When looking over the spreadsheet that I have compiled to record all the European beers I have drunk over the years (which totals 425 BTW although to be fair, this does include a few “ring-ins” from outside Europe proper) I realised that there are a number of beers that I know I have drunk, but at a time when I didn’t always take notes of when and where and certainly didn’t record my impressions of the beer.
So, I have commenced a quest to try to, over time, track these beers down and do a proper recording of them, as I have been doing for a few years now. How do I know I’ve had these beers you may ask? Well, one of several ways: I have photos of me drinking them but that’s all. Or I have salvaged the labels off the bottle, if that’s how I drank them. In some cases it’s just a sign outside a bar that tells me that I had that beer in that bar, but that’s all.
To this I should add that there are quite a number of beers that I have absolutely no record of - a beer in Bolzano (Italy) in 1991, and in Berlin the same year to give just two examples. But there’s no way to trace those beers.
Having commenced the task of tracking down some of these beers online, with a view to buying them in cans or bottles, I have encountered mostly setbacks that I need to find my way around. The main one is that when I can find a site that sells the beer, they don’t dispatch to where I’m living, which is France. The other is that no-one appears to sell the beer online at all. And the fatal one is that it would appear that the beer itself is no longer produced.
I have posted the first few of these beers in this post and will post more over time. If of course, a reader of this blog can assist me in my quest, either by steering me to a website that sells any of these beers or can tell me of a bar they know that sells it on tap, I’d be most grateful.
LOOKING FOR THE LOST BOYS (BEERS)
So, the first one. Hatz beer. Brewery is apparently located in town of Rastatt, near Karlsruhe in Germany.
This photo was taken at Gasthaus Auerhahn in Baden-Baden, Aug 2014.
I have never been able to find it elsewhere, and although you can buy it online from German web sellers, none deliver outside Germany, as far as I’ve been able to find.
As with all of these Lost Beers, I made no note of whether I liked it or not but judging from (a) the smile on my face after consuming half the glass, and (b) Germany doesn’t make bad beers (except for one notable exception), I have to assume it’s worth another try.
The second German beer. This one is called ERL, a Bavarian beer. Photo taken in August 2018 at a beer tent in a town called Straubing.
Again, I took no notes so have nothing to indicate what it is like. Also can’t find anyone who sells it online.
Another German beer, called Hacklberg; brewery is located in Passau in Lower Bavaria on the Danube (as well as two other minor rivers); very picturesque town.
The photo below was taken at a bar in Passau in 2015 (10 years ago!). Have never found it since, and although the brewery sells online, it only delivers within Germany and Austria which is not much use to me.
Continuing with German beers, this is Hasseröder. The brewery is located in Wernigerode, in central Germany. According to Wikipedia, it is the sixth biggest selling breweries in Germany, so it’s not a lightweight.
The picture was taken in the small town of Kollnburg in 2014.
And another German beer, called Thurn & Taxis. Brewery is located in Regensberg. I have a vague memory that it was a very good beer but I didn’t take any notes at the time of the photo, which was taken in 2015. This is one that I’m very keen to find again.
A helles (lager) from Dampfbier brewery, located in Oberstdorf, Germany.
Had it on tap somewhere in Germany in 2018 (see photo below) but no details of the exact location or the beer itself.
Can be bought online, but, you guessed it, they don’t deliver to France!
The first of several Austrian beers. Those Austrians make some very good beers (Trumer Pils is an example).
This one is called Zillertal, from the Zillertal area in Tyrol, a valley at the end of which is Innsbruck. Beautiful area.
So, this is a local brewery, they claim to have been in business since 1500!
I had their beers in a town called Mayrhofen where we have stayed on several occasions, the last time being 2003, which is probably when I souvenired this beer label. Don’t have a photo of the beer itself, just this label which I peeled off a bottle I drank, as I do.
Have never encountered it since, and can’t find where to buy online.
Another Austrian beer, Stiegl, from Salzburg as you can see from the label. They claim to have been around since 1492, pretty impressive.
Again, don’t have a photo of the beer, just this label. I don’t know where I drank it, but probably in 2003 on the same trip as the one above.
Never seen it again and seemingly can’t buy online.
The third of the Lost (Austrian) Beers, Gösser. Made by the Göss brewery, located in a town called Loeben in central Austria.
I have no record (or memory) of when and where I had this beer, but at least I have a photo of the beer itself!
Seems to be a very hard-to-find beer.
The fourth of the Lost (Austrian) Beers.
I stayed at a hotel in Austria en route to Slovenia, in August 2014. The hotel was called Art-Lodge, in a town called Afrim-am-See.
They had a policy that I’ve never seen before or since: there was a communal lounge that had a bar fridge with beer and wine. It wasn’t an honesty system, the drinks were free. They worked on the basis that it wasn’t worth their while to police the system. So naturally I made the most of this arrangement - who wouldn’t?
This photo was taken at the restaurant that night (it happened to be my birthday, figurately and literally) and I did pay for this and other beers that night.
BUT, I didn’t make a note of the beer and can’t make it out from the label in this picture. So, a little hard to track this one down…unless someone is staying or has stayed at the same hotel?
Another Austrian beer, Adambrau; brewery is located in Innsbruck in the Tyrol area of Austria. Apparently not a particularly old brewery and fairly small.
Again I have no record of where I drank it or when, but I think it was on the 2003 trip where I encountered most of the other Austrian beers.
As can be seen from the photo, I tried two different beers from this brewery. Pity I can’t remember what they were like….
The last of the Austrian beers, Zipfer, from the Zipf brewery located in the town of Neukirchen an der Vöckla (try saying that with a mouthful of marbles), in Upper Austria.
No idea where or when I had this beer but it’s been a while since I was in Austria so it could have been as long ago as 1997.
Again, can’t find anyone who sells it online; the brewery itself has a website and on online shop but bizarrely they seem to sell all sorts of merchandise…except their beer!
So now to Swiss beers, the first two are from the same brewery, Egger which is located in the town of Worb, not a million miles from Bern (but there’s not anywhere in Switzerland that is a million miles from Bern, to be fair).
This is a bit of a mystery. It would appear that the Galopper is not longer made (although I can’t be certain of this, as the website is a bit odd) but they do still make a standard Lager.
I have no idea when and where I encountered these beers but it would have to have been in one of my many visits to Switzerland over the years, as I very much doubt they are available outside Switzerland.
They do sell some of their beers online, but, you guessed it, they don’t sell outside Switzerland.
The second of many Swiss beers that I have drunk but have never recorded anything about them. In a number of cases I have details of when and where and even a photo, just not anything about the beer itself.
These beers are ones that I have no (a) memory of having drunk them let alone when and where and (b) no record of my opinion of them.
I’m really confused about this beer and brewery; a web search doesn’t show much information and the label seems to indicate that it is brewed for some supermarket chain, which is not unusual in Europe. But there is little information.
