Today I will do something that I haven’t done in a while. I am going to talk about a beer style that we just tapped yesterday at Bearded Lamb Brewing Company. This is a style that not too many people are going to be super familiar with and that style is the Roggenbier. Come on into Old Village Plymouth this afternoon and try some, get a growler fill, or just come on in and say hi. I will be pouring beers from open until close today, which is noon-8.
The Roggenbier is a historical style whose origin can be traced back to Bavaria in Southern Germany. This beer ended up falling by the wayside 500 years ago with the enactment of the Reinheitsgebot (I swear, if you ever need to spell Reinheitsgebot correctly for a million dollars, save me as your phone a friend lifeline), in 1516. The reason it stopped being brewed with the enactment of the Reinheitsgebot, it is brewed with Rye, and one of the major ingredients prohibited by the law was Rye. Rye was reserved for bakers and only Barley could be used to make beer.
As mentioned before a Roggenbier is a beer where some of the Malted Barley is replaced with up to 60% Rye in the grain bill. It is also brewed with a Hefeweizen yeast, thus giving it a slightly cloudy appearance and giving it a slightly dry, spicy taste. It will often be considered a very bready beer, in a similar vein to drinking a glass of Pumpernickel bread. It is considered a lighter drinking beer even though the color can vary from a light copper orange, dark reddish color, and up to a copper-brown color. It will have a creamier mouthfeel with a medium to full-body and is generally highly carbonated. Most Roggenbiers check in at right around 5% ABV. As a result of all these characteristics, it is considered a great winter beer.
In the late 1980’s the Roggenbier style was revived and distributed by the Spezialbrauerei Schierling near Regensburg just East of Bavaria. This was called Schierling Roggen, and used a modified, patented mashing technique to help with the effects of the Rye wort. Since then, it has been played around with by various breweries in the craft beer scene over the years. Although it is not a common style to see very often, once in a while you will come across a Roggenbier on your beer travels.
Since it is not a style that you see everyday, I was so excited to try it after my brewer told me he brewed one, that I did a rare thing and made an appearance at the Bearded Lamb on my day off yesterday to give it a whirl. We called our version of the Roggenbier, Black Forest Fog, and it clocks in at 5.1% ABV. Our version of the beer is a lighter brown color and definitely has a drier taste to it, but it also has a spicy, rye, pumpernickel flavor to it. I highly recommend that you swing by and try it if you get the chance.
Although it has less of a history behind it than a lot of historical beers, especially for a beer that was first brewed well over 500 years ago. It is important that we keep digging up some of these historical styles and keep the traditions of years ago alive and well. So if you have a chance, stop by Bearded Lamb Brewing Company and give this historical beer style a taste. The Roggenbier is one style you won’t see too often at a brewery.
I will wrap up the last post of 2024 by saying thank you again to everyone that has helped to make this page so special over the last 5 and a half months. Without your support and feedback, this page wouldn’t be what it is today. When you are out celebrating the arrival of 2025 tonight, be safe. If you have had too much to drink, call a cab, get an Uber, Lyft, spend the night where you are at, don’t drink and drive, it is not worth it. Have a safe and Happy New Year and as always Cheers!
#cheers #HappyNewYear #beer #beerlovers #drinklocal #michiganbeer #brewery #brewerylife #Goodbye2024
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