German beer, for many, means lager. Heineken, Becks, Loewenbraeu, Holsten pils. More adventurous drinkers will have discovered the Bavarian wheat beer styles.
But there’s a lot more to German beer than that. Wherever you visit, you’ll find local people fiercely proud of their regional beer traditions.
In Berlin, for instance, seek out the ‘Berliner Weisse’, a sour wheat beer usually served with woodruff (sweet herb) or raspberry syrup. Order one and you’ll be asked ‘Rot oder gruen?’ - red or green? The resulting garish concoction, served in a wide low tumbler, looks more like a cocktail than a beer – the more so when it’s served with a straw.
The beer is sour, almost yoghurty – possibly because the same bacteria that make yoghurt are used in the fermentation process. If you want to experience its citrusy, sharp flavour directly, ask for a weisse ‘ohne Schuss’ - without a shot of syrup. Or try it in numerous other concoctions – with a shot of Kuemmel liqueur or cassis (Weisse Royal).
Take a tour of the Berliner Kindl brewery, on Indira-Gandhi-strasse (four tours a day from Monday to Thursday), if you’re interested in how this beer is made.
But the style is dying out. There are more Berliner Weisses brewed in the US than in Germany according to the Beer Advocate website.
In Cologne, the local style is Koelsch. The brewers at Hellers Brauerei call it “das Koelner Nationalgetraenk” - the national drink of Cologne – and it’s protected by appellation controlée in the same way as a French wine.
Koelsch is a pale beer - “the lighter the better” according to the Frueh brewery. It’s a delicate beer, often with subtle fruity flavours, served in a tall, straight glass known as a ‘stange’. (Distinctive shapes of glass are part of regional beer culture in Germany, as in Belgium, and taken very seriously.)
It’s not difficult to find a glass of Koelsch in the city; in fact, it can be hard to find anything else. The Frueh brewery at Am Hof is close to the famous cathedral and the railway station, and most city centre bars serve the beer.
‘Koelsch’ refers to the local dialect as well as the local beer, and you’ll need another dialect word – the waiters are known as ‘Koebe’. They’re renowned for their rudeness – in fact the locals are rather proud of it. Don't try to attract their attention – wait for them to come.
And give a tip when you pay or the next beer won't come quickly.
As in other cities, many of the breweries are now owned by big conglomerates. But there are still small brewers, like the Braustelle (beerpub) at Christianstrasse 2, which serves Helios koelsch and weizen. For variety, try the unfiltered koelsch ‘Hellers wiess’; yes, that is right, ‘wiess’ not ‘weiss’ – local dialect again.
Just along the Rhine from Cologne you’ll find another local style related to Koelsch - Duesseldorf’s Altbier. It’s a copper coloured beer, like an English bitter but fruitier, and like its cousin Koelsch is served in a straight glass, this time called a Becher or ‘beaker’.
Again, many of the old breweries are now owned by big conglomerates, but there are some superb brewpubs in the old town. Uerige was founded in 1862, and occupies what is possibly the oldest pub in the city, in Berger Strasse. It’s famed for its heavy pea soup, served on Saturdays. It brews an Altbier, a wheat beer, and a ‘Sticke’ at 6 percent alcohol – served only twice a year, on the third Tuesday of February and October. Schluessel and Schloesser (founded 1873) are also worth seeking out.
Again, local patriotism is strong. Altbier even has its own song, ‘Wo bleibt unser Altbier?’ (where’s our Altbier?), heard particularly at the carnival parade – another Rhineland tradition.
Over in the east, Leipzig’s Gose is an amber coloured wheat beer with coriander and salt added, giving it a distinctive, tangy taste. Like Berliner Weisse, it’s often drunk with syrup. Its lemony, spicy flavours are reminiscent of some Belgian beers.
It’s very unusual in that it’s a revival style. The original Gose died out in the 1930s, damaged by the introduction of the beer purity law which ruled out the addition of spices. But it’s been revived successfully, with three breweries now offering the style.
The Leipzig Goeseschenk known as ‘Ohne Bedenken’ (without doubt), was the first brewery to revive the style. The historic tavern, at Menckestrasse 5, is open from five in the afternoon till 1 in the morning weekdays, from midday at weekends, and opens its beer garden in summer. The Bayerischer Bahnhof also brews Gose and can be visited.
However Leipzig wasn't the original home of Gose. It started in Goslar, about 100 km away, and now the Brauhaus Goslar has revived the style too. It supplies Die Butterhahne, a historic beer house on Marktkirchhof, as well as MacDoner kebab shop!
Heading south, you’ll find a distinctive smoked style in Bamberg. Schenkerla brewery is reputed to be the original home of the style – it was already brewing in 1405. Its half-timbered brewery tavern snuggles right up against the cathedral; unlike many beer halls, it’s open for breakfast from 930. Spezial disputes the Rauchbier crown with Schenkerla, at Obere Koenigstrasse 10, between the railway station and the city centre.
The smoky flavour comes from the way the malt is smoked over a wood fire before brewing. If you like Islay whiskies with their peaty flavour, smoked beer is for you. If not, Bamberg’s ten breweries provide other styles, too.
Even in Munich, home of many of the best known exported lagers, there are other styles to be sought out. For instance the dunkel weisse - “wheat beer, but not as we know it” - and dark lagers give a more intense, sweeter flavour than their better known light (‘hell’) cousins. Erdinger dunkel, for instance, has lovely caramel and fruit flavours, like wine gums in beer form!
Some breweries also offer an ‘Altbayrisch’ (old Bavarian) style, often mustier and sourer than the modern wheat beers. Wheat beers were often drunk with a slice of lemon in the past – accentuating the sour flavours – but you don't see that very often nowadays.
So if you’re visiting Germany, keep an eye out for these local beer traditions – and don't forget, wherever you are, to say ‘Prost!’ as you raise your glass.
