Are you looking for German beers ? Would you like to know all the styles of German beers?
Then you’ve come to the right place!
In this article we will detail the styles of German beers and the main German beer brands.
We will also go back in a few dates on the history of German beer for history lovers.
Finally if you want to buy beers online we have also searched the web to give you different sites where you can buy German beers.
Are you ready? Jetzt geht’s los! (German expression meaning let’s go)
Sommaire
The history of German beer in a few dates
In our previous articles on Portuguese beer we wrote a detailed section on the history of beer in Portugal.
For the history of German beer we have decided to make it even simpler by selecting the most important dates in the history of German beer brands.
736 : It seems that this corresponds to the first German beer! Indeed, there is a trace in Bavaria of the first drink brewed from barley. This beer was apparently brewed in an abbey.
974 : Emperor Otto II authorises brewing for the first time in the Holy Roman Empire.
23rd April 1516 : The Bavarian Purity Law (Bayerische Reinheitsgebot) comes into force in the region of Bavaria and obliges brewers to brew beer with only 3 ingredients: water, barley and hops.
1520 : The first Weissbier-type beers are introduced from the Bohemian region (today a region of the Czech Republic). Only certain brewers were then allowed to brew it.
1839 : The brewer Gabriel Seldmayr of the Spaten brewery innovates and creates what can be considered one of the first German industrial breweries. He then uses more scientific brewing methods such as pasteurisation and refrigeration.
1906 : The Reinheitsgebot is extended to the whole of Germany.
1985 : The appearance of the first German micro-breweries, including the Eltwiller brewery.
The german beer style
In view of its brewing history, Germany also has dozens of different styles of beer.
These styles of beer are the result of history and experiments carried out by breweries over the centuries.
In order to create the most complete style guide we have based ourselves on the list of our fellow blogger Dom and the list on the Wikipedia site.
You will discover that many typical German beer styles are amber or brown lagers. However, you should know that many German breweries brew pils type beers even if this style does not come directly from Germany.
Bottom-fermented beer styles
Blond coloured beers
Dortmunder : A lager-type beer which originates from the city of Dortmund in the west of Germany. It is a rather malty and grainy lager beer with an alcohol content of about 5%.
Dunnbier : Light lager (about 2-3% alcohol).
Eisbier : A lager beer with a blond colour and a rather special brewing process. Indeed the final fermentation is carried out under ice and storage in ice as well. This type of beer was also brewed in Strasbourg as you can see in our article on beer in Strasbourg.
Helles : A light lager (4-5%) from Bavaria. It is a very well known German style of which you can find a very good example with the Weihenstephaner brewery which is considered to be the oldest brewery in the world!
Krausenbier : Unfiltered lager-type lager with around 5% alcohol.
Amber or brown coloured beers
Münchner Dunkel : The word Dunkel means dark in German and the word Münchner is of course connected to the city of Munich. It is a dark beer that is rather malty and has an alcohol content of around 4.5% to 6% by volume.
Dunkel : Rather similar to the Münchner Dunkel, Dunkel beers are brewed in the rest of Germany. In general the Dunkel style is more hoppy whereas
Bock : An amber-coloured lager beer with an alcohol content of around 7% by volume.
Doppelbock : As the name suggests, this is a double Bock beer and therefore higher in alcohol (generally 8 to 12% alcohol).
Dunkel Bock : A beer very often brewed in winter, also called Winterbock or Weinachtsbock (Christmas beer). A dark beer with an alcohol content of around 7%.
Eisbock : A very strong amber-coloured Bock beer with an alcohol content of between 9 and 15% by volume.
Maibock : Let’s continue the list of different Bock type beers with the Maibock. The concept is simple, just like the spring beer, the Maibock is a beer brewed in the month of May. Historically it was brewed with the remains of the breweries, but today it is the breweries that decide on the recipe.
Kellerbier : The word Keller means cellar in German and refers to the conservation of this type of beer. It is an amber lager which has its origins in the Franconian region next to Bavaria.
Landbier : A style of beer that can be blond or brown in colour. The flavours are hoppy and the beer tastes around 4-5%.
Rauchbier : The town of Bamberg in Bavaria is the origin of the Rauchbier type of beer. It is not the best known city in Germany but it is without doubt one of the most important cities for all beer fans. The Rauchbier, a dark beer with a smoky taste, originated here.
Schwarzbier : We told you about it in our article on dark beer. It is a dark lager-type beer with a chocolate flavour.
Zwickelbier : An unfiltered amber beer with little hop and close to the Kellerbier style.
Top fermentation beer styles
Styles of beer brewed with wheat
Berliner Weisse : Sour beer of Berlin origin. This is a beer recipe which has regained its nobility with the appearance of the craft beer. The beer has an alcohol content of 2-4% by volume.
For those who want to know more about sour beer, read on:
Gose : Quite similar to the Berliner Weisse, Gose is a beer with a sour taste and brewed with salt. The beer has its origin in the city of Leipzig.
Weizenbier : The famous German white beer with a light, fruity flavour. It usually has an alcohol content of around 5-6% by volume.
Hefeweizen : A white beer also brewed with wheat and unfiltered. The flavours are reminiscent of cloves and bananas.
Kristallweizen : Kristallweizen is a white beer brewed with wheat. Unlike Hefeweizen it is a filtered beer even though the flavours are quite similar.
Dunkelweizen : A beer brewed with wheat but also with roasted malt. So it is what you would call a white but brown beer!
Weizenbock : An amber-coloured wheat beer. It’s a strong beer in the image of the Bock beer we presented earlier with at least 6% alcohol by volume.
Weizendoppelbock : A beer similar to the Weizenbock but with a higher alcohol content.
Weizeneisbock : Another wheat beer quite similar to the Eisbier that we presented above. A strong beer between 8 and 12% alcohol.
Top fermentation beers
Kölsch : One of my favourite German lager beers with high fermentation. It’s a lager found in the Cologne region of Germany (Köln). In Cologne the beer is only served in 20 centilitre format in small glasses.
Sticke : Kölsch type beer but stronger in alcohol.
Bönnsch : A lager that looks like Kölsch but comes from the city of Bonn.
Dampfbier : Lager brewed with Weizenbier yeast.
Dinkelbier : Lager brewed with spelt (cereals).
Amber or brown high fermentation beers
Altbier : Amber beer from Düsseldorf. The alcohol content is usually around 4 to 5%.
Emmerbier : Amber beer brewed with starch (cereal species).
Roggenbier : Brown beer made from rye.
Steinbier : Smoked beer brewed with high fermentation and is quite similar to the Rauchbier.
Top 10 german beer you need to try in your life
Beck’s
A lager-type beer that has become one of the great names in German beer! This beer brewed by a Bremen brewery is one of the 4 most sold beers in Germany.
We also told you about Beck’s in our article on Perfectdraft kegs and alcohol-free beers.
BRLO Pale Ale
A beer that belongs to the modern or craft beers within the big family of German beers.
The BRLO brewery is a brewery in Berlin that brews excellent beers.
BRLO Pale Ale is a well hopped German beer with exotic flavours.
Paulaner Weissbier
One could not talk about German beer without mentioning the unmissable Munich brewery Paulaner.
The brewery is known for its Hefeweizenbier type Weizenbier, which you can see in the picture.
The flavours are fruity and reminiscent of bananas on the nose. A soft and refreshing beer that will delight your taste buds.
You can also discover the Paulaner brewery on our article about beer brands.
Original Weihenstephaner : one of the oldest german beer
The oldest brewery in the world is a German beer that is a must to taste in your life!
It is a Helles type beer brewed with bottom fermentation. The flavours are malty and spicy and the beer is distinguished by its lightness. An excellent beer to quench your thirst!
Löwenbräu Oktoberfest Bier
The Oktoberfest is Munich’s unmissable beer festival, which takes place every year during the month of October.
During the Oktoberfest only a small number of breweries can sell their beers in the festival. The Lowenbrau is one of them with its Oktoberfest beer.
Hofbräu Munchen
The Hofbrau Brewery is one of the largest breweries in Munich. It has a place in the centre of Munich, the Hofbrauhaus, where you can taste the brewery’s beers.
The Hofbrau Brewery is one of the largest breweries in Munich. It has a place in the centre of Munich, the Hofbrauhaus, where you can taste the brewery’s beers.
Berliner Kindl Weisse
The typical Berlin beer: the Berliner Kindl! One of the advantages of German beers is that you will find new breweries in every region.
The Berliner Kindl weisse is the Berliner Weisse of the Berliner Kindl brewery. The slight acidic flavours make it a particularly refreshing beer.
Conclusion
This is the end of our article on German beer.
For those who wish to travel to Germany, you will also find breweries in all regions of Germany. These breweries are sometimes little known but very often brew excellent beers.
This is mainly due to the German brewing culture that we have told you about here. In addition, with the advent of the craft beer, new craft breweries such as the BRLO brewery have emerged.