Appellation Beer

Hops...IBUs...hops...aroma hops...bitterness...hops.

Not to fault the author of the blog here, but is this the only language "craft" beer understands anymore? Prof. Narziss, in his discussion of the decline in quality among especially industrial German pilsners, focuses first and foremost on the decrease in degrees P -- and then the concomitant decrease in IBUs. As you say, who the hell can detect the difference in 3 IBUs? But Narziss rightly points out that even a couple of tenths of a difference in OG can be very noticeable, even to the everyday drinker. Seems to me that any discussion about German pils over the years should start and end there...but all anyone seems to want to talk about these days is hops, hops, hops....

 

Couple of caveats. The table in the blog is only one of those posted in the original article. Much more informative is Figure 1 which shows a steady decline in both the average and several other numbers, e.g., the range of IBUs over that period. So the apparent consistency is mostly apparent. For example the median clearly shows a decline as do the individual data points. Notice also that in Figure 1 there are several examples of IBUs well away from the average, both much higher and much lower.

And for sure its true a lot of things can happen in a decade and a half. The way to look at numbers like this is, "If the present trend continues...." and the authors of the original study report would be aware of that but are more focused on
their observation that, "clearly, a German Pilsner beer today is not what is [sic] was in the last century."

 

Yea, good point. Went back and edited that while you were responding.

 

People tend to focus most in these kinds of publications on what can be numerically quantified.

 

Won't man made global warming have killed us all off by then???

 

So OG can't be numerically quantified?

 

I didn't say that, now did I?

 

Jack? That you?

 

Tom, you should take that comment from herrburgess as a compliment!

Cheers!

Jack

 

I think the fact that upsets me the most in this thread is that 2030 is only 15 years away.

 

BA felsenpils has adroitly commented on the ‘decline’ of the German Pilsner in several of his posts on BA. Below are some examples:

“Dear fellow beer advocates:

I studied under Professor Doktor Narziss when I was in the brewmaster program at the Technichal University of Munich at the Weihenstephan campus. I also had the honor of acting as his translator when he met with the late, great beer hunter Michael Jackson years ago. This man is the world´s foremost expert in the field of brewing science. He wrote all of the text books which we used at the University and he taught there for years. If there is a beer god, he is it. I have been present at symposiums in Germany where many of the country´s top brewmasters, brewing engineers and Doctors of Brewing Science are present. When Professor Doktor Narziss enters the room, everyone stands and applauds for minutes and trust me on this, Germans rarely show this type of behavior. His depth of understanding of every aspect of beer and brewing is the result of a lifetime of research in the field. He and Belgian Jean De Clerck are the very pioneers of modern brewing science and they were also close colleagues. Former students of his can be found in breweries all around the world and each will tell you as I am telling you, what Sigmund Freud was to psychology, Professor Doktor Narziss is to brewing. Even Michael Jackson had a lot of fear and anxiety before meeting him, a sentiment which he confided to me. Fortunately, the Professor is a kind man and actually treated Mr. Jackson as a colleague, not just a journalist. The criticism of the state of German brewing is well founded and needs to be addressed. The beers have indeed been dumbed down and are being produced as cheaply as possible within the constraints of the Reinheitsgebot. It is similar to what happened in the US after Prohibition and World War II. What the Professor was trying to say is that we (his students) know how to make the highest quality beer and that by intentionally not doing so, we are doing a disservice to our craft and to his legacy. And that is resounding loudly within the German brewing industry.”

And,

“Very interesting thread. I am a German brewer and have worked in 6 German breweries including Rothaus. Yes, the beers have changed significantly in the past 20 years. In general, the Stammwürze (original gravity) and IBU (hop bitterness) continue to decrease. Not too long ago, a decent Pils had at least 12° Plato OG and 35 IBU´s. Compare that to today´s watery Pilsners with OG´s in the low 11´s or even high 10´s and IBU´s in the 20´s and the difference becomes clear. The reduction in the OG has a massive effect on the body of the beer, in its depth and complexity. When the OG is reduced, the IBU´s are also decreased to balance the reduced malt sweetness. If you start with a lower OG but still want to obtain around 5% alc. by volume, you must push the fermentation farther and reduce the residual sweetness resulting again in a thinner tasting beer. Aroma hops are completely missing from any Fernsehbier. The reason for these changes is quite clear: maximize profit by using less ingredients. Is this a reduction in quality? Absolutely. In any large brewery, the bean counters are in charge, not the brewmasters. That is the main reason why Das Reinheitsgebot is still so important. If the bean counters have their way and you do not have a RHG, then it is off to the races with adjuncts like high fructose corn syrup, rice extract, sugar cane, etc. Never believe that brewmasters around the world do not know how to brew great beer because they all do but are not allowed to. The art of brewing has been perfected and the equipment standardized. In Germany, the beers are being produced as cheaply as possible within the confines of the RHG. I remember very well Pilseners like König and Fürstenberg back in the 80´s and I cannot believe how much they have been degraded. We get the typical excuses from the big brewers: marketing to a younger crowd, appealing to women, adjusting to socio-economic factors. The truth is that they are making cheap beer and are hoping to get away with it as the generations shift and people like me are no longer around. Germany needs something like the English CAMRA before it is too late.”

Cheers!

 

Yes. The reduction in OG is probably the driving force behind the decline in quality. ("The reduction in the OG has a massive effect on the body of the beer, in its depth and complexity.") In my opinion, this is where the focus of any efforts to revitalize German beers should be. But apparently I am in the minority (again) as most of the criticisms one sees these days -- especially from the perspective of "craft" beer adherents -- seem to focus primarily on hops and hopping levels instead.

 

"probably?" Yeah quite possibly. But if you don't want people focusing on the hops as the only indicator of those changes then its time to trot out the data on the rest of the measures of quality and change over time. After all people use data they understand or can access. Its the job of those who have "better" measures to demonstrate them.

 

But almost invariably those comments are focused on US brewers. We're talking here about German brewers trained in German brewing schools working in Germany. (Which I believe was the issue Narziss was tackling.)