Reinheitsgebot! “Bless You,” some may say, while others who are familiar with brewing may bring up a small wooden cross and hope that I shrivel away like a hollywood vampire (a real vampire… that doesn’t glitter!).  For those of you that don’t know, Reinheitsgebot is the name for the German purity law that states,

“Furthermore, we wish to emphasize that in future in all cities, markets and in the country, the only ingredients used for the brewing of beer must be Barley, Hops and Water. Whosoever knowingly disregards or transgresses upon this ordinance, shall be punished by the Court authorities’ confiscating such barrels of beer, without fail.“

(http://brewery.org/library/ReinHeit.html)

(Yes, yes… I do know you are thinking–but what about the yeast?  Well, that wasn’t really considered an ingredient since they had no idea what yeast really was.  Normally, brewers would take a bit from the last batch and throw it in the new batch. It wasn’t until the invention of the microscope that scientists saw the little critters.)

The Reinheitsgebot became a standard in Germany and helped to stigmatize what gets put into a beer for next couple of hundred years. It told Germans what a beer could be made from, but that isn’t all that goes into beers as we know of today.  Enter in a word that makes brewers smile and sometimes frown all at the same time – adjuncts! What is an adjunct? Anything that isn’t part of the Reinheitsgebot that gets put into a beer.

While the Germans and subsequent areas were perfecting their use of the holy brewing quad-ity, to the east, think Belgium and Northern France, were throwing in everything and the kitchen sink.  Fruits, spices,  candies, sugars and malts of all sorts were used by brewers, farm workers and monks to create a variety of styles and recipes, many of which have been lost to history.

Adjuncts in the modern brewing world, I believe, have both a great and smeared reputation. Let’s start with the smearing –
The big 3 (Millers, Coors and Bud) all make the same style of beer, the Classic American Pilsner.  This is a Lager that should be crisp and clean tasting.  You can achieve this by using some amazing brewing skills or take a bit of a short cut by adding in a few ingredients, mainly corn and/or rice.  Don’t get me wrong, you still have to be a good or very lucky brewer to make a really good pilsner no matter what you use, but I think Beer Advocate puts it best when it describes these beers as “American Adjunct Lagers” where the, “focus is less on flavor and more on mass-production and consumption, cutting flavor and sometimes costs with adjunct cereal grains, like rice and corn.”

The main complaint by so many beer drinkers is that the beers of the Big 3 resemble something closer to water than beer.  The adjuncts used thin and clear out the beer so well, that it feels like there is something missing, like taste. This is where adjuncts get their bad reputation, as being the easiest way to save a penny and make a cheaper beer.

And yes, while they can be used to clear out the bottom line a bit, they can also be the brewers best friend.  The Reinheitsgebot, to some brewers is a 4 letter word that is limiting and stationary. To the monks, brewers and farm workers outside of Germany, it was the furthest thing from their mind. They were more interested in creating something that would fulfill and sustain them, and it didn’t hurt if it tasted great either.

But how are adjuncts used today?  Can those corner cutting adjuncts be used to make a beer that actually tastes like..beer? Well next time on Al the Brewer I will interview Julian Shrago from Long Beach’s own Beachwood BBQ and Brewing about his beers and some of his thoughts on adjuncts.

Stay Tuned!

So, what are your thoughts on adjuncts?  Any particular one that you love to see in your beers? Any one that you just can’t stand?