Bratwurst, beer, and brass band –or how to brew under historical conditions

Same procedure every year: VLB Berlin staff travels to Thuringia together with participants of the Certified Brewmaster course in order to produce a "museum brew" under historical conditions at the Hennebergisches Museum Kloster Vessra. The excursion took place from 31 March to 2 April.

(ew) Since the beginning of the 2000s, the Henneberger Land Brewing Association has had the right to brew five brews a year on the premises of the Hennebergisches Museum Kloster Vessra. The individual steps from mashing to wort boiling, cooling and ferment-

History of the local municipal brewing communities

In 1734, the Thuringian municipality of Wolfmannshausen was granted brewing rights. In the same year, the residents built a brewhouse in the village. Under the direction of an elected brewmaster, several families joined together to prepare a brew (max. 22 hl) for private consumption in spring and autumn. The people from the area kept up this tradition until the end of the 1970s. In 1990, the Hennebergische Museum was able to acquire the small one-storey brewery with the remaining inventory.

ing can then be witnessed at the historic brewhouse. One brew in spring is the so-called “museum brew”, which is served and sold at various events in the Henneberg Museum. On 31 March, Jan Biering, head of the VLB Research Institute for Beer and Beverage Production, Burghard Meyer, head instructor of the Certified Brewmaster Course, and a handful of Certified Brewmasters set off to Thuringia to join such a brew. And as a premiere this year: Participants of the preparation course for the German Braumeister also came along.

Brewing unites people

On Friday the group visited the malt house Rhönmälzerei in Mellrichstadt. Saturday was brewing day. For the early risers, it started at 7.00 a.m. with mashing with classic decoction process until noon, then lautering. In the afternoon the wort was boiled adding cone hops. After that, the brew was casted onto the coolship. The breaks and rest periods were always bridged with intensive card games and, despite the continuous rain, fresh Thuringian sausages were grilled. “In the evening, we went to a tavern called Grüner Baum in Themar to finish the day with a beer and were surprised by a spontaneous concert of the Singertal brass band,” says Jan Biering. A sunday hike to the Osterburg near Henfstädt and a hearty lunch with Thuringian dumplings rounded off the successful excursion.

“It was particularly nice this year that, due to the no longer existing Corona restrictions, many external visitors stopped by. That is, the maltsters of Mellrichstadt visited us and also some brewing colleagues from surrounding breweries,” explains Biering. Thus, national and internationals brewers successfully worked together. “This shows that brewing and sometimes even drinking a beer unites people from all around the world.”