Gose and coriander

Leipziger Gose is a spiced and soured wheat beer.

Gose brewery in Döllnitz around 1860 (source) ... today

The two locally produced ones contain coriander.
Which is supposedly thrown in the brewcettle at flameout. 

But why, since when and where did the use coriander or other spices?

lets try to sum up some facts:

1. There is no data about coriander in the "Goslarer Gose"

2. According to Heinrich Steckhan in the 19th century they did use wormwood and cinnamon (they infused a bag containing the spices with the still hot? wort to make their premium-style Gose "Frehmtenbestekrug")
source

3. Hermbstädt (1826) does not mention any spices at all. (Goslarsche and Sandersleber Gose)
source

4. Zimmermann (1842) writes about coriander as a late edition for "Weizenlagerbier" (with cloves and cinnamon), for Burton ale (with grains of paradise), for "Weißes Bitterbier" (white bitter beer) a pale top fermenting beer made from all barley in bavaria and for bock.
source

5. Armann (1859) mentions coriander besides cinnamon and cloves as an addition (during fermentation) for "Weizenlagerbier" (wheat lager beer)which he distinguishes from Gose and Broihan.

source

6. Leuchs (1867) describes coriander as a valued beer-spice, especially for "Bock".
source

7. According to Adolf Goedecke (2005) owner of the Döllnitz manor, the original recipe contains different spices of which coriander is only one. The Goedecke-recipe is only one of probably dozens of differing recipes brewed once in and around Leipzig, but it was selling well. It was possibly created by Phillip Ledermann who came to Döllnitz from Goslar in 1823.
source

German Kriek

Just another victim of the german "brausteuergesetz" (brewing tax law).

cherry beer 1731

"Cherry beer

This is a useful beer in the summer, because it is mellow and pleasant to the warm stomach

and it has a nice color and a dulcet taste

If the kernels are crushed it will be a pervading and diuretic beer.

This is healthier than if the cherries are infused as a whole."

source

History of Schwarzbier

The history of this style is closely bound to the brewery of Köstritz. Located in the village Köstritz (later Bad Köstritz) in Thuringia in the valley of the river Elster. Near to the town Gera (10 km) and not too far from Jena (40 km).

advertisement at 1900 (Jenaische Zeitung) (This long-famous beer, which, because of its high content of malt- and wort-extract and low alcohol, recommended especially for children, anemic, women in childbed, breastfeeding mothers, and convalescents of each type, by high medical authorities, distributed in Jena by .... )

The beer from Köstritz was well known in the surrounding towns (later also in Berlin and Leipzig) since centuries. The brewery was primarily brewing for export comparable with breweries in Einbeck, Torgau etc.

Like most export breweries, they produced stonger beer than local breweries in order to make them durable for transport but also meeting the demand for stronger beer (most local brews can be expected as pretty low in alcohol). So they offered a luxury good.

when they digged a cellar / lagering cave ("Höhler") back in 1691 and starting to offer "cave-beer" ("Höhlerbier") probably aiming to produce a high quality luxury-good that would yield good prices.

It must be assumed that they used top fermenting yeast but there is no evidence.
Surely  they made an early form of "Lagerbier", especially for the region. It is said that they used the cave to store the beer from autumn to spring in order to kick of a well lagered beer in the hot months.

End of the 18th century is when it became real fun.

This is what what the archives say about beer prices in Gotha (100 km from Köstritz):

1782. Auf dem hiesigen Rathskeller sind fremde Biere, als: Bamberger und Schlaizer zu haben
1784. Weizenbier die Kanner 1 gr. 1 pf., einfaches Bier die Kanne 10pf. (Nachricht aus dem Thurmknopfe der Margarethenkirche.)
1784. Englisch Bier, die Bouteille 10gr.
1794. Auf dem Ratskeller: Köstritzer Höhlerbier die steinerne Bout. 2. gr. 3. pf., doppelt oder englisch Köstritzer in gläsernen Maasbouteillen 3 gr. 6 pf.
1900. Auf dem Ratskeller: Breyhan; Bamberger Bier in steinernen Bout. à 4 gr.; Köstritzer Höhler pr. Bout. 2 gr. 6 pf., Köstritzer Englisch in Glasbouteillen à 4 gr. (für die Bout. außerdem 3 gr. Einsaz).
1812. Köstritzer Englisch Bier in Glasbouteillen à 4 gr.
1816. Bourton-Ale die Bouteille 14 gr.
1821. Einfach Bier die Kanne 1 gr. 2 pf. Weizenbier die Kanne 1 gr. 8 pf.

The "englisch Bier" (english beer) takes the place of the earlier "doppelbier" (double beer) from Köstritz.
As there was kind of a hype for english beers early in the 19th century this is not quite shocking, but the most known printed recipes are published after 1794.

there was some discussion on the same topic.

English beer was imported (even more to Bremen, Berlin and Hamburg than to Gotha).
There was porter and ale (or like the germans called it "oel" or "öl" which means oil).

Bottle 0,33l (1880-1900)

supposedly the guys in Köstritz simply tried to remake those imported beers as they edged into their premium market. 

Around the same time (1789) it is documented that Goethe drank "dunkel- oder hellbraunes Köstritzer". (dark brown and pale brown beer form Köstritz)

The Brewmaster Johann Philipp Christian Muntz reports in his books about brewing in Köstritz (1811-1832). He does mention "Englisch Bier" but there is no exact recipe.
He gives grand attention to precise malting and kilning and reports to use one or two types of malt per beer. No black malt of cause but highly kilned malt (like todays munich).
He used a kiln with smoke-separation and wedge wire floors.
For strong beer like english he uses two kinds of the best quality hops from germany (those from Spalt are the strongest he notes).
All work was done manually with workers carrying around tubs with wort e.g. in the cellar where they did fermentation and lagering year-round. 

Like other documents of the time he uses the term "Englisch Bier" like a synonym for strong beer. Seems like english "Ale" and "Porter" was the "Bock" of the north before the bavarian beers became dominant in the 19th century.

It is not clear to me if they tried to copy more Ale or Porter. probably this beer was dark brown, stronger than usual beer maybe 5% abv or more. and well hopped.
(normal beer was around 2% abv, stronger beer like Quedlinburger Gose around 4%)

In the 1830-40s the köstritzer brewery had reportedly at least 3 types of beer with 8,3% 6,8% and 2,4%vol.


1874 Carl Holomoucky a brewmaster from Bohemia was engaged in Köstritz.

1878 they offered: a pale lager beer, a bavarian (dark) lager beer and "Schwarzbier" probably also (bottom fermented) lager beer.
But there are differing accounts on bottom or top fermenting.

first known Schwarzbier label around 1900?

The dark lager was called "Blume des Elsterthales" (flower of the Elster valley) but there are also labels with "Kranichbräu" (Crane-brew (the bird))
The pale lager was also called "Sonnenquell" (sun spring)
They had to face growing competition from newly founded industrial breweries which produced lagers with the bavarian method as well as bavarian beer that was imported via the new railroads. So they invested in marketing and crazy made-up names.

I claim that "Schwarzbier" had not much to do with "Englisch Bier".

1893 they produced 20.000 hl, half of that was Schwarzbier (top seller). Their premium product of the time was the bavarian-style dark lager.

slogan registered as trademark in 1927

probably in the 1880s they began to advertise "Schwarzbier" as an healthy "Hausgetränk für  blutarme und stillende Mütter" (house-drink for anaemics and breastfeeding mothers).
The "reine hopfenreiches Malzbier" (malt-beer pure and rich in hops) had in 1890 around 3,5%vol in alcohol. It was probably very sweet but bitter (SG 14°P FG 7°P). Being low in alcohol became a positive selling point for a medical beer.

this label was used with minor changes from 1910-20 until around the 1960s

As the technique of roasting malt (in a drum roaster) for coloring was known in the time, I suppose they used black malt to gain a black color. Zimmerman offers in his book from 19842 a recipe for "Braunbier" (ordinary brown topfermented beer) as well as a porter recipe both with roasted malt.
They used to produce their own color malts so I don't know if it was of strong rost-bitter flavor. Maybe they tried to reduce harsh burnt flavors by roasting mildly or by roasting huskless grains like wheat but I am pretty sure there must have been much more roasty flavor compared to todays Schwarzbier.

How would it have tasted compared with todays Köstritzer?
- sweeter (and thicker) - roastier - more hop bitterness? - less alcohol

tbc

Gose, Broihan and others around 1600

again from Heinrich Knaust (1614)

Gose and Broihan are both made from wheat. He does not tell anything about proportions of barley. maybe he does not know but he talks about beers made from both barley and wheat at other places (Einbeckisch beer was made from one third wheat).

I think one can say that the proportion of wheat malt was at least 50%.

Gose from Goslar was not as strong as the beer from Hamburg.

"Im Anfange süsse/ aber hernacher mit der Zeit/ gewinnet es/ wie das Hamburger Bier/ einen weinlichen Nachschmack/ unter den Weizen Bieren hat es eine mittel Natur ..." S. 31
(At the beginning sweet but later with time it gains, like the beer from Hamburg, a winelike aftertaste. Under the wheat beers it is of medium nature)

about "Broihane" he tells about the same.

It seems to be a bit stronger but also sweet.

It seems to be well known at the time that wheat beers generally don't store well, and that hops are used for improved storability.

I don't know how long a maturing was necessary to turn Gose into a wine like beer.

What we know is that maturing beers in order to make them wine like was a common thing, e.g. by using old wine barrels.

"Wie man ein Bier wohlgeschmack machen sol/ gleich einem Weine/ ganz natürlich/ sonderlich des Sommers zu trinken.
Nim ein Beerweinfaß/ Darvon man geschencket hat/ geuß das Bier darauff/ fo nimpts den Geschmack des Weins/ von den Beeren an sich/ und wird schön lauter. Die Cöllnischen und Holländischen Biere/ seyn dermassen und also gestalt/ daß sie auch offt von manchen für Wein getruncken werden." S. 64
(How to make a Beer welltasting like a wine, all natural, especially for drinking in summertime.
Take a winebarrel that has already been served, pour the beer on top, it will take the taste of wine, from the berries, and will be nice and clear-
The beers from Cologne and Holland are like that and of such a shape, that many drink them oftentimes for wine)

He also explains one reason for the differences between beers: 

"Mit den Fässern/ darein ein Bier/ das von Gersten Malz gebrawen/ geleget werden soll/ hat ein jeder Ort auch seinen sonderlichen gebrauch/ Etliche legens in gepichte Fässer/ etliche aber nicht/ Das Pech gibt den Bieren zum theil einen newen Geschmack/ wird auch etwas schärfer darvon. Etliche legens in die Weinfässer/ auf den Weinstein/ daß es zum theil einen Geschmack vom Weine darmit kriege."
(With the barrels a beer made from barleymalt is stored in every place has its own manner. Many store it in piched barrels, some dont. The pich gives the beer a new taste, will be somehow sharper/ hot from that. Many store it in winebarrels on the winestone partly resulting in a winelike flavour)

any more evidence for the gose-geuze connection needed?

wheat beer around 1600

Here is one of the oldest printed books on beer and brewing I got hold of.
I am citing a digital copy of a later edition from 1614 but the original publication date seems to be 1575.
Since he died around 1580 the later editions seem to cover the state of the late 16. century however.

Author: Knaust, Heinrich (* 1521?  † 1580?)
Publication: Erfurt, 1614
Title:

Fünff Bücher/ Von der Göttlichen und Edlenn Gabe der
Philosophischen/ hochthewren und wunderbaren Kunst/
Bier zu brawen : Auch von Namen der vornemesten
Biere/ in gantz Teutschlanden/ und von deren Naturen/
Temperamenten, Qualiteten, Art und Eigenschafft/ Gesundheit
und Ungesundheit/ Sie seynd Weitzen/ oder Gersten/ weisse/
oder rothe Biere/ gewürtzt oder ungewürtzt
Itzo aber aufs newe übersehen / und in viel Wege/ uber vorige Edition gemehret und gebessert Durch
herrn Heinricum Knaustium, beyder Rechten Doctorem
Gegruckt zu Erfurdt durch Nickolaus Schmuck/ Im Jahr 1614

(Five Books about the godly and classy talent, the philosophical,
precious, and miraculous art of brewing beer: Also about the names
of the most distinguished beer in whole german lands, about their natures,
temperaments, qualities, manner and features, healthfulness and unhealthfulness, be they wheat or barley, white or red beers, spiced or not spiced.)

He generally distinguishes white and red beer (much like white and red wine) meaning wheat-beer and barley-beer.
In other sources one reads the name "Weissbier" (white beer) for wheat beer or "Hefeweizen" (yeasty wheat beer) that is most commonly used in the present time would have been used in the old times just for all pale beers.
I think there is some truth in this, but in the early texts I find many statements indicating that any pale beers were made with Wheat in general. There hat to be some reason in the malting and kilning processes. The spreading of air dried malt ("Luftmalz") may change this later on.

He talks about wheat beers:

• Hamburger Bier (Königin der Weißbiere, Queen of the white beers)
• Das Lübische Bier (called Israel, from Lübeck)
• Bremer Bier
• Stader Bier (from Stade 40km from Hamburg)
• Buxtehuder Bier
• Lüneburger Bier
• Englisch Bier (english beer) "wird in den Niederlanden/ Preußen/ Dennemarck und Schweden/ viel getruncken/ und ist ein gut wohlschmeckend Weiß Bier" (they drink it in the Netherlands, Prussia, Denmark and Sweden. It's a good well tasting white beer)
• Braunschweigisch Bier (from Braunschweig)
• Magdeburgisch Bier (from Magdeburg)
• Goslerisch Bier/ Gose genandt (beer from Goslar, called Gose) "viel Brawer in andern Städten/ befleissen sich/ diß Bier nach zu brawen/ wie andere das hamburger Bier/ aber es fehlet doch [...]" (many brewers in other towns are assiduous to copy that beer like with the beer from Hamburg but it is lacking)
• Quedelburgische Gose (Gose from Quedlinburg)
• Halberstetische Gose (Gose from Halberstadt)
• Blanckenburger Gose
• Ascherschlebische Gose (Gose from Aschersleben)
• Werningerodische Gose  (Gose from Werningerode)
• Osterwickische Gose  (Gose from Osterwieck)
• Dernburger Weiß Bier (beer from Bernburg)
• Broihane/ das hannoverische Bier ("Broihane" the beer from Hannover (also called Broyhan, Broihahn ...)) "gut köstlich Bier von Weizen [...] füsses Geschmacks, starcker Subsatanz und gutes nutriments" (good and well tasting beer made from wheat with sweet taste, strong substance and well nourishing)
• Hildesheimer Broihane
• Göttinger Broihane "Diese Stadt Göttingen/ sol auch neben dem rothen/ ein Weizen Bier brawen/ welches sie auch Broihane nennen" (the town of Göttingen brews besides the red beer also a wheat beer wich they also call broihan)
• Boitzenburger Bier (beer from Boizenburg/Elbe)
• Polnisch Biere (different wheat beers from Poland)
• Pragisch Bier (beer from Praque, bohemia) In Prag in Behmen/ sollen sie auch ein gar gut Weizen oder Weiß Bier brauwen/ daß mir auß der massen sehr gelobet wird/ und habe dieses löblichen Biers umb der hochberühmpten Vniversitet willen/ zu Prag/ in Behmen/ nicht schweigen sollen/ und habe sein gern dieses Orts/ unter den weissen Bieren meldung gethan/ denn es hieher/ wie auch das Englische Bier/ gehörig/ dieweil Behmen und Deutschland gar nahend aneinander stossen/ unnd genachbart sein/ daß alle Tage Deutsche in Behmen/ und Behmen in Deutschland sein/ ab und zu ziehen. (In Praque in Bohemia they are said to also brew a fairly good wheat or white beer, that is very well recommended and because of the famous university of Praque I shall not keep silence about this commendable beer, so i am pleased to report on it at this place, because it blongs here like the english beer because Bohemia and Germany closely collide and are neighboring so that all day Germans are in Bohemia and Bohemians are in Germany, coming and going.) 
• Colbergisch Bier (beer from Kołobrzeg, west Pomerania)
• Breßlawisch Bier (beer from Wrocław, western Poland)
• Sittawisch Bier (beer from Zittau)
• Kadeusch Bier (beer from Kadaň, Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic)

In all those town they made beer with wheat, in some they made also barley beer.
Talking about Broihan and Gose he states that the imitaions differ from the originals but are not bad in general and can be called Gose or Broyhan because they are made in the same manner.

Interestingly he does not mention bavarian wheat beer but bohemian. It is said that the bavarians got their wheat beer from bohemia but was this a bohemian invention or did they get it from northern Germany via Poland?
He also does not mention a wheat beer from Berlin or berliner Weisse, only a barley beer is mentioned.

Gose - must read

For a great introduction on Leipziger Gose search Shut up about Barclay Perkins (the best known blog on beer history) for "Gose".

There are two breweries in and around Leipzig claiming to brew Gose:

Original Ritterguts Gose (a recipe and brand which is actually made in changing breweries in Saxony) and Bayerischer Bahnhof (a Brewpub)

as well as a "Gosenschänke" a somehow traditional Gose-Pub Gosenschenke "Ohne Bedenken".

All three are remakes. Between 1966 and the 1980s there was no Gose brewed, the old breweries are shut down. Since then production was incontinuous. 

more must-reads coming soon.

german beer history

When beer and history meet together in germany what would you expect?

For germans beer is something you drink, not to think about. But its also a point of identification, a way to hallucinate some kind of national identity. If you ask a german dude who invented beer he will answer "we", no matter how little he actually knows about brewing.

It is al long tradition to state that beer was the beverage of the germanic (in opposition to the wine of the romans).
I state most styles that are brewed today in germany were not invented by germans. It was either british or bohemian or some kind of pre-national collaboration like in the Belgium-region.

like Stan Hieronymus said: "when you think about the way beer moved around [...] take away those borders and think about the space"

For me beer and germany are no sources of pride. Beer can be a tasty thing, and germany ... well thats another topic.

To sum it up: beer-history (like most history) in germany is mostly ignorance mixed with fantasizing.
So if you read on any german brewery-site (and also books and articles) about the history of brewing, be cautious. Being old, traditional, "alt", "urig" or the like is a number one selling point and most time not much more.

Leipziger Gose

This is not a blog about Gose ...

but Gose is the main reason for me to start it. This site shall be the first independent source of information about sour beers, beer history and of cause Gose located in Leipzig.

Leipzig is the city midway between Berlin and Nürnberg where Gose was brewed until it died out decades ago.

I don't claim the absolute truth on Gose but offer to those who are like me excited about Gose my view as a local.

If you want to point me to some things or have questions feel free to contact me.