The Magic of Making German Beer

For over a thousand years, German brew masters have perfected the craft and art of making beer. In fact, the world's oldest brewery in Weihenstephan, Bavaria, has produced beer since the year 1044 and is still in business today. While there are many ways beer is made today, German breweries only use four basic ingredients: barley, hops, water and yeast. This is mandated by the "German Purity Law" which came in effect in Bavaria in 1516 (just 20 years after Christopher Columbus discovered America) and in Germany since the late 19th century.

During that time, almost every town had its own brewery which amounted to over 14,000 in the nation. Today's roughly 1,300 remaining breweries turn barley, hops, water and yeast into an astonishing variety of beers with different tastes, textures, aromas and alcohol contents. The gamut runs from Berliner Weisse which is light, fruity, and contains only 2.4% alcohol to Munich Starkbier (served only in April), which is dark, malty sweet and contains 7.5% alcohol. In between are Lager, Export, Pilsner, Kölsch, Alt, Bock, Weißbier, and many other types.

How is it possible to produce hundreds of different beers with only four ingredients? Well, each step in the brewing process determines the differences.

Let's start with barley. This is one of the world's oldest domesticated crops and is used primarily as animal feed and for beer making. Barley is the 4th most cultivated crop in the world, Germany being the 3rd largest producer. Barley is the most commonly malted grain because of its high content of enzymes which can break starch into simpler forms of sugar. Over 60% of the barley grains consist of starch and sugar which turns easily into alcohol with the help of natural yeast. To unlock the power of enzymes, the barley grains are malted: they are soaked in water, then dried and roasted in a kiln. The longer and hotter the roasting process, the darker and "maltier" the beer.

Now take the hops. This vine-like plant only grows in the Northern temperate hemisphere and was first cultivated in the early 8th century in the Hallertau region of Bavaria. Although today hops are grown around the world, Germany is still the global leader in hop production. The plant, which grows up to 50 feet tall and is cultivated on large poles, produces scaly seed vessels, which are picked by hand once a year in summer and used primarily for beer making. These seeds have antibacterial properties which naturally stabilize beer and make the use of extra additives unnecessary. Depending on the type of hops and the time it is added during the beer making process, the final brew will taste more or less bitter.

Boil the malt and hops in water to make "wort". This is the "broth" before fermentation, that contains dissolved barley and hop seed particles (mainly sugar, proteins, minerals and other nutrients). The amount of particles in the wort and the type of water used during the boiling process greatly influence the taste and aroma of the beer. Likewise, the earlier hops are put into the mix, the more bitter the beer. The addition of hops at a later stage yields a typical "hop note" (which can be "leafy," "fruity," "or "lemony") but makes the beer less bitter.

Let the fermentation begin. Adding live yeast cultures turns the sugars of the wort into 1/3 alcohol, 1/3 carbonation and 1/3 extract which is removed during the filtering process. The type of beer (taste, aroma and alcohol content) also depends on the strain of yeast cells. Top-fermenting yeast is used to convert sugars at higher temperatures (around 65o F) to make ale-style beers (Kölsch, Alt, Weißbier). This type of yeast does not convert all sugars and as a result the beer is slightly more fruity and sweeter than beers made with bottom-fermenting yeast. That strain withstands fermentation at colder temperatures (around 50oF). The colder the brewing process, the longer is the beer's shelf life. Lager, export and pilsner are bottom-fermented beers.

Cool, Filter, Store and Fill. This is the last step in the brewing process. Almost all beers are filtered to create different kinds of clarity and color, with the exception of Hefeweizen, which contains the unfiltered yeast and is made from at least 50% wheat. After a storage period of roughly three months the beer is bottled or kegged and shipped out for consumption.

That's it. Four basic ingredients - but a myriad of ways to combine, cook, ferment and filter them makes the variety of beers available in Germany today.