German Brewing History and Beer

Germany is well known as one of the major brewing cultures of the world. Archaeological evidence suggests that the tradition of brewing in Germany may date as far back as the bronze age, hundreds of years before the birth of Christ. While the original inhabitants of that part of Europe were tribesman with no written history, artifacts dating back to 800 BC have been found with traces of beer like residue. The first written evidence of brewing in the area that is now Germany comes from the Romans around 100 AD, referring to a fermented drink made from barley, which was considered inferior in comparison to Roman wine. However, as the Romans settled the area, it is believed that they took up the tradition of brewing due to the difficulty of shipping wine to the region. The remains of a Roman brewery were found near Regensberg, Bavaria in 1978 that had all of the facilities needed for 'modern' brewing, where barley was actually mashed instead of the ancient rudimentary practice of fermenting loaves of bread.
Irish monks, inspired by St. Patrick, began spreading to the continent in the 6th century, and gradually began expanding and developing brewing techniques. They are credited with the discovery of using hops as a bittering agent in beer. A Benedictine Abbey was founded in the year 724 in Weihenstephan, and obtained a brewing license in the year 1040. This is considered the oldest continually operating brewery in the world.
As the monastic breweries became successful and more powerful, secular interests began to notice and take up brewing. However these secular brewers were not at skilled as the monks, and as time went on, they began using non-traditional and strange ingredients such as "soot, oxen bile, tree bark, poisonous mushrooms, potent herbs and powerful spices" (Horst Dornbusch, in The Oxford Companion to Beer) to increase production and cover up off flavors in their brews. Monastery brews were known to be a healthy and nourishing alternative to the unclean waters of the middle ages, but the poorly brewed secular beers were more likely to make people sick.
Two different events occurred to improve the quality of Germanic beer. While the balance of power in the south was strongly influenced by the feudal culture coming out of the power center of Italy, the northern areas were more remote. Those in the north began to become powerful through shipping and trading. Cities like Hamburg, Cologne, Bremen and Hannover increased their influence by opening trade with the Baltics. This competition for trade led the northern cities to band together in the 13th century to form a protective trading association which became known as the Hanseatic League, free of trade barriers and tariffs. Soon beer became one of their most important commodities, and production of beer increased dramatically in port cities. By 1526, Hamburg boasted over 500 breweries, and about half of the workers in the city were involved in brewing. This competition for profit led to higher quality beer.
However, in the established feudal society of the south no such profit motive existed, and the breweries continued to use inferior ingredients and techniques. Eventually Duke Wilhelm IV decreed that beer could only be made with 3 ingredients: barley, hops and water. This decree occurred on April 23rd, 1516, and is know as the German Purity Law, or Reinheitsgebot. However, this in itself was not enough to clean up the beer. During the warmer summer months, airborne microbial infections would get into the open fermenters, often ruining the beer. As the science of the day did not correctly understand the cause of this, Wilhelm's successor Duke Albrecht V decreed a new law forbidding any brewing between April 23rd and September 21st. This resulted in Germany becoming mostly a lager beer culture, as only the bottom fermenting lager yeast could make beer during the colder winter months.
The Thirty Years War broke out in 1618, the first in a series of European wars that lasted roughly a century. During that time Europe lost about half of its population, and most economic activity, including grain farming was curtailed or halted. The Hanseatic League dissolved in 1669. Commercial brewing came to a halt. It took decades for Europe, and the brewing industry to recover, only to be set back again by the Napoleonic Wars in the early 1800's. However, during the peace that followed for the remainder of the 1800's, major advances in science, technology and industry brought corresponding advances in Germany's brewing techniques. New tools and equipment were invented, such as the thermometer, the hydrometer, indirect fired kilns for malting and copper brew kettles. Refrigeration, pasteurization and filtration all enhanced the quality of Germany's beer, and advances in microbiology enabled brewers to isolate pure yeast strains and reduce spoiling. New and expanding railroad networks served to transport the beer to places that were previously unreachable.
Many of Germany's classic beer styles were developed during the 1800's: Paulaner's Salvator Doppelbock came out in 1835, Schumacher's Altbier in 1838, Dreher Brewery's Vienna Lager in 1841, Spaten Brewery's Marzen in 1841, Pilsner Burgher Brewery's Bohemian Pilsner in 1842, Spaten Brewery's Oktoberfest in 1871, Spaten Brewery's Munich Helles of 1894 and the precursor to the modern Kolsch beer in Cologne during the 1890's.
Brewing in Germany prospered through the 20th century, despite two world wars. By the 1970's, Germany had become the second largest beer producer in the world (the U.S. was first) with about 2500 breweries. Germans had become the most prolific beer drinkers in the world, topping out at 151 liters per capita in 1976. Most of this beer not only came from within Germany, but was from local breweries serving local markets. Germany's beer industry was far more decentralized than in the U.S., where major corporate breweries dominated the scene. Germany's largest producer, the Radeberger Group, only produced about 15% of all beer nationally.
However, the last three decades have seen a major decline in Germany's beer production and per capita consumption. While the Bavarians of southern Germany still consume as much as 155 liters per capita, consumption in other areas has plummeted, with the wine growing regions only averaging about 69 liters per capita. Germany now ranks fifth worldwide in beer production, well behind top producing China; and even behind the fast growing markets in Brazil and Russia. The number of German breweries has fallen to around 1300. Some blame the decline on younger Germans who seem to have moved toward wine and cocktails. Others note that Germany's brewers have focused too much on pilsners, which, despite their high quality are difficult to distinguish from each other. Pilsners make up over half of the beer produced in Germany. Weissbiers are still popular in the south, but other German styles make up a very small portion of the beers produced. The German brewing tradition is in danger of fading into the modern corporate world of mass produced lagers. The craft beer revolution is only just beginning to hit Germany, and a recent wave of brewpubs and artisanal breweries offers hope that the German brewing industry can be revitalized.

German Beer Styles:

Altbier: A crisp, full bodied beer, usually around 4.8% ABV, with a copper-brown color, a malty or nutty flavor and a crown of laced white foam. It gets its name from the word Alt, meaning old, because it is brewed in a style older than the newer cold fermenting lagers. Instead, Altbiers use a specialty yeast that is fermented at temperatures that are warmer than lagers, but cooler than ales. The beers are then aged in lagering tanks for up to two months, giving them a mellow and clean taste. The style originated in the area around Dusseldorf.

Bock Beer: A high gravity (6.5% ABV and up) beer that originated in the northern German city of Einbeck. Most bock beers are bottom fermented lagers that tend to be full bodied with a slightly sweet and fruity malt characteristic.

Doppelbock: A strong (over 7% ABV) beer, originally introduced by Paulaner with their Salvator beer. These beers are bottom fermented lagers, and are usually reddish brown with a toffee or bready taste, with just enough hops to balance the sweeter finish.

German Pilsner: A crisp, light-bodied bottom fermented lager, golden in color with a distinct bitterness and exhibiting a floral hoppiness. While the style is credited to the Czech city of Pilsn, the brewer who introduced these pilsners was the German, Josef Groll, who was the first brewmaster at the Czech brewery. German breweries began brewing the style in the decades following its introduction in Pilsn.

Helles: Meaning "pale" in German, helles beers are straw colored, and less hoppy and bitter than pilsners. They exhibit a clean, bready malt flavor, and average around 5% ABV.

Kolsch: Originating in Cologne, Germany, Kolsch is a top fermenting ale that is bright yellow in color and has a pronounced hop bitterness. Brewers in Cologne came up with it in response to the pilsners that were coming out of southern Germany. The ABV is around 4.8%.

Marzen: Meaning "March". This style was developed in response to Duke Albrecht V's decree that no beer could be brewed during the summer months. This beer was brewed during the month of March, and stored (lagered) during the summer months for consumption in the fall. It is an amber colored lager with a full body and an ABV around 5-5.5%. It was originally introduced at Oktoberfest in 1841 by the Spaten Brewery in Munich.

Rouchbier: Or "smoke beer", can be made in any style, but is generally a medium strength lager that is brewed with smoked malt. The style originates from the area around Bamberg, Germany; a fantastic old medieval city. Many beers may have exhibited a smokiness prior to the advances in malting and kilning during the 1800's, but the folks in Bamberg are famous for continuing the smoky tradition.

Weissbier: Or "white beer". This is Bavaria's classic style and must be made with at least 50% malted wheat. These beers are usu'lly unfiltered and have a high degree of yeast sediment in them. Known outside of Germany as "Hefe-weizen" (German for "yeast wheat"), this beer is actually one of Germany's only top fermenting beers. The style is known for its phenolic attributes, which give the beer notes of clove, banana or even bubble gum. While many will add a slice of lemon to this beer, that practice does not come from Germany, where they find that the lemon overpowers the beer's delicate aroma and the lemon oil destroys the foamy head on the beer.

Most of the information presented comes from the utterly fantastic book: The Oxford Companion to Beer, edited by Garrett Oliver of the Brooklyn Brewery, copyright 2012.

Chip Bartsch
West Vail Liquor Mart