[CH] OT but German
Linda Hutchinson (lipant@sympatico.ca)
Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:30:11 -0400
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.
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