German-Style Leichtbier
| Location: | European |
|---|---|
| Category: | Lager |
| BJCP Comparable Category: | 5A - German Leichtbier |
Beer Style Description
This is the description of how the German-Style Leichtbier style of beer should taste, feel and look. However, there may be perfectly fine beers in this style that fall outside of these ranges and descriptions. This information is just to show the most commonly accepted ranges for the German-Style Leichtbier beer style.
- Color: Straw to pale
- Body: Very low
- Malt Flavors & Aromas: Low to medium
- Hop Flavors & Aromas: Low to medium
- IBUs/Bitterness: Medium
- Fermentation Characteristics: Fruity esters and diacetyl should not be present. Very low levels of sulfur-related compounds are acceptable.
- Common Ingredients: Similar to a German Pils or Helles, continental Pils malt, German lager yeast, Saazer-type hops.
- Commercial Examples: Beck’s Light, Bitburger Light, Mahr’s Leicht, Paulaner Münchner Hell Leicht, Paulaner Premium Leicht
Brewing Properties of German-Style Leichtbier
These are the functional brewing properties of German-Style Leichtbier beers, as descided by the Brewers Association. These guidelines reflect, as accurately as possible, the historical significance, authenticity or a common profile in the current commercial beer market.
| ABV The alcohol by volume is shows the amount of alcohol this style of beer should have. |
2.5 - 3.7% |
|---|---|
| Bitterness The International Bittering Units (IBU) scale is used to approximately quantify the actual (not perceived) bitterness of beer. |
16 - 24 IBUs | SRM SRM is a scale for measuring the color intensity of a beer. Low SRM grains impart a pale straw color while higher values mean it will add a darker color to the wort. Learn more » |
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2 - 4 SRM(4 - 8 EBC) |
| Original Gravity Original Gravity (OG) is a measure of the sugar content in the wort before alcoholic fermentation has started to produce the beer. |
1.026 - 1.034 |
| Final Gravity The Final Gravity (FG) is how much sugar is left over in the beer when fermentation is complete. |
1.006 - 1.010 |
If you see an error in our data, please let us know!
Based on Brewers Association 2020 Beer Style Guidelines with changes. Used with permission of Brewer's Association.