BJCP · Category 27 · 9 styles
Historical Beer
This is where styles that were once popular come together, styles that have nearly disappeared or survive thanks to a handful of breweries and homebrewers. There's a bit of everything: German and American lagers, sour and smoked ales, a very sweet English brown and the Finnish Sahti, so each one is judged against its own description.
The 9 Historical Beer styles
The numbers at a glance
| BJCP style | ABV | Bitterness | Color |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kellerbier | per base style | per base style | per base style |
| Kentucky Common | 4.0–5.5% | 15–30 IBU | 11–20 SRM |
| Lichtenhainer | 3.5–4.7% | 5–12 IBU | 3–6 SRM |
| London Brown Ale | 2.8–3.6% | 15–20 IBU | 22–35 SRM |
| Piwo Grodziskie | 2.5–3.3% | 20–35 IBU | 3–6 SRM |
| Pre-Prohibition Lager | 4.5–6.0% | 25–40 IBU | 3–6 SRM |
| Pre-Prohibition Porter | 4.5–6.0% | 20–30 IBU | 18–30 SRM |
| Roggenbier | 4.5–6.0% | 10–20 IBU | 14–19 SRM |
| Sahti | 7.0–11.0% | 0–15 IBU | 4–22 SRM |
How to tell the styles apart
Every style here is its own world, so it helps to group them. There are three lagers: Kellerbier (27-1), unfiltered and lightly carbonated; Pre-Prohibition Lager (27-6), golden (3-6 SRM) with 25-40 IBU; and Pre-Prohibition Porter (27-7), dark (18-30 SRM) with corn, which can also be brewed as an ale. The light wheat beers are Piwo Grodziskie (27-5), oak-smoked, bitter (20-35 IBU) and only 2.5-3.3%, and Lichtenhainer (27-3), sour and smoky.
The rest go their own way. Kentucky Common (27-2) is an amber to brown ale with corn; London Brown Ale (27-4), at 2.8-3.6%, is nearly black and distinctly sweet; Roggenbier (27-8) uses rye and weissbier yeast; and Sahti (27-9), at 7-11% with juniper, is the only strong beer in the family.
Brew it yourself
Which one to brew first
Kentucky Common (27-2) is the most approachable: a clean ale, fermented at 17-19 °C (63-66 °F), with flaked corn that mashes without any fuss, and ready to drink in a few weeks. If you have a fermentation fridge, Pre-Prohibition Lager (27-6) is a good first lager. Leave Lichtenhainer for later, since it combines souring and smoke, and the same goes for Sahti, which calls for lautering through juniper, handling a lot of rye and a high gravity.
Common mistakes
- Treating Piwo Grodziskie like a Bavarian wheat beer. Its yeast is clean and shouldn't give banana or clove; oak smoke and bitterness lead the way.
- Brewing London Brown Ale with a highly attenuative yeast. It needs to finish at a high gravity; a low-attenuating English strain and a high mash temperature make that easier.
- Using peat-smoked malt in a Lichtenhainer or a Grodziskie. Peat smoke is medicinal; these styles call for beech or oak smoke.
- Treating Sahti like any other hoppy beer. Juniper and rye are the stars, and bitterness should stay very low, between 0 and 15 IBU.
How to serve them
There's no single rule. The lagers and Kentucky Common at 5-8 °C (41-46 °F) in a pint glass or mug; the sours and Grodziskie just as cold in a tall glass; Sahti at 10-14 °C (50-57 °F) in a small glass. Kellerbier goes with sausages and rye bread; Grodziskie with smoked fish; London Brown with simple desserts; and Sahti with aged cheeses or salt-cured meats.
Frequently asked questions
Which styles make up the Historical Beer category?
According to the BJCP 2021 guidelines, 9: Kellerbier, Kentucky Common, Lichtenhainer, London Brown Ale, Piwo Grodziskie, Pre-Prohibition Lager, Pre-Prohibition Porter, Roggenbier, Sahti.
Which is the strongest Historical Beer style?
Sahti, which can reach 11.0% ABV.
Which is the most bitter?
Pre-Prohibition Lager, with up to 40 IBUs.
Which is the palest and which is the darkest?
The palest is Lichtenhainer and the darkest is London Brown Ale.
Classification and statistics: BJCP category 27 (Historical Beer), 2021 edition.