In the past, German brewers were stuck following the  Reinheitsgebot (beer purity law) stating beer could only be made from four ingredients: water, malted barley, hops and yeast. For awhile, it was only three ingredients as yeast was not included.  American brewers have benefited greatly by never having such constraints.

You can celebrate this freedom tomorrow Thursday June 26th as USA faces off against Germany in the 2014 World Cup.  Drink these Virginia-made German style beers. Follow the Trinkin links to find where you can have the beers on tap.

Altbier
(German for ‘old beer’) Moderately bitter brown, copper lager brewed with top fermenting ale yeast at lower temperatures
Center of the Universe Main St Ale

Berliner Weisse
Cloudy, sour German wheat lager. Typically, 3% ABV.
Strangeways Uberlin Berliner Weisse

Bock
Dark, strong German lager that is lightly hopped
Strangeways B-Sides Honey Bock

Eisbock
Very high ABV (9 – 13%), full and malty dark lager
Strangeways Freeze Ray

Hefeweizen
German wheat beer with flavors of cloves and banana
Legend Hefeweizen
Lost Rhino Final Glide
Young Veterans Pineapple Grenade

Kölsch
Straw colored, clean, and crisp beer with a delicate balance. Beer is fermented at warmer temperatures (55 – 70F) then cold conditioned.  
Blue Mountain Kolsch 151
Center of the Universe Slingshot Kolsch
Champion Killer Kolsch
Midnight New Beginnings Kolsch
Rock Bottom Kolsch

Maibock
Pale German lager with more apparent hops than other bocks
Blue Mountain Maggie’s Maibock
Legend Maibock

Pilsner
Refreshing, clean, and crisp beer with moderate to strong nobel German hop bitterness.
Devils Backbone Gold Leaf Lager

Schwarzbier
Dark German lager balancing roasted and smooth malt characters with moderate hop bitterness
Devils Backbone Schwartz Bier

Vienna Lager
Malty amber lager with a dry finish
Devils Backbone Vienna Lager

Looking for a place to watch the game? Check out the events from Strangeways and Triple Crossing.