Bauernbier

[clingy]

My German grandmother always tells me about when she was young (World War II-era and earlier) the farmers of her small town would all take turns brewing a batch of beer that they would drink while working in the fields.

The town specifically is Maroldsweisach in the Upper Franconia (Oberfranken) region of Bavaria. Hartleb Vollbier is an existing commercial beer from that town that was also brewed at the time - however I'd have to go over there to get my hands on some.

I've been brewing for a while now and I am tempted to create a recipe that would resemble this Bauernbier her father helped brew. However, there is very little information on the internet about such beers. I have found this page on the beers of Franconia, however it does not provide many specifics beyond the two recipes it provides.

Does anyone know anything about German Bauernbiere? Were they generally light or dark? How strong were they? Were they following recipes or using whatever they had available? What sorts of ingredients were they using?

I'm sure there are many varying styles of Bauernbier depending on what part of Germany we are talking about, but I would like to try to narrow my recipe down to a Franconian style.

Any information, insight, or even suggestions for a recipe would be great! I look forward to hearing what you all may have to say about this subject. Thanks!

 

[Junkster]

Have you seen this? It may help.....
http://www.germanbeerinstitute.com/Erntebier.html

Also, there is a brewery called Held-Brau which makes a Dunkel Bauernbier, but I could not find any info on German sites regarding how it's made.

 

[JKaranka]

Could it be one of the top fermented beers that died out?

 

[clingy]

Have you seen this? It may help.....
http://www.germanbeerinstitute.com/Erntebier.html

Also, there is a brewery called Held-Brau which makes a Dunkel Bauernbier, but I could not find any info on German sites regarding how it's made.

Nice find on the Erntebier. That's probably the same thing I'm talking about. Thanks!

 

[clingy]

Could it be one of the top fermented beers that died out?

Might be, I'd love to know.

 

[clingy]

Just found this: http://allaboutbeer.com/erntebier-recipe-for-5-us-gallons-19-liters/

Might have to try that out. Thanks for pointing me in this direction!!

 

[JKaranka]

Actually from the beers of Franconia article it sounds a lot like Finnish kotikalja which I brew in Summer. If I was going to hazard a guess...

Blend barley and rye malt (1:2) with a dash of dark malt for colour (4oz roast barley or 1/2lb crystal malt). Aim for an OG of 1.030, boil 60m with Hallertau as bittering for 15-20 IBU. Use top fermenting yeast and drink fresh. Farmers did not lager, did not use pilsner malt and tended to drink fresh as the stability of the beer was poor.

 

[JKaranka]

Did your grandmother mention if they had a mashing tun? I still brew kotikalja in a single vessel. It's really easy to do a one or two gallon brew on the stove. You don't really want to make more as you need to drink it within two/three weeks.

Basically, you mix the crushed malts and hops on a pot and add cold water (a bit more than what you want as end product). Then you turn the gas on fairly low so that it raises temperature gently and goes through the stages of the mash. After an hour or so you raise the gas so that the mix reaches a boil. You just boil fifteen minutes to ensure that the worse of the nasties are gone. You then pour the wort into a demijohn filtering it through a cloth to separate the malts and hops out. It ferments fast an vigorously but you want to keep some sugars in there, so after about two days fermenting you bottle it and keep it cold. As there are some remaining sugars in the wort it will naturally condition just a little bit in the bottle (even if you keep them in the fridge).

I use brewers yeast for this one and it's the only beer that my wife likes. She compares it to a dark caramelly fizzy drink with a hint of alcohol. You get plenty of spice from the rye, and there are those nice banana and clove esters from the yeast. Any kitchen is perfectly equipped to make this sort of farmhouse beer.

 

[Yellowirenut]

I am interested interested in this recipe. The next few months are going to be busy and this sounds like something that is unique but simple.

 

[clingy]

She was too young to remember details like that. I am sure it is along the lines of a quick fermented beer like the Finnish one you described. I think I'm gonna try a 1 gallon of the recipe you provided, with a couple tweaks. I'm impressed with your knowledge! How'd you come across the Finnish beer and your recipe, just experimentation?

 

[clingy]

JKaranka, how carbonated do these beers turn out, if at all?

 

[JKaranka]

They've always carbonated. If you think they are undercarbonated you can take them out of the fridge for half a day and that should do. Since I was a kid I made Sima with my parents and that works out the same way. Kotikalja (house beer) in Finland seems to be defined as a malt based beverage below 3% abv. The most typical commercial version is not sold as a drink but as either extract or malts to make at home (or at the work canteen, which is quite common).

A commercial description in English (this one is 100% rye malt):
http://www.laihianmallas.fi/products/private-households/tuoppi-malt-drinks

You can see a video on how to make it (in Finnish, but dead simple) here:
http://www.laihianmallas.fi/tuotteet/kotitaloudet/kotikaljat

The whole thing is likely not to be miles away from the making of Sahti and the maltsters are the same.