A Quart of Ale± #43 On the craft journey. Illustrating German Lagers.

A Quart of Ale± #43

On the craft journey. Illustrating German Lagers.

Veltins Grevensteiner Naturtrübes Helles, 5.2%, 500ml bottle via Bradleys

Pale gold is the colour of this Helles, a lager associated with the Munich area.  Head is very short-lived (they claim a “stable” head but not from this bottle) and the effervescence is barely noticeable - it is unfiltered. Aromas are mild and malty. This rather lightweight Helles is fruity and fresh on the palate, well-balanced and easy-drinking, a pleasing but hardly outstanding quaffer.

The Helles (which means pale) is a cool, refreshing, everyday beer that pairs well with salads, shrimp, or fish. Like the Dunkel, Munich Helles usually falls in the range of 4%- to 6% ABV, making it a nice session beer for a warm day.

They say: Brothers Carl and Anton Veltins brewed an enjoyable light Grevensteiner for special occasions - mild, light to drink and, as was customary at the time, naturally cloudy. With its fruity and fresh note and a fine malt aroma, Grevensteiner Hell is harmoniously rounded off in taste.

The history of the Veltins goes back close to 200 years and quite a few Germany brewers go back further than that. Some of these breweries are quite large now. 

What of craft beer in the country? According to the latest World Atlas of Beer “the notion of craft beer has arrived and is fair buzzing in Berlin and Hamburg, but elsewhere such beers are thinner on the ground.” It seems the vast majority of German brewers, both big and small, continue to make reliable, local versions of familiar styles. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Klosterbrau Weißenohe Glocken Hell, 5.0%, 500ml bottle via Bradleys

Poured this into a tall-ish glass (Metalman) at quite a rate and got myself a good head, three-fingers, as a result. Millions of bubbles rise rapidly through the clear amber liquid. Floral and slightly spicy notes from the aromas. Elegant and finely spicy on the palate, a touch of malty sweetness too and, of course, no shortage of refreshment.

Just the job at the end of the day! When the evening bell tolls, have a pint. Was reading the label, with the help of Google translate. 

“Then as now, the sound of the Weissenoher church tower not only announces moments of prayer and contemplation. It also determines the mundane daily rhythm. … One of the nicest moments of the day is surely the end of the day. Ring in your evening with our Glocken Hell.”

From a Benedictine cloister to a cloister brewery – that was just a small step to take for the friars of Weißenohe. The Kloster Brewery was founded around 1050. According to the Beer Handbook, it has three beers that you should look out for. One is the signature Altfränkisch Klosterbier, the second is Eucharius Märzan and the third is Bonator Dopplebock (pretty sure I have that in my queue). 

Rothaus Märzen, 5.6%, 500ml bottle via Bradley

Give this German a robust pour and you’ll get a decent white head that hangs around for a spell. The important bit comes after that, the light gold body and the zillions of micro-bubbles in the ever-rising fountains. Herbs crowd the aromas, nothing too intense. The smooth body is more malt (rich and bready) than hops with a fruit input in between and a mild tartness. Quite a balanced beer actually, easy drinking, an enjoyable companion at either lunch or dinner.

So where did Marzen come from? Beers of this type of brewing are traditionally more heavily brewed, as brewing was only allowed in the months from September to April. A beer with a longer shelf life was thus produced in March, which also survived the five months without a brewing process and was produced just in time for Octoberfest.

According to the Beer Connoisseur, the Märzen style is a malty, amber, European-style lager that can trace the roots of its modern variants all the way back to 1841, when Spaten created the first recipe for the style. Märzen become the official beer of Munich’s Oktoberfest in 1872, a tradition that lasted over 100 years when it was replaced by the lighter-bodied, golden-colored Festbier in the 1990 Oktoberfest. Yet many Oktoberfest beers are still technically Märzens.

It is a full-bodied, luscious beer with the unique barley malt from southern Germany bolstering its character. Fresh brewing water as well as the famous hops from Tettnang and the Hallertau make the taste experience more or less perfect. So well done to the Rothaus master brewers who have produced a top class beer that has been a favourite for decades.

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen, 5.1%, 500ml bottle via Bradleys

This original smoked beer, now regarded as a classic, has been Bamberg's specialty for centuries. A dark bottom fermented lager beer, brewed with 100% smoked malt from the Schlenkerla maltings.

Black is the colour with a soft cream/coffee coloured head that stays around for a spell. Must admit I’d been expecting to find the smoke in the aromas but is is much more striking in the flavours, a kind of unrelenting smoky bacon. A dark bottom-fermented lager beer, brewed with 100% smoked malt from the Schlenkerla maltings. The brewery is also a maltster.

The Story: Schlenkerla smoked malt is kilned directly over an open wood fire. The smoke from this fire penetrates the malt and gives it its unique smoky flavour. Until the invention of modern malting systems in the 17th and 18th century with heat exchangers running on coal, oil or gas, smoke kilns were THE standard. As the new industrial form of malting was much more cost efficient, the smoke kilns everywhere were closed down. Not so at Schlenkerla!

Indeed,  Slow Food® has made Schlenkerla Rauchbier a passenger in its “Ark of Taste”.

Kegworks say Rauchbier will generally have a light copper to dark brown colour with an ABV of around 5-6%. The aroma and taste will have a combination of smokey and malty flavours to it.

Bamberg is, surprisingly, one of the top brewing cities in Germany, synonymous with Rauchbier. Beer FAQ says our Rauchbier is the one with which most been enthusiasts worldwide are familiar. “The brewery..traces production back to 1405…still taps the traditional brew from wooden barrels”. Sounds like a place to visit for sure. Don’t like smoky? Don’t worry they have a brewery here for every 8,000 people and you may sample multiple beer styles.

German lager types

“Pils” may be Germany’s most well-known lager. Aromatic, crisp and moderately bitter it is refreshing and a terrific session beer.

Maibock is the spring beer (Mai = May). Hops and malts get a turn here. Quite versatile at the table with pasta dishes, salmon, or shellfish recommended.

Märzen has traditionally been brewed in March to be enjoyed at festivals starting in September. Again, there’s usually a good balance between malts and hops and you can enjoy it at Oktobertfest with the schnitzel, brockwurst and game.

Helles can be easily found in Munich, its crisp finish similar to Pils. Cool and refreshing, this everyday beer goes well with salads, shrimp, or fish, an excellent session beer.

There are quite a few other types including Rauchbier (see the Schlenkerla above). And our own Whiplash have a terrific Black lager, appearing soon in The Quart. You'll also come across Kolsch which is a hybrid, meaning that its producers employ elements and techniques of both lager and ale.

How To Pour A German Lager From A Bottle*

1. Tilt the glass or stein at a 45 degree angle.

2. Place the tip of the bottle in the glass, and pour the beer quickly down the side.

3. Start to straighten the glass as the beer reaches the top to create a nice head of foam.

* from kegworks.com 

A Quart of Ale± #5. Moving on over to craft with lager.

A Quart of Ale± #5

Moving on over to craft. Via Lager

Lagers are a joy to drink but tough to brew. According to the Brewdog book, Craft Beer for the People, there are four sub-styles: Lager (like the four reviewed below), Kölsch, Vienna Lager, and Saison.

Perhaps the first lager, I ever drank was Carling Black Label.  If I remember rightly, in the early-mid 60s, you’d pay one shilling and four pence for a bottle, about the same price as a packet of ten cigarettes. You’d have a pretty good night out for one pound (apparently about 20 euro in today’s terms - looks like the 60s weren’t too bad after all).

Year by year, with TV advertising hitting increasingly strongly, with the likes of Carling’s Mabel and Harp’s Sally O’Brien, we were drinking mostly “big” beer, big bad beer such as horrible Harp and Tennents. There were various ales too, including Watneys and its dimpled pint glass. 

On and on it went but bit by bit, I wanted something else (I was happy enough with the stouts available), and just gradually got fed up of one lager after another, hopping back to the first one for a few weeks, then onto another one and so on..

At some point, I stumbled across some German and Czech beers, mostly in bottle but do remember getting Staropramen on draught in the Woodford (Cork) or maybe the Paul Street bar was called something else then. Staropramen and other Czechs such as the Bud below were creeping in here and there and you could eventually get a selection in bottle and on draught in the Bierhaus.

And around the same time along came Franciscan Well and the new wave of craft beers. Lager was no longer a priority as we were eased into a whole new world of flavour via Blarney Blonde and Rebel Red, a brave new world and, eventually, new modern lagers as well. 

We’ll get to the newer ones soon but, for old times’ sake, we’ll start with a Czech and a German that helped me on my way.

Budejovicky Budvar Original Czech Lager 5.0%, 50cl bottle, Bradley’s of Cork

Budejovicky Budvar is the last of the state-owned breweries in the Czech Republic. Budvar is a beer for light beer lovers. High quality top-quality Saaz hops, pure clean natural water from 300-metre deep artesian wells and carefully selected grains of a unique cultivar of Moravian barley “make the premium lager a drink for real beer experts”.

It’s a pale amber colour in the glass with constant fountains of bubbles rising to the top. Head is soft and white and retention is decent enough and the aromas are mildly hoppy. 

Very refreshing drink with some mild bitterness and, for many, a big step away from mass-produced lagers. Another Czech lager I’d have been trying at the time was Staropramen (now owned by Moulton Coors). 

Budejovicky is quite a superb lager, the original Bud, and there’s been many a court case about the name between the small Czech and huge US brewery. Interestingly, the German name of the Czech town of Budějovice is Budweiser. 

What you need to know and probably do is that the American version is a copy of the Czech beer and a dumbed down copy at that according to this article. You can check it out for yourself in a head to head. For me though, my order would be two pints of Budějovice and none of the other. Score: 2-0. At least!

Weihenstephaner Original Helles 5.1%, 0.5l bottle, Bradley’s of Cork

A light amber, even lighter than the Bud, and less bubbles also. White head doesn’t hang about. Delicate aromas but strong and clean on the palate. Another refreshing drink from the oldest still existing brewery in the world. The IBU figure, not given on all beers, is a modest 21. They also do a non-alcoholic version.

Again, like many of the continental beers, the brewery comes up with a food pairing. Here they recommended Rump steak with marinade and give you the recipe as well. Check it out here.

Almost a thousand years ago the Bavarian State Brewery Weihenstephan was the monastery brewery of the Benedictine monks. Then, the Royal Bavarian State Brewery stepped in and it is now operating as a state directed enterprise under the control of the Bavarian Government.

The White Hag RÓC Helles Style Lager, 4.5%, 440ml can, Bradleys of Cork

Enjoyed this one, a lager of the modern kind, a few weeks ago. Light gold, slightly hazy, is the colour, a host of bubbles rising. The big fluffy head is rather short-lived. Aromas are restrained, just a subtle hint of the hops. Very pleasant in the mouth, easy drinking and well balanced to the lip-smacking finish. Light and refreshing they say. Light and refreshing it is. A flavoursome thirst-quencher indeed. IBU is 22.

The Helles style originated in Bavaria (Germany) apparently and this characterful example is one of the best Irish efforts that I’ve tasted. You’ll also see beers designated as Munich lagers, more or less the same thing as Munich is the capital of Bavaria.

Elbow Lane “Elbow” Lager, 4.4%, 500ml bottle, Bradleys of Cork

Once Covid19 struck, we had to go into the “cocoon”. So who would deliver food to us? Along came Neighbourfood, much to our relief and to that of many small producers and market traders who supplied it. My first order included a few beers from local Cork brewer Elbow Lane and very impressive they were, particularly the Pale Ale and the IPA.

And now to the lager, probably closer to the Czech and German versions than any of the others. The micro-brewery, in a small space above the Elbow Lane Smokehouse, brews according to the principles of German purity and “we formulated the beers specifically to work with the food we (the Market Lane group) offer in our five restaurants.”

All the beers are named after medieval lanes in the city, the lager after Elbow Lane itself. It is a mid-gold colour with a modest head, a head that has more staying power than most. The very modest aromas reveal little. There is a surprising tartness as it hits the palate - remember they are gearing this towards dining in their restaurants - and you can see that this lager, quite a distinctive drink, will score well with lighter dishes, including Asian. We certainly enjoyed it, on draught, with Pan Fried Monkfish on a pre-Covid visit to Goldies.

They say: This continental style lager is particularly refreshing and owes its flavour to Pilsner and Munich malts and Noble hop varieties imported from Germany and the Czech republic.