There is a very good reason for squeezing the dishcloth of this TGL 7764 totally dry. When this is published I'll be on a two-week trip to the USA with my kids. As I can't post as easily when away, I always queue posts to cover the whole of the trip before I leave. Having a theme like this lets me bash out a whole load of posts quickly. I've been aiming for three every day.
I've also spotted a use for the material I'm accumulating. (I don't like writing a whole load of stuff on a topic without an ulterior motive.) It would fit very nicely into my book "DDR!". When I have time, I'll add it all in and publish a second edition. "When I have time" being quite a big caveat.
Right. Back to the actual topic. This table demonstrates a big change in DDR brewing practices since 1960. In the earlier edition of the standards, there's no mention of hop extract. In 1980, it could contribute up to 70% of the bitterness.
Remember me saying that the specs of Edel-Bräu Hell and ordinary Hell looked the same. Here's a difference: Edel-Bräu Hell had less hop extract and some top-class hops. Something similar is happening with the Pilsners, where the bottom-level Deutsches Pilsner has more hop extract and no posh hops.
Just realised that I have some labels for Vollbier Extra. Interesting. It cost 0.98 M for half a litre. While the stronger Vollbier Hell coast 0.72 M. Which might explain why Extra got better hops.
| 1980 DDR hop extract and hop usage | ||
| Type | max % bitter substances from hop extract | min % from A hops |
| Aubi | 70 | — |
| Dunkel (Einfachbier) | ||
| Weißbier | ||
| Extra | 40 | 15 |
| Hell | 70 | — |
| Edel-Bräu Hell | 40 | 15 |
| Dunkel (Vollbier) | 70 | — |
| Doppel-KarameIbier | ||
| Schwarzbier | ||
| Deutsches Pilsner | 15 | |
| Diabetiker-Pils | 40 | |
| Deutsches Pilsator | ||
| Deutsches Pilsner Spezial | ||
| Märzen | 70 | — |
| Weizenbier | ||
| Weißer Bock or Bockbier Hell | ||
| Dunkler Bock or Bockbier Dunkel | ||
| Deutscher Porter | ||
| Source: | ||
| 1980 TGL 7764, page 6. | ||
Even today some breweries offer both a Pilsner and a Premium Pilsner - how likely is it that the difference between the two is still something of this kind?
ReplyDeleteRon - I'm in Chicago for a week this month.Is there any pub or brewpub or brewery visit you'd recommend above all others for someone with a pathological aversion to hop bombs ?
ReplyDeleteProfessor Pie-Tin,
ReplyDeleteDovetail does great Lagers. Their Helles is superb.
Goose Island does some good stuff, too. (Not just the beers I do with them.)
Greetings, kind Professor.
ReplyDeleteHear now. I am Steve. I live in Chicago. R. Pattinson has given you a couple
of venue choices.
If you visit Dovetail, you will pass by Begyle Brwg. on your way back to
the "L" station (or the CTA route #80 Irving Park bus). There is one English pub, and two German pubs, west of there on Irving Park. [You are going to buy a 7-day Ventra Pass? It is only $20. That's less than what three pints will cost at any one pub.]
But the breweries I more keenly recommend are
1) Metropolitan Brwg. (3057 N Rockwell St) (Lagers and other Germanic styles)
2) Ravinia Brwg. (2601 W Diversey Ave) (Tacos and unpretentious beers)
3) Maplewood Brwy. (2717 N Maplewood Ave) (Vast selection of beer styles in a diminutive spot adjacent to a commuter train line.)
4) Owen & Engine (2700 N Western Ave) (A genuine English pub with cask beers. Go upstairs. But beware- it is closed on Wednesday and Thursday.)
None of these brewpubs or bars are prone to hop bomb beer.
Drop these addresses into a mapping program(me). Much less walking needed compared to BRAPA.