german-beers

Despite the growing popularity of beer cocktails, the almost limitless combinations make it feel like we’ve only just begun to taste what’s possible.

Spring is an underappreciated time to be a beer drinker in America. Its seasonal releases lack the malty heft of fall brews or the gooey complexity of winter beers, never mind the richness of their packaging. A snow-coated landscape or a roaring fire will do it for winter releases, a pile of multicolored leaves or…

Never mind the name — the Berliner Weisse style of beer most likely originated in Hamburg, 180 miles northwest of the German capital with which it eventually became associated.It was in Hamburg sometime in the 17th century that brewers began, unwittingly or not, introducing lactic-acid bacteria into a beer they were making with the copious…

Time was that brewers in Northern Europe, particularly in what became Germany, could not brew decent beer past March or so. Why? Because the warming weather would render most fermentation vessels welcoming hot tubs for airborne bacteria that had been just waiting for the colder temps to dissipate.So brewers in the pre-refrigeration era would concoct…

Once upon a time in the late 19th century, the straw-colored, light-tasting lager style called pilsner — originally from the Czech city of Pilsen — was taking the European drinking public by storm. German brewers, having taken notice, sought their own commercial hit, lest the empire be swept away by a style from over the border…

There are plenty of countries with great beer, but if you’re going to fly halfway around the world for a few days of drinking quality brew, Germany is your destination. While the notorious drunken revelry of Oktoberfest is the hottest beer tourist attraction in the world, Germany has much more to add in terms of…

It’s Food Republic Grilling Month, it’s American Craft Beer Week and it’s May. If you’re looking for a beer to celebrate all three, we’ve got you covered. We’re talking about Heller Bock, strong German lager brewed seasonally for spring. There are two kinds of traditional spring bocks, Maibock (May Bock) and Helles Bock, so before…

On a recent trip to Germany I was confronted in my hotel lobby not by a pot of coffee, but a vat of complimentary hot dogs. They sat vertically and splayed when the top was lifted, like straws in those old-timey straw holders. To a jet-lagged American, the sight of so many oddly arranged wieners…

The birth of one of Germany’s signature, easy-sipping lagers nearly sparked a revolt. Back in the late 1800s, the golden pilsners of Bohemia (today known as the Czech Republic) bubbled across Europe, converted scads of drinkers accustomed to darker brews. To compete, Munich-based brewer Spaten tweaked the recipe for its dark lager, creating a brighter,…

If you're a week into October and still haven't figured out how best to "fest," you're in luck. Beer, sausages and fixin's are where we truly shine. A little known fact is that Oktoberfest traditionally celebrates the first beers of the season, a chance to get to know the brews that will fuel your buzz…

Hey, it's me, summer. I'm not over yet. Remember my good buddy July? Just because it's gone doesn't mean sausages in buns are finished for the season. For all we know you could be going on six weeks without one, simply because nobody's talking about them anymore. One of humanity's great sausage-bun combinations (all tricked-out…

It's no surprise that Germany is particular about its beer. How particular? Meet Reinheitsgebot. All German beer labels bear the inscription "Gebraut nach dem deutschen Reinheitsgebot," or, "Brewed according to the German Purity Law." Established in 1516 (and strictly upheld ever since), Reinheitsgebot ensured that beer would only ever be made from water, barley and…

Bier braucht Heimat. The man who dreams of opening the first “real” micro-brewery in Paris takes his inspiration from this ancient piece of German beer wisdom. Roughly translated as “a beer needs a home,” the saying sums up the panoply of regional beer styles in Germany but rings empty in today’s Parisian beer landscape, dominated…

Around 6 p.m., sometimes 7 p.m., the call will arrive: “I’m coming home from work,” my fiancée will say. “Where are you?” After more than five years together, I know better than to lie. It doesn’t make telling the truth any easier. “At the bar,” I say, taking another nip of a hoppy beer. “Again?”…