Beer Review: Stuff I Drank on Draught in Berlin

Beer #17: Schofferhofer Hefeweizen

Served: Pint into a weissbier glass.

Appearance: Good orangy cloudy color like you want from a hefe.

Smell: Wheat and yeast.

Taste: Your standard hefeweizen. It's better than the can of Schlafly I had, but far from the best in they style I've ever had. Fresh Schlafly is probably on a lar with this.

Cost: €3.50 at a bar. Fresh Schlafly can usually be had for cheaper than this, and on happy hour would be cheaper than this even at an unrealistic 1 to 1 exchange rate.

Overall: 6/10. I'll give it a penalty to 5/10, because while not outrageously expensive by Europe standards, I expected better from Germany. The markup on draught beer vs supermarket bottles is way worse here than in the states.

Beer #18: Berliner Kindl/Berliner Pilsner

Served: Pint glass. These are the two generic pilsners available all over the city. I tried both, couldn't discern any real taste difference between them, and they have similar names anyway. Strictly choosing one vs the other is the German equivalent of being a Bud guy vs. a Miller guy.

Smell: Stronger, less aggressive Budweiser.

Taste: Similar to Budweiser, but more taste, and a better balance of malt and hops. You wouldn't mistake this for good beer, but neither is it cat pee.

Price: The cheapest I saw this for was €2.50 at the hostel bar, or about €3 in the wild. Since the half liter draught has about 3 more ounces than the American version, and cannot be shorted by virtue of lines on the glass that are produced by the distributor, this is probably unbeatable on price outside of a very good STL happy hour, or at a college town.

Overall: 5/10. So far, Germany's reputation for good beer needs some modification. The Germans have the highest baseline for beer in the world (the German beer purity law allows so few ingredients to be used in beer making and still have it be called beer that it's next to impossible for them to make a shitty one). However, I haven't seen anything that would give the Belgians a run for their money as best brewers in the world (note I didn't review Stella Artois, which is probably a 3.5). Hopefully, the Bavarians have a killer doppelbock that doesn't cross the pond.