Here is a beer style that is now considered an oddity but used to be fairly common . . . at least until the late 19th Century. This brew was mostly popular in southeastern Bavaria near the Czech border. Dampfbier (literally, steam beer) is only made today by a handful of breweries in Germany. Dampfbier is an all-barley ale, brewed mostly in the summer. It is medium-bodied, very gently hopped (only about 14 IBU), low in effervescence and, by German standards, warm-fermented at slightly above 70 °F (21 °C). It is made with a standard Bavarian Weissbier yeast, which gives the beer a slightly
phenolic aftertaste.

The “Dampf” in Dampfbier comes from the fact that this ale produces copious amounts of bubbles during its fast and vigorous primary fermentation. As these surface bubbles burst, they give the appearance — at least to the uninitiated — that the ferment is boiling, even giving off “steam.

Dampfbier is not imported into North America, which is a perfect reason for experimenting with it as a homebrewer. The most prominent modern exponent of this unusual ale style is the Erste Dampfbierbrauerei (“The First Steam Beer Brewery”) of the small of town of Zwiesel in the Bavarian Forest, and our recipe is based loosely on this Zwiesel brew. The beer’s raw material composition and its brewing process are based on a conversation with Mark Pfeffer, the current owner of the Erste Dampfbier-brauerei. Herr Pfeffer is a descendant of Wolfgang Pfeffer, who opened the “First Steam Beer Brewery” in 1889. In the late Nineteenth Century, Dampfbier ale — like its lager cousin, the Bavarian dunkel — was a dark brew. Today, however, Dampfbier comes mostly in a deep golden to light amber color. Its appearance in the glass resembles that of a pale Vienna lager.

Dampfbier, a forgotten brew

The former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Thomas “Tip” O’Neill, once said “all politics is local,” referring, of course to the roots of democratic political power in a system of government “of the people, by the people and for the people.” The same holds true for beer, the drink “of the people,” because historically, before mankind had developed sophisticated means of transport, all beer, too, was local, composed of local ingredients only and consumed by the locals. Brewers had to take what was readily at hand and then make do — lest the people go thirsty. Considering the variation of agricultural and climatic conditions, beers varied naturally from one locale to the next — as is still the case in such places as Belgium and Franconia. The concept of “style” as a collective beer category stretching over time and geography really did not apply then. Therefore, there were just beers, thousands of them, but no styles in the modern sense. Styles could only emerge as beers became regionalized, nationalized and indeed internationalized, in terms of ingredients, processes and markets. Many beers simply were not able to transform themselves into beer styles and became largely forgotten links in the evolutionary chain of modern beer. The Dampfbier appears to be just such a forgotten brew.

The poor folk’s drink

The Bavarian Forest has always been one of the poorer regions of Bavaria and, indeed, Germany. Not surprisingly, wheat (weizen in German) was considered much too precious to be used in beer as the city folk did with their weissbier in Munich, and hops from the nearby Hallertau region (which now produces about one-third of all the world’s hops) was just too expensive for the poor Bavarian Forest dwellers. For flavoring, therefore, there was nothing but low-quality local hops. Lager beer-making, too, which requires careful temperature control to turn out well, was also out of the question for these Bavarians. It was just too complicated a brewing technique. Out of these limitations was thus born the Dampfbier, a poor man’s barley ale with only a minimal amount of hop flavor. If Munich could have its hefeweizen, the Forest could have its “hefegerste” (hefe-barley), so to speak. The brew was fermented in wooden vats at ambient temperature and then transferred into wooden lagering casks. The Dampfbier makers kept these casks in cellars dug deep into the region’s hills and rocks. These shafts were vented by aeration shafts more than 30 feet (10 meters) long. Many of these lagering cellars are still in use today.

By the early 20th Century, however, with rail transportation and prosperity both on the ascent in Germany, the Dampfbier style slowly vanished until nobody made it any more. It was revived for the first time only in 1989, when the First Dampfbier Brewery made it again to commemorate its founder on the occasion of the brewery’s centenary. Since then, the brew has been making a slow comeback.

There are several parallels, incidentally, between this Old World Dampfbier and its New World namesake, the California common (or steam beer, a name for which the Anchor Brewing Company of San Francisco now owns a registered trademark). Both beers evolved almost accidentally in relative remoteness and as a result of the raw materials and brewing processes that were available locally — in the backwaters of Bavaria in the Dampfbier case, and in the rough and tumble outpost of San Francisco during the gold rush days, in the California Common case. Necessity, it seems was the mother of both inventions. Both are brews fermented at what would normally be considered excessively high temperatures. But there is one key difference: the yeast. The California steam brew is a lager, while the Bavarian steam brew is an ale.

The Dampfbier brewing process

The grain bill of a Dampfbier is very simply: a 70/30 mix of Pils and Munich malt. The Pils malt has a Lovibond rating of about 2 °L, while the Munich malt may have one anywhere between 6 °L and 20 °L. For a better flavor balance, considering the Dampfbier’s low IBU-value of roughly 14, brew it with the palest Munich malt you can find. The original gravity of a Dampfbier is a standard 1.048 (12 °P), which requires a total grain bill of approximately 8 lbs. (3.7 kg) at an assumed system’s extract efficiency of 65%. The split between Pils and Munich malt is thus 5.7 lbs. (2.6 kg) and 2.4 lbs (1.1 kg), respectively. Because the beer finishes relatively dry, a single-step infusion temperature of 152 °F (67 °C) is a good target.

The liquid malt extract (LME) equivalent for the Dampfbier grain bill is about 6.6 lbs. (~ 3 kg), based on a nominal 80% maltose content. Extract brewers can use a combination of canned Pils and Oktoberfest LME at a ratio by weight of 70/30, that is roughly 4.6 lbs. (2.1 kg) and 2 lbs. (0.9 kg), respectively. 

A grain-plus-extract brewer should crack and steep the Munich malt while mixing 6.6 lbs. (~3 kg) Pils LME in the kettle. (An extract late approach may work better if your brewpot is small.)

In the kettle, the modern Dampfbier-brauerei deviates from the traditional practice of using inferior hops. We will imitate this model by using two small) additions of Hallertauer Mittelfrüh at about 4.2% alpha acids, one for bittering at the standard 15 minutes into the boil, the other at shut-down. Let the trub settle for a few minutes, then siphon off about a quart or a liter of hot, still sterile wort into a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Let it cool off and then store it in the refrigerator. Use this wort as kräusen at the end of primary fermentation.

Ferment this all-barley beer with a Bavarian wheat beer (weissbier/hefeweizen) yeast (see recipes). In the old days, Dampfbier was fermented in open vats at a temperature of 64–68 °F (18–20 °C). Today, the First Dampfbier Brewery of Zwiesel uses a very warm 77 °F (25 °C) to ferment its beer and primary fermentation is completely finished after just two or three days, at which point the brew is racked and the quart or liter of kräusen is added for a two-week secondary fermentation in a closed (gespundet) fermenter. This secondary fermentation is best done in a Cornelius keg. Maintain a pressure of roughly 7–8 PSI. If you do not have a Cornelius keg, secondary-ferment the brew without pressure. After filtering, the Dampfbier-brauerei packages its brew in kegs and bottles. For homebrewers, filtering is of course optional.

If you do not use a Cornelius keg to carbonate your brew as the kräusen is being fermented, but secondary-fermented it in an (unpressurized) carboy, you may wish to rack the brew once more before packaging and priming it. Use no more than half a cup of dry malt extract (DME) for priming, though, because the brew is relatively low in effervescence. A good way to prime this beer is to add about a quarter teaspoon of light DME to each bottle before filling it. Lager in a cool cellar for about a month.

If you mature your brew under pressure in a Cornelius keg, and you choose not to filter it, you can dispense it directly from the keg without additional racking or priming.

There are no fixed rules for the serving temperature of Dampfbier. Subjectively, because this beer is very low in hops, I found it more refreshing on the palate if it is served chilled right out of the refrigerator at about 40 °F (4 °C).

Horst Dornbusch is an award-winning beer writer, brewer and the owner of Cerevisia Communications, a PR agency for the international beverage industry.

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Dampfbier by the numbers

OG     1.048 (12 °P)
FG    1.010 (2.5 °P)
SRM    3–8 (depending on Lovibond rating of Munich malt)
IBU    14
ABV     nowadays 6–8%

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A Steamy Bavarian Brew
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.048  FG = 1.010 
IBU = 14  SRM = 8   ABV = 5%

Ingredients

7.0 lbs. (3.2 kg) Weyermann
    Pilsner malt (2 °L)
3.0 lbs. (1.4 kg) Weyermann
    Munich Type I malt (6 °L)
4 AAU Hallertauer Mittelfrüh
    hops (45 mins)
    (1.0 oz./28 g of 4% alpha acids)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Hallertauer Mittelfrüh
    hops (0 mins)
Wyeast 3068 (Weihenstephan
    Weizen) or White Labs WLP380
    (Hefeweizen IV) yeast
1/2 cup light dry malt extract
    (optional, for priming)

Step by Step

Use about 4 gallons (about 15 L) of water to create a thin single-infusion mash at about 152 °F (67 °C). Let rest for about an hour. Start sparging and let the grain-bed temperature rise to about 168 °F (76 °C). Sparge for about an hour, until the kettle gravity is about 1.054 (13.5 °P). Boil for 60 minutes. Add bittering hops 15 minutes into the boil. Add the flavor/aroma hops at shut-down. Check the gravity. It should be around 1.048 (12 °P) after evaporation losses. Liquor the wort down if necessary. Using a spatula, gently create a whirlpool in the kettle and wait for a few minutes for the trub to settle.

Siphon about one quart or one liter of hot wort into a sealable container. Let this wort cool off and store in the refrigerator. Heat-exchange to a pitching temperature anywhere between 68 °F (20 °C) and 77 °F (25 °C). Pitch the yeast and aerate. Primary fermentation should be complete within no more than three days. Rack the brew, preferably into a Cornelius keg. Add saved, fresh wort for kräusen. Maintain Cornelius pressure at 7–8 PSI (or roughly 0.5 atmospheres) during a two-week secondary fermentation. If you do not use a Cornelius keg, let secondary fermentation take place without pressure.

If you carbonate the brew in a Cornelius keg, either dispense it after an additional four weeks of maturation in a cool cellar, or release the keg pressure slowly after secondary fermentation and prime the brew (best done by adding a quarter teaspoon of light DME to each bottle) and fill the bottles from the keg. If secondary fermentation took place in a carboy, rack the brew once more, then prime and bottle it. Use no more than half a cup of DME for priming, though, because the brew is relatively low in effervescence. A good way to prime this beer is to add about a quarter teaspoon of light DME to each bottle before filling it. Lager in a cool cellar for about a month.

A Steamy Bavarian Brew
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.048  FG = 1.010  IBU = 14  SRM = 5.2  ABV = 5%

Ingredients
5.25 lbs. (2.4 kg)
  Weyermann Bavarian
   Pilsner liquid malt
    extract
2.0 lbs. (0.91 kg)
   Weyermann
   Munich
   Type I malt (6 °L)
4 AAU Hallertauer Mittelfrüh
    hops (45 mins)
    (1.0 oz./28 g of 4% alpha acids)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Hallertauer Mittelfrüh
    hops (0 mins)
Wyeast 3068 (Weihenstephan
    Weizen) or White Labs WLP380
    (Hefeweizen IV) yeast
1/2 cup light dry malt extract
    (optional, for priming)

Step by Step

Crack and steep the Munich malt in a muslin bag in about a gallon (4 L) of 170°F (77°C) water for about an hour. Lift bag, rinse with several cups of cold water and discard. Mix LME with about 4 gallons (15 liters) of hot brewing liquor. Add “grain tea” to kettle. Bring to a boil and follow equivalent instructions for all-grain recipe.

A Steamy Bavarian Brew
(5 gallons/19 L, extract only)
OG = 1.048  FG = 1.010
 IBU = 14  SRM = 8  ABV = 5%

Ingredients

4.6 lbs. (2.1 kg) Weyermann Bavarian
    Pilsner liquid malt extract
2.0 lbs. (0.9 kg) Weyermann Munich
    Oktoberfest liquid malt extract
4 AAU Hallertauer Mittelfrüh
    hops (45 mins)
    (1.0 oz./28 g of 4% alpha acids)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Hallertauer Mittelfrüh
    hops (0 mins)
Wyeast 3068 (Weihenstephan
    Weizen) or White Labs WLP380
    (Hefeweizen IV) yeast
1/2 cup light dry malt extract
    (optional, for priming)

Step by Step

Mix liquid malt extract with 5 gallons (19 L) of hot brewing liquor. Bring to a boil and follow equivalent instructions for all-grain recipe.