Everyone - or at least most - will agree that no team shone brighter and delivered football finesse more than the glorious 11-man squad led by Philipp Lahm from one and united Deutschland. And as the strength of their collective will catapulted them to the top even with a bloodied and bruised Schweinsteiger, the golden trophy was well-deserved, truly. Of course, the hero in football superstar Messi may disagree. But the scores say it all.
1.) Pilsner
Named after their city of origin, Plzeň in Bohemia, Czech Republic , and this concoction has been brewed since the 13th century. Don’t be surprised, due to the German Purity Law or Reinheinsgebot, majority of the German beer market is composed mostly of German style pilsners, be it locally or internationally – mostly a German pale lager.
Pilsners German-style exude a light golden color and carry a mild hop aroma. Compared to commercial lagers, these are maltier and more earthly and would boast of being hoppier than the Czech-style pilsners.
Examples: Bitburger Premium Pils, RadebergerPilsner,Jever, RothausTannenzäpfle, Warsteiner, Heineken, Löwenbräu
2.) Kolsch
This style originated from the city of Köln (Cologne) in Western Germany way back in the 9th century. It’s processed initially via top-fermentation utilizing ale yeasts. Subsequently, these are lagered or cold-conditioned resulting in a sweet malt character with a distinctively-pronounced fruit and yeast flavors.
You’d easily spot Kolsch beers with its golden straw color and it’s slightly less hoppy taste in comparison to German style pale lagers. Word of caution: Kolsch Convention states these beer cannot be brewed anywhere else but in the Cologne region. Many Kolsch-style beer, however, have been produced internationally.
Examples: ReissdorfKölsch, GaffelKölsch, KüppersKölsch, SionKölsch, Captain Lawrence Captain's Kölsch (US), Harpoon Summer Beer (US)
3.) Helles
From the German word hell meaning ‘pale’, Helles is another popular method of brewing pale lager in the Deutschland. Traditionally a Bavarian golden lager, pale beers caught on in 19th century England transforming Munich breweries mainly into Helles-producer instead of using the usual Dunkelbier brewing method.
Also straw-colored, Helles carry a medium-bodied taste and are fermented utilizing bottom-fermenting lager yeasts.
Examples: ReissdorfKölsch, GaffelKölsch, KüppersKölsch, SionKölsch, Captain Lawrence Captain's Kölsch (US), Harpoon Summer Beer (US)
4.) Bock
Now for a larger grouping of beers: Bock. This includes such famous sub-groups as eibock, doppelbock, maibock and hellerbock. One distinct characteristic of Bock beers are their orange-gold to brown color with typically over 6% ABV. These are a strong breed, lightly hopped amber lagers. To balance the additional malt, enough hops are added resulting in a character of distinctively caramel and malt backbone.
Of the group, Maibocks and heller bocks display a lighter color carrying a more pronounced hop aroma. Doppelbocks are a notch stronger with 7% to 12% ABV. Of this crowd, eisbocks stand the strongest ranging from 8% to 13% with further refinement in the water removal process creating a more potent alcohol content.
Examples: Einbecker Mai-Ur-Bock (maibock), ErdingerPikantus (dunkel bock), AugustinerMaximator (doppelbock), EKU 28 (doppelbock), SmuttynoseMaibock (US)
Einbecker Mai-Ur-Bock, ErdingerPikantus
5.) Weissbier
Another popular beer concoction also known as hefeweizen, Weissbier is brewed using mainly wheat in addition to barley malt fermented with top-fermenting yeast. Traditionally, this blend is one of the preferred styles of beer brewed in Bavaria during the Reinheitsgebot. Its name meaning “white beer” is derived from its color which usually runs from straw yellow to white due to its unfiltered nature.
Though many international variation exists (e.g., Belgian witbiers brewed with orange zest and coriander) Bavarian weissbier has fruity aromas, characteristically a combination of banana and clove.
Examples: ErdingerWeissbier, Schneider Weisse, WeihenstephanerHefeWeissbier, OettingerHefeweissbierNaturtrüb, AyingerBrau-Weisse
6.) Dunkelbier
Once the dominant style of lager beer in Bavaria, it has since been eclipsed by helles. Its name originates from the German word meaning “dark” due to its typically dark colors, which could range from reddish hue to brown. One distinction is that Dunkelbiers are usually sweeter than Helles.
Examples: WeihenstephanerHefeweissbierDunkel, ErdingerDunkel, KneitingerDunkel Export, OechsnerSchwarzbier
With all that knowledge, you’re ready than ever to start the celebrations. Just make sure you secure the place, putting all electronic in a safety zone, an iTablet in its iPad mini keyboard case for instance. Before all the alcohol makes the world spin a little bit faster than usual.
