Hop growing in the DDR (part 1)

One big problem facing the DDR brewing industry in its early days was a lack of locally-grown hops.

Hops had been grown on the territory of the DDR in the past, but by the middle of the 20th century, this was no longer the case. The remaining hop-growing regions were all in West Germany, mostly in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.

The answer was to start up hop growing again in the East.

"1.4.1. Growing areas
Due to the division of Germany after the Second World War, the traditional hop-growing areas in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg were separated from the DDR. Previously, valuable foreign currency had to be spent on importing hops. In order to avoid this and to become independent in this area as well, in 1951 hops were again cultivated in the districts of Magdeburg - Halle - Erfurt - Suhl - Gera - Leipzig - Dresden - Karl-Marx-Stadt.

One could fall back on old experiences, since hops had already been grown here about 160 years before. In the meantime, the successes have shown that it is possible to grow hops in the southern districts of the Republic and that these hops are qualitatively equal to other noble hops.

With this in-house production, our trade also makes itself independent of the large price fluctuations to which hops are subject in capitalist countries as a result of yield fluctuations and other manipulations.

For example, it cost 1 dt of hops in West Germany

1957 800-900 DM,
1958 up to 2400 DM.

In 1959 prices were kept so low that production costs could not be covered. Quite a number of hop growers burned the unpicked crop because the cost of picking exceeded the selling price. During this period, 70 farms covering an area of ​​370 hectares were ruined every day in West Germany by these crises.

The agricultural policy of our state, on the other hand, ensures a planned increase in production in agriculture, the full sale of the products and thus increasing income for those employed in agriculture.

Since 1951, hop cultivation has developed vigorously in the southern districts of the republic, as the following tables show."
"Technologie Brauer und Mälzer" by Wolfgang Kunze, VEB Fachbuchverlag Leipzig, 2nd edition, 1967, page 43.

See how much better a planned economy is than capitalist anarchy? Look at those crazy hop prices. Obviously, such big increases in price would have been a big problem for the DDR, which had limited amounts of hard currency at its disposal.

As the text says, the new hop gardens were planted in the South and the East. Erfurt, Suhl and Gera are in Thuringen; Leipzig, Dresden and Karl-Marx-Stadt in Saxony; Magdeburg in Mecklenberg-Vorpommern; Halle in Sachsen-Anhalt.

Next time we'll see how many hops were grown and where.

 

Brewing Doppelkaramelmalzbier (part 2)

Exactly how did they get all that sugar into Doppelkaramel? remember, it was effectively doubling the OG of the beer. Which entails an awful lot of sugar.

"In the case of Doppelkaramelmalzbier, the finished drink must contain 6 kg (Fig. 259) of sugar per 1 hl of sales beer, based on an 11.7 to 12.2 percent pitching wort. This sugar is added in a concentrated aqueous solution as a sugar syrup before bottling. Since the syrup water means a dilution, Doppelkaramelmalzbier is blended to a higher gravity beforehand (7-8%). The mixing of the 7-8% beer with the syrup is done by repeated pressing between pressure tanks. At the same time, a few litres of thick mushy yeast are usually added to initiate fermentation again, which is intended to generate a higher carbon dioxide pressure in Doppelkaramelmalzbier.

Doppelkaramelmalzbier is not filtered but pasteurized.

Due to the addition of sugar, a lot of fermentable extract gets into Doppelkaramelmalzbier. If the remaining yeast and the added yeast could ferment this extract, all the bottles would burst due to the ever-increasing carbon dioxide pressure.

However, a slightly higher pressure produces a better foam (see p. 434). To generate this increased pressure, the temperature at the beginning of the pasteurisation is increased to 30-35°C for about 2-4 hours. Then it is heated to around 65°C, which stops further fermentation and carbon dioxide formation by killing off the yeast cells."
"Technologie Brauer und Mälzer" by Wolfgang Kunze, VEB Fachbuchverlag Leipzig, 2nd edition, 1967, pages 451 452.

6 kg per hectolitre is 60 gm per litre. That's a lot of sugar. I'll go out on a limb here and guess that the finished beer was pretty sweet.

I'm interested to see that fresh yeast was added along with the sugar. With all that sugar, fermentation must have started up pretty quickly. I was going to say that I wondered how long this fermentation was allowed to take place. But, from TGL 7764, I know the lagering time: 5 to 8 days. Is that before or after pasteurisation, though?

I'm left with one question? Who drank this stuff? And did they drink it straight or blend with another beer? Sorry, that's two questions. Where was it drunk? There, that's yet another question. My resident DDR expert couldn't answer them.

Brewing Doppelkaramelmalzbier (part 1)

A quick dive into "Technologie Brauer und Mälzer" has answered so many question about Doppelkaramel. How do you brew a 12º Plato beer with less than 2% ABV? It turns out that it's quite simple.

A surprising truth is revealed.

"6.1.2. Peculiarities in the production of Doppelkaramelmalzbier and Malzbier
Both beers are made in most breweries using the same process right down to the lager cellar.

Both beers are 6% dark beers; with the Doppelkaramelmalzbier, the higher gravity of up to 12% is later achieved by adding sugar.

The bulk contains 3-6% Farbmalz and often 6-8% caramel malt. Part of the colour is always achieved by adding caramel (see p. 92). The addition of hops is small (see TGL) and only serves to round off the taste.

There are several ways to achieve the wort concentration:

The brew is turned out with a gravity of about 6%; by reducing the grist, the brewhouse capacity decreases in fully utilized brewhouses. When using a mash filter a dummy plate must be fitted.

With a normal grist quantity, a wort of about 6% is knocked out; but it needs to be much more must be diluted to reach 6% in the cast wort. This amount exceeds the volume of the kettle, some breweries cook the extra amount in the mash kettle. However, this blocks the brewhouse for longer and water is boiled unnecessarily.

The brew is turned out with a gravity of 9-10%, as far as the pan volume allows. Water is then blended to about get the wort to 6% (reckoned in pitching wort) when transferring.

Benefits: Time savings in the brewhouse, vessel savings in the fermenting room, energy savings because the waste water is not boiled."
"Technologie Brauer und Mälzer" by Wolfgang Kunze, VEB Fachbuchverlag Leipzig, 2nd edition, 1967, page 451.

The surprising truth: Doppelkaramel and Malzbier were exactly the same until after fermentation. Both were fermented as a 6º Plato wort. The only difference is that Doppelkaramel had sugar added before bottling.

There were three options to getting the right strength wort:

1. Create a 6º while mashing by using half as much malt.

2. Use the normal amount of malt but water down to 6º in the kettle.

3. Create a wort of 9-10º Plato and water down to 6º when transferring to fermenters.

Obviously, option 3 was the most efficient use of the brewing equipment.

Handy to see the grist revealed:
 

Doppelkaramel grist
pilsner malt	66-71%
Farbmalz	3-6%
Caramel malt	6-8%
unmalted grain	20%

1980 DDR bottled beer value for money

One thing that struck me when assembling the table of the price of bottled beer was how bad value the new styles Extra, Edel-Bräu Hell, Deutsches Pilsner Spezial and Märzen were. Why not work out just exactly how bad value they were.

Though not the worst value. That honour belongs to Doppel-Karamelbier. At least on the basis of price per ABV. Not a surprise, really, as it's a full-gravity beer with little alcohol.

The specialist beers Schwarzbier and Porter were also relatively poor value. Perhaps for the very reason that they were niche products. 

Some the the best value were the most popular styles: Hell and Deutsches Pilsner. Though, a little surprisingly, Bockbier Hell just sneaks in as best value of all.

1980 DDR bottled beer value for money
Type	50 cl	OG	ABV	pf per º OG	pf per % ABV
Doppel-KarameIbier	0.75	12	1.80	6.25	41.67
Extra	0.98	8.9	3.47	11.01	28.24
Märzen	1.20	11.75	4.65	10.21	25.81
Schwarzbier	1.10	12	4.44	9.17	24.77
Deutsches Pilsner Spezial	1.28	14	5.23	9.14	24.47
Deutscher Porter	1.53	18	6.29	8.50	24.32
Edel-Bräu Hell	0.98	10.75	4.23	9.12	23.17
Deutsches Pilsator	1.00	12.25	5.05	8.16	19.80
Diabetiker-Pils	0.98	12.25	5.05	8.00	19.41
Dunkel (Einfachbier)	0.38	6	1.99	6.33	19.10
Weißbier	0.55	7.5	2.90	7.33	18.97
Deutsches Pilsner	0.92	12.25	4.86	7.51	18.93
Dunkler Bock or Bockbier Dunkel	1.08	16	6.22	6.75	17.36
Hell	0.72	10.75	4.23	6.70	17.02
Dunkel (Vollbier)	0.72	10.75	4.23	6.70	17.02
Weißer Bock or Bockbier Hell	1.08	16	6.48	6.75	16.67
Sources:
My label collection.
1980 TGL 7764, pages 9 - 10.

1980 DDR beer shelf life in days

I've mentioned, haven't I, that TGL 7764 from 1980 is rather more detailed than the 1960 one. That includes the bit on shelf life.

Because, while in 1960 only dates for bottled beer were given, the 1980 one also includes draught beer. Which had a shelf life four days longer. It also says which beers could only be sold in bottled form. Seven of them, which are easy enough to spot in the table as they have no draught shelf life specified: Aubi, Extra, Diabetiker-Pils, Deutsches Pilsner Spezial, Märzen, Weizenbier and Deutscher Porter.

The eagle-eyed amongst you might have spotted that Berliner Weisse is missing. Perhaps that's because its shelf life was so much longer. In the 1960 version it's given as 270 days.

For some popular beers, the period is shorter than in 1960. Deutsches Pilsner is down from 15 days to 10. Vollbier Hell and Dunkel from 12 days to 8 days. Bockbier Hell and Dunkel from 15 days to 10. Doppel-KarameIbier from 90 days to 30.

Why do some styles have much longer periods? Because they were pasteurised. It's these specific types: Aubi, Doppel-KarameIbier, Diabetiker-Pils, Deutsches Pilsner Spezial and Märzen.

1980 DDR beer shelf life in days
Type	Bottled	draught	Remarks
Aubi	90	—	without sediment or cloudiness
Extra	25	—
Hell	8	12
Edel-Bräu Hell	18	22
Dunkel (Vollbier)	8	12
Diabetiker-Pils	30	—
Deutsches Pilsner	10	14
Deutsches Pilsator	18	22
Deutsches Pilsner Spezial	90	—
Weißer Bock or Bockbier Hell	10	14
Dunkler Bock or Bockbier Dunkel	10	14
Dunkel (Einfachbier)	9	13	without fermentation or souring; light sediment allowed
Doppel-KarameIbier	30	34
Schwarzbier	15	19
Märzen	30	—
Weizenbier	21	—
Deutscher Porter	24	—
Source:
1980 TGL 7764, page 11.

1980 DDR beer strength

The 1980 version of TGL 7764 doesn't list the alcohol content  of the beers. But, as it does give the OG and rate of attenuatio0n, it's pretty easy to work it out. Especially if, like me, you already have all the necessary calculations plugged into spreadsheet.

It's all much what you would expect. With Berliner Weisse around 3% ABV, Hell a bit over 4%, Pilsner around 5%, and Bock 6-6.5%. Compared to the West, the Hell and Weizenbier are slightly weaker. The other styles, however, are roughly in line with what occurred on the other side of the Inner German Border.

The bottom limit for Vollbier was lower in the DDR - in the West it was 11º Plato. A beer at the lower DDR limit of 10.5º Plato wouldn't have been allowed in West Germany, nor would extra. Beers weren't permitted to be brewed to gravities between the top limit for Schankbier (8º Plato) anf the lower limit for Volbier (11º Plato).

1980 DDR beer strength
Type	min OG Plato	max OG Plato	app. Atten-uation	min ABV	max ABV
Dunkel (Einfachbier)	5.8	6.2	65	1.93	2.06
Weißbier	7	8	75	2.70	3.10
Extra	8.5	9.3	75	3.30	3.63
Hell	10.5	11	75	4.13	4.33
Edel-Bräu Hell	10.5	11	75	4.13	4.33
Dunkel (Vollbier)	10.5	11	75	4.13	4.33
Schwarzbier	11.7	12.3	70	4.32	4.56
Deutsches Pilsner	12	12.5	75	4.75	4.97
Deutsches Pilsator	12	12.5	78	4.94	5.16
Deutsches Pilsner Spezial	12	12.5	78	4.94	5.16
Märzen	13.7	14.3	70	5.11	5.36
Weizenbier	11.5	12	75	4.54	4.75
Weißer Bock or Bockbier Hell	15.7	16.3	75	6.35	6.61
Dunkler Bock or Bockbier Dunkel	15.7	16.3	72	6.10	6.35
Deutscher Porter	17.7	18.3	64	6.18	6.41
Source:
1980 TGL 7764, pages 9 - 10.

 

 

1980 DDR beer ingredients

We continue our trundle through the 1980 version of TGL 7764 with a look at the ingredients allowed.

The hopping specifications are very different owing to the introduction of hop extract.  Meaning that the hopping rate can't be given in gm/hl any more. Instead, active bitter substances are specified. Not really sure what that means. But at least the relative hopping rates are still obvious.

Several new ingredients have been added, notably amongst the adjuncts, where rice grits and maize grits have appeared. 

On the sour side, there much of interest. Dekkera bruxellensis - Brattanomyces to you and me - is specifically mentioned. Also, that it was only for Porter. Interestingly, no restriction was placed on the use of Lactobacillus. You would have thought that was only appropriate for Berliner Weisse.

What was lactic acid being used for? Was it as a souring shortcut for Berliner Weisse? Or did it have some other use?

Berliner Weisse had to have a minimum of 30% wheat malt. While Weizenbier had to include at least 20%.

1980 DDR beer ingredients
Category	Type	kg malt per hl	Hops, hop extract expressed in active bitter substances g/hl
Alkoholfreies Bier	Aubi	11	9
Einfachbier	Dunkel	9	1.9
Schankbier	Weißbier	11.5	4.2
Vollbier	Extra	14.5	9.7
	Hell	16.2	8.5
	Edel-Bräu Hell	17.2	8.5
	Dunkel	17.2	8.5
	Doppe1-KarameIbier	10.5	1.8
	Schwarzbier	19	10
	Deutsches Pilsner	19.2	11.5
	Diabetiker-Pils	18	15
	Deutsches Pilsator	19.2	16
	Deutsches Pilsner Spezial	20.2	16
	Märzen	24	10
	Weizenbier	18	4.5
Starkbier	Weißer Bock or Bockbier Hell	26	8
	Dunkler Bock or Bockbier Dunkel	26	8
	Deutscher Porter	34	22
Source:
1980 TGL 7764, page 2.

Here's the full list of permitted ingredients.

4. RAW MATERIALS AND ADDITIVES
All raw materials and additives must comply with food law regulations,
Brewing malt according to TGL 17756
Hops for brewing according to TGL 26778/01
Hop extract according to TGL 34097
Unmalted barley according to TGL 25709/01
Rice grits for brewing according to TGL 23219
Sugar (sucrose) according to TGL 3070/01
Caramel according to TGL 36604
caramel
maize grits
Saccharin according to the 2nd pharmacopoeia of the GDR (2nd AB - GDR)
brewing water

Fermentation organisms:
Saccharomyces uvarum (carlsbergensis)
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Dekkera bruxellensis
Lactobacterium delbrückii 

Enzyme preparations:
Brewery enzyme according to TGL 29166/01
amylases
proteases
ß-glucanases

Organic acids:
Lactic acid according to TGL 24132
Adipic acid according to TGL 6964

Salts
Calcium chloride according to 2. AB - DDR
Calcium sulphate according to 2. AB - DDR
Cooking salt B according to TGL 21020/03
or rock salt according to TGL 21020/02

Stabilizing agent
tannin
silica gel preparations
tannin adsorbents
pepsin concentrate
papain
1-ascorbic acid according to TGL 20130
bentonites
1980 TGL 7764, pages 2 - 3.

 

1980 DDR Beer specifications

TGL 7764. What a wonderful document. It's certainly been a life saver for me. How many posts will I be able to wring out of it? Quite a few more. Starting here.

We've moved on to the 1980 version. There have been quite a few changes  Including the addition of several new styles. And the removal of several others.

The styles which have disappeared were all weaker, and mostly poorly-attenuated types: Jungbier, Braunbier, Malzbier. Einfachbier Hell and Malznährbier. Not such a surprise as these types of beer rapidly lost popularity after the war in both Germanies.

The new arrivals are more surprising. At the bottom end, there's Extra, which seems to be a lower-gravity Hell. Though it was a bit hoppier. Next is Edel-Bräu Hell. Which apart from having a lower minimum level of hopping, looks exactly the same as Hell. It also includes a word - "Edel" - specifically forbidden in 1960.

Two nre Pilsner variations have appeared: Deutsches Pilsator and Deutsches Pilsner Spezial. (There's another word forbidden in 1960.) Not sure what the difference between the two was, as the specs are identical. They were hoppier and a bit more attenuated than standard Pilsner. Pilsator was a cracking style. And included some of my favourite DDR beers.

Aubi - alcohol-free beer - seems very modern. I'm trying to remember if I ever saw it in the wild. Probably not, as Dolores didn't. Her comment was: "People would have said: what's the point in that? Why not just drink lemonade".

Really taking me by surprise were Märzen and Weizenbier. The former looks very similar to amber Bavarian versions. As for the Weizenbier, it's weaker than Bavarian versions, which are usually over 12º Plato. I've never come across any trace of these two types.

Finally, there's Diabetiker-Pils. Now this one was reasonably common. I know for sure that I drank at least one: Gothaer Diabetiker-Pils. It wasn't great. Then again, none of the the Gothaer beers were. My least favourite of the Thuringian breweries.

1980 DDR Beer specifications
					colour
Type	OG Plato	apparent attenuation %	CO2-content % min	Isohumulone mg/l	NFR	Brand
Aubi	6.9 to 7.4	30 to 40	0.38	22 to 34	max 330	max 0.8
Dunke1 (Einfachbier)	5.8 to 6.2	55 to 65	0.35	3 to 11	min 2375	min 12
Weißbier	7.0 to 8.0	min 75	0.6		240 to 410	max 1.0
Extra	8.5 to 9.3	min 75	0.45	25 to 37	max 330	max 0.8
Hell	10.5 to 11.0	min 75	0.4	18 to 30	max 370	max 0.9
Edel-Bräu Hell	10.5 to 11.0	min 75	0.4	13 to 30	max 370	max 0.9
Dunkel (Vollbier)	10.5 to 11.0	min 75	0.4	18 to 30	min 2375	min 12
Doppe1-KarameIbier	11.7 to 12.3	—	0.42	3 to 10	min 3275	min 20
Schwarzbier	11.7 to 12.3	60 to 70	0.42	20 to 34	min 4025	min 30
Diabetiker-Pils	11.0 to 11.5	—	0.42	25 to 38	max 350	max 0.8
Deutsches Pilsner	12.0 to 12.5	min 75	0.4	25 to 33	max 330	max 0.8
Deutsches Pilsator	12.0 to 12.5	min 78	0.42	30 to 44	max 330	max 0.8
Deutsches Pilsner Spezial	12.0 to 12.5	min 78	0.42	30 to 44	max 330	max 0.8
Märzen	13.7 to 14.3	min 70	0.42	20 to 34	1075 to 1325	3.5 to 5.0
Weizenbier	11.5 to 12.0	min 75	0.5	10 to 25	max 370	max 0.9
Weißer Bock or Bockbier Dell	15.7 to 16.3	68 to 75	0.4	14 to 26	550 to 1075	1.5 to 3.5
Dunkler Bock or Bockbier Dunkel	15.7 to 16.3	65 to 72	0.4	12 to 24	min 2125	min 10
Deutscher Porter	17.7 to 18.3	min 64	0.42	35 to 50	min 4025	min 30
Source:
1980 TGL 7764, pages 9 - 10.

1960 DDR label colour by beer type

This is such good fun. I'm going to drag dozens of posts out of these DDR standards. Especially as I now have the documents for malt and hops, too. I'll be busy with this stuff for ages. Unless I get distracted again.

As you're probably aware, I have a really soft spot for DDR beer labels. Not just on account of nostalgia. Though getting a whiff of that lost world is part of the appeal. It's also the stripped back practicality. Just the information you really need - like the price - none of the superfluous bullshit you find on modern packaging.

And the colour coding, which makes life in the shop so much simple. Want a Hell? Just look for a yellow label. Though it wasn't just in the DDR this went on. How many Pilsners have predominantly green packaging? Carlsberg, Heineken and Grolsch spring to mind immediately.

1960 DDR label colour by beer type
Type of beer	Commercial name	Label's Main colour
Einfachbier	Jung- und Braunbier	-
	Dunkel	brown
	Malzbier
	Hell	—
Schankbier	Weissbier	dark green
Vollbier	Hell	yellow
	Dunkel	white blue
	Doppel-Caramelmalzbier	blue
	Malznährbier	blue yellow
	Köstritzer Schwarzbier	blue red
	Deutsches Pilsner	pale green
Starkbier	Weisser Bock or Bockbier Hell	wine red
	Dunkler Bock or Bockbier Dunkel
	Deutsches Porter	carmine red
Source:
1960 TGL7764 page 8.

Not sure why a couple of the weaker types have no colour specified. Or what the hell was going on with Vollbier Dunkel. I've labels in a variety of colours. But not one of them is "white blue"

Here are some example labels.

 

 

1960 DDR shelf life of beers

As you've probably already guessed, we're back with good old TGL 7764. The 1960 version.

I am planning to do a compare and contrast with the 1980 version. Which will be fun, as the beer styles changed quite a bit.

Now, you might be rather shocked by just how short the shelf life was of most types of beer. For the weakest, not much more than a week. Even a beer as strong as Porter was good for less than a month.

This might seem far too short a time to be practical. But, most beer was sold quite close to the brewery. And stuff like beer didn't hang around in the shops very long. I can remember well the instability of Eisenach Hell. You wouldn't want to hang around too much on your way back from the shop in case it had gone off by the time you got home.

Why were they so unstable? Because they weren't pasteurised and only rough filtered. Leave a bottle a couple of weeks and it would start to throw a sediment.

Two exceptions were Doppel-Caramel and Malznährbier. Because of the large quantity of unfermented sugars in these types, leaving them unpasteurised would have been extremely dangerous, likely leading to bottle bombs.

Way out in front in terms of longevity was Berliner Weisse. For the simple reason that it was bottle-conditioned.

1960 DDR shelf life of beers in days at 20 °C
Beer type	Days	Features
Einfachbier Dunkel	9	Without sediment and turbidity of biological or chemical-physical origin. Likewise, taste impairments are not permitted.
Malzbier	9
Eiriachbier Hell	9
Vollbier Hell	12
Vollbier Dunkel	12
Köstritzer Schwarzbier	15
Deutsches Pilsner	15
Weisser Bock Oder Bockbier Hell	15
Dunkler Bock Oder Bockbier Dunkel	15
Deutsches Porter	24
Doppel-Caramelmalzbier	90	Pasteurized. A deposit of yeast cells inactivated by pasteurization may be present, turbidity and impairment of taste due to the action of active microorganisms is not permitted.
Malznährbier	90
Weissbier	270	Turbidity and sediment caused by microorganisms specific to the beer type may be present. Changes in viscosity and consistency caused by microorganisms are not permitted, as are impairments of taste.
Source:
1960 TGL7764 page 5.

Just one more post from 1960 and then we'll be onto 1980.