Saturday 29 August 2015

DDR Beer Styles

I just came across this dead handy document I’d forgotten I had. It’s TGL 7764: the official DDR standard document for beer.

One of the useful bits of information is something on beers styles. A little table documenting the characteristics of each type of beer. It’s rather longer than the table in Kunze and includes some styles I never came across. Things like Lagerbier Dunkel, Lagerbier Spezial and Dunkel.

It doesn’t include ABV, so I’ve calculated it from the OG and rate of attenuation. I’ve used the middle of the gravity range and either the middle of the attenuation range or the minimum value. What it shows is quite a narrow range of ABVs, with the vast majority of styles between 3.5 and 5%.

I’d been wondering about Doppel-Karamelbier. It always specifies Vollbier on the label, but I was fairly certain it was low ABV. The fact no rate of attenuation is specified implies to me that it’s very low. And that it’s one of those weird German styles with a normal OG, but minimal amount of alcohol. Consulting Kunze*, I see that it had an ABC of 0.63% to 1.5%. So hardly fermented at all.

Another odd feature is the number of Pilsner styles: four in total. I’m not sure why Deutsches Pilsator and Deutsches Pilsner Spezial get separate entries as their specifications seem identical. As do Lagerbier Hell and Lagerbier Spezial, Lagerbier Dunkel and Lagerbier Dunkel Spezial.

It’s handy that there’s an indication of bitterness, though I’m not sure how that relates to IBUs. It does indicate the relative bitterness of the types, at least.

You'll notice that every DDR label has TGL 7764 on it somewhere.

Here you go:


DDR beer styles 1987 - 1990
Type OG Plato ABV App. Atten-uation CO2 Content Isohumulon Content EBC colour
% % % % min. Mg/l
Dunkel (Einfachbier) 5.7 - 6.2 1.84 55 - 65 0.35 3 - 11 min 79
Alkoholfreies Bier 6.5 - 7.0 10 - 15 0.42 22 - 28 max 12
Weissbier 7.0 - 8.0 2.90 min 75 0.60 nothing specified 9 - 15
Extra 8.5 - 9.0 3.41 min 75 0.45 22 - 34 max 12
Hell 9.5 - 10.0 3.82 min 75 0.40 16 - 26 max 14
Edel-Bräu Hell 10.5 - 11.0 4.23 min 75 0.42 16 - 28 max 14
Dunkel (Vollbier) 10.0 - 10.5 4.02 min 75 0.40 16 - 26 min 79
Doppel-Karamelbier 11.7 - 12.2 0.63 - 1.5 nothing specified 0.42 3 - 10 min 93
Schwarzbier 11.7 - 12.2 4.12 60 - 70 0.42 20 - 34 min 160
Deutsches Pilsner 10.5 - 11.0 4.23 min 75 0.40 22 - 34 max 12
Diabetiker-Pils 10.0 - 10.5 0.42 22 - 34 max 13
Lagerbier Hell 11.5 - 12.0 4.65 min 75 0.42 20 - 34 max 31
Lagerbier Dunkel 11.5 - 12.0 4.65 min 75 0.42 14 - 26 min 40
Lagerbier Spezial 11.5 - 12.0 4.65 min 75 0.42 20 - 34 max 31
Lagerbier Dunkel Spezial 11.5 - 12.0 4.65 min 75 0.42 14 - 26 min 40
Deutsches Pilsator 11.5 - 12.0 4.83 min 78 0.42 26 - 39 max 12
Deutsches Pilsner Spezial 11.5 - 12.0 4.83 min 78 0.42 26 - 39 max 12
Spitzenbier 12.0 - 12.5 4.86 min 73 0.45 28 - 40 max 18
Märzen 13.5 - 14.0 5.13 min 70 0.42 20 - 34 max 110
Weißer Bock oder Bockbier Hell 15.0 - 15.5 5.86 68 - 75 0.40 14 - 26 21 - 43
Dunkler Bock oder Bockbier Dunkel 15.0 - 15.5 5.62 65 - 72 0.40 10 - 25 min 83
Deutscher Porter 17.5 - 18.0 6.10 min 64 0.42 35 - 50 min 160
Source:
TGL 7764


* "Technologie für Brauer und Mälzer" by Wolfgang Kunze, 1975, page 422.

7 comments:

Duffbowl said...

From what I can find, 1 IBU equals 1mg of isomerized alpha acid per litre, which is equivalent to 1 PPM of iso-alpha acids. Found this through the BYO website on a John Palmer article, and seems to be in the same vein for a few other sites. That said, they could all be repeating bad work.

Does that make the numbers fit with what you’d expect to see for East German beer?

Ron Pattinson said...

Duffbowl,

so you're saying that the isohumulone numbers are the equivalent of IBUs?

Elektrolurch said...

Stuff labelled "Doppelcaramel" is still around.
Mostly it is "alcohol free" and comparable to west german "Malztrunk". There used to be a very tasty Doppelcaramel from Torgauer Brauerei with 1.5% abv., but sadly they closed in 2012 or so.
There is also Neunspringe Doppelcaramel with 0.9% abv. So one could argue this beerstyle is still kind of alive.

A Brew Rat said...

Interesting that there is a "Deutscher Porter". I assume that is a baltic porter. I wonder how many baltic porters are still produced in Germany today.

Ron Pattinson said...

A Brew Rat,

no, it's German Porter. Not the same thing. What Baltic Porter uses Brettanomyces?

Duffbowl said...

G'day Ron.

Yep, that's what it looks like from what I've read. Could be wrong, but I'm divorced now so nobody tells me anymore. :)

Ron Pattinson said...

Duffbowl,

that's really useful to know.