Berghoff 5 Liter Kegs

[budrichard]

50 years ago almost every good sized city had a local brewery in Wisconsin. The beer was fresh, smooth and creamy on tap and one could purchase kegs locally right from the brewery. We lived in Neenah Wisconsin and Chief Oshkosh was just down the road and the beer was great, not complex and only one type but great!

Well the world changed, brewing methods changed and economics closed almost all of these small breweries. But one is still around. Huber Brewery has been making good beer for almost forever. Thier Huber Bock when it was sold as returnables was a great dark and cheap. There are no more returnables and the price has esculated but its still good. Huber brews the Berghoff beers also. While the real Berghoff in Chicago is gone (the Stand Up Bar which served great sandwhiches used to be Men Only!) , the beer is still available.

We recently had a 5 liter keg of the Berghoff Lager. This lager was smooth, creamy. lightly carbonated and reminded me of tap beer 50 years ago. They also produce a 5l keg of the thier Ocktoberfest which i will purchase as soon as available.

I don't know the distribution on the 5l kegs but if you can get one, try it. Price here in Wisconsin is about $10.-Dick

[jesskidden]

Actually, sadly, "Huber" as a locally owned, independent brewery is gone, bought by the Canadian company "Mountain Crest".

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn41...20/ai_n16735565

As noted, Mountain Crest did not buy all the Huber brands, and Berghoff in particular was kept by the old owners, altho' the beer is brewed under contract by Mountain Crest. We don't see Berghoff here on the East Coast, but I still miss Huber's previous "super-premium" brew, Augsburger. (That brand was sold off by the temporary owners [former Pabst exec's IIRC] of Huber when it was out of family control in the 80's, to Stroh, when they were looking for a super-premium and had failed with Signature and the Schlitz attempts they inherited, Erlanger and Primo). From what I understand, Huber's Berghoff beers were based on the old Augie recipes.

Here's a nice story on old man Huber, from beer writer, Michael Jackson:

http://www.beerhunter.com/documents/19133-001650.html

[eje]

Is Point still brewing any Augsburger?

I know they were paying to use the name for a couple products a few years ago.

I consumed many, many cups of the old Augsburger at the Rathskeller in Madison back in the day, and was also a bit sad when I found out it had disappeared.

Never found out if the Point beers were based on the original Augsburger recipes or if they were new formulations.

I think I did try one of them a couple years ago, and don't remember being particularly impressed. Also didn't think it tasted much like the old Augsburger. But, tastes change, so who knows.

[Rich Pawlak]

I , too , became a big fan of Augsberer beer in the mid-80's when I discovered it at the Ram's Head Tavern in Annapolis (before it morphed into a brewpub!). I bought it for years both in MD and in PA, and then--poof!--it disapperared!

Is it still being made at all?

[budrichard]

I haven't seen Augsburger in Wisconsin for many years.-Dick

[jesskidden]

I haven't seen Augsburger in Wisconsin for many years.-Dick

←

As others noted above, Stevens Point licensed the brand (from Pabst) back in 2003

http://www.realbeer.com/news/articles/news-001949.php

but it doesn't seem to be distributed very widely (considering that even from Huber, it had a nearly national presence), judging by the few reviews on the beer sites and the fact that you haven't even seen it in Wisconsin.

Edited July 21, 2007 by jesskidden (log)

[budrichard]

Berghoff Oktoberfest 5l can were procured from a Milwaukee source (Discount Liquors).

During a Pig Roast I had last Sunday, the Berghoff was compared to my favorite Oktoberfest, Hofbrau.

The Berghoff had good hops and was very good and fresh but the Hofbrau was simply better even in the bottle.

At $12.99 a keg, the price is not bad but considering it does not have to trucked half way around the world, a little high.

It appears that beer is not priced according to cost of manufacture and distribution but based on what the market will bear.-Dick

[MattJohnson]

berghoff was our go to beer in college. lovely stuff for the price.

[AshleyUNOB]

Budrichard, this is a great story! Would you write up a version and/or review of this beer for the UNOB?

There's so much rich brewing history and yet the majority of people only try 'beer' they see advertised on TV. Great post.