The Pfeffernüsse Stout - London Beer Dispensary
What do the quirky origins of this seasonal ale tell us about Christmas?
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The idea of creating your own Christmas traditions seems a contradictory concept. It’s generally accepted that a ritual - especially at this time of year - is passed down familial lines but what do you do when you have good reason to deviate from hereditary customs?
In my case, we had very few traditions in my family other than presents and a roast turkey dinner, the kind of conformity my parents followed after seeing white people on TV. My dad was a Christian (but atheist, really), my mother a lapsed Muslim but they both bought into consumerist ideals.
Consequently, my sister and I were spoiled materially at this time of year - I still feel shame when people buy me any sort of present. What we really wanted Santa to bring was some magic that would gift us my parents’ love and attention. In fact, I would’ve traded any Gameboy or Mega Drive for them just to listen to me for a few minutes.
Their approach also left me without a personal history. But that is one facet I don’t view entirely as negative because it now gives me the opportunity to treat my family’s traditions as something that can be reset. I now can hold down CTRL-ALT-DEL and erase any rite I hated - superficially this means the tree and presents stay but the turkey is binned.
But it also means I can build something more personal, even though the idea may have come from an unlikely source.
So on every Christmas Eve we give each other chocolate and a book after we came upon this slice of Hygge tradition in a newspaper round-up of how the world does Yuletide differently. And on Christmas Day itself we eat out - this year in an Italian restaurant - as the kids hate it when I spend ages on a roast dinner.
And I think the best Christmas traditions are like these: ones that reveal your true personality. In both the chocolate/books and dining out, you get the real me, especially as I view all these pursuits as highly pleasurable and communal.
But most of all they feel accidental and that’s the leitmotif of today’s email where I speak to Paul Anspach, co-founder of Bermondsey brewery Anspach & Hobday, about The Pfeffernüsse Stout which is a true Christmas wonder - an excellent beer based on a quirky family tradition. One which seems totally random and centred on a profound - but random - decision made by Paul’s mother a long time ago.
“Pfeffernüsse is a German Christmas biscuit like a lebkuchen,” Paul explains at the most un-festive of places - the Great British Beer Festival - back in August. Because of the setting, and because of the festive nature of the beer, I’ve thrown him by asking about a winter ale but he’s happy to talk about The Pfeffernüsse Stout if a little hesitantly, although admitting it’s good practice for when he’s asked again about it in the winter.
I also took him aback because he was expecting friendly small talk and not a barrage of fanboyism - it’s become a running joke with people who know me that my favourite bitter is a pint of Anspach ‘Ordinary’ and best ‘everyday’ porter is London Black. It’s becoming a public joke too, and I even rushed to the pub to pay double the price for the nitro ‘Ordinary’ version. It’s was liked a souped-up Tetley’s smooth flow.
And the Pfeffernüsse Stout has become a seasonal tradition for me. I seek the cans out, track down the venues offering it and drink it until it disappears off the pump clips. But this year - apart from an surreptitious find in Simon The Tanner after a book event nearby a month ago - my supply has run dry with even local shops, Jay’s Budgens and Jones of Brockley, not having stock.
But, Paul felt sorry for me, and gave some beer to the London Beer Dispensary, where I’m sitting as I type this trying to kill the keg before anyone else gets their hands on it. (I think if you come today you will be in luck and I’ve even left you some biscuit treats to pair with it. Tell them (especially Beth) I sent you and they should give you a pint on me).
If you can’t get here in time and you’ve not had the beer before you’ve probably got some questions. First of all, you probably want to know what flavour a Pfeffernüsse biscuit is.
“It means ‘pepper nut’,” says Paul. “And it’s got nutmeg, [black] pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, star anise and various other Christmas spices.
“There’s a spice blend called a Weihnachtsgewürz - gewürz means spice [Weihnachts means Christmas] - and you add black pepper to it which makes it pfeffernüsse [and different to lebkuchen].
“The white [coating] is sugar icing. It’s a bit like gingerbread but with a bit less ginger spice.”
It tastes delicious - and I’m lucky to also be eating one as I type this as journalist Sam Baker brought me a packet from Cologne. The biscuit has this fine balance between the sugar coating and the black pepper and it’s an equilibrium that the beer pays homage to.
The Pfeffernüsse Stout has a lot of the Christmas flavours on the nose - particularly allspice, ginger and cinnamon - but they dovetail well with the malt. This might be a pastry stout by definition (a sweet, dessert-like beer, seen as an adjunct) but it’s highly seasonable, particularly at Christmas. One drinker at the Beer Dispensary told me “I don’t normally like Christmas beers, but this is something else. It’s subtle.”
It’s a one-off seasonable brew but what was its inspiration?
“For some reason,” says Paul, “we used to have these biscuits at Christmastime, not because of my German heritage because my German heritage is very, very slight - it’s like great, great grandparents.
“They came over [about 130 years ago] and were bakers - actually, the McDonald’s in Bethnal Green used to be the site of the Anspach bakery. That’s why my surname is pronounced Anspach and not Ansbach, as they anglicised it during some difficult periods. I’ve always said ‘Anspach’ but others say ‘Ansbach’ - technically they are right.”
So it seems then that this is one of those successful ‘desi-like’ migration stories, with Paul’s ancestors successfully clinging on to traditions. But the truth is the beer is borne more out of fortune than preservation,
“This [German heritage] is on my dad’s side, but when my mum went shopping she would buy Pfeffernüsse - I really remembered them and I really enjoyed having them at Christmas.
“The German is on my dad’s side and that’s very far back so there’s no memories of beautiful German Christmases. It’s pure coincidence.”
It was wonderful to have the opportunity to tell you about this beer and the biscuit it’s based on. And if I’ve made you want to sample it then it’s at the brewery’s taproom - or for a limited time at the Beer Dispensary. Thank you for reading my work this year and if you can make it do the LBD today or tomorrow, please enjoy a pint (or two).
Here’s to 2024 and more lovely coincidences.