Beer from beyond the Wall TheStar.com - living - Beer from beyond the Wall STEVE RUSSELL / TORONTO STAR Kostritzer Schwarzbier, made in the eastern part of Germany since the 16th century, was bought by Bitburger brewing conglomerate in 1991. July 30, 2008 Josh Rubin Beer reporter Kostritzer Schwarzbier Rating: Food pairings: Steak; burgers; grilled portobello mushrooms Price: $2.35/500 mL can Where to buy: LCBO Verdict: A perfect accompaniment to a summer barbecue After the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the symbols of daily life in East Germany soon started to disappear as well. The Ostmark currency, the beloved but dreadful excuse for an automobile known as the Trabant, the charmless Interflug national airline; all eventually vanished. At least one thing from the German Democratic Republic, however, didn't disappear, and has in fact thrived since reunification. That would be Kostritzer Schwarzbier, a "black'' lager that has been made in the eastern part of Germany since the 16th century. In fact, legend has it that writer and philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once drank loads of the stuff while convalescing in the spa town of Bad Kostritz. Supposedly, it served as a general tonic and restorative. A dark beer that is good for you? That might sound familiar to anyone who's ever seen a sign in a pub advertising Ireland's most famous brewing export. If you think of Schwarzbier as Germany's answer to porters and stouts, you actually wouldn't be too far off the mark. It's lighter in body than most stouts, but has much of the dark chocolate and roasted flavours of its more familiar Irish and British cousins, along with a bit of caramel sweetness. It's also got a similar dark brown appearance. Once only popular in the eastern German province of Thuringia, Schwarzbier is now a favourite of people across Germany (not to mention many other parts of the globe), thanks in part to the distribution skills of the Bitburger brewing conglomerate, which bought Kostritzer in 1991. In 1990, the last year before Bitburger - one of the biggest brewing groups in the former West Germany - took over, there were just 7,000 hectolitres of Kostritzer Schwarzbier brewed each year. Today, production is up to roughly 384,000 hectolitres. So is part of Schwarzbier's growing appeal that it's one of the last surviving East German products? People, after all, have started clubs devoted to the Trabant, and the former East German Vitacola has even been revived. The head of the brewery, though, doesn't think Schwarzbier is getting a retro-kitsch boost in sales. That's because he figures most Germans probably don't even know it's from the eastern part of the country, anyway. "I do not see this nostalgic wave as a part of our sucess; Bad Kostritz is a very small city and ... a lot of people believe that it is a part of Bavaria," said Andreas Reimer, managing director of the Kostritzer Schwarzbierbrauerei. The Bavarians only wish they could take credit for this one. CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL: Tomorrow, from 7 p.m. till midnight, have some beer from several Ontario craft breweries, feast on pulled pork and other barbecue food, and enjoy live music at U of T's historic Hart House. Tickets are $30 ($20 for U of T students), and are available at uofttix.ca or by calling 416-978-8849. ----- Original Message ----- From: JohnT To: Linda Hutchinson ; Chile Heads Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2008 11:13 AM Subject: Re: [CH] German Food I think was left over pig parts (kidney & liver) and onions mostly. On a skewer. Grilled and stuck in a bucket of hot sauce until sold or sold right off the grill. My memory isn't all that good. The German beer was to die for. Not the stuff they exported, but the unpasteurized kind with 'flip-top' caps. ----- Original Message ----- From: Linda Hutchinson To: JohnT ; Chile Heads Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2008 8:45 AM Subject: Re: [CH] German Food What is it, other than the hot sauce? ----- Original Message ----- From: JohnT To: Chile Heads Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2008 9:15 AM Subject: Re: [CH] German Food Don't forget shaslik. Street vendors sold it dipped in a hot sauce. My introduction to the hot side. 1966 ----- Original Message ----- From: Byron To: Chile Heads Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2008 8:28 PM Subject: [CH] German Food Sandy I'm sure that things have changed, but in the early 60's the hottest German food was a garlic mustard served with soft pretzels. The Oktoberfest version was stepped up a notch from the normal. B. No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com Version: 8.0.138 / Virus Database: 270.5.7/1580 - Release Date: 7/29/2008 5:26 PM No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com Version: 8.0.138 / Virus Database: 270.5.7/1581 - Release Date: 7/30/2008 6:56 AM