Found this yesterday on a well know FB group. (screenshot of the top10 only)
Good beers indeed, but only Uerige is in my personal top10 (Doppel alt and Sticke auf jeden Fall).
I think some very top-beer is missing here like Schönramer Grünhopfen Pils, Buddelship Mr.B and Schlenkerla Märzen (ja, maybe the latter not enough craft for the hipster horde).
What is your opinion on that? Which are the beers that make you proud to be German Ambassador when trading?
I’d definitely add stuff by Ayinger and Heller/Schlenkerla, as well as a lot of Frankonian lager. Apart from that, FrauGrubers Green is Lord is close to the perfect modern Pale Ale. I’ve never had half of the newer breweries that get so hyped up in that group at the moment. But thanks to you, I’ll get into that soon.
The big problem is that most Germans would not think of Schlenkerla, Ayinger, or any other “classic Lager brewery” as a “Craft brewery”, which can be seen in countless discussions with actual brewers. The hip “craft” brewers seem to be not satisfied with having good beer, but need to define a “we” and a “they”, which of course follows a different procedure than it did in the US when craft brewers first showed up.
Except for Marlene and Uerige, there is no beer I would say to be very outstanding on the list. And none of the two make it too high up on my favourites list.
Not counting the Lager & Weizen breweries of Bavaria and Franconia, the best German “craft” beer is Flügge Fränk for me, followed by Schneeeule Otto, Hoppebräu PX, FrauGruber Pleased to Meet you (this year’s batch), Schneeeule / h.ertie Weisse Geuze Yasmin.
The other spots are filled up by Aventinus & Tap X Nelson Sauvin, all the Hallerndorf breweries, Spezial, Griess, Seinsheimer, etc, so all the Franconian suspects, plus Lingl Zoigl from Windischeschenbach. Many of these cannot be traded because they don’t exist in bottles.
There is a lot of hazebro-ing going on in that group, with the occasional pastry-stout-rage. And the accompanying traditionalist outrage over beer with aroma.
Oh, and I’ve had a long discussion about remembering the holocaust and forced labour that ended in someone saying “Deutschland war das erste Opfer. Ich will selber festlegen dürfen, wem ich wo and wann gedenke!”
Viel Quatsch. Aber das spiegelt ja die Meinung der Masse wieder. Wir hier bewegen uns ja doch in anderen Kreisen. Dies zeigt allein die Kategorie Lambic.Und das Augustiner Edelstoff die Kategorie Helles gewinnt ist auch grandios.
Ich finde den Pool von Hopfenhelden lächerlich. Es ist doch Geschmackssache, aber beim Hellen dürfen Witzgall und Mönchsambacher niemals fehlen. Und beim IPA die leckere Kreationen von Yankee&Kraut. Aber ja, wie @rhoihessegold korrekt gesagt hat:
Diese Liste ist ziemlich “elitär” und hat mit “dem wahren Leben” nix zu tun. Diese “Craft-Beer-Nerds” sind so abgehoben, saß es ihnen im Traum nicht einfallen würde, einmal nach Franken zu fahren, denn Schlenkerla gibt es ja überall…. Wer aber noch nie beim Witzgall, Lieberth , Zehender oder Heckel war, sollte sich nicht zu weit aus dem Fenster lehnen…