A few years ago, I started a
thread on the Northern Brewer forum about a little known style from Bavaria called Dampfbier. I don't even remember how I first heard of this style, but I've brewed it several times since first formulating a recipe. It's a great summer recipe (in fact, it's usually only available in the summer in Bavaria), so I thought I would share. I know a few other members of this forum have brewed Dampfbier with success (babalu87, in particular
).
The only commercial example I've been able to find in the U.S. was a part of the August Schell 150th Anniversary series. It was released in the summer of 2009. It was a really nice beer, with the banana/clove aroma/flavor of a weissbier, but with more of what I would describe as a light märzen-like malt profile.
Here's a little about the style:
Dampfbier (literally: steam beer) is a centuries-old style from the region of the Bavarian Forest, the southeastern portion of Bavaria, near the Czech border. It is an all-barley ale, usually deep golden to light amber in color, with a unique feature: It is warm-fermented with Weissbier yeast at a temperature above 70°F (21°C), which gives the beer a sligh]tly phenolic aftertaste. Brewed mostly in the summer, it is medium-bodied, very mildly hopped, and low in effervescence.Read more...And here's my current recipe:
Dampfbier
23-A Specialty Beer
Author: Matt Schwandt
Size: 5.15 gal
Efficiency: 81.0%
Attenuation: 78.0%
Calories: 151.02 kcal per 12.0 fl oz
Original Gravity: 1.046 (1.026 - 1.120)
Terminal Gravity: 1.010 (0.995 - 1.035)
Color: 8.57 (1.0 - 50.0)
Alcohol: 4.67% (2.5% - 14.5%)
Bitterness: 15.3 (0.0 - 100.0)
Ingredients:
6 lb Pilsner Malt
2.5 lb Light Munich
.05 lb Carafa® TYPE I
1 oz Hallertau (3.6%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
.5 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 5 min
1 L starter WYeast 3068 Weihenstephan Weizen
Notes
Single infusion batch sparge
-10.6 qts Strike H2O @ 167 ==> Saccharification @ 153 [60 min]
-8 qts added back @ 195 ==> Mashout @ 165 [10 min]
-14 qts Sparge H2O @ 185 ==> Sparge @ 170 [10 min]
-Ferment between 64-68
If you choose to brew a dampfbier or if you've brewed one before, tell us about it!
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