German beer
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German beer is highly diverse and an important part of Germany's culture. There are around 1300 breweries in Germany, more than in any other country. The German beer market is a bit sheltered from the rest of the world beer market by the German brewers' adherence to the Bavarian Reinheitsgebot (purity requirement) dating from 1516, according to which the only allowed ingredients of beer are water, hops and barley-malt. Many breweries worldwide adopted the Reinheitsgebot for their own beers. After its discovery, yeast became the fourth legal ingredient, though for top-fermenting beers the use of sugar is also permitted. Through this law (which since 1988 has not applied to imported beer, but is still compulsory for German brewers), beers from Germany have a good reputation for their quality. The Germans are behind only the Czechs and the Irish in their per capita consumption of beer.
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[edit] Varieties
There are a variety of different styles of German beer, such as:
- Ales
- Alt — a dark amber, hoppy beer brewed around Düsseldorf and Lower Rhine. 11-12° Plato, 4.5-5% ABV.
- Kölsch — pale, light-bodied, top-fermented beer which can only legally be brewed in the Cologne region. 11-12° Plato, 4.5-5% ABV.
- Weizen — top-fermented wheat beer 12-12.5° Plato, 5-5.5% ABV.
- Weizenbock — strong, dark, top-fermented wheat beer. 16-17° Plato, 6.5-8% ABV.
- Berliner Weisse — a pale, very sour, top-fermented wheat beer brewed in Berlin. Usually drunk with the addition of fruit syrup. 9° Plato, 2.5-5% ABV.
- Leipziger Gose — an amber, very sour, top-fermented wheat beer brewed around Leipzig. It disappeared between 1966 and 1985, when it was revived by Lothar Goldhahn. 10-12° Plato, 4-5% ABV.
- Lagers
- Helles — a pale, malty lager from Bavaria of 11-12° Plato, 4.5-5% ABV
- Schwarzbier — a bottom-fermented, dark lager beer with a full, roasty, chocolatey flavor. 11-12° Plato, 4.5-5% ABV.
- Pilsener — a pale lager with a light body and a more prominent hop character. 11-12° Plato, 4.5-5% ABV. By far the most popular style, with around two thirds of the market.
- Export — a pale lager that is fuller, maltier and less hoppy than Pilsner. 12-12.5° Plato, 5-5.5% ABV. Germany´s most popular style in the 1950´s and 1960´s, it´s becoming increasingly rare.
- Spezial — a pale, full, bitter-sweet and delicately hopped lager. 13-13.5° Plato, 5.5-5.7% ABV.
- Dunkel — dark lager which comes in two main varieties: the sweetish, malty Munich style and the drier, hoppy Franconian style
- Rauchbier — usually dark in color and smoky in taste from the use of smoked malt. A speciality of the Bamberg region. 12-13° Plato, 5-5.5% ABV.
- Bock — an amber, heavy-bodied, bitter-sweet lager. 16-17° Plato, 6.5-7% ABV.
- Dunkles Bock — a dark, heavy bodied lager darkened by high-coloured malts. 16-17° Plato, 6.5-7% ABV.
- MaiBock — a pale, strong lager darkened brewed in the Spring. 16-17° Plato, 6.5-7% ABV.
- Doppelbock — a powerful, very full-bodied lager darkened by high-coloured malts. 18-28° Plato, 8-12% ABV.
- Eisbock — a freeze distilled variation of Doppelbock. 18-28° Plato, 9-15% ABV.
- Märzen — medium body, malty lagers that come in pale, amber and dark varieties. 13-14° Plato, 5.2-6% ABV. The type of beer traditionally served at the Munich Oktoberfest.
Many of the kinds of beer are also available with the alcohol content reduced or added...
[edit] Brands and breweries
While the beer market is weaker but more centralized in northern Germany (the biggest brands being Beck's, Krombacher, Veltins, Warsteiner, and Bitburger), the south has lots of very small, local breweries. The highest density of breweries in the world is found near the city of Bamberg, in the Franconia region of Bavaria. In total, there are approximately 1350 breweries in Germany producing over 5000 brands of beer. One of these breweries, the Benedictine abbey Weihenstephan (established in 725) is reputedly the oldest existing brewery in the world (brewing since 1040).
[edit] Alcohol content
The alcohol content is usually between 4.7% and 5.4% for most traditional brews. Bockbier or Doppelbock (double Bockbier) however can have an alcohol content of up to 12%, making it stronger than many wines.
[edit] Oktoberfest
The Munich Oktoberfest is well known for the quantity of beer drunk as well as the friendly, social atmosphere created by the massive marqees with long tables and bench seating. Almost 6,000,000 litres of beer are served every year at the festival. There are also many, many tourists, which has changed the cultural experience of Oktoberfest markedly over the years.
[edit] See also
