The Surprising Transmogrification of Berghoff Beer: Pilsner (Hop Forward Lager) by Berghoff Beer

Berghoff has been around since the late 19th century and I have been drinking their brews since the early-90s and have memories of buying it at the Pinkus McBride convenience store. Back then Berghoff held a middle ground between the swill of macros and the fuller-flavored microbrews of Capital, Sprecher, New Glarus, and their ilk. Berghoff's beers were much better than a Miller or Bud but not as good as a Capital Amber, an Edel Pils, or a Black Bavarian. And the price of Berghoff reflected this.

Flash forward to 2013. Ben Minkoff, whose family owns Berghoff, had taken the company reins and the fruits of his plan to revamp the brewery's beers and reputation began to be realized. New brews appeared on store shelves while the old staples were reformulated. I reviewed one of the former, Germaniac, a Kotbusser-style ale, that summer. Then last year Berghoff continued its transformation with the introduction of two new beers: an IPA and a pilsner.

Pilsner says "Hop Forward Lager Beer" on the label in nice, friendly letters. Such bragging gave me the impression that the bier was an IPL or some other American neo-lager style undreamed of by the mid-19th century brewers of Plzeň. But I decided to try it out anyway. Besides, "Forward" is the Wisconsin state motto so perhaps that's what lured me in.

Berghoff Pilsner pours a moderately dark yellow and had the expected crystal clarity of the style. My glass had about 1/2" of creamy white froth on top and lots of bubbles inside going up looking for a place to live.

A very pretty bier, to be sure. But would it beat my tongue into submission with a citrus/pine hop flavor or the latest pretender to the hop throne, tropical fruit?

The aroma was quite surprising as my nose took in a really nice, potent floral/herbal hop aroma. This was not going to be a big, spicy Saaz-y Czech-style pils nor was it going to be a West Coast grapefruit, spruce, mango smoothie, and lime chutney American take on the style. A pleasant surprise. There was also a bit of grain/cracker scent to be had. Pilsner had a medium-light body with a clean grain flavor with a slight malt sweetness to it as well. The hops kept the floral aspect of the aroma into the taste but took on more grassy notes. For a bottle boasting hop forwardness, Pilsner did not boast a lot of hop bitterness. It was there but not overwhelming as I had expected. And there was some bit from the carbonation.

Pilsner finished with its malty flavors fading which allowed the hops to step forward, so to speak, after having transmogrified yet again. Here the hops took on some spiciness and along with that a more pronounced bitterness. That and the carbonation made for a fine, dry ending.

I was pleasantly surprised that Pilsner in no way attempted to mimic an American IPA and that Berghoff instead hewed to tradition by making what I would characterize as a German pils. While I mean no offense to Minkoff and company, I am also surprised to be able to write that my tasting notes say, "Great!" This is a fantastic German pils. Berghoff hit my sweet spot here with the perfect malt taste. There's just the right amount of clean crackery grain along with just the right amount of malt sweetness. After a spate of imperial pilsners with a rather more pronounced sweetness, it was so good to taste just a hint of that honeyed malt flavor.

This bier is hop forward insofar as all pilsners are that way. Pilsner was hopped very well and I enjoyed very much how the hops change from aroma to taste to finish. The hops are always pronounced but never assertive and find harmony with the malt.

Junk food pairing: Berghoff Pilsner is 5.7% A.B.V., a little more than your standard pils, so you'll need something to chow on while drinking it. You cannot go wrong with pretzels but try some Steakhouse Onion Funyons. Frito-Lay didn't go overboard with the roasted root vegetable flavor which will complement Pilsner well.

Berghoff Reinvents Itself: Germaniac Kotbusser

Earlier this year the venerable Berghoff underwent some remodeling. Owner Ben Minkoff brought in a couple of consultants who designed new labels and reformulated the brand's beers in order to elevate them above their less than premium status and into craft territory. Minkoff gets credit from me for not abandoning Berghoff's focus on German style brews and the reorg even begat a new line of special brews called the Überbier series. The first entry is Germaniac, a Kotbusser-style ale.

What is a Kotbusser? It's a northern German pale ale that presumably originated or was popular in the city of Cottbus. The Kotbusser was formulated with wheat and oats, in addition to barley, and had honey and possibly molasses. From what I can piece together of the beer's history, it went the way of the dodo in the late 19th century after Germany became a country and the Bavarian Reinheitsgebot became the law of the land. You can check out a Kotbusser recipe from 1853 over at Ron Pattinson's blog. Note the absence of molasses and the low hopping rate.

One of the consultants brought in by Berghoff was Randy Mosher, a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to brewing has he writes about tasting, brewing, memorabilia, and apparently just about anything related to beer. His book Radical Brewing contains a recipe for Kotbusser so Germaniac was likely his idea.

Germaniac is a pretty beer, pouring a light gold color and clear. There was a modicum of bubbles in my glass and my pour produced a small head which went away all too quickly. My nose caught a sprightly grainy aroma along with some spicy hops and a sweetness that reminded me of creamed corn.

On the tongue Germaniac has a medium body that was fairly smooth and a bit creamy – no doubt due to the addition of oats to grain bill. I was a bit afraid that Berghoff's move towards craft and words “pale ale” on the label meant that this was going to be hop bomb but I was pleasantly surprised. The malt shone through first and was very bread-like. Being an ale, there was also a hint of fruity sweetness that was accompanied by some earthy flavors which, I presume, are from the honey and molasses. All of these made for a nice ménage à trois. But it wasn't long before the hops made their presence known. As in the aroma, the hops here were the noble, spicy kind and provided a nice counterpoint to the rest of the flavors.

The hops also gave the beer a dry finish and left a lingering grassy taste. As I drank, I noticed that Germaniac didn't leave much Schaumhaftvermoegen and what there was didn't stick around for long.

Junk food pairing: At 6.3% A.B.V. Germaniac is no session beer so bust open a box of Chicken in Biskit crackers for some padding.

I really enjoyed Germaniac but I made the mistake of drinking it on a rather warm summer day. This is more of a spring beer, to my taste – something to alternate with New Glarus' Cabin Fever. It has a little bit of heft to it for those days when Jack Frost is on the run. Still, I liked having both the malt and hops up front as well as the subtle accents the honey and molasses bring to the table here.

It was a very pleasant surprise for me to have Berghoff resurrect an extinct northern German style of bier. Perhaps Minkoff's next beer will be a Breyhan. I won't hold my breath but I do look forward to tasting what they come up with. Best of luck to Berghoff on trying to ingratiate themselves into the craft community. Beer Advocate's Germaniac page has no reviews and the geniuses there have made an epic taxonomic failure by categorizing it as an American Pale Ale so it seems that Berghoff has a long row to hoe.

Berghoff Gets a Makeover, &c

The making of Summit Pilsener. I'm not sure if I've had this stuff or not but will have to try it. I've been drinking Schell lately so it looks like I'm in a Minnesota phase.



I see that Leinenkugel will be releasing an "imperial" - 10% ABV - Oktoberfest this year under the Big Eddy imprimatur.

The most interesting Wisconsin beer news I've heard lately is that the Berghoff brand is getting a makeover. It sounds like they're becoming more craft-like and are moving production from Minhas to Point. Apparently batches at Point will be smaller and so allow more flexibility. I never thought of Berghoff as great beer but I usually have it a few times a year at various summer festivals around Madison when the craft selections are Fat Tire and/or Capital's Island Wheat and Supper Club.

Berghoff will launch seven new brews, led by the seasonal Solstice Wit Beer (5.2% ABV), made with Calamansi juice, an Asian citrus fruit, and spices, it is a refreshing summery beer from a long tradition of unfiltered wheat beers. Perfect for warm weather drinking, Solstice Wit joins Berghoff’s other major year-round labels: Straight Up Hefeweizen (5.2% ABV), a Bavarian hefe-weizen, with the creamy goodness of wheat, plus a fruity and spicy nose; Dortwunder Lager (5.5% ABV), a classic and evenly balanced pale lager in the Dortmunder tradition; Reppin’ Red Ale, Malt & Rye (6.2% ABV), a serious red ale that mixes tangy rye and crisp toasted malts with plenty of American hop character; Sir Dunkle Crispy Dark Lager (5.5% ABV), smooth and malty, with a bright crispness, making a drinkable and very satisfying beer. Berghoff will also introduce the first beer in its Überbier Series, Germaniac Extra Pale Ale (6.3% ABV), brewed with honey and molasses, it will be a briskly hopped extra pale ale patterned after the old “outlaw” beer style, Kottbüsser.

While I applaud them for the change in direction, their marketing division ought to be fired. "Sir Dunkle"? What the fuck kind of a name is that? Did someone's 5-year old kid devise that one? The Überbier Series sounds interesting.

Minkoff and his sales team have put together an aggressive marketing plan to introduce Berghoff to new consumers, which will include: street teams; extensive samplings and promotions at targeted bars, restaurants and beer stores; and a smart social media outreach, largely centered in Chicago, IL; Milwaukee, WI; and Madison, WI to start.

Does this mean there will be Berghoff Frauleins in short dirndls at The Malt House offering samples?