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ERNTEBIER
AKA:
Dünnbier
Pronunciation guide for
English-speakers:
"aern-uh-beer"
Definition:
Erntebier (literally "harvest beer")
is thin, relatively low-alcohol beer (about 4.5 to 5.5% extract value
and roughly 2 to 3% alcohol by volume, rarely stronger). Traditionally,
Erntebier falls into the Einfachbier tax category (for a defintion see
there). It
started as a seasonal brew made by farmers to be drunk at lunchtime on
the fields during the harvest. It was customary for the farmers' children
to take an earthenware crock of Erntebier (like the one depicted at right)
to their elders at noon. Several breweries, especially in Bavaria, still
make a commercial Erntebier today, though such modern versions tend to
be slightly higher in alcohol than the original homebrewed Erntebiers.
A typical Erntbier is mildly hopped with a fairly weak body. It is only
moderately effervescent and does not keep its head very well because of
its lack of body. Most Erntebiers are brewed to a very pale color.
In the industrial north of Germany, coal and steel workers used to drink a similarly thin beer all day long during their toil. Known as Dünnbier (literally "thin beer"), the mill and mine owners used to provide this light brew free of charge in unlimited quantities to their workers.
Perhaps the closest popular year-round relative to Erntebier is the modern Leichtbier or Light Bier.
