''Fassbrause'' , keg soda, is a non-alcoholic or alcoholic (depending on the brand)
German drink made from fruit and
malt
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, ...
extract, traditionally stored in a
keg. The original ''Fassbrause'' also includes spices and is a speciality of
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, where it is sometimes called ''Sportmolle''. ( used to be a term for beer in the
Berlin dialect.)
''Fassbrause'' is about the same color as some
beers, and usually has an apple flavour. The taste is strongly reminiscent of the
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
n drink ''
Almdudler'', except that ''Fassbrause'' is less sweet, and not quite as spicy.
A variant of ''Fassbrause'', the so-called ''Rote Fassbrause'' (red keg soda), which is available in some of the
new states, but not in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
itself, appeared in the 1950s. This variant was available in the
German Democratic Republic (GDR) prior to
German Reunification
German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...
and has a
raspberry
The raspberry is the edible fruit of several plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the Rosaceae, rose family, most of which are in the subgenus ''Rubus#Modern classification, Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Ras ...
flavour.
Another non-alcoholic variant has been produced in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
since the 1960s under the name "
Apple Beer".
As the term ''Fassbrause'' is not protected, completely altered variants with no direct link to the original Berlin recipe have been created and marketed starting in the 2010s.
Cologne brewery
Gaffel Becker & Co was the first to start with ''Gaffel Fassbrause'' in April 2010, and many big breweries followed.
Since then, the term ''Fassbrause'' has been perceived ambiguous in different ways in Western and Eastern Germany, because many people in Western Germany were not aware of the original specialty from Berlin.
History
The chemist Ludwig Scholvien invented Fassbrause in 1908 in Berlin for his son, in order to offer a non-alcoholic beer substitute of similar color and taste. Scholvien's original recipe included a natural concentrate of apple and licorice, intended to approximate the beer taste, along with the main ingredients of water and
malt
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, ...
. A drink based on Scholvien's recipe, known as
Apple Beer, was introduced in the US in the 1960s.
Wild GmbH & Co. KG began producing the Fassbrause concentrate in
Spandau after acquiring a factory in 1985. It later sold the production to Dr. August Oetker KG. Today the drink is available on tap throughout Berlin as a specialty drink. It is also occasionally served mixed with beer; this mixture is known in Berlin and Brandenburg as ''Gespritztes''.
The brand ''Rixdorfer'', which produces its Fassbrause with water sourced from
Bad Liebenwerda, produces a significant amount of the total market share for the drink. It distributes the drink in 0.33-liter bottles for the
Berliner Kindl Brauerei. Another popular brand is the ''Berliner Fassbrause'', distributed by Spreequell. Since August 2012 a caffeinated ''Fassbrause'' drink has also been distributed under the name ''Kreuzbär''.
Market availability
*''Barre Fassbrause'' – Produced by
Privatbrauerei Ernst Barre GmbHbr>
*''Fassbrause'' – Produced by Hansa-Brunnen A
*''Faßbrause'' – Produced by Einsiedler Brauhaus Gmb
*''Gaffels Fassbrause'' – Produced by
Gaffel Becker & Co, Privatbrauerei Gaffel Becker & Co OHGbr>
*''Rixdorfer Fassbrause'' – Produced by
Berliner-Kindl-Schultheiss-Brauerei, Berliner Kindl Brauerei AGbr>
*''Rote Brause'' from a keg using the original GDR recipe – Produced by Biercontor Wildber
*''Zille's Fassbrause'' – Produced by Neue Torgauer Brauhaus Gmb
*''Krombacher's Fassbrause'' – Produced by
Krombacher Brauereibr>
*''Flens Fassbrause'' – Produced by
Flensburger Brauereibr>
*''Hartmannsdorfer Fassbrause'' – Produced by Brauhaus Hartmannsdorf Gmb
See also
*
Apple Beer
*
Cider
Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the Fermented drink, fermented Apple juice, juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and Ireland. The United Kingdom has the world's highest ...
*
Hard soda
*
List of soft drink flavors
*
List of soft drinks by country
*
Queen Mary (cocktail)
*
External links
Gaffels Fassbrause websiteTaz articleon ''Fassbrause'' from 25 July 2005
Apple Beer website
References
{{Reflist
Fermented drinks
German drinks
German inventions