''Bierlikör'', or beer liqueur, is a

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

-flavored

liqueur A liqueur ( , ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of Liquor, spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-age ...

, traditionally produced in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

state of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. As the term is not legally protected, individual products vary. ''Bierlikör'' can be made at home, but is also available commercially.

History

''Bierlikör'' has long existed as a niche, side product for

breweries A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

. Old or unsold beer was frequently made into '' Bierbrand'' or ''Bierlikör'', both of which have a longer shelf life. A reference book from 1900 mentions a "''Bier-Essenz''", which is combined with neutral grain alcohol and sugar to produce a ''Bier-Likör''. The rising popularity of

craft beer Craft beer is beer manufactured by craft breweries, which typically produce smaller amounts of beer than larger "macro" breweries and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as emphasising enthusiasm, ne ...

in the 2010s in Germany has seen a revival of ''Bierlikör''.

Commercial varieties

Legal

The European Union directive on spirits does not define ''Bierlikör'' as a product type, nor does it list it as a

protected designation of origin The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main purpose is to designat ...

product. Anything sold as ''Bierlikör'' in the European Union only needs to conform to the general guidelines applicable to all liqueurs, allowing considerable room for variations in the finished products., §32 As such, a ''Bierlikör'' must * contain a minimum of 15 percent

alcohol by volume Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of Alcohol (drug), alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest ...

and at least 100 grams of inverted sugar per liter, * be created using ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin and/or distillate(s) of agricultural origin, * be flavored with natural, or nature-identical, flavorings, and * be labeled with the alcohol content and a list of any

food coloring Food coloring, color additive or colorant is any dye, pigment, or substance that imparts color when it is added to food or beverages. Colorants can be supplied as liquids, powders, gels, or pastes. Food coloring is commonly used in commercia ...

s. Commercially available ''Bierlikör'' typically contains between 14 and 30 percent sugar by weight.

Production

''Bierlikör'' can be produced using fresh beer, but this is not required. The source of alcohol can be '' Bierbrand'', neutral

rectified spirit Rectified spirit, also known as neutral spirits, rectified alcohol or ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, is highly concentrated ethanol that has been purified by means of repeated distillation in a process called rectification. In some countr ...

, or other conventional spirits such as

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...

vodka Vodka ( ; is a clear distilled beverage, distilled alcoholic beverage. Its varieties originated in Poland and Russia. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Traditionally, it is ...

, or ''

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, originally formed in 1993 by James Shaffer, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and David Silveria, who were members of the band ...

'', or any combination thereof. The typical beer flavor of ''Bierlikör'' can come from a number of different sources, such as beer,

malt beer Malt beer is a sweet, low-alcohol beer (0–2.5% ABV) that is brewed like regular beer but with low or minimal fermentation. To keep the alcohol content low, one of two methods may be used: either the yeast is added at about 0 °C (resultin ...

malt extract Malt is any cereal grain that has been made to germinate by soaking in water and then stopped from germinating further by drying with hot air, a process known as " malting". Malted grain is used to make beer, whisky, malted milk, malt vinegar ...

hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant ''Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to whic ...

, or unfermented

wort Wort () is the liquid extracted from the mashing process during the brewing of beer or whisky. Wort contains the sugars, the most important being maltose and maltotriose, that will be Ethanol fermentation, fermented by the brewing yeast to prod ...

. Additional herbs and spices may be added as well, such as

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...

(or

vanillin Vanillin is an organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a phenolic aldehyde. Its functional groups include aldehyde, hydroxyl, and ether. It is the primary component of the ethanolic extract of the vanilla bean. Synthetic vanillin ...

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...

, and

cloves Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands, or Moluccas, in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring, or fragrance in consumer products, ...

Producers

A number of producers sell ''Bierlikör'' commercially: * Altbayerischer Bierlikör (25%) * BIERlikör 22 (22%) * HEILAND Doppelbockliqueur (22%) * Hyldegard's Bierlikör (28%) * Bierlikör (25%) * Bierlikör (25%) * Red Castle Brew Bierlikör (17.8%) * Schwanenwirt's Bierlikör (32.5%) * Tiersteiner Bierlikör (28%) * Westerwälder Bierlikör (25%)

Recipes

There are a number of recipes for homemade ''Bierlikör'', mostly using a strong beer as a base (such as

Schwarzbier () is a dark lager that originated in Germany. It has an opaque, black colour with hints of chocolate or coffee flavours, and is generally around 5% ABV. It is similar to stout in that it is made from roasted malt, which gives it its dark colou ...

Bock Bock () is a strong German beer, usually a dark lager. History The style now known as ''Bock'' was first brewed in the 14th century in the Hanseatic town of Einbeck in Lower Saxony. The style was later adopted in Bavaria by Munich brewers ...

), which is heated up with sugar and spices, cooled, and fortified with a distilled spirit.

References

{{Portalbar, Drink German beer culture Liqueurs Malt-based drinks