From: me@dude.pcs.com (Michael Elbel)
Subject: Re: EKU and Spaten
Organization: PCS Computer Systeme GmbH
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 15:13:01 GMT

>In article <1992Aug20.231115.3870@inter-tel.com> wohlenbe@inter-tel.com (Greg Wohlenberg) writes:

>	As an American, I've come to really enjoy  some of the German beers
>   such as EKU and Spaten.  I am curious to hear from some Germans (or people
>   who are knowledge about German culture) regarding the stature  of these
>   brands within Germany.  Are they are mass produced  and  present  in most
>   German bars (like Bud/Coors/Miller in American  bars)?   Do  most Germans 
>   consider these brands excellent or are there other brands which are held 
>   in higher regard?

Not having read the original article (Someone should fix up our
news system so that id doesn't lose all these articles) I'm answering
to the reply:

Since both breweries make a couple different kinds of beer, I'm refering
only to the 'normal' Helles. Don't forget that especially Weissbier
(Wheat beer) tastes radically different from the other ones.

Both EKU and Spaten are amongst the larger breweries in Bavaria.
While I consider Spaten drinkable, I think that EKU (especially the
Helles) isn't a very good beer.

>On the basis of a few short trips to Germany, my impression is that most
>bars in Germany carry only one brand, usually from one of the local 
>breweries.  Spaten is one of the larger brewers in Munich, so if you
>judge its reputation by its market share, it's highly regarded, but then
>you'd have to admit Budmilloors as being highly regarded in the USA.  There
>are certainly better beers to be had in Munich, but just like trying to
>find good beer here, you have to choose your drinking establishment
>carefully.  

Right. The problem of finding a good choice of different beers in 
bars and restaurant is even worse here in Germany than in the
US, since many carry only one brand (which has been discussed
already).

>I doubt there is any German analog of AB, Miller, or Coors, i.e., a 
>brand that the vast majority of bars & restaurants carry.  The larger
>brewers have some distribution outside of their home territory, but 
>you may need to hunt around quite a bit to find bars that represent them.

>This seems to be a major cultural difference between Europe and the US.
>Europeans seem to have a very strong local identity, and tend to consume
>mostly locally produced food and drink, while Americans buy their
>food and drink mostly from huge corporations with nationwide (or 
>international) distribution.  The recent proliferation of microbrews
>is a move toward the European model, but our culture inhibits it -
>note all the posts about distribution of Sam Adams, Celis, etc.  Success
>in American business is not generally recognized until nationwide
>distribution is achieved.

I think this stems from history in Germany. Every small village used
to have the right to brew and sell beer locally here (do you need 
something like this in the US too - if you want to sell the beer?)
Very often the Brewery would have had its own pub. Since transportation,
especially of beer, was difficult, the beer was only drunken in a
small area.

The transportation problem isn't there anymore, but we still have
some 600 breweries in Bavaria alone (if memory serves me right).
Most of them aren't very big (and none in Germany is as big as,
like, Budweiser, Miller or Coors).

I'm quite happy with the situation. You might not be able to get
a lot of different beers in restaurants, but my local dealer
carries more than a hundred different beers at prices between
18 and 28 DM per 20 bottle case (11 to 18 $, a bottle has 0.5
liters).

>(I did, however, have my first taste of Andechs in a restaurant in
>Freiburg.)

Aha, I didn't know that they are selling it that far :-)

Michael
--
Michael Elbel 			|  No, I haven't lost my brain!
PCS GmbH, Muenchen, Germany	|  I just forgot it in the
   me@dude.pcs.com 		|  rush this morning.