Went to the German bar tonight. They had some Unertl but only dark varieties so I didn't try one... so I copped out and just drank a bunch of Schneiders since I already know those are good. Also, while not German I finally got to try some Mikkeller. Was NOT impressed for beers that cost $9 for a .33l. I also tried some Veltins which I thought to be one of the worst beers I have ever had... and some Reissdorf kölsch which I thought to be decent enough, but it was like my 9th beer so I can't really make a proper opinion of it.
Try the Unertl. It's great, and as far as I know they don't have a pale version, their "standard" hefeweizen is just darker then most other breweries' hefeweizen. It's a bit darker then Schneiders Tap7, and if you like that you'll like the Unertl too.
As for Kölsch the Reissdorf is one of the most popular brands here in Germany, but also one of the most boring and steamlined. Of the popular brands I'd prefer Früh, but that's also nothing really special. Chances are you can get a Mühlen Kölsch as they also sell bottles, which I would recommend in this case. If you ever get to cologne try Pfaffen and Päffgen, the two best Kölsch breweries by far.
Also keep an eye out for the Kölsch's archenemy the Düsseldorfer Alt. The smaller house-brewerys like Schlüssel, Uerige and Füchschen produce great beers and sell it in bottles, too.
Veltins, Krombacher, Warsteiner, Becks (and many more) are to Pilsener what Franziskaner is to Hefeweizen.
Franziskaner isn't that bad. Granted it's unremarkable but there are much worse weiss. Keep in mind it's really tough to get a lot of the best ones outside Germany. Many simply don't even export. Hell even some you can't find in a different region inside Germany very easy.
That's right, but I really wouldn't recommend a Franziskaner. Generic Hefeweizen brewed with cheap ingredients. If you can come by a Unertl, Hopf, Gutmann or Jacob that's the way to go. Weihenstephan, Schneider and Maisels are usually wider available and a huge improvement over the Franziskaner/Paulander/Erdinger league.
I'm going to find and try all of these. All these names sound so foreign and wonderful hahaha
I'm pretty sure that some of them should be available overseas, if not I can proxy you a bottle or two