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    So, Braueristerben, then

    Is German beer culture dying?

    The facts are stark: According to German federal statistics released in late January, German brewing has dropped to less than 100 million hectoliters of production for the first time since reunification in 1990. (That's less than half of the United States' annual output.) The same study revealed that consumption dropped almost 3 percent last year alone, to 101.8 liters per person per year, and that it's down about one-third overall since the previous generation. The number of breweries in the country has also dropped—by about half over the last few decades to around 1,300. (There are nearly 1,700 up and running in the U.S.) The vaunted Weihenstephan brew master degree program in Munich adopts a dour tone on its student prospectus, saying the majority of graduates don't actually become brew masters but instead head for jobs in mechanical engineering and the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.

    #2
    So, Braueristerben, then

    There's a lot in what he says--it's amazing how complacent and unadventurous German brewers and beer drinkers can be, and the industry is in trouble--but the guy has an agenda I don't much like. I would hate it if the beer scene in the big European brewing nations (here, Belgium, Germany, Czech Rep, etc) became a copy of that in the US. German beer needs to find a way of revitalising itself while staying true to itself. In particular, the German knack of combining depth of flavour with drinkability is something the US microbrew scene could still learn from, in many ways. The "Americans brew a hundred styles, and the Germans only 20" thing is daft: a bit like saying "I went to Paris and they only had French restaurants."

    The irony is that I think the more interesting German styles (Kellerbier, Weizen, Rauchbier, Alt, Kolsch, and others) are becoming more and more known about and appreciated outside Germany.

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      #3
      So, Braueristerben, then

      I was hoping that you would comment, and I agree with everything you've said.

      There is a sense in the piece that the current US model is "the answer", and it isn't, even here, especially as he ignores just how crap the vast majority of beer that is produced and consumed here is. Yes, what they drink at Octoberfest ain't great, but it's several thousand kilometres ahead of Bud.

      It's as if he's comparing French vin du table with artisanal Oregon Pinot Noirs.

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        #4
        So, Braueristerben, then

        ursus arctos wrote:
        I was hoping that you would comment...
        Hoping? It's beer...and Germany. All it's missing is a word problem.

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          #5
          So, Braueristerben, then

          Worn Old Motorbike wrote:
          ursus arctos wrote:
          I was hoping that you would comment...
          Hoping? It's beer...and Germany. All it's missing is a word problem.
          Heh.

          Comment


            #6
            So, Braueristerben, then

            ursus arctos wrote:
            There is a sense in the piece that the current US model is "the answer", and it isn't, even here, especially as he ignores just how crap the vast majority of beer that is produced and consumed here is. Yes, what they drink at Octoberfest ain't great, but it's several thousand kilometres ahead of Bud.
            Bud is now a Belgian colony and not American.

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