One of the Erdinger Brewery's nine beer offerings is the Erdinger Champ, described on their website as "the cool Weißier."
(I'm not going to even get into how bad the translation is on Erdinger's own English website....it would be a very long post. Though I may have to write them and let them know how they're really missing the meaning.)
;)
However, I think the bottle design may be really cool and innovative. It's your typical American-style longneck bottle, but according to their website:
"features an integrated opener on the bottom for extra convenience. Simply place one Erdinger Champ on top of another to twist open the bottom bottle. As you can see, it's always best to order two bottles and enjoy Erdinger Champ in company!"
Sure, it's a bit unnecessary in Texas, where most beers are twist-off or you can always find an Aggie whose class ring serves as an emergency beer opener, but it's a cool idea.
The reviews of the beer are pretty bad and as I've never seen it sold or advertised anywhere despite being introduced 10 years ago with a heavy marketing campaign, I doubt it's done very well. In fact it might be a good candidate for a Marketing or Strategy case study about how (not) to position your product....
But my first thought upon seeing this on the Erdinger site was "Is this supposed to be like an American beer?" It may seem minor, but the shape and size of the bottle, plus the fact that it is meant to be drunk from the bottle, are nearly heretical here in southern Bavaria. There are both a proper glass and a proper way to pour a Weißier.
Erdinger Champ, in its 0.33 mL longneck
Erdinger, in the standard 0.5 mL bottle and glass
As much as I may mock the rules sometimes, we have seen that temperature and pouring method DO actually affect the taste (and probably the glass shape, though we haven't tested those yet). In reality, most German beers will give you a good beer experience however you pour them, but it is possible to optimize the experience if you want.
What is the proper way to pour a Weißier?
Here we have "Brother Helmut" to help us out
And a very non-traditional, but totally accurate mechanical version for all you boys who like toys