When I was in Munich in early December, I didn't notice any change in Augustiner, and certainly none for the worse. It was still it's fresh, crisp self, nicely malty with good hop character. I had not complaints. And I drank plenty of it to get a good sampling size.
-Steve
True, taste is not a terribly reliable sense in terms of memory. And while I didn't do anything side by side, yes I did have Andechs helles while there. Although, to me, that and Augustiner helles are a bit apples and oranges. Or at least oranges and lemons.
-Steve
Am I misremembering, or did not Augustiner recently upgrade their bottling line? Possible source?
I believe Beeston still has/had old geezers doing the raking. But I also believe Beeston disappeared a few years ago. I *think* Crisp still floor-malts some of its production, and there are rumors of a place in the Czech Republic that still floor-malts. Ooh, and a quick Google reveals Thomas Fawcett & Sons still does traditional floor-malting (as well as bulk malting):
More googling (photos; the first is floor-malting, the second is the bulk, automated version):
(Thanks to Bob Wallis, whoever you are. First round's on me.)
Augustiner has floor maltings. Seen 'em, been there, just last month. Shallow bed, not turned by hand, turned by an old machine. But it's not the "gentle turning" that makes the diff in floor maltings, it's the depth of the bed. The bed at Augustiner is only 12-15 cm deep, most commercial maltings run things closer to 80 cm.
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