German beer has a good reputation throughout the world. In this book, you will discover a world of German beer culture that goes beyond pale lager beers. Learn about the history of 22 classic German and Austrian beer styles and brew them yourself at home using historically accurate, authentic recipes and brewing methods.Divided into four categories - Bavarian beers, German white beers, German brown beers, and Austrian beers - this book gives a detailed introduction into the history of German beer and how it was brewed centuries ago, from Bavarian lager beer and Weissbier to Broyhan, Kottbusser Bier, Berliner Braunbier, Mannheimer Braunbier, Carinthian Stone Beer and more.This book was written for intermediate and experienced homebrewers who are comfortable with brewing and want to explore classic and lesser known German beer styles, as well as beer history geeks who want to experience a side of German and Austrian beer culture that has not been discovered yet by the craft beer world.
Vienna Lager is an outstanding example of a revolution in beer brewing that started in the 1830s. When Austrian brewer Anton Dreher travelled to England and Scotland, he learned about British brewing technology that was mostly unknown in Continental Europe at the time. With this knowledge and a lager yeast sample from his friend and travel companion Gabriel Sedlmayr from Munich, he founded a brewing empire that started a revolution of pale, cold-fermented beer across Europe and the world. Thanks to Vienna Lager's popularity in the United States during the 19th and 20th century, it survived even when it had fallen out of fashion in its country of origin and became a classic style that is still brewed and reinterpreted by brewers around the world. The book not only tells the story of this beer type in great detail and dispels many myths around it, it also explains - based on historic sources - which ingredients were used to brew the beer, what the brewing process was like, and what the beer looked and tasted like. The book also comes with a number of recipes that explain how home-brewers can recreate both authentic, historic examples and modern versions of Vienna Lager at home.
Ancient brewing traditions and techniques have been passed generation to generation on farms throughout remote areas of northern Europe. With these traditions facing near extinction, author Lars Marius Garshol set out to explore and document the lost art of brewing using traditional local methods. Equal parts history, cultural anthropology, social science, and travelogue, this book describes brewing and fermentation techniques that are vastly different from modern craft brewing and preserves them for posterity and exploration. Learn about uncovering an unusual strain of yeast, called kveik, which can ferment a batch to completion in just 36 hours. Discover how to make keptinis by baking the mash in the oven. Explore using juniper boughs for various stages of the brewing process. Test your own hand by brewing recipes gleaned from years of travel and research in the farmlands of northern Europe. Meet the brewers and delve into the ingredients that have kept these traditional methods alive. Discover the regional and stylistic differences between farmhouse brewers today and throughout history.
Brewed centuries ago by monks and nuns, this copper-colored, full-bodied ale has a proud and unbroken brewing tradition dating back to the beginning of civilization. Horst Dornbusch sheds light on the practices of commercial altbier makers, how the equipment and ingredients used affect its flavor, and how this full-bodied brew became one of Germany's most beloved beer styles. Recipes are included! Brewers Publications' Classic Beer Style Series is devoted to offering in-depth information on world-class beer styles by exploring their history, flavor profiles, brewing methods, recipes, and ingredients.
Horst Dornbusch introduces you to the glorious world of German beer. Nowhere has the history of beer been so intimately intertwined with the political, religious, and cultural history of the land and its people as in Germany. Trace the 3,000-year-old story of German beer from its turbid beginnings among tribal bands in the forests to the crisp, clean gems we drink today. Discover German beer’s subtle secrets—find out what makes it special and sets it apart. Learn why Germany is arguably the greatest beer culture in the world. Examine the ingredients that go into authentic German beers and follow the processes that make these beers.
First created in Munich in 1894, Bavarian Helles is perhaps the most delicate beer imaginable, and must rely on its incredible subtlety to please the palate. Munich’s beer hall helles, the palest of lagers, has almost no nose or up-front bitterness. Straw blonde and topped by a tall, white crown, it is the quaffing beer of the Bavarians. A page-turning guide through Bavaria with stories of royalty, dynasties, and helles seekers fill the pages. Beer enthusiasts and brewers interested in learning more about the dazzling helles will treasure this book. Written by a man who knows all about it, Horst Dornbusch covers the exact step-by-step brewing methods to achieve the necessary perfection of a helles.
A “fascinating and well-documented social history” of American beer, from the immigrants who invented it to the upstart microbrewers who revived it (Chicago Tribune). Grab a pint and settle in with AmbitiousBrew, the fascinating, first-ever history of American beer. Included here are the stories of ingenious German immigrant entrepreneurs like Frederick Pabst and Adolphus Busch, titans of nineteenth-century industrial brewing who introduced the pleasures of beer gardens to a nation that mostly drank rum and whiskey; the temperance movement (one activist declared that “the worst of all our German enemies are Pabst, Schlitz, Blatz, and Miller”); Prohibition; and the twentieth-century passion for microbrews. Historian Maureen Ogle tells a wonderful tale of the American dream—and the great American brew. “As much a painstakingly researched microcosm of American entrepreneurialism as it is a love letter to the country’s favorite buzz-producing beverage . . . ‘Ambitious Brew’ goes down as brisk and refreshingly as, well, you know.” —New York Post
It is difficult to believe that at one time hops were very much the marginalized ingredient of modern beer, until the burgeoning craft beer movement in America reignited the industry's enthusiasm for hop-forward beer. The history of hops and their use in beer is long and shrouded in mystery to this day, but Stan Hieronymous has gamely teased apart the many threads as best anyone can, lending credence where due and scotching unfounded claims when appropriate. It is just one example of the deep research through history books, research articles, and first-hand interviews with present-day experts and growers that has enabled Stan to produce a wide-ranging, engaging account of this essential beer ingredient. While they have an exalted status with today's craft brewers, many may not be aware of the journey hops take to bring them, neatly baled or pressed into blocks and pellets, into the brewhouse. Stan paints a detailed and, at times, personal portrait of the life of hops, weaving technical information about hop growing and anatomy with insights from families who have been running their hop farms for generations. The author takes the reader on a tour of the main growing regions of central Europe, where the famous landrace varieties of Slovenia, the Czech Republic, and Germany originate, to England and thence to North America, and latterly, Australia and New Zealand. Growing hops and supplying the global brewing industry has always been a hard-nosed business, and Stan presents statistics on yields, acreage, wilt and other diseases, interspersed with words from the farmers themselves that illustrate the challenges and uncertainties hop growers face. Along the way, Stan gives details about some of the most well-known varieties—Saaz, Hallertau, Tettnang, Golding, Fuggle, Cluster, Cascade, Willamette, Citra, Amarillo, Nelson Sauvin, and many others—and their history of use in the Old World and New World. The section culminates in a catalog of 105 hop varieties in use today, with a brief description of character and vital statistics for each. Of course, the art and science of using hops in making beer is not forgotten. Once the hops have been harvested, processed, and delivered to the brewery, they can be used in myriad ways. The author moves from the toil of the hop gardens to that of the brewhouse, again presenting a blend of history and present-day interviews and research articles to explain alpha acids, beta acids, bitterness, harshness, smoothness, and the deterioration of bittering flavors over time. Perception is all important when discussing bitterness, and the author touches on genetics, evolution, the vagaries of individuals' perceptions of bitterness, and changing tastes, such as the “lupulin shift.” The meaning of the international bitterness unit, or IBU, is not always properly understood and here Stan lays out a brief history of how the IBU came to be and an appreciation of the many variables affecting utilization in the boil and final bitterness in beer. Adding hops is not as simple as it sounds, and Stan's research illustrates that if you ask ten brewers about something you will get eleven opinions. Early additions, late additions, continuous hopping, first wort hopping, and hop bursting are all discussed with a healthy dose of pragmatic wisdom from brewers and a pinch of chemistry. There then follows an entire chapter devoted to the druidic art of dry hopping, following its commonplace usage in nineteenth-century England to the modern applications found in today's US craft brewing scene. The author uncovers hop plugs, hop coffins, and the “pendulum method,” along with the famous hop rocket and hop torpedo used by some of America's leading craft breweries. Every brewer has their dry hopping method and, gratifyingly, many are happy to share with the author, making this chapter a great source for inspiration and ideas. Many of the brewers the author interviewed were also happy to share recipes. There are 16 recipes from breweries in America, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Germany, and New Zealand. These not only present delicious beers but give some insight into how professional brewers design their recipes to get the most out of their hops. As always, Stan imparts wisdom in an engaging and accessible fashion, making this an amazing compendium on “every brewer's favorite flower.”
This comprehensive reference combines the technological know-how from five centuries of industrial-scale brewing to meet the needs of a global economy. The editor and authors draw on the expertise gained in the world's most competitive beer market (Germany), where many of the current technologies were first introduced. Following a look at the history of beer brewing, the book goes on to discuss raw materials, fermentation, maturation and storage, filtration and stabilization, special production methods and beermix beverages. Further chapters investigate the properties and quality of beer, flavor stability, analysis and quality control, microbiology and certification, as well as physiology and toxicology. Such modern aspects as automation, energy and environmental protection are also considered. Regional processes and specialties are addressed throughout the entire book, making this a truly global resource on brewing.