The revival of Griesedieck.

Thanks to Jay Tyler for this link to the web site of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Back and brewing: Family members resurrect Griesedieck Brothers Beer, by Robbi Courtaway of the Suburban Journals/Citizen Journal.

This revival of Griesedieck hasn’t come without a certain measure of historical revisionism:

Today's German-style pilsener is better, the Griesedieck cousins say. Unlike its working-class grandfather, this microbrew follows a 13th-century German purity law that allows the use of only four ingredients: malted barley, hops, yeast and water. The old GB was corn-based and sweeter, they said.

To be exact, the German beer purity law makes mention of only three ingredients in this context, as yeast wasn't understood in the 13th century.

As for the original Griesedieck (can there be a better name for a beer?), of course it was “corn-based”, because not unexpectedly, it was a pre-Prohibition pilsner formulation that also likely used six-row barley rather than the two-row preferred by German brewers.

The secret to overcoming the corn sweetness and the earthy six-row tang isn't to turn to a polished German recipe that never was associated with the original Griesedieck.

Rather, it is to hop the bejesus out of the revived pre-Prohibition lager – not the best solution for modern focus groups, but the one that makes me the happiest.

And hoppiest.