Why does Germany = Beer?

Yep. Exactly the stuff I'm talking about, sometimes a touch of rye or other grains too.

But to the uninitiated, don't let the plum, pear, and cherry fool you -- these beverages are far from sweet or fruity.

 

Much of the technical brewing knowledge we have today as well as advancements in brewing equipment originated out of Germany. Germany supplies the majority of brewing equipment used around the world.

 

I don't think the point is that Germany invented beer. I think the point is that the Germans do it better than everyone else.

(A point I strongly believe)

 

Its a reasonable position. But a lot of people might point to the Belgians or Czechs instead. Or the Brits or Americans.

 

to me, Germany = beer the same way:

maine = lobster
new york = bagels
wisconsin = cheese
Texas = bbq
seattle = coffee


None of those places invented the food/drink, nor perfected it, but merely popularized it.

Can you get very good food/drinks in the places I listed above? Absolutely.
Can you get those same very good food/drinks in OTHER places too? Absolutely.

 

..it's called humor, Mr. Literal.
- & in America its called " Das Boot Glass " ..pls, go ahead, look it up

- it's okay tho, i been on this site for a bit..there's always one of 'ya Trolling sumwhere.

 

Thus my smily, Mr. Crankypants (hell, you quoted it twice).

And that's just so wrong in so many ways. Maybe not literal, but certainly respectable of tradition -- not the bastardization of such.

 

I once read that they first brewed this with a Kölsch yeast strain ( -- other accounts have it that they use as their house strain a variety acquired from Weihenstephan), and know that Kurt Widmer had apprenticed at one of the Altbier houses in Dusseldorf, from whence he doubtless smuggled a yeast strain within the furry confines of his beard...

 

That was the off-flavor I couldn't identify!

I've talked about it before, but I first had the Widmer "Hefe" back in the early 90s in Portland, OR. I saw it on the menu and thought -- Hey, a locally-made Hefeweizen, that would be nice right now. When it came in a pint glass and had no Hefeweizen character at all I was just a little confused.

 

They did bring back the Uerige strain, and it has changed into their house yeast. They were going to have an alt as the flagship, but it did not become popular, and the wheat beer did. Some homebrewers make a good Koelsch with the Uerige yeast.

Wyeast 1007 is thought to be Uerige, Wyeast 1010 is thought to be Widmer.
http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=150
http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=126

And yes, this yeast does not make clove, and who knows how hot the fermentation would be to get banana.

 

So what do untrained brewers in Germany call themselves?

 

Hacks? Amateurs? Sub-human?

Kidding, of course.

 

Apprentices. You can't brew professionally in Germany without completing formal university-level studies (and a formal apprenticeship at a brewery).

 

I dont think this is true.

1. Zoigl. While they arent all done professionally, I dont think those that choose to sell the product are required to be formally trained brewers.

2. IIRC, at least one of the new style breweries (American influenced) was started by group of brewers who didnt/hadnt finish(ed) their training.

3. EU. Im pretty sure that law wouldnt fly with the European Union. It might have been true (ignoring the zoigl exception) in the past, but I doubt it is now.

 

Wow, what a great thread. Thanks to everyone for their input. I've always felt the same way about the Germans, but never paused to ask why I felt that way.

 

Zoigl brewers seem to fall within the following exception to the rule regarding formal education -- and although I am not certain about the new American-style brewers, it would seem they may fall under this exception as well:

"Hausbräu aus neugegründeten Communebrauereien wird auch als Vizinalbier angeboten, was auf die Versorgung der Nachbarschaft und der besonderen Pflegebedürftigkeit dieses Bieres herrührt. Heutzutage sind zum Bezug von Hausbräu keine besondere Rechte mehr erforderlich.
Eine vergleichbare Tradition in der Oberpfalz ist der Zoigl."

Also, it appears a formally educated Braumeister has to oversee the brewing of Zoigl:

"Daneben muss ein Braumeister zugegen sein, der den Brauvorgang von Anfang bis Ende begleitet. Zuletzt wendet sich das zuständige Hauptzollamt, das vom Braumeister über jeden Brauvorgang informiert werden muss, mit der Erhebung der Biersteuer an den Brauer."

 

have not read all the previous posts, so apologies if I'm repeating something that has already been said, but i think its mostly a historic thing, for example, germany may not have been the first place where beer was made but its probably the first to actually create a law regarding the purity of beer (purity laws of i believe 1560). additionally some of the oldest currently active breweries are german in origin, it also exploded as a popular beverage there before most other places, they were also, to my knowledge among the first to host beer festivals, in which there where very strict brewing standards. i don't know if they deserve the title of =beer because they brew more of it then anyone else but they take their beer EXTREMELY seriously.

 

I love all the German beer styles. It would be interesting to see how different they would be had it not been for the interesting circumstances of 1914-1945

*And the cold war years

 

Already mentioned but the Purity Law was no such thing (and originally allowed adjuncts) and in any case only appled to a small part of what is now Germany.But people actually believe that Germans have been brewing to RHG for centuries , I'm sure most Germans are unaware of their other brewing heritage.

 

Dat Vitus tho...

Seriously though, I'm drinking a glass of it right now and I have absolutely nothing even remotely negative about Germany or their beer. Maybe Germany doesn't equal beer, but when it comes to the styles that they have mastered over the centuries...its easy to see how people would make the connection Prost!