German brewer talks bottled vs. canned beer, man boobs and other industry myths

You can find myths and tips about beer all over the interwebs, so I asked a local professional and fifth generation German brewer to clear up a few things.

Dennis Wehrmann, owner and brewmaster at Franconia Brewing Co. in McKinney, opened his brewery in 2008, when only Rahr & Sons Brewing Co. in Fort Worth was operating in North Texas. Since then a lot of breweries have opened, and a lot of fans have emerged. Wehrmann, whose brewery follows the German purity law Reinheitsgebot, took time to dispel some myths about the industry and give his thoughts about the American beer market. (Be sure to read these responses in his German accent.)

Misconceptions in the industry

1. If cold bottled/canned beer gets warm, it becomes skunked.

DW: "Skunked" normally has nothing to do with the temperature of a beer, but more with UV light exposure. The process may be quicker at higher temperatures, but it's not triggered by temperature. Having said that, the quality and the taste of the beer changes for sure if the temperature is changed often on the product before it's consumed. We recommend keeping the temperature consistent during the storage period, and keeping it cool is best.

2. Bottled beer is better than canned beer.

Well, this depends on how you look at it, and what you expect from your beer. And think about it: what were we raised on -- a baby bottle, or a baby can?

I always say, as long as the beer is fresh, it should not matter if a beer is bottled or canned. Beer in a bottle may age faster, but glass is a more flavor-neutral vessel than metal, and if the quality is better, then it's a question for each brewer themselves.

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Sometimes beers are treated differently if they are canned, and sometimes they are not. It is also a question of the quality of the equipment that is used to bottle or can. The fact is, canning is a cheaper process, but most of the time does not reflect the price of the product inside to the end consumer, and I think this is where a lot of questions come up. In this case, not considering the pool party or beach effect, cans make their way more and more into day-to-day drinking vessels. As the fact that the quality of the cans has improved over the years, I still think you should at least pour the beer from a can or bottle into a glass, and not drink straight from the can or bottle.

The environmental aspect of is also very questionable for cans versus bottles, but again the brewers have different opinions and the manufacturers for sure will, too. With my brewery trying to be more environmentally friendly, we decided to go with bottles for multiple reasons.

3. Beer and fine food don't pair well.

In this case, I think I was raised wrong. Beer is a very good companion with most foods and dishes. I think the beer industry is showing this more recently, with pairing dinners. Some beers are better for comfort food, some are better with high-end food.

The fact is, there are more different flavors in beer than there are in wine. I think it's something along the lines of 2,000 different possible flavors in wine, but almost 10,000 in beer, and all of the 2,000 in wine are known, but not all of the 10,000 in the beers have been figured out yet. That leaves a lot of room for exploring and pairing. Also, don't forget that taste is based on memories, so here is a good indicator that everyone's taste experiences are different and individual, and a lot of dishes will match with beer and wine, because of the memories that person has with those beverages.

What are some facts we see a lot that are true?

OK, I could spend a lot of time on these, but here are a few:

• Beer is one of the best foods to keep your electrolytes balanced. That's why a lot of active and sporty people like to drink beer.

• Beer helps pass kidney stones.

• The beer belly does not come from the calories in beer -- it comes from the hunger you get by drinking alcohol, and then eating more than you should.

• It is true that hops cause man boobs.

Thoughts about craft beer in the U.S.

What do you think about the craft industry in America?

To me, craft in the beer industry does not mean what most people think it does. The actual brewing process is the same in every brewery; just because modern technology is used, doesn't mean it's not craft beer. I also don't think it [which breweries are considered craft breweries] should be based on annual production, but that is unfortunately how it is rated. I personally don't like the term "craft." We are a brewery brewing beer and everyone who works here is doing this with our full heart and soul every day.

People are having a hard time understanding that beer is a food product, and everybody likes different things.

I think the industry overall is in a good position. As long as the small brewers gain market share in the overall market, I think we are all in good shape. For the industry in North Texas, I think it's still in an upswing, but I'm concerned this is happening too fast. But only time can tell. I love the industry overall, and beer is a good part of my life. What I don't like is that it got way too judgmental, and people (or consumers) are having a hard time understanding that beer is a food product, and everybody likes different things. In this section of beer, it got too much in personal preferences. This is the reason we as a brewery never participate in any competitions, though a few years ago one of our beers won “Worst Beer in Dallas,” which ended up boosting sales for that beer by 20 percent, and sales have stayed at that level.

What do you think about the German beer offerings in the states?

The few German beers you get here in the states or you were able to try during a short trip to Germany do not reflect German styles very well. There are many German beer styles with the same names, but vary from region to region. Just because you had a pils from a brewery in Hamburg doesn't mean the pils from a brewery in Munich will taste the same. The German beer regions are much more defined than anywhere else, I think.  Franconian beers are usually on the sweeter side, as beers from the northern region are more on the bitter side, and so on.

What are some other misconceptions you would like to clear up?

I would like to tell people the word "dunkel" does not describe a German beer style. It is the word for "dark." It is not automatically a Munich Dunkel or a Dunkelweizen (wheat beer) or a Schwarzbier. Also, Beerfest is a movie and has no reality in Germany. Sorry, but I have to crush this dream.

Also, as brewers, we love our job and what we do, but if we are done working for the day, we also like to talk about other things, and not just beer.

Booze News Insider Mae Rock is a craft beer enthusiast, and local brewery groupie.