Have 5 Schwarzbier’s to gain the Schwarz-buckler badge.
A style of black lager from Germany, the name literally means black beer in German. As well as Schwarzbier, Lager – Dark and Lager – Euro Dark also count for this badge.
They have similarities with Dunkels, however they are usually darker in colour (more black than brown), as well as containing more roasted malts and having a drier finish.
Have 5 Dunkel’s to gain this badge. It levels up to 100.
A Dunkel comes in two varieties; a Dunkelweizen or a Lager – Munich Dunkel.
Made with dark Munich malts that give the style a roasty, chocolatey backbone, a Dunkel is a dark lager while a Dunkelweizen is a cross between a Dunkel and a Hefeweizen wheat beer.
Popular in, you guessed it, Munich, all of the six Oktoberfest breweries produce a good version of the style.
Have 5 Kölsch for this badge. A Kölsch is a German style of beer from Cologne (or Köln).
A golden ale, the style has some similarities with American Cream Ales and Altbier, which is from the neighbouring city of Düsseldorf. Their is even an ongoing rivalry between drinkers of Kölsch and the drinkers of Altbier.
Kölsch is a protected term within the European Union, which means it can only be brewed by breweries near Cologne. However, outside of the EU the term is fair game, and many craft breweries make their own version of the style.
Berlin is Europe’s second biggest city, so it’s no surprise that it would have its own style of beer: the Berliner Weisse. Have 5 of them to get this badge.
Called the ‘Champagne of the North’ by Napoleon, a good Weisse is crisp, cloudy and tart. They are not strong in alcohol and are a perfect refreshing beverage.
The style was once the dominant style in Berlin until it started to fade away in the second half of the 20th century. Now revived by the craft revolution, many craft breweries are experimenting with adding fruit to the style which has led to its own style on Untappd, the Fruited Berliner Weisse.
Have 5 Bocks to gain I’ll Be Bock, Untappd’s badge for Bock beers. A Bock is a style of strong, malty lager that originated in Germany.
Untappd recognises six substyles of Bock, and they all count towards this badge: Single/Traditional, Doppelbock, Eisbock, Hell/Maibock/Lenteboc, Weizenbock and Weizendoppelbock.
A traditional Bock sits at around 6 or 7% and is rich and malty. Made by traditional lager techniques, Bock also means Goat in German and so goats often feature on the label.
A Doppelbock is a stronger, maltier version that ends up anywhere between 7 and 12%. An Eisbock is even stronger, it is made be slowly bringing a Doppelbock down to freezing and removing the ice as it forms on top. This reduces the water content, intensifying the flavour and strength. Eisbock’s also have their own badge, From the Cold.
As the name suggests, Weizenbocks are made from wheat instead of barley. Unusually for a wheat beer, they are brewed using dark malts and are a similar strength as a Doppelbock.
Finally a Maibock or Helles Bock is a light Helles lager that is brewed to Bock strength. As it is a combination of the two styles, any Hell/Maibock/Lenteboc you check in also counts towards the Helles badge, Hella Delicious!
Oktoberfest, the world’s biggest beer festival! Oktoberfest is held in Munich and each year around 8 million litres of beer is served to the six million people who attend the festival.
Six breweries take part in the festival: Augustiner, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr (who is owned by Paulaner), Hofbrau, Löwenbräu (owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev) and Spatenbräu (also Anheuser-Busch InBev).
However, despite the name, this badge is not about the festival, it’s about the beer. Marzen (or Fiestbier) is the beer served at Oktoberfest. Have 5 beers of this style to get the badge.
Traditionally brewed in March (hence the name), these slightly stronger beers with a bready or biscuity malt background. They were designed to last all winter, when brewing was impractical. Any remaining at the end of winter was finished off at the start of spring, at Oktoberfest.
If you see a German beer marked ‘Hell’, it’s not referring to the Devil but rather the German style of lager. To get this badge, have 5 beers marked as “Lager – Helles” or “Bock – Hell/Maibock/Lenteboc”.
From Munich, Helles beers are pale lagers that have less of a hop bite than a pilsner. They have a slight malt characteristic but are very easy drinking. The word Hell can be translated as bright, light or pale.
For me, the most iconic version is the Hofbrau Original, but almost all Bavarian breweries produce a version of this classic style.
The country badge for Germany. Have 5 German brews to get level 1. Germany is well known for its many beer styles, festivals and traditions.
Germany is arguably the home of beer, with styles such as Hefeweizen, Dunkel, Bocks, Kolsch, Kristalweisen, Schwarzbier, Radler, Roggenbier, Gose, Altbier, Märzen, Helles, Kellerbier and even Berliner Weisse all coming from Germany. Incidentally, all of those styles have their own badge on Untappd.
You can’t talk about beer in Germany without mentioning Oktoberfest. The world’s biggest beer festival, each year around 8 million litres of beer is served to the six million people who attend the festival.
The beers served at Oktoberfest, like most German beers, comply with the Reinheitsgebot or Purity laws. Passed in 1516 they restricted beer to only contain water, barley and hops. This was later extended to include other malted grains, such as wheat. While they are no longer as strictly enforced as they once were, compliance with the Reinheitsgebot remains a powerful marketing tool for German breweries.
Germany has a rather decentralised beer industry with an extremely large number of breweries. The top ten breweries in Germany are: Oettinger, Krombacher, Bitburger, Beck’s (owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev), Warsteiner, Hasseröder (also Anheuser-Busch InBev), Veltins, Paulaner, Radeberger and Erdinger.
Untappd’s badge for Gose beers. Have 5 beers that are ‘Sour – Gose’ or ‘Sour – Gose – Fruited’ to get this badge.
Gose is a sour, salty wheat beer from the area around Lepzig in Germany. With a tradition dating back to the 16th century, the style all but died out in the 20th century due to the growth in popularity of pilsner lagers and two world wars.
The style was revived in 1980 by a Lepzig bar owner and has made a major come back, now being a popular style for craft brewers to experiment in.
Check into 5 hefeweizens to receive the Heffenista badge. Hefeweizen light/leicht beers and Hopfenweisse’s also count.
A hefeweizen is a German wheat beer that is usually cloudy. The name means “yeast wheat” in German and refers to the beer being bottle conditioned and therefore containing some sediment.
Most German breweries produce a very decent hefeweizen but the most famous might be the two made by Erdinger and Paulaner.
Untappd Badges 