Danziger Jopenbier

Time for a personal favourite of mine, the crazy Danziger Jopenbier.

It’s unusual in several respects, for a German beer. For a start it’s spontaneously fermented, a technique that mostly died out in Germany a couple of centuries earlier. Then there’s the ridiculously high OG and equally ridiculously high FG. Not to mention the organism that performed the fermentation.

And on that latter point Olberg has made things much clearer. I’ve read descriptions of a slime forming on the top of the beer. Olberg’s explanation of what was doing the fermenting explains that observation.

Off with the paraphrase.

Jopenbier can be considered a type of hopped malt drink. The mashing method employed doesn’t really matter that much. So for reasons of economy a short mashing scheme is usually employed. Per 1500 kg malt 25 to 30 pounds of hops are used. The wort is left to cool in the cooler and then run into fermenting tuns, which hold between one and two barrels. The tuns are 1 to 2 metres tall and built much narrower than usual. The wort remains in the tuns until after about three weeks it begins to ferment all on its own as aa result of spores that have fallen into it. No great value is placed on cleanliness or cleaning in the fermentation cellar, only the cellar floor is kept clean. Though naturally the cellar is kept dry and well ventilated. If I’m not mistaken the spontaneous fermentation is caused by Penicilium glaubum though Saccharomyces Beylink is also present. The fermentation is very violent which is why the tuns are kept closed with the exception of a vent under which a vessel is placed to catch overflowing liquid. When fermentation is complete the tuns are uncovered and the beer left to rest until it is shipped. Before it is filled into the smallest transport casks it is passed through filter sacks. The alcohol content is 3.5% and the acidity (measured in acetic acid) is 0.95%.
Source: Olberg, Johannes (1927) Danziger Jopenbier in Moderne Braumethoden, pp 65-66, A. Hartleben, Wien & Leipzig.

The penicillin will explain the mould, I guess. Unfortunately a search for that particular type threw up nothing whatsoever. It’s probably something that has changed its scientific name over the years. The same with the Saccharomyces – a total blank. Please let me know if you have any idea what they might be.

Interesting that it was fermented in tall narrow vessels. And counterintuitive. Surely if you’re relying on shit dropping into the wort to ferment it you’d want as large a surface area as possible?

That level of acetic acid would result in a pretty sour beer. Though with that amount of residual sweetness, it was probably barely noticeable. That will be 3.5% ABW, by the way.

Here’s the only analysis of Danziger Jopenbier I have:

Danziger Jopenbier
Year	Brewer	OG	FG	ABW	ABV	App. Atten-uation
1906	Unknown	1230.43	1195	3.52	4.40	13.49%
Source:
"Jahresbericht über die Leistungen der chemischen Technologie (1907)", 1907, pages 352 - 353.

The FG is higher than the highest OG I’ve ever seen for a UK-brewed beer. Though the ABV is high enough for Jopenbier to count as an alcoholic drink, Doubt anyone could drink enough of the treacle to get pissed, mind.

Dantzig Black Beer imports

Nothing very fancy today. Just a random bunch of references to that old favourite, Dantzig Black Beer.

Frankly, I'm confused. On the one hand, I'm surprised by how many mentions of it I've found in newspapers. On the other, given how regularly and widely it was imported, it's odd how little reference there is to it actually being consumed. Mostly it's just announcements of it arriving in port.

Several northern ports received shipments of Dantzig Black Beer. There was Hull:

HULL, DECEMBER 22.
For HAMBURG, The FAME, ALEXANDER GRANT, Master (A constant Trader.) To sail with convoy the 24th inst.
BLAYDES, LOFT, GEE, & Co.
ON SALE,
A quantity of Podolia FLAX-
26 Casks of RAPE OIL
HORSE HIDES (dryed)
Ermland YARN from 12 a 25
Dantzig BLACK BEER (One property.)
22d Dec. 1800.
Hull Packet - Tuesday 23 December 1800, page 3.

For SALE, REAL SPRUCE BEER, just arrived from Dantzic direct.
TOMLINSON & BOOTH.
HULL, October Ist, 1814.
Hull Packet - Tuesday 04 October 1814, page 2.

Liverpool:

VIN DE BOURGOUGNE.
Very superior BURGUNDY WINE, in Bottles, Selected with great care, and bottled in France for Private Tables. A few Cases only being left, will be disposed Of on reasonable terms.
Also, Dantzig BLACK BEER, in Kegs and Half-kegs.
Apply to B. H. DOWNING, 40, Chapel-walks, POOl-lane.
Liverpool Mercury - Friday 15 December 1826, page 4.

And Newcastle:

DANTZIG BLACK BEER.
ON SALE, Part of a Cargo, recently landed from the Elise, 10s. 6d. per Keg,
BY GEO. FINLAY,
WINE MERCHANT, BIGG-MARKET.
Newcastle. 9th Jan. 1846.
Newcastle Journal - Saturday 10 January 1846, page 2.

ALLSOPP'SPALE AND BURTON ALES.
The above ales are now being supplied in the finest condition in bottles and casks.
Also, just landed, PRIME DANTZIG BLACK BEER, in kegs.
By GILPIN AND COMPANY, 107, Pilgrim-street, and 7, Manors.
Newcastle Guardian and Tyne Mercury - Saturday 02 February 1867, page 1.

Note the mention in several of the above of "kegs". The term was usually used to refer to small barrels rather than the type of barrel in which beer was delivered.This confirms the small size of the barrels used to export Dantzig Black Beer:

"Danzig. The demand for Jopenbier was very limited, as in the English manufacturing districts, the main sales locations for this article, most workers were unemployed because of the American war. The sale price was 70 fr. per 1/4 T. free on board. Manufactured were 22300, exported 24300 1/4-T. Value of 56700 Th; of the shipped amount a great part was sent to England on credit and stored there unsold. The stock at year-end was 8000 1/4-T."
"Preussische Statistik" 1863, page 101.

1/4 T I assume means a quarter Prussian tonne. That had a capacity of 114.503 litres, or a little over 25 gallons, making a quarter tonne about 6.25 gallons, or a little smaller than  between a pin and a firkin. The total volume of those 1862 exports to Britain were 4,250 barrels. Not a huge amount. Then again, in 1860 only 3,592* barrels of beer were imported into Britain. Though, as Black Beer had a special status, I'm not sure if it was included in those statistics. It still means that Black Beer was the most popular foreign beer.

And finally . . . a medicinal use for Black Beer:

Infallible Cure for Colds.—Two tablespoonfuls of Dantzig black beer, taken with hot water, sugar, and about half-a glass of old rum, or malt whiskey, immediately before going to bed, is said to cure the most obstinate and long-standing colds, and has succeeded where every other remedy failed.
Bucks Herald - Saturday 07 January 1843, page 7.

There may be more, depending on how my searches with variations in the spelling work out.


* Brewers' Almanack 1928, p. 115

Dantzig Black Beer

I'm surprised at how many references to Dantzig Black Beer I've unearthed.

This is the earliest:

"There are also many good beers in Prussia, particularly Danziger beer, which, in its amiability, passion and strength can, not unjustly, be compared with a wine; since one ounce of Danziger Doppelbier is stronger and more powerful than two mass of any other common barley beer."
"Der Vollkommene Bierbrauer oder kurzer Unterricht all Arten Bier zu brauen" 1784 (Reprint Verlag Leipzig, ISBN 3-8262-0201-5), page 131.

Thick and treacly. Well you'd expect that from a beer with an OG of 1198.

"Dantzig was associated with a variety of products that were either produced in the district, or were exported thence. One, not found in the Dictionary Archive, is Dantzig BEER, otherwise known as BLACK beer, which Ogilvie described as 'a kind of beer manufactured at Dantzic. It is of black colour, and of a syrupy consistence, and is much prized' [Ogilvie (1865)]."
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=58737

Yes, it really was black and treacly.

"Black Beer or Dantzig Beer is a very dark, syrupy brew first made in Dantzig."
"The Grocer's Encyclopedia" New York, 1911, page 64.

"Formerly a strong medicinal beer was made in Dantzic from the berries of the sweet-brier, which was found both salutary and agreeable; another description of liquor, called black beer, is made in that city and held in considerable estimation: it is a species of spruce beer, and is made in a manner similar to that practised in Canada."
"A Philosophical and Statistical History of the Inventions and Customs of Ancient and
Modern Nations in the Manufacture and Use of Inebriating Liquors" by Samuel Morewood, 1838, page 463.

"In England, malt liquors are, in general,'properly fermented; and when intended for warm climates, the grain is twice mashed, and twice boiled. In German ales, on the contrary, little or no fermentation is permitted to take place; and in the Dantzick black beer, in particular, only a half fermentation is allowed."
"The Code of Health and Longevity" by Sir John Sinclair, 1807, page 338.

"X porter has of late years become of nearly the same colour as Dantzic black beer, which is, perhaps, another improvement of the present day. This alteration in the colour is said to have been adopted merely to humour the public taste."
"A Practical Treatise on Brewing, Based on Chemical and Economical Principles" by William Black, 1849, page 246.

Black beer was brewed in Britain, too. Here are the rules:

"An Act to continue certain Duties of Customs and Inland Revenue for the Service of Her Majesty, and to grant, alter, and repeal certain other Duties. [3rd June, 1862.]
. . . .
9.Provided always, that brewers of beer, known as spruce or black beer, for sale, shall continue to pay for their licenses only the name rates of duty as are imposed by the act passed in the 6 Geo. 4, с. 81, on brewers of beer other than table beer only, for sale: provided that any such brewer shall not brew on the same premises beer of any other description than spruce or black beer, nor use in the brewing of the same, or add thereto, any hops or other bitter, or any yeast or other matter to produce fermentation, and shall not brew, or sell or send out, any of such beer of a less specific gravity than 1180 degrees."
"The Jurist", 1863 , Page 9.

I wonder if the address of Dantzic Cottage of theis Leeds Black Beer brewer was just a coincidence?

"Plowman John, black beer brewer, Dantzic cottage, 46 Regent st [Leeds]"
"History, gazetteer, and directory, of the west-riding of Yorkshire" by William White, 1837, page 592.

One of Black Beer's main uses appears to have been medicinal:

"Porter is recommended by the medical world to their convalescent patients in poor families, in lieu of port wine, which antidote is exclusively appropriated to the wealthy. Here we may take the liberty of suggesting, that both classes of such invalids may advantageously now avail themselves of a yet simpler, more nutritious, and less alcoholic renovator than either, merely by a temperate imbibition of a moderately attenuated fresh pale beer, of about 20 or 24 lbs. gravity, or such as is retailed at fourpence or sixpence per quart. This beer contains the essentials required by both doctor and patient, and which may be looked for in vain in either wine or porter; for besides containing water, gum, alcohol, and carbonic acid gas, in common with black beer, it possesses some glutinous matter and a fair proportion of nutrimental sugar; and its gum is rendered digestive by retaining its vigour and original elements; it is also better suited to weak stomachs and to medicinal and strengthening purposes than any black beer can be, since it contains less carbonaceous matter, and consequently more nutritious food, and is easier of digestion ; whereas porter contains such a large share of this heavy mucilaginous matter, that it is better fitted to hardy and healthy constitutions, such as workers in metal, soil, or mortar, whose exercise enables them to carry it advantageously through the physical system; and, as regards port wine, little or perhaps none that reaches this country is free from adulteration with foreign alcohol, which is added to it either at the close of the fermentation, or immediately prior to its enshipment, and is never completely incorporated with the natural juice of the grape and its native spirit, notwithstanding all the art of "fretting in," of which the exporters are masters as adroit as they are fraudulent. However desirable the tartar of grapejuice is, as a component of wine, so little of it remains after bottling, that it cannot avail as medicine; whereas the tartar or gluten of malted barley answers the desired purpose, because it exists in sufficient quantity, and partakes of the same essential properties."
"The Theory and Practice of Brewing Illustrated" by William Littell Tizard, 1846, page 509.

"She had not been under proper medical treatment. A few days before my visit she partook plentifully of a mixture of black beer and whisky, with a view to promote sweating, but this evacuation did not take place, and her symptoms were much aggravated by the dose."
"Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal" 1827, page 79.

"'I have had a bad cold,' said the merchant, 'and I got my feet bathed, and had a drink o' hot Dantzig black beer; and this rising oot o' my warm bed at this time o' nicht will he the death o' me! What do ye want?'"
"Tait's Edinburgh Magazine" 1852, page 492.

That was fun, wasn't it? What next? I've been reading some fascinating stuff about Berliner Weisse. You interested in that?

Danziger Joppenbier

I'm always a happy as a pig in muck when I find a new, weird, extinct beer style. Danziger Joppenbier fits my excitement requirements perfectly.

Spontaneously fermented, immensely high gravity, an extremely slow fermentation, an ridiculously long boil. It scores highly in the odd stakes. It sounds like it might be a relative of Braunschweiger Mumm, except with more alcohol.

"Danziger Joppenbier.
Joppenbier is in many respects very interesting. It is made from a highly concentrated wort - the Saccharometer degree is about 49 percent.

From 1000 Kg malt and 5 Kg hops approximately 10.5 HL beer is produced.

The mash is made by the infusion method and the wort which is drawn off is - to obtain the specified concentration - often boiled more than 20 hours. The wort is cooled down to down to 12.5 º.

The fermentation is a so-called sponataneous fermentation. Fermentation usually begins in July - although it is the same whether the beer is brewed in January or April. The wort is first covered with a thick blanket greenish-white mould; when the mould spores are in sufficient quantity to force their way into the wort and to grow to a very characteristic yeast, then the fermentation begins, which only in September subsides enough so that the beer becomes clear and can be drawn off. The attenuation is during this period up to only about 19.

The resulting beer is dark brown, extremely rich (but here also partly arises from not broken down glucose) and sweet - the smell is pleasant (which is probably a consequence of the extremely slow fermentation). It is not possible to drink much Joppenbier - it is full-bodied, extremely suitable for mixing with other beer and is also for such purpose exported to England.

The clear beer can be left a year in the vat on the yeast without being damaged - of course, however, the degree of attenuation will increase."
"Schule der Bierbrauerei" by G.E. Habich, published in 1865, pages 402 and 403.

I'm assuming the gravities mentioned are Balling. That makes the OG about 1196 and the FG 1076. Even more than the craziest Scotch Ale. The hopping rate, at only about half a kilo per Zentner malt (or per hectolitre beer), is very low. About the same as Berliner Weisse, which usually has no hop character at all. My guess is that Joppenbier tasted pretty malty.

How Joppenbier relates to Jopen Bier, I'm not sure. The latter was an early type of hopped beer, which, if I recall correctly, originated in Hamburg. There is currently a version of Jopen Bier brewed for the Dutch market in Belgium.

Here's confirmation that most Joppenbier (or Jopenbier) was exported to Britain:

"Danzig. The demand for Jopenbier was very limited, as in the English manufacturing distrcts, the main sales locations for this article, most workers were unemployed because of the American war. The sale price was 70 fr. per 1/4 T. free on board. Manutactured were 22300, exported 24300 1/4-T. Value of 56700 Th; of the shipped amount a great part was sent to England on credit and stored there unsold. The stock at year-end was 8000 1/4-T.""Preussische Statistik" 1863, page 101.

Tomoorrow much more about Dantzig Black Beer. Much, much more. Really.

The colour of London Porter

Do you remembering me mentioning about beer styles changing colour? I mentioned that maybe even Porter would have, if the colour hadn't been so strongly associated with it. This passage suggests that I may have been a little hasty in that regard, too.

See what you make of it.

OF THE COLOUR OF LONDON PORTER.
London porter has of late years become of nearly the same colour as Dantzic black beer, which is, perhaps, another improvement of the present day. This alteration in the colour is said to have been adopted merely to humour the public taste. It is very doubtful, however, if the public have been consulted upon the subject, or ever had any voice in the matter. Owing to the causes already mentioned, porter of a brilliant colour, as formerly, is seldom now to be seen ; and the common porter, as generally drunk out of pewter pots, is often so muddy as to be complained of as being unpleasant to the eye. It is just possible, that, to please the public taste as to colour, it may become necessary to make it (the porter) as black as ink ; and this may also be a means of preventing the public from judging whether that which they drink is muddy, or grey, or sometimes even both. This opinion, however, is merely a surmise, which may or may not be the case. It cannot, however, be considered by the public as any very great improvement, inasmuch as it is even now occasionally called, in common parlance, black beer, or black strap."
"A Practical Treatise on Brewing, Based on Chemical and Economical Principles" by William Black 1849, Page 246.

He mentions "porter of a brilliant colour" and porter "as black as ink". It sounds to me as if Porter had become darker in colour. Given the date, I would assume from the use of black malt. The brilliant-coloured Porter he is nostalgic for is presumably from the period 1810-1830. At that time London brewers had grists that were 65% pale malt and 35% brown malt. How dark would such a beer be?

My guess would be that Porter changed colour a couple of times between 1780 and 1840.

1. 1780 - dark brown beer brewed from 100% brown malt
   
2. 1800 - paler brown beer brewed from 65% pale and 35% brown malt
   
3. 1840 - black beer brewed from 85% pale, 12% brown, 3% black malt
   

What do you think?