No region is more known for its beer than Bavaria. With summery weissbier and pilsner, autumnal Märzen and bocks for winter and spring, Bavaria has a brew for every season. But it’s the golden lager known as Munich helles that serves as the most popular and common beer.
Fall for beer lovers is synonymous with autumnal-colored, malty Oktoberfests, and pungent pumpkin-spiced ales, but it is also a time to celebrate the good fortune of the harvest. Harvest festivals are ancient, but the budding twist put on that tradition by American brewers―wet hop/fresh hop ale―has become a seasonal sensation.
Though Belgium is revered as the kingdom of sanctified abbey and monastic brews, the majority of its beers spring forth from secular breweries. One Belgian beer style mischievously plays on this earthly angle with brand names depicting the foibles and temptation of life itself. These are the strong golden ales. The touchstone is Duvel, fittingly named for the devil, and one of the most famous brands in the world. Read More…
Newcomers are often surprised that smoked beers even exist, but beer made with smoked malts are one of our most tangible link to the 18th century and before. At one time, most beers made with kilned malt had a smoky tinge, and maltsters strove to eliminate it. The exception is a handful of brewers in and around Bamberg, Germany, whose rauchbier (smoke beer) is still made with wood-cured malt in centuries-old fashion―the definitive smoke beer. Read More…
Porter doesn’t have the fame of stout, the thunderous hops of IPA or the quirk of barrel aging, but once upon a time, it boasted all three. Largely relegated to ordinary status, porter was designed as a populist brew in London.
The term “pilsner” is attached to many pale lagers worldwide, some of which are worthy imitators of the Bohemian original at best, or pale imposters at worst. The clear-cut roots of pilsner are in Bohemia, a phenomenal convergence of science, imported brewing talent and ideal ingredients. The success of pilsner is extraordinary and by far the most significant single revolution in the craft. Ironically, a definitive set of circumstances sparked the development of pilsner, with a subsequent, distinct set spawning the globalization, diverse interpretation and ultimate watering down of its unpretentious elegance. Read More…
