Munich Winterbier in 1843

Here's something else I'm glad I was pointed in the direction of: all the Munich Winterbiers as of 24th January 1843.

There are 42 entries in the table, though, as Hofbräuhaus has both a Weissbier and a Doppelbier, there are only 41 breweries. Only. That's still a fair few. Sadly, most are long gone. I've never heard of the majority

You should by now remember that Winterbier was the name given to a lower gravity bottom-fermenting beer which was served in the winter. It had a shorter lagering time and a lower hopping rate than the stronger Sommerbier, which was brewed to last through the summer.

Munich Winterbier in 1843
Year	Brewer	Beer	OG	FG	OG Plato	ABV	App. Atten-uation
1843	Utzschneider-Brauerei	Winterbier	1043.0	1016.5	10.76	3.42	61.65%
1843	Gilgenrainerbräu	Winterbier	1043.7	1015.8	10.92	3.60	63.83%
1843	Prüglbräu	Winterbier	1044.0	1022.4	11.00	2.78	49.12%
1843	Bacherbräu	Winterbier	1044.4	1018.0	11.10	3.41	59.49%
1843	Lodererbräu	Winterbier	1044.4	1019.2	11.10	3.25	56.79%
1843	Zacherl, Vorstast Au	Winterbier	1044.5	1018.2	11.11	3.39	59.08%
1843	Hallerbräu	Winterbier	1044.7	1016.8	11.17	3.61	62.44%
1843	Hallmeyrbräu	Winterbier	1045.1	1018.5	11.25	3.43	58.95%
1843	Hascherbräu	Winterbier	1045.6	1016.7	11.37	3.73	63.35%
1843	Löwenbräu	Winterbier	1046.4	1015.1	11.56	4.05	67.43%
1843	Ober-Ottlbräu	Winterbier	1046.4	1020.1	11.58	3.40	56.83%
1843	Singelspielerbräu	Winterbier	1046.5	1018.6	11.59	3.60	59.99%
1843	G. Pschorr, Neuhauserg.	Winterbier	1046.7	1019.6	11.65	3.50	58.07%
1843	M. Pschorr, Sendlingerg.	Winterbier	1047.2	1018.5	11.75	3.70	60.77%
1843	Löwenbräu, Buttler	Winterbier	1047.4	1019.1	11.81	3.65	59.72%
1843	Probstbräu	Winterbier	1048.0	1016.7	11.95	4.05	65.21%
1843	K. Hofbräuhaus	Weissbier	1048.4	1017.2	12.04	4.03	64.45%
1843	Ober-Spatenbräu	Winterbier	1048.6	1016.7	12.10	4.13	65.66%
1843	Faberbräu	Winterbier	1048.7	1020.2	12.12	3.68	58.54%
1843	Zengerbräu	Winterbier	1048.9	1021.9	12.17	3.48	55.24%
1843	Augustinerbräu	Winterbier	1049.0	1019.9	12.18	3.75	59.36%
1843	Wagnerbräu	Winterbier	1049.1	1018.7	12.22	3.93	61.94%
1843	Kapplerbräu	Winterbier	1049.3	1019.8	12.26	3.81	59.94%
1843	Eberlbräu	Winterbier	1049.4	1015.6	12.29	4.38	68.44%
1843	K. Hofbräuhaus	Doppelbier	1049.5	1018.9	12.30	3.95	61.80%
1843	Thorbräu	Winterbier	1049.9	1016.3	12.41	4.35	67.36%
1843	Leistbräu	Winterbier	1050.2	1018.0	12.48	4.17	64.17%
1843	Kreutzbräu	Winterbier	1051.8	1022.6	12.84	3.75	56.33%
1843	Gebhardtbräu	Winterbier	1051.8	1017.9	12.84	4.38	65.41%
1843	Stubenvollbräu	Winterbier	1052.1	1021.1	12.92	4.00	59.50%
1843	Sterneckerbräu	Winterbier	1052.4	1020.5	13.00	4.12	60.90%
1843	Dürnbräu	Winterbier	1053.3	1023.2	13.21	3.88	56.49%
1843	Oberkandlerbräu	Winterbier	1053.7	1018.1	13.30	4.61	66.30%
1843	Metzgerbräu	Winterbier	1054.0	1020.6	13.38	4.32	61.88%
1843	Hirschbräu	Winterbier	1054.5	1020.1	13.48	4.44	63.10%
1843	Menterbräu	Winterbier	1054.5	1019.4	13.49	4.54	64.41%
1843	Büchlbräu	Winterbier	1055.1	1019.7	13.62	4.57	64.23%
1843	Högerbräu	Winterbier	1055.2	1026.3	13.65	3.71	52.35%
1843	Maderbräu	Winterbier	1057.0	1022.1	14.08	4.51	61.25%
1843	Schleibingerbräu	Winterbier	1058.1	1021.9	14.34	4.68	62.33%
1843	Schützbräu	Winterbier	1059.6	1026.0	14.67	4.32	56.34%
1843	Unterkandlerbräu	Winterbier	1061.0	1022.6	15.00	4.96	62.93%
	average		1049.8	1019.4	12.38	3.93	61.03%
Source:
Über quantitative Analyse durch physikalische Beobachtungen by Carl August von Steinheil, 1843, page 706.

There are a couple of points which immediately jump out at me. First the wide range of gravities, from 1043 to 1061. That's a fair old spread. Though the vast majority - exactly two thirds - were between 11º and 12.99º Balling. There were just three examples between 14º and 14.99º and one over 15º. The average gravity of all samples was 12.38º. That's pretty low for 19th-century Munich.

gravity	no. examples	%
10-10.99º	2	4.76%
11-11.99º	14	33.33%
12-12.99º	14	33.33%
13-13.99º	8	19.05%
14-14.99º	3	7.14%
15-15.99º	1	2.38%
total	42

The second obvious point is the poor attenuation. Not a single example manages 70% apparent attenuation. While 16 samples - almost 40% - are below 60% attenuation. The average is a mere 61%. It looks particularly crap if you compare it with the attenuation of British IPA from a few years later.

British IPA 1851 - 1852
Year	Brewer	Beer	OG	FG	OG Plato	ABV	App. Attenuation
1851	Allsopp	Export IPA	1057.1	1008.8	14.10	6.32	84.59%
1851	Allsopp	Export IPA	1060.8	1008.6	14.96	6.84	85.86%
1851	Bass	Domestic IPA	1064.0	1012.8	15.70	6.69	80.00%
1852	Bass	Domestic IPA	1073.7	1019.2	17.93	7.11	73.95%
Source:
"The Lancet 1852, vol.1", 1852, page 474

Or if you compare them with modern Munich beers. Here's a random selection:

Munich Lagers in 2014
Year	Brewer	Beer	Style	OG	FG	OG Plato	ABV	App. Atten-uation
2014	Paulaner	Münchner Hell	Helles	1046.11	1008.5	11.5	4.90	81.57%
2014	Paulaner	Münchner Urtyp	Amber Lager	1050.32	1008.2	12.5	5.50	83.70%
2014	Paulaner	Münchner Dunkel	Dunkles	1050.32	1011.85	12.5	5.00	76.45%
2014	Paulaner	Münchner Hell Leicht	Helles	1030.42	1005.8	7.7	3.20	80.93%
2014	Paulaner	Oktoberfestbier	Festbier	1055.41	1009.5	13.7	6.00	82.85%
2014	Paulaner	Salvator	Dioppelbock	1075.34	1015	18.3	7.90	80.09%
2014	Paulaner	Premium Pils	Pilsener	1046.11	1008.5	11.5	4.90	81.57%
2014	Löwenbräu	Urtyp	Spezial	1049.90	1008.5	12.4	5.40	82.96%
2014	Löwenbräu	Original	Helles	1047.37	1007.5	11.8	5.20	84.17%
2014	Löwenbräu	Triumphator	Dioppelbock	1074.89	1016.8	18.2	7.60	77.57%
2014	Löwenbräu	Oktoberfestbier	Festbier	1055.41	1008.7	13.7	6.10	84.30%
2014	Löwenbräu	Dunkel	Dunkles	1050.32	1008.2	12.5	5.50	83.70%
2014	Löwenbräu	Weisse	Hefeweizen	1047.37	1007.5	11.8	5.20	84.17%
2014	Spaten	Münchner Hell	Helles	1046.95	1007.1	11.7	5.20	84.88%
2014	Spaten	Oktoberfestbier	Festbier	1055.41	1010.2	13.7	5.90	81.59%
	Average			1052.11	1009.46	12.90	5.57	82.03%
Sources:
Paulaner website
Löwenbräu website
Spaten website

The average OG is a little higher for the modern beers but the average attention is much higher: 82% compared to 61%. It's even more impressive when you consider that there are two Doppelbocks in there.

Low attenuation is an obvious feature of early Lagers. I don't really know why that was. Was it the quality of the malt? The mashing techniques employed? The yeast of the fermentation process? I've really no firm information.

Almost forgot to mention the style of these beers. With the exception of the Hofbräuhaus Weissbier, all would have been dark. So a type of Dunkles, really.