The idea itself goes back to an evening in an apartment kitchen in 2008. There were lots of different well-known beer bottles lying about and we wanted to see if it was even possible to guess which beer was our favorite brand, strictly based on taste. Obviously staying within the same or mostly similar styles of beer for the comparison (i.e. Pilsner vs. Pilsner) … the result was shocking: not one of us was able to do so! Quite the opposite ending up ringing true as several of us didn’t even respond favorably to our perceived ‘brew of choice’.

So why are there more than 5,000 beer brands available in Germany if consumers (like us) aren’t able to really taste a difference between (or even recognize) the vast majority of them without the use of visual cues? Given this, why does one then claim Brand X, Y or Z as their “favorite beer”?  What really influences this?

We realized that taste is a perception influenced by so much more than the actual ‘tasting’ itself. It is born largely out of advertising practices, reinforced by the clever use of audio-visual aids, branding and marketing campaigns – which eventually form and reinforce our consumption habits, all on a subconscious level. If one is just left with the content (in this case the actual beer, itself) and the packaging, branding and marketing were to be eliminated there would be virtually no way for consumers to recognize which product is which.

We took it a step further and decided that, given this, we really don’t need 5,000 different beer brands in Germany. One would actually be enough for us, assuming it was well received in blind testing rounds. And it wouldn’t need a name, a logo or flashy, modern advertising trickery to do so. Simply put: “No name. Just taste.” The idea for our first product – BIER – was born.

We are not the owners of our production facilities, rather we have contracts with the place (brewery, for example) where our drinks are filled up to our specifications and recipes. This is called “contract brewing” and how we have operated since 2009. With each product, however, the way to arrive at its recipe is quite different.

With our BIER, for example, the first thing we had to do was decide which brewing method was to be used, then the ingredients (which hops?) – finally experimenting with proportions and the brew process itself.

With the WEINSCHORLE the most important decisions were, obviously, which wine to use and were to get it – after that the mineral water and the amount of carbonation to be used to make it slightly fizzy – but not too much!

The processes for creating the RADLER and the COLA were completely different as the amount of ingredients became significantly larger, so we spent a great deal of time in a lab mixing and experimenting in order to get the proportions just right.

One thing remains constant in this process with all our drinks, though: every recipe we develop must go through a rigorous round of blind testing with friends, customers and industry experts and compared with well established, traditional products in their respective category. Only a drink which receives the highest possible positive feedback can then become a DRINK.

When it finally comes to production itself, each and every one of our drinks are bottled according to our specifications, requirements and recipes by our partner: Einsiedler Brauhaus in Chemnitz.

We believe there’s already quite enough diversity in the modern beverages market. Actually, we believe there’s too much. That’s why we only make one product per category.  And they’re all classic drinks with a taste you’ll recognize over and over again, made with the highest quality and no blah blah.

BIER is our idea of what a German beer is supposed to taste like. It also makes life easier having just one beer as the supermarket shelves are already full enough with headache producing alternatives with flashy logos. Less is truly more.

Wait, but what about the ROSÉSCHORLE? Sorry, we just couldn’t help ourselves. After all, rules are made to be broken.

Awesome, that you’re interested in our drinks! Check out our DRINK LOCATOR. There you will find a list of wholesalers we deal with, as well as their contact information. Should there be none of the good stuff available in your region, please contact us directly (kontakt@geschmack.org).

For importing wholesale queries, also feel free to contact us directly. Our sales team will get back in touch promptly.

Yup! Depending on where you live we have a couple of available options. If you live in Berlin you can take advantage of our Berlin-wide delivery service. If you live outside of Berlin, please check out our online drink shop, delivering to the rest of Germany.

We’re always excited to make new contacts. We do get lots and lots of sponsoring enquiries. In order to participate in as many as possible without putting ourselves in dire financial straits, as a general rule we do not offer 100% sponsoring. What we can offer, however, is a ‘cultural discount’ of 30% off our drink prices. The decision to do so is made on a case by case basis and has a lot to do with what the event itself is actually about. Please get in touch via email to apply for the cultural discount.

Please be sure to include all relevant info regarding the event, the number of drinks needed, delivery and pick times, etc. Depending on the size of the order, two weeks notice (prior to start of event) is usually a good rule of thumb for when to contact us, especially in summer and around major holidays.

The short answer is, unfortunately, no. We do, however, have giveaways and contests on occasion – please follow us on Instagram or Facebook – or subscribe to our Newsletter to be the first to find out about any such offerings!