Piwo Grodziskie pours pale yellow to gold, very clear, under a tall, billowy white head. It tastes of gentle oak smoke, which can lend an impression of sweetness, over a light, grainy wheat, with a strong bitterness that lingers and a spicy or floral hop. It is light, dry and very fizzy, and at 2.5–3.3% alcohol it refreshes rather than warms. It is never sour.
Where it comes from
It developed centuries ago in the town of Grodzisk Wielkopolski, known as Grätz when Prussia and Germany ruled it, and in the late 19th and early 20th centuries its fame spread far beyond Poland. It was protected as a regional product from 1929 to 1993 and could only be brewed in the town, but production declined after the Second World War and stopped in 1993. Polish craft brewers revived it: Pinta’s founders brewed A’la Grodziskie in 2010, and Browar Grodzisk brews it again from wheat malt dried over oak smoke, with Grodzisk water and yeast.
Brewers use oak-smoked wheat malt, which tastes drier and leaner than German smoked malt, Polish, Czech or German hops, and a clean ale yeast. The beer is not filtered but clarified with isinglass before bottle conditioning, and is traditionally served in tall conical glasses to hold the foam.
Next to its neighbours
It is as weak as a Berliner Weisse but never sour and much more bitter, and less smoky than a Rauchbier. Against a Gose it is more bitter, without salt or spices.
Piwo Grodziskie in numbers
- Classic examples
- Browar Grodzisk, Browar Pinta
- Original gravity
- 1.028–1.032
- Final gravity
- 1.006–1.012
- Also called
- Grätzer; Grodzisk beer
- Pronounced
- pivo grow-JEES-kee-uh
- Classic examples
- Browar Grodzisk Piwo Grodziskie; Pinta A’la Grodziskie; Live Oak Grodziskie
- BJCP style
- 27A Historical Beer: Piwo Grodziskie
Sources
Checked .
- 27A. Historical Beer: Piwo Grodziskie, 2021 Beer Style Guidelines — Beer Judge Certification Program
- Legenda — Browar Grodzisk
