märzen

Yeast is an important component of beer: it ensures that the sugar in the malt is fermented into alcohol and also gives the drink a fine flavor. In order for the yeast to work optimally, it needs a very specific temperature. For example, the bottom-fermenting yeast that used to be most commonly used only works when the brew is between 4 and 10 degrees Celsius. When there was no electrical cooling yet, this could definitely lead to problems. Although it was consistently fresh in the brewery’s fermentation cellars, in summer the temperatures often rose above the limit. For this reason, in most years you could only brew between the end of September and the end of April. In addition to the lack of cooling, the increased risk of fire was also a reason why brewing was prohibited in the warmer months. In order not to be left high and dry in the summer, a particularly long-lasting beer was brewed in March. The so-called Märzen had a slightly higher alcohol content and could therefore be stored for longer.

Märzen has continued to this day, even though it is now brewed all year round. A fine relic of this tradition is, for example, the Märzen from Spiegel Bräu in Strullendorf. Their version has a gentle 5.3% alcohol content and enchants with amber gold and nutty malt notes.