Well, like the title says, I'm interested in brewing German beers. My heritage is German, and I have a great interest in those style of beers. I love the few true German beers that I've had. They are definitely on the opposite end of the spectrum from the curl your toes, burn your nose hairs IPAs that are so popular today. I like their malty, roasted characteristics. So far, I have a doppelbock lagering and a dunkelweizen a week away from bottling. I am planning on brewing a Schwarzbier from a recipe I found here on HBT. My problem is that I live in a black hole of craft beer and import beer unavailability. So, when I brew these beers and get a taste of them, how can I tell if I brewed a good beer or not, according to their styles? The guy that owns the liquor store in my town is an old high school buddy of mine. His distributors can't even get some of the beers I'm interested in brewing. I'm not scared to jump in and brew something I've never had, but it would be nice to be able to have something to compare it to. I've seen the beer swapping thread, but all that's available to me in my small backwoods town is available to anyone, anywhere. I'm at a loss on how to judge my beer compared to the real deal. If anyone has any advice for me, I'm all ears.
ETA: I live in Texas, so it's illegal for any online retailers to ship to me, so that's not an option either. Believe me, I've tried.
ETA: I live in Texas, so it's illegal for any online retailers to ship to me, so that's not an option either. Believe me, I've tried.