My first ever post on our blog…hoorah! And what better place to start than a list of German beer styles! We’re heading to Berlin tonight so stay tuned for photos of us sampling them:
Altbier (“old beer”): top-fermented then cold-conditioned
Berliner Weisse: top-fermented, sour wheat beer
Bock: strong, bottom-fermented
- Doppelbock: stronger version of bock (“double bock”)
- Eisbock: bockbier lagered at sub-zero temperatures
- Maibock: brewed to celebrate Spring
Braunbier: made with dark malts, usually bottom-fermented
Dampfbief (“steam beer”): warm top-fermentation
Diaet Pils
Dinkelbier: top-fermented with a proportion of spelt malt (“dinkel”) and usually including both malted barley and wheat
Dortmunder Export: pale, bottom-fermented
Dunkel / Dunkles
- Muenchner Dunkel: dark, bottom-fermented
- Schwarzbier (“black beer”)
Export: typically a golden, bottom-fermented beer
Gose: top-fermented, sour wheat beer
Haferbier (“oat beer”)
Hanfbier: brewed with hemp blossom rather than hops
Hell / Helles (“pale”)
- Muenchner Hell
Koelsch
Kraeusen
Lagerbier: bottom-fermented
Landbier
Maerzen (“Maerz”=”March”)
Pilsener / Pils
Rauchbier (“smoke beer”): produced using malt that has been smoked over beechwood
Roggen: top-fermented beer made with malted rye (“roggen”); also usually includes both malted barley and wheat
Schankbier: beer with a lower-than-usual alcohol content
- Luettje Lage (“little round”): dark, top-fermented Schankbier
Spezial
Steinbier: currently extinct!
Ungespundet (“unbunged”): only made by a handful of breweries within a 30km radius of Bamberg
Vollbier
Weissbier / Weizenbier: top-fermented; typically made with equal parts wheat and barley malt
- Hefeweizen / Hefeweissbier (“hefe”=”yeast”): unfiltered wheat beer
- Kristallweizen: filtered wheat beer
Zoigl: brewed in communal breweries in Oberpfalz
Zwickel (“tap”): unfiltered, bottom-fermented
