recipies. You've got near extinct styles like Gose, and how many of even the world class German/Bavarian breweries produce more or less identical ranges. Though I've read that some are certainly aware of this problem, if it is one; this isn't to say I and many others don't love what they are doing.

Those are ok but not finest examples of German pilsners, better than any adjunct macro stuff mind. Mahr's and Neumarkter Lammsbrau pils are some of the best I've had if you can get them, Helles is worth a look too (more about malt than hops as with a pilsner), Mahr's and Augustiner are great examples. There's no excuse not to pick up Weihenstephaner hefeweiss as it's so easy to get, there are others every bit as good but might not be easy to find (anything from Schneider in particular). The best thing to do really is get whatever is available locally (or online), definately take a look at other styles like Altbiers, Helles, Bocks, Kellerbiers, Weizenbocks, Dunkels and Schwartzbiers though.

I agree it's not the be all and end all of brewing, I just like what it has produced (even with it's various modifications) without endless chemical additives seen in UK beer (or even "German" beer brewed in the UK).

Thanks for the suggestions, will investigate if I can get them locally or import easily.

[Riff Raff]

Art0ir said:

I spent my time mainly in Thüringen so the beer was very cheap thankfully! I also thought the deposit on glass bottles worked perfectly with the street drinking laws (carry on chaps). Nothing better than an afternoon with a case of the finest,leaving the house with one for the tram and then leaving the empty outside the bar for the homeless to collect and pay for their dinner with.

I hear Thüringen and I think sausages. Not the crap we get over here, but proper sausages. With bier of course.

[Art0ir]

Riff Raff said:

Art0ir said:

I spent my time mainly in Thüringen so the beer was very cheap thankfully! I also thought the deposit on glass bottles worked perfectly with the street drinking laws (carry on chaps). Nothing better than an afternoon with a case of the finest,leaving the house with one for the tram and then leaving the empty outside the bar for the homeless to collect and pay for their dinner with.

I hear Thüringen and I think sausages. Not the crap we get over here, but proper sausages. With bier of course.

€2 hangover cures in a crusty bap. Superb.

[Dogwatch]

bicycleshorts said:

- Drink beers which actually have been imported.

Last bottle of Cobra I saw was brewed in Poland....

[bicycleshorts]

Dogwatch said:

bicycleshorts said:

- Drink beers which actually have been imported.

Last bottle of Cobra I saw was brewed in Poland....

Cobra has a weird enough history without involving Poland... Wonder why they've done that!

[kiteless]

Riff Raff said:

I hear Thüringen and I think sausages. Not the crap we get over here, but proper sausages. With bier of course.

O/T, but are you really suggesting that we - as a country - can't produce top drawer bangers? If so, I suggest a visit to your nearest butcher.

I've tried Bratwurst in Germany and it's ok, but the steering committee was stationed in Germany for many years and she still rates proper British bangers as better than any wurst you care to mention.

Anyway.

German lagers? Delicious. Hasseroder being a particular favourite, along with Erdinger Dunkel and Maisels Weiss.

[Adenauer]

Warsteiner for me. I can't stomach Oettinger, it turns me into a walking gas tank.

[mnkiboy]

Love Maisels Weiss. Had a tour of the brewery a few years ago by a very jolly red faced German guy! I quite literally bought the T-shirt.

Also Augustiner Helles is a lovely drink, though not many places stock it. I only know of one bar in Manchester that sells it, and last time I was in it was £4.20 a bottle!