Historical
Lichtenhainer
A Thuringian smoked wheat sour: lactic acidity and beechwood smoke together, at session strength. Improbable on paper and excellent in the glass.
Vital statistics
Each bar is drawn against the full range of all 98 styles
Original gravity
1.032 - 1.040
1.032 - 1.040
Final gravity
1.004 - 1.008
1.004 - 1.008
Bitterness
5 IBU - 12 IBU
5 IBU - 12 IBU
Colour
3 SRM - 6 SRM
3 SRM - 6 SRM
Alcohol
3.5% - 4.7%
3.5% - 4.7%
Colour also 6-12 EBC
What goes wrong
Souring after the smoke is in. Sour first, or use a kettle-sour wort, then bring in the smoked malt; Lactobacillus struggles in a beer that is already hopped.
Commercial examples
Reference examples of the style, as listed in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Availability varies by market and year.
Vital statistics as published in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Not yet checked against the published guidelines: treat these ranges as a planning aid and read the source at bjcp.org before entering a competition.
Plan a batch to these numbers.