Zoiglbier: Brewing Up a Living in Bavaria’s Oberpfalz

This article originally appeared in the January/February 2022 issue of Zymurgy Magazine

By Franz D. Hofer

If you’re a fan of German beer, chances are you’ve heard of Zoiglbier, even if you’re not quite sure what this unique tradition of Bavaria’s Oberpfalz region is all about.

On the surface, describing Zoigl is easy enough: a thirst-quenching, unfiltered lager brewed according to Germany’s Reinheitsgebot (purity law). But Zoigl is less a kind of beer than a commitment to an age-old brewing tradition that has long since vanished across most of Bavaria. It starts with the communal brewhouse, a holdover from medieval times, and extends to the convivial living room atmosphere of the Zoiglstube (tavern).

Zoigle brewers fire their kettles with wood at the crack of dawn, cool their wort in coolships exposed to the night air, and then haul the wort to the cellars under their Zoiglstube for fermentation, often in open vessels. After several weeks of lagering, they serve their beer unfiltered and straight from the cellar. The result: a Kellerbier par excellence.

The Zoiglstube is central to Zoigl culture. Authentic Zoigl is never bottled, and brewers serve their Zoigl for only a few days each month. You’ll know the beer’s flowing when you come across the Zoiglstern hanging above a tavern door, the six-pointed star that symbolizes all that Zoigl entails.

Access the full article in the January/February 2022 Zymurgy magazine.

This article includes the following:

• HOMEBREW RECIPE: Home Is Where Your Zoigl Is
• “Authentic” Zoigl
• Zoigl Then and Now
• The Zoiglstube
• Sensory Elements of a Halbe of Zoigl
• Brewing Zoiglbier