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Historic German and Austrian Beers for the Home Brewer
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.
147 pages, Paperback
Published March 7, 2018
86 people are currently reading
43 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 30, 2018
Krennmair has done his homework with this book whose audience will primarily be experienced homebrewers looking understand more about the historical context of Central European beer to explore popular as well as near-forgotten beer styles. His research included extensive reading of contemporary and historical German brewing texts and is fascinating as an exploration which is interesting as a window into the role of beer and brewing in daily life in the region and as a guide to replicating historical beers under modern conditions.
He begins his book with a description of how he became interested in beer and brewing before moving on to a general discussion of the main ingredients of beer and their development historically in the region - which in practical terms includes the current Czech Republic in addition to Austria and Germany due to the strong historical influence of beers from Pilsen and Czech-grown Saazer hops.
It may seem natural that he focuses on four main ingredients - malt, hops, water, and yeast - which beer aficionados will recognize as the only items allowed under the 1516 Bavarian Reinheitsgebot, commonly known now as the German beer "purity law" (n.b. of course yeast was not in that law as its existence was not fully known or understood until the 19th century). Krennmair is careful to point out that a) this law was only one of many so-called "beer purity laws" enacted in what we now know as Germany and Austria from the late Middle Ages until the present; b) that the allowed ingredients varied from place to place, depending on local custom and need (brewing with barley was banned in some instances when grain shortages forced rulers to redirect grain production to bread baking; and ingredients such as wheat, rye, spelt, cardamom, honey, coriander, salt, and caraway were allowed or encouraged under many legal codes); c) most interestingly, these were ingredients that were rigorously and consistently taxed at the time, meaning that the law as not so much directed at ensuring the purity of consumer products as it was at ensuring that the authorities got their share of the action.
Krennmair's description of the main ingredients is practical for modern brewers because it helps explain how historical recipes can be recreated under modern conditions. For example, the "brown malt" used by German brewers before the early to mid-19th Century cannot be replaced by modern brewers with today's brown malt because historical brown malt was kilned with wood-fires, which imparted a smoky aroma and flavor, and it was also fully modified. Using a modern brown malt as a base in historical brews will not only result in beers lacking smoke character (not a deal-breaker), but in worts whose starches won't fully convert. His explanations of the role of wheat and air-dried malt are similarly illuminating.
After explaining the history of the main ingredients, Krennmair moves on to describing principal regional styles and offering 1-3 recipes for each based on his research. While I found this section to be thorough, the stylistic descriptions suffered some repetition of his introductory chapters. For readers who skip straight to the recipes - you know who you are! - this won't be an issue, but those interested in the context may become frustrated. In his defense, these narratives allow Krennmair to be more specific about the importance of the general context in regards to individual styles.
As for the styles presented, some are well-known today - Bavarian weissbier or Oktoberfest-Maerzen for instance - while others are curiosities - Broyhan or Braunscweiger Mumme - which have yet to be revived, as has happened with the nearly-forgotten salted gose style which has exploded in popularity since 2010 (at the earliest).
The recipes will be challenging for most modern homebrewers as written, as some involve very complex decoction mashing (removing part of the wort, boiling it to increase the temperature, and adding it back to the main wort) rather than infusion mashing which is most commonly practiced with today's fully-converted malts. Some styles are distinguished from one another mainly by the mash schedule or other hard-to-replicate brewing steps, such the practice of racking beer into wooden casks lined with hot pitch in making Augsburger lagerbier.
Still, Krennmair is to be praised for not getting overly technical in his recipes. Incorporating too much brewing science not only would make the recipes more complex, but they would take modern brewers too far away from the original sources.
As an advanced intermediate brewer, Krennmair's book was approachable and enlightening. While I won't brew most of the recipes - I never do, from any brewing book - I'll try one or two and appreciate that Krennmair gave me the historical context to understand how and why the beer tastes as I sip the finished product.
Prost!
He begins his book with a description of how he became interested in beer and brewing before moving on to a general discussion of the main ingredients of beer and their development historically in the region - which in practical terms includes the current Czech Republic in addition to Austria and Germany due to the strong historical influence of beers from Pilsen and Czech-grown Saazer hops.
It may seem natural that he focuses on four main ingredients - malt, hops, water, and yeast - which beer aficionados will recognize as the only items allowed under the 1516 Bavarian Reinheitsgebot, commonly known now as the German beer "purity law" (n.b. of course yeast was not in that law as its existence was not fully known or understood until the 19th century). Krennmair is careful to point out that a) this law was only one of many so-called "beer purity laws" enacted in what we now know as Germany and Austria from the late Middle Ages until the present; b) that the allowed ingredients varied from place to place, depending on local custom and need (brewing with barley was banned in some instances when grain shortages forced rulers to redirect grain production to bread baking; and ingredients such as wheat, rye, spelt, cardamom, honey, coriander, salt, and caraway were allowed or encouraged under many legal codes); c) most interestingly, these were ingredients that were rigorously and consistently taxed at the time, meaning that the law as not so much directed at ensuring the purity of consumer products as it was at ensuring that the authorities got their share of the action.
Krennmair's description of the main ingredients is practical for modern brewers because it helps explain how historical recipes can be recreated under modern conditions. For example, the "brown malt" used by German brewers before the early to mid-19th Century cannot be replaced by modern brewers with today's brown malt because historical brown malt was kilned with wood-fires, which imparted a smoky aroma and flavor, and it was also fully modified. Using a modern brown malt as a base in historical brews will not only result in beers lacking smoke character (not a deal-breaker), but in worts whose starches won't fully convert. His explanations of the role of wheat and air-dried malt are similarly illuminating.
After explaining the history of the main ingredients, Krennmair moves on to describing principal regional styles and offering 1-3 recipes for each based on his research. While I found this section to be thorough, the stylistic descriptions suffered some repetition of his introductory chapters. For readers who skip straight to the recipes - you know who you are! - this won't be an issue, but those interested in the context may become frustrated. In his defense, these narratives allow Krennmair to be more specific about the importance of the general context in regards to individual styles.
As for the styles presented, some are well-known today - Bavarian weissbier or Oktoberfest-Maerzen for instance - while others are curiosities - Broyhan or Braunscweiger Mumme - which have yet to be revived, as has happened with the nearly-forgotten salted gose style which has exploded in popularity since 2010 (at the earliest).
The recipes will be challenging for most modern homebrewers as written, as some involve very complex decoction mashing (removing part of the wort, boiling it to increase the temperature, and adding it back to the main wort) rather than infusion mashing which is most commonly practiced with today's fully-converted malts. Some styles are distinguished from one another mainly by the mash schedule or other hard-to-replicate brewing steps, such the practice of racking beer into wooden casks lined with hot pitch in making Augsburger lagerbier.
Still, Krennmair is to be praised for not getting overly technical in his recipes. Incorporating too much brewing science not only would make the recipes more complex, but they would take modern brewers too far away from the original sources.
As an advanced intermediate brewer, Krennmair's book was approachable and enlightening. While I won't brew most of the recipes - I never do, from any brewing book - I'll try one or two and appreciate that Krennmair gave me the historical context to understand how and why the beer tastes as I sip the finished product.
Prost!
May 12, 2020
This was an enjoyable read. For years, I have viewed German beers as wonderful, but a bit boring. I have often explained to friends that Germans make great beer but have no imagination, that trait having been beaten out of them by the Reinheitsgebot. This book convinced me that I was mistaken, and I look forward to trying to brew some of the recipes.
May 14, 2020
I enjoyed the native German-speaking perspective on the beers and wished, in retrospect, there has been a bit more history up front. I didn’t appreciate the lopsided dominance of top-fermented beers relative to rich legacy of German, Austrian, and Austro-Hungarian contributions.
The beer recipes are not for beginners.
The beer recipes are not for beginners.
December 9, 2020
Great read
This book gives a beer lover a better look at German beer, and acknowledges the vast beer landscape that has made the German beer so wonderful,with recipes that an experienced home brewer can use to recreate piece of German history.
This book gives a beer lover a better look at German beer, and acknowledges the vast beer landscape that has made the German beer so wonderful,with recipes that an experienced home brewer can use to recreate piece of German history.
May 12, 2018
Interesting
Interesting read on beer & home brewing, educational and factual. Intriguing recipes if you are into traditional home brewing to try.
Interesting read on beer & home brewing, educational and factual. Intriguing recipes if you are into traditional home brewing to try.
June 17, 2019
Fun to read although the decoction mashing sounds very difficult. I would like to try several of the recipes, though..
October 15, 2020
History & Beer:A Few of My Favorite Things
Very enjoyable. A nice blend of the history of the craft,as well as the technical side of it. Recipes included.
Very enjoyable. A nice blend of the history of the craft,as well as the technical side of it. Recipes included.
December 27, 2020
You can tell this work was a labor of love. A lot of time went into researching the material.
July 12, 2021
I've bookmarked some of the braunbier recipes to brew. I can't wait!
June 18, 2022
Short but pleasantly well written, with a lot of interesting historical and technical information. A really nice one.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews