These dark wheat beers derive their character from the use of darker malts in the non-wheat ingredients, so that a richer, darker-colored beer can be achieved, along with fuller malt flavors. Dunkel weizens still display the floral, estery qualities of a pale weizen. Dark weizens are produced with or without a secondary fermentation in the bottle, with the corollary that these styles can be yeast sedimented or unsedimented depending upon the preference of the brewer.
Weizen bocks are essentially winter wheat beers, originally brewed in Bavaria. The color can be pale gold to brown. They are of higher alcoholic strength, as high as 7 percent ABV, showing a warming personality, though they should still have a significant rocky head when poured. These beers combine the character of hefeweizens and dopplebocks and as such are rich and malty with estery, yeasty qualities, and show a note of wheaty crispness through the finish.
With homebrewing comes the epiphany that nearly anything can be included in a beer recipe, and the familiarity with fruit
Just out of the subway and trudging through freshly fallen snow, my sights were set on Radegast Hall and Biergarten
Most of us have had a beer so good that drinking it was “like a religious experience.” But when was
Following the lead of pop-up restaurants, where a dining experience appears in a place it had not previously stood and
Saison beers are distinctive specialty beers from the Belgian province of Hainuat. These beers were originally brewed in the early spring for summer consumption, though contemporary Belgian saisons are brewed all year round with pale malts and are well dosed with English and Belgian hop varieties. Lively carbonation ensues from a secondary fermentation in the bottle. The color is classically golden orange and the flavors are refreshing with citrus and fruity hop notes. Sadly, these beers are under-appreciated in their home country and their production is limited to a small number of artisanal producers who keep this style alive. With a typically hoppy character, saisons are an esoteric style of beer that should appeal to any devotees of U.S. craft beers, if you can track them down. Occasionally, U.S. brewpubs will attempt a version.
Maibocks are medium- to full-bodied lagers whose alcohol content can vary widely, though is typically between 5-6 percent ABV. The color of pale bocks can vary from light bronze to deep amber and they are characterized by a sweet malty palate and subtle hop character. As its name would suggest, this is a bock style that traditionally makes a spring appearance as a celebration of a new brewing season. In a Germanic brewer’s portfolio, it is should conventionally have a less assertive character than other bock offerings later in the year.
Our beloved porter has seen it all. It went from the rough-hewn, smoky seminal macrobrew in early 18th-century England, to
Kölsch is an ale style emanating from Cologne in Germany. In Germany (and the European Community) the term is strictly legally limited to the beers from within the city environs of Cologne. Simply put, kölsch has the color of a pilsner with some of the fruity character of an ale. This is achieved with the use of top-fermenting yeasts and pale pilsner malts. The hops are accented on the finish, which classically is dry and herbal. It is a medium- to light-bodied beer and delicate in style. Most examples in the United States are brewpub draft interpretations produced during the summer months, though some commercial brewers produce a summer ale in the kölsch style.
