madscientist451
Well-Known Member
Recently, a HBT member asked for advice on how to improve his homebrew German beers.
The word "authentic" was mentioned but beyond that, no specific beers were listed.
I've been brewing various German styles for several years and so was of course interested about ways to get my beers close to whatever "authentic" is.
The thread has been closed for various reasons, and there's no need to re-create the same discussion, but there were a few points that weren't mentioned.
I'm hoping a homebrewer who is actually in Germany can jump in on this.
Does anyone there ever talk about what makes an authentic German beer? Is there a preference for industrial, multi-national beers compared to beer that is made in smaller independent breweries? Or is it the other way around, are local beers usually thought to be better?
Note that just because a brewery is smaller, doesn't mean the local beer is really all that good, I've had my share of mediocre beer from small US breweries.
My efforts to achieve an authentic German beer have included: Using somewhat simple grain bills, using specific German malts and hops, using the correct yeast, longer mashing for fermentability and extended cold lagering.
I haven't gotten in to the low-oxygen techniques on the hot side, but I am going to keep an open mind and try it and see if I notice a difference.
Not being able to get fresh German beer to compare to mine to is an issue I can't do anything about. There are some breweries near me making some German styles, but I have no way of knowing if they are authentic or not.
If anyone has favorite commercial examples that are available here in the US that they have come close to brewing themselves, I'd like to hear about it.
The word "authentic" was mentioned but beyond that, no specific beers were listed.
I've been brewing various German styles for several years and so was of course interested about ways to get my beers close to whatever "authentic" is.
The thread has been closed for various reasons, and there's no need to re-create the same discussion, but there were a few points that weren't mentioned.
I'm hoping a homebrewer who is actually in Germany can jump in on this.
Does anyone there ever talk about what makes an authentic German beer? Is there a preference for industrial, multi-national beers compared to beer that is made in smaller independent breweries? Or is it the other way around, are local beers usually thought to be better?
Note that just because a brewery is smaller, doesn't mean the local beer is really all that good, I've had my share of mediocre beer from small US breweries.
My efforts to achieve an authentic German beer have included: Using somewhat simple grain bills, using specific German malts and hops, using the correct yeast, longer mashing for fermentability and extended cold lagering.
I haven't gotten in to the low-oxygen techniques on the hot side, but I am going to keep an open mind and try it and see if I notice a difference.
Not being able to get fresh German beer to compare to mine to is an issue I can't do anything about. There are some breweries near me making some German styles, but I have no way of knowing if they are authentic or not.
If anyone has favorite commercial examples that are available here in the US that they have come close to brewing themselves, I'd like to hear about it.