What Europe needs more of: microbrews

Sure, plenty of good beers come from Europe. But my favorites tend to be ales, and the continent just doesn’t make many of those (this is one of the reasons I’m sad we won’t be moving to Ireland).

But here in the northwest United States, microbrews are everywhere. The variety is staggering. And delightful. Bars with 30+ beers on tap are common, and the best part is that if you don’t know what you want, the bartenders tend to be very knowledgeable about the differences between, say, the 5 brown ales on tap. Sweet.

The grocery stores also have some lovely variety, but without the accompanying helpful personnel. Leaving outsiders like me to choose based on label alone… which is why so many brands distinguish themselves with memorable ale names such as Moose Drool or Yellow Snow. Good stuff.

14 thoughts on “What Europe needs more of: microbrews”

  1. I think you should try a “Dunkles” in Munich. Also we have about 3,000 breweries or so in Germany. Give them a chance.

  2. Beer brewing as one of the last “polypols” in Germany. Thousands of brewers serve the market. No one is big. Only in towns with bad local beer you find “microbrews”. Like in Freiburg i. Breisgau: The local “Ganter” is bad, so you have 3-4 local microwbrews instead. Having microbrews in a German town always means that the big local company has got a bad beer.

  4. I recommend the following link:
    A list of just the Bavarian breweries, divided into the different Bavarian regions:

    http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_der_Brauereien_in_Bayern

    Munich belongs to the region “Oberbayern” with 71 breweries alone.

    The favorite brewery of many people in Munich is Augustiner, producing the following beers (since 1328):
    Edelstoff, Lagerbier Hell, Oktoberfestbier, Pils, Maximator, Augustiner Dunkel, Heller Bock, Augustiner Weißbier

    Who the heck needs microbrews with this variety?

  5. Ah Oregon… It’s been a decade (yikes!) since I was last there and I’ve never been back – not becasue I didn’t love it – I did … but for other reasons. Hope you have a great time.

  6. Couldn’t agree more. I like dark beers with a lot of body – and there isn’t as much variety in the styles. I wouldn’t mind half as much if there were stores that carried “exotics” but there aren’t.

  11. Yes, I wholeheartedly agree with that – Switzerland and Germany are worlds apart when it comes to beer. The Swiss are about as good at beer as the Italians, I think…

  12. …that said, it would still make me happy if Germany produced a good amber ale or two. You know, for when I get tired of Weißbier… but I’m not even sure whether those would be allowed under the Reinheitsgebote?

    But hey, at least it gives me a little something to look forward to when visiting the US. 🙂

  13. In Munich most people prefer Helles and not Weißbier. Personally I am not really a fan of Weißbier.

    If you like Ales you should also try a “Dunkles” (but not a “dunkles Weißbier”!) in Munich – or maybe an “Alt”, a beer from Düsseldorf (made by several breweries) – that you can also get in Munich in some places and supermarkets – the “Alt” comes quite close to an Ale, I would even say that “the body is richer”. Or as the people in Düsseldorf say in a popular song: “Ja steh ich im Wald hier, wo bleibt denn mein Alt-Bier? Wir haben in Düsseldorf die längste Theke der Welt…” (“Am I standing here in the woods? When will my Alt-beer finally come? We have in Düsseldorf the longest bar in the world…” – as a reference to the Altstadt filled with pubs and bars)
    I recommend the following link (Wikipedia has an article about Altbier), look at it and tell me if you get already thirsty or not:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altbier

  14. By the way: the term “Altstadt” in Düsseldorf does officially not refer to the “Alt”-beer but to the old part of the city, even if it is a city in itself filled with beer places.

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