Any homebrewers in the Kaiserslautern/Ramstein, Germany area?

I'm fairly new to Ramstein and would like to know if there are any fellow home brewers in the area. Home brewing isn't that big here (probably because of the incredibly low price of awesome beer), but I'm hoping there are a few like-minded individuals who would like to get together for a drink and lament the absence of hoppy beers in Europe.

Check http://www.hobbybrauer.de/ .

Alas, my Deutsch is nicht so gut. I was hoping for any expats, military affiliates, or English-speaking Germans that frequent this site.

Just got stationed at Landstuhl for a year... don't have any homebrewing equipment, but am definitely interested in checking out the local brews! Shoot me a message if you'd be interested in getting together for a drink...

Mick.

Most definitely! I sent you a pm with my contact info.

My son is at Ramstein.. and just brewed/brewing his first batch.. extract. If you are at R'stein, I'd bet he'd love to chat with you and possibly collaborate.

He doesn't speak Deutsch either.. but, he will be wanting to brew another ale after this one get's bottled.. to fix the mistakes he made in this one.

He's in a CE group..

What's a CE group? Is that a military thing? Like Civil Engineering or something?

I come thru all the time. We stay at kmcc a lot. If you need anything state side I might be able to help. But I sure germany lots of brew stores.

Nice to see a fellow brewer in the area. please email me @ [email protected]. just got here in October and plan to start a new batch next weekend.

Moving there in July, will be looking for a shop to use.
Found one online about an hour away

Hobbytheke & Kellereibedarf

there is a English version of the site

Tmx

Welcome! I think you'll like the Kaiserslautern area, lots of biking/hiking trails, breweries in every town, and it doesn't rain quite as much as in Belgium. And if you get homesick (or sick of German beer), Brussels is only a 3 hour drive away.

Where are you stationed? LRMC? Vogelweh?

Send me a PM when you get moved and we'll grab a Maß or two!

I will be out a Klaber (sp).

Still waiting on my orders and such to come through.

Tim

Hey, I'm a ways away from Ktown and preparing to head south for a few months, but once i get back, ill have my bro and sister in law up at Ramstein to visit monthly. I'm a little taken back that you think the beer here is awesome, but that's for another forum. If you use the google web page translate the hobby brewer site is alright. We use Northern Brewer to order just because they have quick shipping. Let me know if you find an actual homebrew store.

Oh I miss K-town. You will like Kleber, nice little post. I lived there from 2005-2008ish. Good times.

I will be moving to Rammstein come march. I am a avid home brewer and will be looking for a group of brewers to hang out with. I have a lot of questions about germany to ask don't know what I should bring over there equipment wise yet.

The only problem I ran into with equipment was with the faucets. My plate chiller/bottle washer connectors didn't fit, Germany being metric and all. I'm sure there are adapters somewhere on line, I just deal with the leaking by throwing a towel over the faucet. Also, the fittings for CO2 tanks are different, if you have a kegerator; I had an adapter made for that. PM me if you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to help with the transition.

I didn't even think of the wort chiller. I don't have a co2 system yet but really want to get one. What about propane? do they run the same connections as the american connections or will I need to find a different "turkey fryer" setup over there?

No worries, you can get 'merican propane tanks here on base.

Had this site recommended to me https://www.hobbybrauerversand.de/ its call Hops and More or HuM for short. 5 Euro flat shipping in Germany and if they don't have it they will get it from BROUWLAND or CANDIRECT for no additional cost then what the two companies offer.

Man, this thread brings back memories. We lived in K-town 85-89. I worked on the hill in Landstuhl and my wife worked down in Pirm. Didn't know anything about brewing back then. Didn't know what a hop was, so in my ignorance I enjoyed as much brewskie as I could back then. I must say, weizenbocks, bocks, altbiers, and dunkels are still some of my favs. Ya'll enjoy your tours, wish we could get back over there some day.

So I have been in the K-town area for about a year and just got around to brewing my first batch. The hooch is in the keg an I found out I can't have my US spec CO2 bottled filled here. Any suggestions on options? I am at the point now that I am looking at purchasing a German Spec CO2 bottle and regulator...not sure on regulator but it would appear to be pricey. Any chance I could find an adapter for the German tank and use my US spec regulator? Any help would be appreciated

Got an Oktoberfest ready to drink and no way to get it out of the keg :-(

On deck is an IPA or ESB clone...forgot what the wife ordered me

Thanks for any suggestions

You'll have to buy a German spec tank, but you can have an adapter made for you. I friend of mine had it done here in K-town, I'll shoot him an email to find out where.

May as well jump in here. Im not exactly in the K-town area but I live in Worrstadt and work in Wiesbaden. We are just settling in. I may get the brew rig fired up before the end of the month. I havent found a replacement pump or worked out fittings/ferm temp control or even where to get my malt from yet, Im thinking Best Malz is only a couple towns over and their prices bulk are pretty reasonable so I may just buy straight from them. Ill post brew days so if anyone would want to come by and drink beer, laugh at me when I boil over, or whatever

So I jumped in and bought the German tank, another country and another unique set-up. The website to the British store is quite expensive to get the European nut here to Germany but I found a site in the US that sells the European nut for the regulator.

@Chris...good to hear. I am a Intermediate brewer, ie extract and partial mash. Haven't jumped into all grain but I may take you up on the offer to see what the process entails.

Cheers

jumping in here. just moved here from the States(non military, my fiancee is from germany) we living in Giessen atm how far is that from where yall are. Im dying to speak english and have people understand me(especilly when it comes to beer)

T looks like you are about 2 hrs north of K-Town (Kaiserslautern). Not a bad drive...we can get together to brew and discuss all things zymurgy. Currently, I have two batches on deck that I need to brew.

Don't live in K-town, but a buddy did. Stayed a week and a half there. LOVE the döner!!!

tchuklobrau said:

jumping in here. just moved here from the States(non military, my fiancee is from germany) we living in Giessen atm how far is that from where yall are. Im dying to speak english and have people understand me(especilly when it comes to beer)

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I am about te distance you are to Frankfurt but on the other side of Frankfurt. Maybe we can hook up sometime this spring, Im in Afghanistan until then, at the braufactum in Frankfurt and share some beers, speak some English

works for me

Moving to Vogelweh in March and would like to know if any homebrewers are in the are. Im new to the hobby starting out with only a mr beer kit, but I just bought my first carboy and kit to get started. If anyone can help with information just let me know please.

I have no idea what is wrong with me but I barely use this site since moving to the Graf area but would not mind getting together with fellow brewers. I brew on occasion.

Since my basement hit 68*F I have been brewing non stop.

Bottled: Pumpkin
Bottled: Belgian Wine

Fermenting: Cider 1 gal, Wheat IPA 3 Gal, Honey IPA 5 gal, APA 4.5 gal, Belgian 5 gal
still plan on brewing a Sweet Stout, Vanilla bean Porter with a splash of bourbon, another Belgian version of my Wheat IPA, and probably a small sour fruit beer.

clinesmith said:

Moving to Vogelweh in March and would like to know if any homebrewers are in the are. Im new to the hobby starting out with only a mr beer kit, but I just bought my first carboy and kit to get started. If anyone can help with information just let me know please.

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Im not far from Vogelweh, about a half hour or so. I am by no means a brewing expert but Ive been doing it a while now and would happy to help out. Ill be back in Germany in May and will start hosting some brewing days and you will of course be welcome to come hang out/brew/drink.

Chris

chriswilkes33 said:

Im not far from Vogelweh, about a half hour or so. I am by no means a brewing expert but Ive been doing it a while now and would happy to help out. Ill be back in Germany in May and will start hosting some brewing days and you will of course be welcome to come hang out/brew/drink.

Chris

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Sounds good. I will definitely take you up on your offer. Thanks

chriswilkes33 said:

Im not far from Vogelweh, about a half hour or so. I am by no means a brewing expert but Ive been doing it a while now and would happy to help out. Ill be back in Germany in May and will start hosting some brewing days and you will of course be welcome to come hang out/brew/drink.

Chris

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Where do you get your supplies. Locally in Germany or online from states?

Don, I sent you a PM. Did you get? Please reply.

John from Cassadaga

clinesmith said:

Where do you get your supplies. Locally in Germany or online from states?

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Did you get an answer to where to buy beer making supplies locally? I work on Ramstein an am yet to find a shop other than online. Any help would be appreciated.

MX1 said:

Moving there in July, will be looking for a shop to use.
Found one online about an hour away

Hobbytheke & Kellereibedarf

there is a English version of the site

Tmx

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Have you made it to this store yet? Is it worth going to? I still need some carboys and other starter essentials and was hoping this place had something to purchase. The website is part english and a bit difficult to browse.

clinesmith said:

Where do you get your supplies. Locally in Germany or online from states?

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Sorry I didnt reply sooner. I havent been on the board much while Im here in Afghanistan.

Anyway, there are several ways to get supplies. A lot of the American homebrew shops will ship APO but if you also have a German address, and it helps to speak a little German, you can get a bunch of good stuff from

http://amihopfen.com/ - hops
http://www.hopfen-der-welt.de/ - hops
http://www.schnapsbrenner.eu/index.php - everything

You can buy bulk grain at Best Malz which isnt far from us, having trouble finding it on the website though, and of course, can never hurt to drive to Bamberg for good Rauchbier and of course Weyermann maltster is there. Not sure if they direct sell.

Another good place is hopfen und mehr.
http://www.hobbybrauerversand.de/ - everything

I havent been to a brick and mortar store in Germany.

mrkabal said:

You'll have to buy a German spec tank, but you can have an adapter made for you. I friend of mine had it done here in K-town, I'll shoot him an email to find out where.

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Apparently a guy on base made this for him :/

As for homebrew shops, one of my favorite things to do over a weekend is to drive to Brouwland in Belgium for supplies, spend the night in Brussels, and drive back the next day. It's about a 3 hour drive, I do it a few times a year.

GringoLoco said:

So I jumped in and bought the German tank, another country and another unique set-up. The website to the British store is quite expensive to get the European nut here to Germany but I found a site in the US that sells the European nut for the regulator.

@Chris...good to hear. I am a Intermediate brewer, ie extract and partial mash. Haven't jumped into all grain but I may take you up on the offer to see what the process entails.

Cheers

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I am in the same perdicament. I am interested in kegging but I don't want to buy a US CO2 tank if I don't have a way to fill it. What was the US website that sells the european nut for the regulator? I would perfer to but a US tank so that I don't have to rebuy when I return. Any thoughts?

Also, where do you purchase your CO2 refills?