I've been out in the internet fields harvesting modern beer details. Lots of them. Because I want to make some comparisons between 19th-century and 21st-century Lagers. And because I enjoy collecting data. It's addictive. I'm building up an impressive set. Which I'm sure we'll have loads of fun with in future.
There's a decent set of beers from Kulmbach and nearby Kitzingen in "Chemie der menschlichen Nahrungs- und Genussmittel". Enough to handle them separately.
I'll start with a note on colour. Some are specified as being Helles or Dunkles, but most aren't. However, it being Kulmbach, I'd assume most were dark. Kulmbacher was one of the early Lager styles which was imitated abroad (one of Heineken's early Lagers was a Kulmbacher). From what I can gather, it was darker and bitterer than Münchner.
Let's take a look at the 19th-century samples first.
| Kulmbach area Export 1878 - 1893 | |||||||||||
| Year | Brewer | Town | Beer | Style | OG | FG | OG Plato | ABV | App. Atten-uation | lactic acid % | CO2 % |
| 1878 | Puszta | Kulmbach | Export Hell | Helles Export | 1049.9 | 1015.3 | 12.40 | 4.49 | 69.34% | 0.170 | 0.227 |
| 1878 | Gebr. Christ | Kulmbach | Export Hell | Helles Export | 1050.4 | 1015.1 | 12.52 | 4.58 | 70.04% | 0.180 | 0.232 |
| 1884 | Unknown | Kulmbach | Export | Export | 1052.6 | 1020.2 | 13.04 | 4.19 | 61.60% | 0.120 | 0.130 |
| 1878 | Puszta | Kulmbach | Export Dunkel | Dunkles Export | 1053.2 | 1018.2 | 13.18 | 4.53 | 65.79% | 0.130 | 0.201 |
| 1884 | Aktien-Export-Brauhaus | Kulmbach | helles Export | Export Helles | 1053.6 | 1013.3 | 13.27 | 5.24 | 75.19% | 0.132 | 0.140 |
| 1879 | Kulmbacher Aktien-Br. | Kulmbach | Export | Export | 1054.5 | 1017.4 | 13.49 | 4.80 | 68.07% | 0.198 | |
| 1885 | Ehemann | Kitzingen | Export | Export | 1056.3 | 1017.0 | 13.91 | 5.10 | 69.80% | 0.210 | |
| 1878 | Export-Brauhaus | Kulmbach | Export | Export | 1059.0 | 1016.0 | 14.54 | 5.59 | 72.88% | 0.302 | |
| 1893 | Aktien-Export-Brauerei | Kulmbach | Monopol-Kulmbacher | Export | 1059.2 | 1013.1 | 14.59 | 6.01 | 77.87% | 0.203 | |
| 1884 | Unknown | Kulmbach | dunkeles Export | Export Dunkles | 1061.9 | 1024.0 | 15.22 | 4.90 | 61.23% | 0.153 | |
| 1893 | Aktien-Export-Brauerei | Kulmbach | helles Exportbier | Export Helles | 1062.5 | 1014.1 | 15.35 | 6.31 | 77.44% | 0.150 | |
| 1891 | Aktien-Brauerei | Kulmbach | Export | Export | 1062.7 | 1015.5 | 15.40 | 6.15 | 75.28% | ||
| 1879 | Export-Brauhaus | Kulmbach | Export | Export | 1062.8 | 1019.3 | 15.41 | 5.64 | 69.24% | 0.200 | |
| 1891 | Aktien-Brauerei Streitberg | Streitberg | "Löwenbier" (nach Art des Münchener Exportbieres) | Export Dunkles | 1064.2 | 1013.5 | 15.75 | 6.63 | 78.97% | ||
| 1879 | Ehemann | Kitzingen | Export | Export | 1064.4 | 1017.5 | 15.79 | 6.10 | 72.83% | 0.230 | |
| 1879 | Sandler | Kulmbach | Export | Export | 1064.9 | 1018.2 | 15.91 | 6.08 | 71.96% | 0.230 | |
| 1879 | Rizzi | Kulmbach | Export | Export | 1065.5 | 1013.2 | 16.05 | 6.84 | 79.85% | 0.270 | |
| 1891 | Unknown | Kulmbach | dunkeles Exportbier | Export Dunkles | 1065.7 | 1027.9 | 16.09 | 4.88 | 57.53% | 0.137 | |
| 1879 | Pätz | Kulmbach | Export | Export | 1067.5 | 1021.4 | 16.50 | 5.98 | 68.27% | 0.260 | |
| 1884 | Aktien-Export-Brauhaus | Kulmbach | dunkeles Export | Export Dunkles | 1067.6 | 1025.9 | 16.53 | 5.39 | 61.69% | 0.180 | 0.189 |
| 1891 | Unknown | Kulmbach | dunkeles Exportbier | Export Dunkles | 1067.6 | 1023.0 | 16.53 | 5.78 | 65.98% | 0.142 | |
| 1891 | Aktien-Brauerei | Kulmbach | Export | Export | 1068.6 | 1026.2 | 16.76 | 5.48 | 61.81% | ||
| 1879 | Eberlein | Kulmbach | Export | Export | 1070.5 | 1024.0 | 17.20 | 6.03 | 65.96% | 0.280 | |
| 1878 | Aktien-Brauerei | Kulmbach | Export | Export | 1072.9 | 1022.0 | 17.75 | 6.61 | 69.82% | 0.300 | |
| 1878 | Unknown | Kitzingen | Export | Export | 1074.4 | 1025.0 | 18.09 | 6.41 | 66.40% | ||
| 1893 | Aktien-Export-Brauerei | Kulmbach | dunkeles Exportbier | Export Dunkles | 1076.9 | 1025.8 | 18.65 | 6.63 | 66.45% | ||
| Average | 1062.7 | 1019.3 | 15.38 | 5.63 | 69.28% | 0.188 | 0.213 | ||||
| Source: | |||||||||||
| Chemie der menschlichen Nahrungs- und Genussmittel by Joseph König, 1903, pages 1102 - 1156 | |||||||||||
There'a a big spread of gravities. The weakest would only just about count as Export today. While the strongest are at Doppelbock level. Mmmm... not sure I can make any sense out of that.
Attenuation isn't as bad as it could have been. With a couple of examples even pushing 80%. The samples identified as Dunkles have a worse than average attenuation - 65.38%. Interesting, but I'm not sure how significant as I don't know how many of the others were also dark.
The lactic acid level is high again. I can't believe any modern Lager would be over 0.05% acidity. I've still not ween enough CO2 measurements to say anything sensible about them. Maybe I should start studying up on carbonation levels. What I can see is considerable variation, from 0.13% to 0.30%.
Now the modern Lagers. Again, they're from Kulmbach and environs.
| Kulmbach area beers in 2014 | ||||||||||
| Year | Brewer | Town | Beer | Style | OG | FG | OG Plato | ABV | App. Atten-uation | bitterness |
| 2014 | Brauerei Reblitz | Bad Staffelstein | Reblitz-Räucherl | Rauchbier | 1049.1 | 1012.1 | 12.2 | 4.80 | 75.33% | |
| 2014 | Arnsteiner Brauerei | Seinsheim | Landbier | Export | 1049.5 | 1009.6 | 12.3 | 5.20 | 80.70% | |
| 2014 | Distelhäuser | Tauberbischofsheim | Kellerbier | Kellerbier | 1049.5 | 1010.3 | 12.3 | 5.10 | 79.18% | 25 |
| 2014 | Kulmbacher Brauerei | Kulmbach | Mönchshof Naturtrübes Kellerbier | Kellerbier | 1049.9 | 1008.5 | 12.4 | 5.40 | 82.96% | |
| 2014 | Privatbrauerei Kesselring | Marktsteft | Urfränkisches Landbier | Landbier | 1049.9 | 1009.2 | 12.4 | 5.30 | 81.56% | |
| 2014 | Göller | Zeil am Main | Dunkel | Dunkles | 1050.3 | 1010.4 | 12.5 | 5.20 | 79.43% | |
| 2014 | Privatbrauerei Gessner | Sonneberg | Alt-Sumbarcher Dunkel | Dunkles | 1050.3 | 1010.4 | 12.5 | 5.20 | 79.33% | |
| 2014 | Privatbrauerei Kesselring | Marktsteft | Urtyp Export | Export | 1050.3 | 1009.7 | 12.5 | 5.30 | 80.82% | |
| 2014 | Distelhäuser | Tauberbischofsheim | Landbier | Export | 1050.3 | 1011.1 | 12.5 | 5.10 | 77.94% | 22 |
| 2014 | Distelhäuser | Tauberbischofsheim | Export | Export | 1050.3 | 1010.4 | 12.5 | 5.20 | 79.33% | 22-23 |
| 2014 | Kulmbacher Brauerei | Kulmbach | Kulmbacher Export | Export | 1050.3 | 1008.9 | 12.5 | 5.40 | 82.31% | |
| 2014 | Kulmbacher Brauerei | Kulmbach | Mönchshof Landbier | Landbier | 1050.3 | 1008.9 | 12.5 | 5.40 | 82.31% | |
| 2014 | Brauhaus Leikeim | Altenkunstadt | Landbier | Landbier | 1050.3 | 1008.9 | 12.5 | 5.40 | 82.31% | |
| 2014 | Göller | Zeil am Main | Kaiser Heinrich Urstoff | Spezial | 1050.3 | 1010.4 | 12.5 | 5.20 | 79.43% | |
| 2014 | Kulmbacher Brauerei | Kulmbach | EKU Export | Export | 1050.7 | 1009.4 | 12.6 | 5.40 | 81.57% | |
| 2014 | Püls-bräu | Stadtsteinach | Weismainer 1798er Kellertrunk | Kellerbier | 1051.2 | 1011.2 | 12.7 | 5.20 | 78.11% | |
| 2014 | Seinsheimer Kellerbräu | Seinsheim | Kellerbier | Kellerbier Dunkel | 1051.2 | 1013.4 | 12.7 | 4.90 | 73.81% | |
| 2014 | Seinsheimer Kellerbräu | Seinsheim | Rauchbier | Rauchbier | 1051.2 | 1013.4 | 12.7 | 4.90 | 73.81% | |
| 2014 | Kulmbacher Brauerei | Kulmbach | Tradition | Dunkles | 1051.6 | 1011.6 | 12.8 | 5.20 | 77.51% | 24 |
| 2014 | Göller | Zeil am Main | Rauchbier | Rauchbier | 1053.7 | 1010.8 | 13.3 | 5.60 | 79.98% | |
| 2014 | Braugasthof Grosch | Rödental | Grosch Fuhrmannstrunk | Dunkles | 1054.1 | 1011.9 | 13.4 | 5.50 | 78.02% | |
| 2014 | Distelhäuser | Tauberbischofsheim | Spezial | Spezial | 1054.6 | 1013.8 | 13.5 | 5.30 | 74.71% | 26 |
| Average | 1050.9 | 1010.6 | 12.6 | 5.2 | 79.11% | 24.3 | ||||
| Source: | ||||||||||
| Relevant brewery websites | ||||||||||
You can see not many are actually called Export. There's Dunkles, Landbier, Spezial, Rauchbier and Kellerbier in there. The ones called export cover a very narrow gravity range, from 12.5 to 12.6º Plato. Basicaly I've put together a set of beers stronger than Helles or Pils, but weaker than Märzen. That's not so unreasonable, is it?
As you'd expect, the attenuation is better than in the 19th-century samples, around 10 points higher at 79%. There's not one under 70%.
There's a fair mix of different-sized breweries represented. Kulmbacher being pretty big - 2,259,000 hl in 2013* - Braugasthof Grosch pretty small - 3,000 hl in 2013**.
People take the piss out of British cask beer all being in the range 3.6% to 4.2% ABV. But German Lager isn't any better. That's mostly between 4.8% and 5.4% ABV.
More Exports to come. Obviously.
* Brauerei-Addressbuch 2014/15, page 101.
** Brauerei-Addressbuch 2014/15, page 137.
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That's very interesting Ron. I'm starting to convince myself that the longer the storage, the more likely the modern stenchy sulphur notes of much lager would have been aged out of the beer. I.e., elimination of "green" flavours which home brewers talk about.
In the immediate pre-Jackson period, one U.S. beer was still long-aged and not only that, it went, um, the full nine yards:
https://sites.google.com/site/jesskidden/holacher's9montholdperfectionbeer
Of the reputed U.S. beers available in the 1970's, e.g. Ballantine IPA (now returned but haven't tried it yet), Yuengling and Stegmaier Porters, Anchor Steam Beer, Rainier Ale aka The Green Death (7% ABV, throwback to 1800's English mild ale), the Horlacher is the only one I could never track down.
Note how the pamphlet description uses almost the same term as the 1960 Brewer's Journal, "adequate storage space". I find that odd because by definition anyone proposing to keep beer 9 months has to have the space to do it. It kind of begs the point to say I don't have the space to age beer 9 months because I need to ensure my other production requirements are met. Putting it a different way, maybe having adequate storage space meant being under-capacity - brewers, like any business, can make a negative into a positive...
Gary
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