Suds with Sophie: German Adjunct Lagers, Part 1

by SOPHIE NELSON, [email protected]

Beer first arrived in the U.S. aboard British ships during the 1600s, with its makers harboring hopes of brewing this widely loved beverage in a new land. Attempts at brewing beer here were unsuccessful, however, because of the discovery that the brewing barley – the precursor to malt – would not grow in this soil. 

The type of barley that did grow (called six-row barley) was one that was generally reserved for livestock because it had thinner kernels that contained high levels of haze-causing proteins; large amounts of enzymes, but low levels of starches, which created less fermentable beer; and thick husks with high tannin content. 

Instead, beer was imported from England by the boatload. As difficult as beer was to create in the U.S., liquor was the opposite, and the U.S. became whiskey and rum country. The consumption of liquor quickly exceeded that of beer, with a ratio of servings around 70:1. 

The tide began to turn for beer during the 1840s, however, with the mass arrival of German immigrants and their knowledge of lager brewing. Attempts by the English – and later the Dutch – to brew beer in the colonies had both been efforts to create ales. Lager brewing uses a different type of yeast than that used in ales. It ferments more slowly and at lower temperatures, which creates fewer issues with off flavors. 

Lager brewing also requires a process called lagering, from which it gets its name. During this process, beer sits in cold temperatures for a period of time to allow proteins and other solids to settle out and leave a clearer beer – a process that was perfect for a grain with an excess of haze-causing proteins. 

Lager brewing immediately took off in the U.S. and quickly surpassed the number of ale breweries. A few business-savvy leaders emerged and took advantage of Industrial Revolution technological advancements, including steam, railroads, refrigeration, pasteurization and the telegraph, all of which allowed brewers to expand their existing breweries and ship beer safely and in a timely fashion throughout the country. 

The Pabst, Busch and Schlitz breweries led these efforts. A common practice of naming breweries and beer after locations in Germany led to the creation of Budweiser. These breweries all served a similar type of beer derived from the German lager and Czech pilsner styles: light, highly carbonated lagers that were best enjoyed cold. 

The issue with barley remained, but it was quickly being solved with the use of rice and corn. These are examples of adjuncts, which are materials with fermentable sugars, or starches that can easily be converted to fermentable sugars. The high enzyme count in six-row barley could easily ferment the extra starches provided by adjunct grains such as rice and corn. These extra starches allowed for more fermentable materials in the liquid and therefore less harsh, lighter and more palatable beer options without adding any extra unwanted flavors. Busch was one of the first to use rice and corn adjuncts during the 1870s. 

German brewers’ use of adjunct grains to create German-style beer is especially interesting because Germany was (and still is) subject to the strictest beer-purity law, called Reinheitsgebot, which prohibited additions outside of malt, hops, water and yeast. So although light lagers in Germany did not see many changes during this time, brewers in the U.S. were not restricted by purity laws and were free to do as they pleased. 

These light, vaguely German lagers grew massively in popularity during this time. Breweries using mass production and shipping technologies continued to grow and take over smaller breweries. The growth seemed endless – until 1920 and the beginning of Prohibition, that is. 

Stay tuned for Part 2 of the story in a future issue.