Homebrew Recipe
Potsdamer Stangenbier
- Method:
- All Grain
- Style:
- Specialty: Historical Beer
- Boil Time:
- 75 min.
- Batch Size:
- 5 gal.
- Boil Size:
- 7 gal.
- Efficiency:
- 65
- Rating:
- Source:
- Brew Your Own
- Source Notes:
- November 2019, Vol. 25, No. 7 page 74. Part of "Extinct German Styles" brew special. This is an unusual brew, named after its place of origin, Potsdam, which is a suburb of Berlin. The second part of the beer's name, stange, denotes a cylindrical glass, similar to a Kolsch glass, in which this beer was originally served. Some 400 years ago, Potsdamer stange was an unfiltered ale from a mash of mostly barley and a little wheat, but by the turn of the 20th century, it had become a lager. It is gold to amber in color and highly effervescent. Reputedly, Prussian brewers, known for their frugality, poured the thick yeast slurries and beer residues from returned barrels back into their fermentation tanks filled with fresh wort. The amount of beer recovered was probably very small, but this practice ensured a quick and vigorous start of the fermentation. The Potsdamer stangenbier remained popular in old Prussia until the First World War but it has since disappeared almost entirely. This is an effervescent, milky-pale, yeast-turbid, and highly quaffable summer session beer with a very restrained maltiness. Upfront, it starts out very crisp with notes of citrus and hay. These notes continue all the way to a fairly dry and refreshing finish.
- Notes:
- Mash-in at 126F; rest 15 minutes; raise temperature to 144F; rest 25 minutes; raise temperature to 162F; rest 20 minutes; raise temperature for mash-out to 172F. Lauter as normal. Note that run-off tastes very malty, is very pale, and emanates slightly nutty aromas. Boil 75 minutes, adding hops as indicated. After the first hop addition, wort smells of fresh popcorn. At the end of the boil add the aroma hops and whirlpool for 15 minutes. Cool to 66F. After the beer reaches terminal gravity (should be approximately 1.010 after five or six days), reduce temperature by 4F per day to as low a level as the equipment allows. Package about four weeks after brew day.
Brew Numbers
| OG | FG | ABV | SRM | IBU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.05 | 1.01 | 5.3 | 3 | 15 |
Fermentables
| Name | Amount | % Grain Bill |
|---|---|---|
| Lager or Pilsner Malt | 6.5 lbs. | 62.62 |
| Notes: Weyermann Barke Pilsner malt | ||
| Wheat Malt | 2.2 lbs. | 21.19 |
| Notes: Weyermann Bohemian Floor-Malted Wheat Malt | ||
| Vienna Malt | 0.84 lbs. | 8.09 |
| Dextrin Malt | 0.84 lbs. | 8.09 |
| Notes: Weyermann Carafoam malt | ||
| Total: | 10.38 lbs. | |
Hops
| Name | Amount | Boil Time | Use | AA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tettnang (GER) | 0.65 oz. | 60 | Boil | 5 |
| Notes: 3.3 AAU Tettnanger | ||||
| Tettnang (GER) | 0.46 oz. | 0 | Steep | 5 |
| Notes: 2.3 AAU Tettnanger at knockout | ||||
| Name | Amount |
|---|---|
| Tettnang (GER) | 1.11 oz. |
Mash Steps
| Step | Name | Temp | Time | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Step Mash | 126 | 15 | All Grain |
| 2 | Step Mash | 144 | 25 | All Grain |
| 3 | Step Mash | 162 | 20 | All Grain |
| 4 | Mash Out | 172 | 10 | All Grain |