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27. Historical Beer

27A. Historical Beer

Open official BJCP source

BJCP Explorer Style Profile

This BJCP record is outside the Certified Cicerone Level 2 beer-style list and is included for Advanced Cicerone review.

Style code
27A
Category
27. Historical Beer
Cicerone exam alignment
Advanced Cicerone
Source
BJCP 2021 Beer Style Guidelines

Historical Beer Variants

BJCP publishes this record as multiple official variant profiles under the same style code.

Historical Beer: Kellerbier

Open source

Overall Impression

An unfiltered, unpasteurized, fully-attenuated German lager traditionally served from lagering vessels. May be a little richer, more robust, and rustic than the base styles. A fresh beer without fermentation defects associated with young, green (unfinished) beer.

Aroma

Reflects base style. May have an added bready, yeasty character from the yeast. Clean. Pale versions can have a more robust hop character. Dark versions can have a richer malt profile.

Appearance

Reflects base style. Can be somewhat hazy or cloudy, but never murky. Likely a little darker in appearance than the base style.

Flavor

Reflects base style. May have an added bready, yeasty character from the yeast. Pale versions can have a more robust hop character. Dark versions can have a richer malt profile, but should never be roasty. May be slightly more bitter than the base style, and be a little heavier in the finish. Fully fermented with a clean fermentation profile; should not have eggy, buttery, apple-like, or similar flaws.

Mouthfeel

Reflects base style. May have a bit more body and a creamier texture than the base style. Carbonation typical of the base style, but may be lower.

Comments

A traditional serving style more than a beer style, yet these beers do have sensory differences from the base beers. Judge these somewhat like Specialty-Type Beers; consider the range of kellerbiers based on Helles to Märzen to Dunkel to be a continuous spectrum, so allow the brewer to pick the closest one without being too picky about strict adherence to the base style. The name literally means cellar beer, and is a natural, gentle handling of fresh-tasting German lagerbier for seasonal, on-premise service. Like British Bitters, best enjoyed locally as the bottled examples may lack the characteristic freshness.

Characteristic Ingredients

Same as base styles. Traditionally naturally carbonated. Dry-hopping is not a traditional German brewing method, but some modern pale examples use this technique – which is allowable in this style as long as it is balanced. Traditionally lagered and unfiltered, these beers were never meant to be packaged for external sale.

Style Comparison

Richer or more robust than the base style, possibly with a bit more body and mouthfeel. Can be slightly cloudier than base beer.

Commercial Examples

Märzen – Faust Kräusen Naturtrüb, Mahrs Bräu aU Ungespundet Kellerbier; Dunkel – Engel Kellerbier Dunkel, Paulaner Ur-Dunkel Naturtrüb; Helles – ABK Kellerbier Naturtrüb, Löwenbräu 1747 Original; Pils – Giesinger Feines Pilschen, Ketterer Zwickel-Pils

Historical Beer: Kentucky Common

Open source

Overall Impression

A clean, dry, refreshing, slightly malty dark beer with high carbonation. Mild-tasting, with light toast and caramel flavors, served very fresh as a sessionable saloon beer.

Aroma

Low to medium grainy, corn-like, or sweet maltiness with a low toast, biscuity-grainy, bready, or caramel malt accent. Medium to moderately-low hop aroma, usually floral or spicy in character. Clean fermentation profile, with possible faint berry ester. Low levels of DMS optional. No sourness. Malt-forward in the balance.

Appearance

Amber-orange to brown in color. Typically clear, but may have some light haze. Foam stand may not be long lasting, and is usually white to beige in color.

Flavor

Moderate grainy-sweet maltiness with low to medium-low caramel, toffee, bready, or biscuity notes. Generally light palate flavors typical of adjunct beers; a low grainy, corn-like sweetness is common. Medium to low floral or spicy hop flavor. Medium to low bitterness, no coarse or harsh aftertaste. May exhibit light fruitiness. Balance in the finish is towards the malt, possibly with a lightly flinty or minerally-sulfate flavor. The finish is fairly dry. No sourness.

Mouthfeel

Medium to medium-light body with a relatively soft mouthfeel. Highly carbonated. Can have a creamy texture.

Comments

Modern accounts of the style often mention lactic sourness or sour mashing, but brewing records from around 1900 at larger breweries have no indication of long acid rests, sour mashing, or extensive aging. These stories are likely modern homebrewer inventions, theorizing that since local Bourbon distillers used a sour mash, beer brewers must also done so. No records indicate sour mashing or even a sour profile in the beer; rather the opposite, that it was brewed as an inexpensive, present-use ale. Enter soured versions in 28B Mixed-Fermentation Sour Beer.

Characteristic Ingredients

Six-row barley malt. Corn grits. Caramel and black malt. Rustic American bittering hops. Imported Continental finishing hops. High carbonate water. Ale yeast.

Style Comparison

Like a darker-colored Cream Ale emphasizing corn, but with some light character malt flavor. Malt flavors and balance are probably closest to modern adjunct-driven International Amber or Dark Lagers, Irish Red Ales, or Belgian Pale Ales.

Vital Statistics

IBU
15 - 30
SRM
11 - 20
OG
1.044 - 1.055
FG
1.010 - 1.018
ABV
4% - 5.5%

Commercial Examples

Apocalypse Brew Works Ortel’s 1912

Style Attributes

amber-color balanced historical-style north-america standard-strength top-fermented

Historical Beer: Lichtenhainer

Open source

Overall Impression

A sour, smoked, lower-gravity historical central European wheat beer. Complex yet refreshing character due to high attenuation and carbonation, along with low bitterness and moderate sourness.

Aroma

Moderately strong fresh smoky aroma. Light hints of sourness. Medium-low fruity esters, possibly apples or lemons. Moderate bready, grainy malt. The smoke character is stronger than the bready notes, and the smoke has a ‘dry’ character, like the remnants of an old fire, not a ‘greasy’ smoke. No hops.

Appearance

Tall off-white head, rocky and persistent. Yellow to gold color. Fair clarity, may be somewhat hazy.

Flavor

Moderately strong fruity flavor, possibly lemons or apples. Moderate intensity, clean lactic tartness without any funkiness. Similar dry wood smoke character as aroma, medium strength. Dry finish, with acidity and smoke in the aftertaste. Low bitterness; acidity is providing the balance, not hops. Fresh, clean palate, and slightly puckery aftertaste. The wheat character is on the low side; the smoke and acidity are more prominent in the balance. The tart, lemony, or green apple flavor is strongest in the finish, with smoke a close second. No hops.

Mouthfeel

Tingly acidity. High carbonation. Medium to medium-light body.

Comments

Served young. Smoke and sour is an unusual combination that can be an acquired taste.

Characteristic Ingredients

Smoked barley malt, wheat malt, Lacto, top-fermenting yeast. Grists vary, but the wheat would typically be 30-50%. Can be made with all barley malt.

Style Comparison

In the same general historical lower-alcohol central European wheat beer family as Gose, Grodziskie, and Berliner Weisse; has elements of all of them but with its own unique balance – sour and smoke is not found in any of the other styles. Not as acidic as Berliner Weisse, probably more like a smoked Gose without coriander and salt, or a Grodziskie with Gose-like acidity.

Vital Statistics

IBU
5 - 12
SRM
3 - 6
OG
1.032 - 1.040
FG
1.004 - 1.008
ABV
3.5% - 4.7%

Commercial Examples

Live Oak Lichtenhainer, Wöllnitzer Weissbier

Style Attributes

central-europe historical-style pale-color smoke sour standard-strength top-fermented wheat-beer-family

Historical Beer: London Brown Ale

Open source

Overall Impression

A luscious, sweet, malty, low-alcohol dark brown ale, with caramel and toffee malt complexity and a sweet-tasting finish.

Aroma

Moderate malty-sweet aroma, often with a rich, caramel, or toffee-like character. Low to medium fruity esters, often dark fruit like plums. Very low earthy or floral hop aroma optional.

Appearance

Medium to very dark brown color, but can be almost black. Nearly opaque, although should be relatively clear if visible. Low to moderate off-white to tan head.

Flavor

Deep, caramel or toffee sweet malty flavor on the palate, lasting into the finish, often with hints of biscuit and coffee. Some dark fruit esters can be present; relatively clean fermentation profile for an English ale. Low bitterness. Low earthy or floral hop flavor optional, but rare. Moderately-low roasty or bitter black malt flavor optional. Moderately sweet finish with a smooth, malty aftertaste. May have a sugary-sweet flavor.

Mouthfeel

Medium body, but the residual sweetness may give a heavier impression. Medium-low to medium carbonation. Quite creamy and smooth in texture, particularly for its gravity.

Comments

Increasingly rare; Mann’s has over 90% market share in Britain, but in a vanishingly small segment. Always bottled. Frequently used as a sweet mixer with cask mild and bitter in pubs. Commercial versions can be pasteurized and back-sweetened, which gives more of a sugary-sweet flavor.

Characteristic Ingredients

English pale ale malt as a base with a large proportion of darker caramel malts and often some black and wheat malts (this is Mann’s traditional grist – others can rely on dark sugars for color and flavor). Moderate to high carbonate water. English hops. Post-fermentation sweetening with lactose or artificial sweeteners, or sucrose, if pasteurized.

Style Comparison

May seem somewhat like a less roasty version of a Sweet Stout (and lower-gravity, at least for US sweet stout examples) or a sweet version of a Dark Mild.

Vital Statistics

IBU
15 - 20
SRM
22 - 35
OG
1.033 - 1.038
FG
1.012 - 1.015
ABV
2.8% - 3.6%

Commercial Examples

Harveys Bloomsbury Brown Ale, Mann's Brown Ale

Style Attributes

british-isles brown-ale-family dark-color historical-style malty session-strength sweet top-fermented

Historical Beer: Piwo Grodziskie

Open source

Overall Impression

A low-gravity, bitter, oak-smoked historical central European wheat beer with a clean fermentation profile and no sourness. Highly carbonated, dry, crisp, and refreshing.

Aroma

Low to moderate oak wood smoke is the most prominent aroma component, but can be subtle and hard to detect. A low spicy, herbal, or floral hop aroma is typically present, and should be lower than or equal to the smoke in intensity. Hints of grainy wheat are also detected in the best examples. The aroma is otherwise clean, although light pome fruit esters (especially ripe red apple or pear) are welcome. No acidity. Light sulfur optional.

Appearance

Pale yellow to gold in color with excellent clarity. A tall, billowy, white, tightly-knit head with excellent retention is distinctive. Murkiness is a fault.

Flavor

Moderately-low to medium oak smoke flavor up front which carries into the finish; the smoke can be stronger in flavor than in aroma. The smoke character is gentle, should not be acrid, and can lend an impression of sweetness. A moderate to strong bitterness is readily evident which lingers through the finish. The overall balance is toward bitterness. Low but perceptible spicy, herbal, or floral hop flavor. Low grainy wheat character in the background. Light pome fruit esters (red apple or pear) may be present. Dry, crisp finish. No sourness.

Mouthfeel

Light in body, with a crisp and dry finish. Carbonation is quite high and can add a slight carbonic bite or prickly sensation. No alcohol warmth.

Comments

Pronounced in English as “pivo grow-JEES-kee-uh” (meaning: Grodzisk beer). Known as Grätzer (pronounced “GRATE-sir”) in German-speaking countries, and in some beer literature. Traditionally made using a multi-step mash, a long boil (~2 hours), and multiple strains of ale yeast. The beer is never filtered but Isinglass is used to clarify before bottle conditioning. Traditionally served in tall conical glassware to accommodate the vigorous foam stand.

Characteristic Ingredients

Oak-smoked wheat malt, which has a less intense smoke character than German Rauchmalz, and a drier, crisper, leaner quality – a smoky bacon or ham flavor is inappropriate. Traditional Polish, Czech or German hops. Moderate hardness sulfate water. Clean, attenuative ale yeast; Weizen yeast inappropriate.

Style Comparison

Similar in strength to a Berliner Weisse, but never sour and much more bitter. Has a smoked character but less intense than in a Rauchbier. Lower gravity than a Lichtenhainer, but more bitter and not sour. More bitter than a Gose, but no salt and spices.

Vital Statistics

IBU
20 - 35
SRM
3 - 6
OG
1.028 - 1.032
FG
1.006 - 1.012
ABV
2.5% - 3.3%

Commercial Examples

Live Oak Grodziskie

Style Attributes

bitter central-europe historical-style pale-color session-strength smoke top-fermented wheat-beer-family

Historical Beer: Pre-Prohibition Lager

Open source

Overall Impression

A bitter and hoppy pale American adjunct lager, often with a robust, corny flavor profile, although more crisp and neutral-tasting versions exist.

Aroma

Low to medium grainy maltiness. Low to moderate corn-like sweetness optional. Medium to moderately-high rustic, floral, herbal, or spicy hop aroma, not modern fruity or citrusy varieties. Clean fermentation profile. May show some yeast character, similar to modern American Lager. Low DMS acceptable.

Appearance

Yellow to deep gold color. Substantial, long lasting white head. Bright clarity.

Flavor

Medium to medium-high maltiness with a grainy flavor. Optional corn-like roundness and impression of sweetness. Substantial hop bitterness stands up to the malt and lingers through the dry, soft to crisp finish. Medium to high rustic, floral, herbal, or spicy hop flavor. Medium to high bitterness that is clean not coarse. No harsh aftertaste. Generally neutral fermentation profile, but some yeast character similar to American Lager is allowable.

Mouthfeel

Medium to medium-full body with a moderately rich and creamy mouthfeel. Smooth and well-lagered. Medium to high carbonation levels.

Comments

Sometimes called Classic American Pilsner. Rice-based versions have a crisper, more neutral character, and lack corn-like flavors.

Characteristic Ingredients

Six-row barley. Corn or rice adjuncts, up to 30%. Traditional American or Continental hops. Modern American hops are inappropriate. Lager yeast.

Style Comparison

Similar balance and bitterness as modern Czech Premium Pale Lagers, but exhibiting native American grains and hops from the era before US Prohibition. More robust, bitter, and flavorful than modern pale American Lagers, often with higher alcohol.

Vital Statistics

IBU
25 - 40
SRM
3 - 6
OG
1.044 - 1.060
FG
1.010 - 1.015
ABV
4.5% - 6%

Commercial Examples

Capital Supper Club, Coors Batch 19, Little Harpeth Chicken Scratch, Schell Deer Brand, Urban Chestnut Forest Park Pilsner

Style Attributes

bitter bottom-fermented historical-style hoppy lagered north-america pale-color pilsner-family standard-strength

Historical Beer: Pre-Prohibition Porter

Open source

Overall Impression

A historical American adaptation of English Porter by German immigrants using American ingredients, including adjuncts.

Aroma

Grainy malt aroma with low levels of chocolate, caramel, biscuit, burnt sugar, licorice, or slightly burnt malt. Low hop aroma. Low to moderate low levels of corn or DMS acceptable. No to very low esters. Diacetyl low to none. Clean lager fermentation profile acceptable.

Appearance

Medium to dark brown, though some examples can be nearly black in color, with ruby or mahogany highlights. Relatively clear. Light to medium tan head, persistent.

Flavor

Moderate grainy-bready malt flavor, with low levels of chocolate, burnt malt, burnt sugar, caramel, biscuit, licorice, molasses, or toast. Corn or DMS flavor acceptable at low to moderate levels. Medium-low to moderate bitterness. Low floral, spicy, or earthy hop flavor optional. Balance is typically even between malt and hops, with a moderately dry finish. Clean fermentation profile, but faint esters are allowable.

Mouthfeel

Medium-light to medium body. Moderate carbonation. Low to moderate creaminess. May have a slight dark malt astringency.

Comments

Also sometimes known as Pennsylvania Porter or East Coast Porter. This style does not describe colonial-era products.

Characteristic Ingredients

Two row or six row malt. Low percentages of dark malts including black, chocolate, and brown malt (roasted barley is not typically used). Adjuncts are acceptable, including corn, brewers licorice, molasses, and porterine. More historical versions will have up to twenty percent adjuncts. Lager or ale yeast. Historical or traditional American bittering hops, American or German finishing hops.

Style Comparison

Smoother and less hoppy-bitter than a (modern) American Porter. Less caramelly and smoother than an English Porter with more of an adjunct or lager character. More bitterness and roast than an International Dark Lager.

Vital Statistics

IBU
20 - 30
SRM
20 - 30
OG
1.046 - 1.060
FG
1.010 - 1.016
ABV
4.5% - 6%

Commercial Examples

Stegmaier Porter, Yuengling Porter

Style Attributes

any-fermentation dark-color historical-style malty north-america porter-family standard-strength

Historical Beer: Roggenbier

Open source

Overall Impression

A Dunkles Weissbier made with rye rather than wheat, but with a greater body and light finishing hops. The rye gives a bready and peppery flavor, a creamy body, and a dry, grainy finish that blends with the distinctive banana-and-clove weizen yeast character.

Aroma

Light to moderate spicy rye aroma (like black pepper) intermingled with light to moderate weizen yeast aromatics (spicy clove and fruity esters, either banana or citrus). Light spicy, floral, or herbal hops are acceptable.

Appearance

Light coppery-orange to very dark reddish or coppery-brown color. Large creamy off-white to tan head, quite dense and persistent, often thick and rocky. Cloudy, hazy appearance.

Flavor

Grainy, moderately-low to moderately-strong spicy-peppery rye flavor, often having a hearty flavor reminiscent of rye or pumpernickel bread. Medium to medium-low bitterness allows an initial malt sweetness (sometimes with a bit of caramel) to be tasted before yeast and peppery rye character takes over. Low to moderate banana-and-clove weizen yeast character, although the balance can vary. Medium-dry, grainy finish with a lightly bitter (from rye) aftertaste. Low to moderate spicy, herbal, or floral hop flavor acceptable, and can persist into aftertaste.

Mouthfeel

Medium to medium-full body. High carbonation. Moderately creamy.

Comments

Rye is a huskless grain and is difficult to mash, often resulting in a gummy mash texture that is prone to sticking. Rye has been characterized as having the most assertive flavor of all cereal grains. It is inappropriate to add caraway seeds, as some American brewers do; the spicy rye character is traditionally from the rye grain only.

Characteristic Ingredients

Malted rye, up to 60% of the grist. Pale and wheat malts. Crystal-type malts and debittered dark malts can be used. Weizen yeast. German or Czech hops. Patented decoction type mash.

Style Comparison

A more distinctive variant of a Dunkles Weissbier using malted rye instead of malted wheat. American Rye Beers will not have the weizen yeast character, and likely more hops.

Vital Statistics

IBU
10 - 20
SRM
14 - 19
OG
1.046 - 1.056
FG
1.010 - 1.014
ABV
4.5% - 6%

Commercial Examples

Thurn und Taxis Roggen

Style Attributes

amber-color central-europe historical-style standard-strength top-fermented wheat-beer-family

Historical Beer: Sahti

Open source

Overall Impression

A sweet, heavy, strong traditional Finnish farmhouse beer usually with rye and juniper, and a banana-clove yeast character.

Aroma

Sweet, worty malt impression. Grainy malt, caramel, and rye in background. Light alcohol aroma. High banana esters with moderate to moderately-high clove-like phenols. May have a low to moderate woody juniper character. Not sour. No hops.

Appearance

Yellow to dark brown color; most are medium to dark amber. Generally quite cloudy and turbid. Little head, due to low carbonation.

Flavor

Fairly sweet and often worty raw malt flavor, grainy with some caramel and toffee. Low bitterness. No hop flavor. Light woody or piney character acceptable. Moderate to strong banana and fruitiness, moderate clove and spiciness. Fairly sweet finish. Fresh, not sour.

Mouthfeel

Thick, viscous, and heavy with protein (no boil means no hot break). Nearly still to medium-low carbonation, similar to English cask ale. Warming from the alcohol level and young age, but this is often masked by sweetness.

Comments

The use of rye doesn’t mean that it should taste like caraway (a common flavor in rye bread). The juniper acts a bit like hops in the balance and flavor, providing a flavor and bitterness counterpoint to the sweet malt. Piney, woody juniper character more common than gin-like berries.

Characteristic Ingredients

Malted barley. Rye is common. Low hops, if any. Juniper boughs (with or without berries) used for lautering (traditionally in a hollowed-out log). Uses Finnish baker’s yeast in a fast, warm fermentation (German Weizen yeast is a reasonable substitute). Long step mash regime. Wort is not boiled.

Style Comparison

Passing resemblance to Weizenbocks, but sweet and thick with a rye and juniper character.

Vital Statistics

IBU
0 - 15
SRM
4 - 22
OG
1.076 - 1.120
FG
1.016 - 1.038
ABV
7% - 11%

Commercial Examples

Now made year-round by several breweries in Finland

Style Attributes

amber-color central-europe high-strength historical-style spice top-fermented