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I'm not sure why Germany has the reputation as making great beers, it doesn't really. I live there and the range and quality are both poor. You'll do better imm

I'm not sure why Germany has the reputation as making great beers, it doesn't really. I live there and the range and quality are both poor. You'll do better immediately in the Czech Republic, Belgium or even the Netherlands. The UK and Ireland also have strong craft beer cultures now, though the US certainly has had a big head start over them.

ericmay 7y ago
I just came back from the UK and Ireland. The craft beers were pretty average compared to what I get in the US but I’m sure they’ll continue to improve. It’s honestly just average craft beer in the US. It’s been a few years since I was in the Netherlands so I don’t remember much but I don’t remember any good beers. Maybe they’re make good ones now but I didn’t have any when I was there. Germany gets a good reputation because they make a certain type of beer extremely well, like Belgium makes Belgians extremely well.
Mediterraneo10 7y ago
> I'm not sure why Germany has the reputation as making great beers. German brewers of mass-produced beer still stuck to the requirements of the German beer purity law when elsewhere, such as in the USA, brewers were putting rice and maize into their beer to cut costs.
- m0zg 7y ago
  As a brewer myself, it's not always to cut costs. Some of the best IPAs available legitimately require oatmeal in the mash (mash is the grain combined with hot water at a precise temperature to allow enzymes to extract and convert the sugars). In this case it's not done to cut cost, it improves the beer. Mass produced stuff like Budweiser isn't really beer IMO. It's something else entirely.
  - Mediterraneo10 7y ago
    You are right of course that some added ingredients beyond barley, hops, yeast, and water can lead to good beers. The German beer purity law is too restrictive in that no added sugar is permitted, while this is a major part of the Belgian tradition. However, rice and maize are not those kind of ingredients.

ericmay 7y ago

I just came back from the UK and Ireland. The craft beers were pretty average compared to what I get in the US but I’m sure they’ll continue to improve. It’s honestly just average craft beer in the US. It’s been a few years since I was in the Netherlands so I don’t remember much but I don’t remember any good beers. Maybe they’re make good ones now but I didn’t have any when I was there. Germany gets a good reputation because they make a certain type of beer extremely well, like Belgium makes Belgians extremely well.

Mediterraneo10 7y ago

> I'm not sure why Germany has the reputation as making great beers. German brewers of mass-produced beer still stuck to the requirements of the German beer purity law when elsewhere, such as in the USA, brewers were putting rice and maize into their beer to cut costs.

m0zg 7y ago
As a brewer myself, it's not always to cut costs. Some of the best IPAs available legitimately require oatmeal in the mash (mash is the grain combined with hot water at a precise temperature to allow enzymes to extract and convert the sugars). In this case it's not done to cut cost, it improves the beer. Mass produced stuff like Budweiser isn't really beer IMO. It's something else entirely.
- Mediterraneo10 7y ago
  You are right of course that some added ingredients beyond barley, hops, yeast, and water can lead to good beers. The German beer purity law is too restrictive in that no added sugar is permitted, while this is a major part of the Belgian tradition. However, rice and maize are not those kind of ingredients.