Need advice on German Beer

[pwndabear]

I am going to be brewing a beer for an annual weekend camping trip that I go on end of march / beginning of aprilish that has been dubbed ManTrip.

You guessed it: a bunch of guys get together and go hang out in the woods eating and drinking their faces off. Each person generally brings a 30 pack for 2 days and it definitely is not enough beer for the weekend.

This year, I have decided to brew a German style beer and call it Bier der Betrunkenen Wald Männer, which a translation website told me means Beer of the Drunken Forest Men (btw, that is what us crazies who go camping in april call ourselves).

1) If anyone on here is fluent in German, does Bier der Betrunkenen Wald Männer correctly translate to Beer of the Drunken Forest Men? If not, what would the best translation be?

2) I am not all too familiar with German beers. I am looking to brew an extract or partial light beer; something not very heavy with a very mild taste and a medium alcohol content (I would make something darker and heavier, however since I am making this beer for a general populace of non-beer snobs, i have to keep it light and simple). Any suggestions to those who know more than I?
*edit* I don't have the capabilities to do a lager.

This beer is not something that people are going to use to get wasted on. This beer is going to be commemorative of the occasion and I want it to be special for everyone who gets one. So before anyone says, "don't waste a good homebrew on binge drinking," keep in mind that it is not.

Thanks everyone! Happy Brewing!

 

[Ichthy]

Brew a Kolsch. Delicate style but tasty. Pilsner malt with a dash of munich or vienna. About 20-25 IBU. Mash low and ferment cool (60) with Kolsch yeast. Lager it if you can, if not use gelatin to clear it.

 

[steinsato]

+1 on the kolsch. my bmc loving friends kill my kolsch kegs way too fast. I can't brew it fast enough. The thing about kolsch is that it doesn't age very well so you'll want to time it out so that it can lager for about 1 month before you want to drink it. Once my kolsch gets to be over 4 months old it really starts to go downhill I've noticed.

 

[osagedr]

Agree with the Kolsch. Was my first AG and turned out pretty well.

 

[DrawTap88]

Also agree with the Kolsch. You could also use the Kolsch yeast to brew a vienna lager or any other lager, since the Kolsch yeast is very lager like. If Kolsch yeast is too low to go, I suggest using the Wyeast 1056 or likewise White Labs yeast.

 

[Mateo]

Some Ideas on the Name:

Betrunkenwäldler Bier

or

Betrunkenen Wäldler Bier

The bottom one is probably closer to what you mean.

+1 on Kölsch!

m.

 

[ArcaneXor]

Bier der betrunkenen Waldmänner is the correct translation in high German.

 

[ErieShores]

Kolsch or a helles would go over well to your group I'm sure.

 

[JohnTheBrewist]

Yep, another vote for Kölsch. It's as close to making a light German lager as you'll get without making a lager. If you search for a recipe, try spelling it as Kölsch, Kolsch and Koelsch. In German, the ö is actually substituted with oe, but we here tend to leave out the e.

Your translation is fine if you want it translated word for word, but Germans tend to compound words, so Wald Männer would be Waldmänner. What Mateo posted, however, is yet more correct, but would be more along the lines of drunken forester beer. You can also use the word Forst instead of Wald, neither is more correct, but I'd say Wald is more common.

Moose

Edit: ArcaneXor and I were posting at the same time. Note in his post the correct capitalization.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

I vote for helles or alt. Regards, GF.

 

[pwndabear]

found this recipe somewhere on the boards here, not in the recipe section though:

6.6 lbs. light unhopped malt extract
2 1/2 lb. German pilsner malt
1/4 lb. German light crystal malt
1/4 lb. German Melanoidin malt
1 1/2 oz. Hallertauer hops (bittering) 45 min
1/2 oz. Hallertauer hops (flavoring) 15 min
1/2 oz. Hallertauer hops (finishing) End of boil
Yeast options: 1 pkg. Nottingham Ale Yeast(Wyeast #1007, #2565, #1338 or White Labs German Ale or Dusseldorf Alt Yeast)
1 pkg. Bru-Vigor (yeast food)
O.G. - 1.048
F.G. - 1.012

i may change the hops around based on what ive seen in my research of kolsh recipes, but other than that, it seems a decent recipe

 

[ArcaneXor]

found this recipe somewhere on the boards here, not in the recipe section though:

6.6 lbs. light unhopped malt extract
2 1/2 lb. German pilsner malt
1/4 lb. German light crystal malt
1/4 lb. German Melanoidin malt
1 1/2 oz. Hallertauer hops (bittering) 45 min
1/2 oz. Hallertauer hops (flavoring) 15 min
1/2 oz. Hallertauer hops (finishing) End of boil
Yeast options: 1 pkg. Nottingham Ale Yeast(Wyeast #1007, #2565, #1338 or White Labs German Ale or Dusseldorf Alt Yeast)
1 pkg. Bru-Vigor (yeast food)
O.G. - 1.048
F.G. - 1.012

i may change the hops around based on what ive seen in my research of kolsh recipes, but other than that, it seems a decent recipe

It's a partial mash blonde ale recipe.

Koelsch is a pretty dry beer; crystal malts are pretty rare in it. Melanoidin is fine if you want to replicate decotion flavors. Koelsch doesn't usually have flameout hop additions, and Koelsch yeast is a must to get that Koelsch flavor; otherwise you are, again, just making a blonde ale.

 

[pwndabear]

It's a partial mash blonde ale recipe.

Koelsch is a pretty dry beer; crystal malts are pretty rare in it. Melanoidin is fine if you want to replicate decotion flavors. Koelsch doesn't usually have flameout hop additions, and Koelsch yeast is a must to get that Koelsch flavor; otherwise you are, again, just making a blonde ale.

I am so glad that I have these boards as a resource. Thank you arcane.

How about now?:

6.6 lbs. light unhopped malt extract
2 lb. German pilsner malt
1/4 lb german wheat
1 1/2 oz. Hallertauer hops 45 min
1/2 oz. Hallertauer hops 15 min
wyeast 2565 kolsch
1 tsp yeast food
1 tsp irish moss

 

[gicts]

A bit of an odd question, but anyone know of beer/homebrew forums spoken in German? Kinda fits the topic I guess.

 

[altenmuenster]

Bier der betrunkenen Waldmänner is the correct translation in high German.

+1 I agree that this is accurate German, though I prefer the term besoffenen to betrunken, but that's my Bavarian experience talking.

A bit of an odd question, but anyone know of beer/homebrew forums spoken in German? Kinda fits the topic I guess.

Funny, I was thinking about this about twenty minutes ago. I wonder what the homebrew scene is like in Germany. Over there the equivalent to BMC is what we call expensive import (ok, they have Bitburger and Warsteiner and such sure, but we import that crap too) . . .

 

[CTS]

You just gave me an idea for a fishing/camping trip that we go on every June!!
Let us know how it turns out!!

 

[Mateo]

In German homebrew is called selbst gebraut bier or is bier selber brauen.

I like to read this site:

http://www.brauen.de/

The brauforum is on the right hand side.

m.

 

[gicts]

In German homebrew is called selbst gebraut bier or is bier selber brauen.

I like to read this site:

http://www.brauen.de/

The brauforum is on the right hand side.

m.

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately, it seems like that forum is awfully slow. I registered and am going to spend a bit of time on two of my hobbies- beer and learning German, but I wish there was a quicker paced forum!

 

[ArcaneXor]

Besoffen is colloquial for betrunken. I think it's pretty universal throughout Germany, although I am sure there are lots of regional terms for it as well.