I bought a case of this today:
I'm not impressed, at all. Heineken is much better, by comparison... And they're made by the same company, right?
I'll keep kicking around the store and see what I can find. I nearly bought Bass instead, I'm kinda wishing I would have...
Und Beck's? Und Beck's.
Beck's is the fashionable German beer, but as it might as well be Heineken or Moosehead you can find better.
Maybe I was expecting too much, I don't know, but I just wasn't all that impressed. They had Smithwicks sitting next to it, my friend Brandon speaks volumes of it, but I wasn't thinking enough to give it a shot...
Mmmm, Smithwicks. Get some Guinness too and make yourself a Blacksmith. Smithwicks, in my opinion, is a great Irish beer for those who find Guinness to be a littel too much.
YSSMAN, if you're looking to try something from
der Vaterland, I would recommend Spaten, Paulaner, or Hofbräu. Basically, anything from München (Munich) will do.
Around here they can be found for a little over a dollar per bottle, which I think is just fine; I don't know how expensive they'll be over there, if you can even find them.
Well, if Michigan prices are anywhere close to Kentucky prices I can get a Spaten brands in 12 packs fro $11.99 or $10.99 when on sale. It all depends on what you are looking for in a German beer. If you want something a bit lighter then maybe a St. Pauli Girl? Although I prefer the St. Pauli Dark. By the way, do not confuse St. Pauli Girl with St. Pauli, which is non-alcoholic.
Also, Wolfe forgot a few really good brands. I also enjoy Warsteiner, both lager and dark and occasionally Ayinger is not bad.
However, Spaten brands are near th etop of my list. In fact, they make my all time favorite beer Franziskaner Hefe-weizen, "Eet iz zee greatest beer in all of Bavaria!" I suggest trying the Spaten variety 12 pack with Spaten lager, Spaten Optimator (darker beer with 7.5% alcohol), and Franziskaner. You get a good range of German flavors, all made according to the centuries old Bavarian Purity Laws. And then if you like those, in the fall you may be able to find Spaten Octoberfest.
The key to finding good beer is knowing where to find it. What kind of liquor stores do you have in Michigan? If you have a Liquor Barn, or equivalent gropcery store sized liquor store you will find a good selection, especially as the imports get at least an entire row to themselves.
Or you can do it the way I like to: find a bar with an incredibly huge selection. My personal favorite is Old Chicago. Checking their Web site they have restaurants in Kentwood, Okemos, and Southgate. 110 beers, one bar. I don't know how close to you that is but they give you prizes for trying every beer and is a great place to learn what you love. I'm working on my third go round.
The only other thing I do is go to places that have the "orphan" bottles. The remnants of dropped and broken six packs and 12 packs. You can get them for about $1 a bottle, sometimes less. Put together your own six pack of beers you haven't had before. You are only buying one of each so anything bad won't be a waste as you aren't finsihing your first and looking at the rest with disgust. You finish a bad one and look down thinking the next must be better.
What exactly are you looking for? we may be able to point you in the right direction.
