CRAFT by Under My Host® Issue No. 15 Classics | Page 121

I’ve been in brewing for a long time and I’m no spring chicken. So, I was very excited
to take my first trip to Germany. Germany, at least in my mind, is one of the great beer
cultures of the world. Think of all the different beer styles that originated there, that
we still brew today. Dortmunder, Kolsch, Altbier, Gose, Marzen, Rauchbier, etc. Not
to mention older and nearly defunct styles like Kotbusser, Broyhan, etc. Germany’s
tradition and commitment to the craft of brewing is unparalleled in the world. So, ob-
viously Germany had the best beers I’ve ever had, right? NEIN! After visiting Germany,
I learned that the very thing that makes them so special when it comes to beer is also
the thing that seems to hold them back the most in today’s beer market—and that is
their own tradition.
Upon my arrival in Dusseldorf, I was, of course,
excited to try the Altbiers. I had brewed sever-
al Alts over the years but never had one fresh
at the source. I had two at the first bar, then
two more at the second bar, another at the
third and so on and so on. There were some
noticeable differences between Altbier from
bar number one, two, five and fifty, but when
it came down to it, they were all just...Alts?
But that is what you drink there so when in
Rome (or Dusselrome) you drink Altbier. And
after 6 liters of Altbier, you start to appreci-
ate the choice of variety in the U.S. You might
still drink the same beer all day long, but at
least you chose not to have a choice.
The whole tradition and lack of variety nar-
rative really hit home when a few days later I
moved on to Cologne, home of Kolsch. Same
situation here, Beer=Kolsch, Kolsch=Beer.
I could not tell the difference between one
Kolsch to the next Kolsch, especially after 8
liters in a day. But really by that time I’m not
sure I could have told the difference between
the Kolsch and an Altbier. But if I would have
said that out loud I would have really made
some German people sour. It turns out the
people in Cologne don’t even recognize Alt-
bier as beer at all. And vice versa for those
people in Dusseldorf about Kolsch. I heard
the phrase, “I wouldn’t wash my dog in that
stuff they call beer.” referring to Kolsch while
in Dusseldorf. Kind of harsh, I’d say.
I had never encountered such “beer tribal-
ism,” and it was very foreign to me. Especially
since the U.S. beer market is so increasingly
about variety. When asking Germans about
this, they would say drinking their local style
is just German tradition. Which made me
wonder what exactly is American beer tra-
dition. I guess my answer would have to be:
it’s traditional for Americans to have no tra-
ditions.
My last night in Cologne I had an event at the
newest and only craft beer bar in the city.
The place is called “Craft Beer Corner” and
is ran by a group of guys that have a real love
of craft beer and want to see more choices
in their city. I had sold them several kegs,
and I was to do a tap takeover and a little
talk about Against the Grain brewery and
our brewing philosophy. As I walked around
talking with people at the bar, I realized most
of the customers were from outside Germany
just trying to find some relief from the Kolsch
culture. I also realized how the av erage age
in the room was probably 20 years younger
than any of the Kolsch houses I visited earlier.
Obviously, there are some signs that tradition
cannot hold back where the market wants
beer to go.
GK Chesterton wrote, “Tradition means giv-
ing a vote to the most obscure of all class-
es, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the
dead.” My trip to Germany really drove home
the power of tradition. But I also know that
the dead don’t drink.
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