Tuesday Beer Trivia: German Beer Terms

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Beer Trivia

Are you well versed in German beer terms? Sprechen sie Deutsch? Put your knowledge of German beer terms to the test in this week’s Tuesday Beer Trivia quiz.

Making beer has deep roots in Germany, so it comes as no surprise that many commonly used beer terms in English are taken directly from their German counterparts.

After you take the Beer Trivia quiz below, scroll down to “Beer Trivia Answer Explanations” section to learn more about German beer terms!

Beer Trivia Answer Explanations

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Question 1: In German, hefeweizen literally translates into “yeast (hefe) wheat (weizen).” This name came about because the wheat-based style is typically unfiltered and packaged with the yeast that is responsible for so much of the signature hefeweizen phenolic character.

Question 2: Vorlauf means “recirculating” in English and is used in brewing to refer to the process of recirculating the mash to settle the grain bed prior to lautering. This ensures that minimal grain sediment is transferred into the boil kettle, especially when batch sparging.

Question 3: Hopfenstopfen translates into English as “hop stuffing” and is generally used to refer to the process of dry hopping, where hops are added to the fermenter during and/or after fermentation.

Question 4: Krausening is a traditional German brewing technique where fermenting wort at the high of activity (known as “high krausen”) is taken and added to already fermented beer as a means of conditioning. Learn more about the krausening technique.

Question 5: Altbier is one of only indigenous ales in Germany, where lagers are largely at the forefront. The “alt” in altibier, which translates to “old” in English, refers to brewing ales before the surge of lager brewing in Germany.


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