I found their web site and left a message asking them why their beer
> got worse in September 2005. Their Helles and Edelstoff used to be an
> excellent beer but now it is nothing much. I will report back their > response.
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
I didn't realize you were talking bottles. Augustiner's never been as good in bottles, IMO. Both the helles and Edelstoff have always tasted much better to me vom Faß.
BTW, when I lived there, I routinely saw Andechs in groceries. My local Tenglemann's had it, and I also saw it frequently at Edeka.
-Steve
I lived in Schwabing, so did my shopping over there. I also found a good selection of Andechs at whatever grocery it is that's inside the OEZ when I was visiting in early December, but that's even further out of your way in Haidhausen.
It may be worth checking out the food emporiums at Karstadt near the Augustiner Gastätte on Kaufingerstraße, or the Hertie by the Hauptbahnhof. They usually have good drinks selections.
However, I don't recall if I routinely found the bottled helles or not. I preferred the dunkel.
By the way, your speculation on the malt harvest, etc. is interesting. Yeah, that can definitely have a profound effect. When I used to do some homebrewing, I could notice significant differences in beers from the same recipe using different brands of malt. It's certainly a plausible explanation.
BTW, in a bit of a non sequiter, if you're fond of the Andechser Hell, have you journeyed out to the Forschungsbrauerei in Perlach? Only open during the warm-weather months (with one exception, I think around the beginning of Starkbierzeit), the St Jakobus Blonder Bock is outstanding and might be right up your alley.
-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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