Dortmunder Export

Dortmund started out as a small town in Germany in the late 800’s. It turned into on of the Germany’s most powerful towns. Could it be because of the incredible beer they brewed?
Really, the beer wasn’t developed until 1873. But it is fair to say that the city did grow in popularity due to the Dortmunder beer.

To symbolize the city’s major industry of brewing, a ten foot bronze statue was presented to Dortmund by DAB (Dortmunder Actien Braurei) in 1979. Artur Schulze-Engels designed the sculpture. The sculpture is called the Dortmund Drayman.

“A Drayman was historically the driver of a dray, a low, flat-bed wagon without sides, pulled generally by horses or mules that was used for transport of all kinds of goods. Now the term is really only used for brewery delivery men, even though routine horse-drawn deliveries are almost entirely extinct. Some breweries do still maintain teams of horses and a dray, but these are used only for special occasions such as festivals or opening new premises.(Wikipedia)”

The term export is said to be a category of strength as determined by German Law. I could not find what qualified the beer to be labeled as an export. The term export is not limited to Dortmunder. It is a legal description of a bee. It is possible to find other German or European beers with that terminology. It is probably the strongest beer in alcohol (4.6-6%) for the color and style.

Dortmunder Export is defined by Michael Jackson as a “sociable beer”. That was certainly the case during the height of its popularity. It was responsible for Dortmunder Union becoming Germany’s largest brewery with the highest concentration of breweries.

The most notable factor about this beer is that it starts out large and finishes small. This contributes to the higher alcohol content. The beauty of the beer is its balance between the Noble hops and the generous amounts of Pilsner malt. It is possible for this beer to be a dark golden color; in most cases the color is a very pale color.

Water profile also contributes to the aroma and mouth feel of this style. The water in the area of Dortmund is high in Sulfite, Carbonates, and Chlorides, This gives the malt beer a slightly sulfur nose and draws out the bitterness of the hops. It also contributes to the mouth feel. This beer is very crisp.

It seems like a contradiction to have a beer with smooth malt flavor and crisp mouth feel, but once you have a glass you will be able to appreciate the appeal of the beer.

I was not able to find a micro brewed version of the style that had been submitted to the fair that took any awards. However I did see that GB is considered to be a classic example of style for the beer.

This would be the perfect beer to serve during your summer BBQ. If your recalling your P’s and Q’s about serving beer you know that this beer is served best cold. May be some bratwurst on the grill would be just the ticket.