Export (beer)
Export (also export beer ) in German-speaking countries is a bottom-fermented full beer with an original wort of 12% to 14% and an alcohol content of mostly a little over 5% by volume. It can be light or dark.
properties
Compared to top-fermented beers, Export has a longer shelf life thanks to the bottom-fermented brewing method. This made it possible to export the beer (initially beyond the city limits). In contrast to the beers intended for the domestic market, those intended for export were brewed more strongly . The stronger taste associated with this stronger brewing and also the increased alcohol content soon made these beers popular on the domestic markets. In the 1970s, however, a decline in sales of export beers began in many places in favor of pils .
Just like other bottom-fermented lager beers , including pils, export beers only became established when the invention of the refrigeration machine enabled the temperature of 4 ° C to 9 ° C required for bottom-fermented brewing all year round.
There are exports in the traditional Dortmund, Munich and Viennese brews. In other countries, the term “export” can also be used for other types of beer, such as strong beers or even top-fermented ales .
Dortmund export
Dortmunder Export (also known as Dortmunder, Dortmunder Helles or Dortmunder Bier ) was first brewed in the market in 1843 by Heinrich Wenker and his father in the Krone . Heinrich Wenker had got to know the Bavarian brewing method with bottom-fermented yeast during his apprenticeship as a brewer in Munich and Vienna and was the first to use it in Dortmund (the top-fermented beers brewed up to then were more similar to today's Altbier ). Together with the advent of mass production and artificial cooling in the context of industrialization and the resulting increased demand , this type of brewing formed the basis for the emergence of large breweries and thus also for Dortmund's rise as Europe's largest beer producer (for example through the Dortmund Union brewery ).
For a long time, export was the undisputed beer of the working class, especially at the coal and steel locations of the Ruhr area . When in the 1970s the industrial workers took more and more paid health cures (often in the Sauerland ) and made the acquaintance of the lean and hoppier Pilsner beers that are common there and quickly associated them with a vacation in nature, for them export became increasingly synonymous with the gray Everyday work at the industrial site. The Sauerland Pils breweries in particular recognized and used this trend and from now on they also successfully sold their beer in Dortmund. The Dortmund breweries then added Pilsener to their ranges. To this day, however, five of the nine Dortmund beer brands are still exported in their range. In addition, the Bochum brand Schlegel was revived in 2002 , the only beer of which is also a Dortmund export.
Typical Dortmund export has a strong golden yellow color, a strong, malty taste and a slight sweetness. It's noticeably hopped, but not quite as strong as a classic beer. The Dortmund brewing water has a high proportion of sulfate ions , which may affect the taste. Dortmunder or there for short is still a term for beers in the Netherlands , some of which are actually brewed in the Dortmund style, but some are stronger and actually wrongly bear the name. In the United States, too, some smaller breweries are now brewing beers that have “Dortmunder” in their name.
Munich export
The classic Munich export beer is brewed from the Munich malt , which is significantly darker (compared to Pils and Export) and is available in different colors. The color is created by a higher kiln temperature , which also gives the malt a stronger, sometimes subtle roasted aroma. In contrast to the hoppy Dortmund or Viennese beers, the malt dominates the taste in Munich exports, both through its robust and often clearly sweet caramel malt notes.
The original Munich brewing method (dark malt, little hops) is historically due to two circumstances: On the one hand, people brewed in Munich long before the invention of methods for producing light barley malts. On the other hand, the Munich water is very calcareous, so too much hops would have led to a scratchy, unpleasant taste. Later, the production of light export beer was also started in Munich. In terms of bitterness, this roughly corresponds to the dark Munich, but is usually a bit more hoppy. Otherwise it is also very malty.
Viennese export
This type is hardly common today (at least under its original name). It was or is made from Vienna malt, which is still commercially available . The original gravity is 13% to 14%. Wiener Export is more strongly colored with its copper tone than Dortmund or light Munich, but lighter than the classic Munich dark. It is relatively heavily hopped. It can best be compared with the beer that most of Munich's large breweries now serve as "Wiesnbier" at Oktoberfest . Some of the beers offered today as Märzen are, strictly speaking, of the classic Viennese type.
literature
- Oliver Volmerich: Hops and malt - Dortmund beer and brewery history. Wartberg-Verlag, Gudensberg 2009, ISBN 978-3-8313-2102-5 .
