The last beer on Earth

DJ Spiess — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 21:59:25 +0000

Given all the beer styles available, if you could only choose one, which beer would you choose? Which beer style is more important to you above all other beers?

What criteria would you use to choose your beer? You might choose the beer that has the most flavor. If you drink beer with dinner, the beer that goes best with food might be the deciding factor. Or would you choose some other criteria?

One suggestion given to me was to pick beer that most everyone drinks. The idea behind this suggestion is to appeal to everyone’s tastes. That beer of course would be the king of beer – Budweiser. Now that I’ve terrified you, you can truly appreciate the seriousness of the decision.

You only have one beer left to drink. What beer would it be?

Realistically this could never happen. It was a hypothetical question that arose over a few pints. Or could it happen? If you were traveling on a space ship with limited space to grow food, extra room for beer ingredients might be too much of a premium. You may only get to pick enough ingredients for one beer. Or you might envision a society in the future where the government has chosen one beer for the public. Maybe global warming (thanks Al Gore) will create an environment where only a few ingredients can grow. Hopefully it is a beer that you like. If you think hard enough, you might be able to concoct a scenario where this devastating choice was plausible.

For me, I think I would choose a Märzen style beer. This beer just happens to be my favorite beer today. Last year I might have answered Tripel. My decision might change tomorrow. I think the beer also combines a good balance between flavor and drink-ability with food. Of course if this was my only choice for the rest of my life, the beer might lose its appeal. Is there one beer you could drink everyday for the rest of your life?

Imagine only one yeast strain, limited grain and hops (there is already only one type of water). That is all that is left. What beer would you make? It is a question to ask yourself the next time you raise the pint of your choice!

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How to make Märzen beer

DJ Spiess — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 05:07:38 +0000

History of Märzen

Märzen beer is also referred to as Oktoberfest beer or Märzenbier. This beer is brewed in March (März is the German word for March), and cellared during the warm summer months. It is usually consumed in the September and October months. For many years this beer was served at the Oktoberfest in Munich. In recent years the beer’s popularity at the festival has waned due to the tastes of a more international crowd.

Munich lays claim to creating Märzen, but the beer is likely an imitation of the more established Vienna beer. The Viennese have references to the style as early as Roman times, while the Bavarian cousin Märzen did not become established until the 1800s. It is very likely that a German brewer copied the Vienna, and brought the style to Bavaria.

The main difference between the Märzen and Vienna is slightly higher alcohol content (4.7% vs 5.0% ABV on average) and its maltier flavor. The BJCP style guidelines list the alcohol content almost the same, however the final gravity for the Märzen is higher than the Vienna. This will give the beer a slightly sweeter and maltier flavor, but not cloying. The flavor should be crisp, with a malt forward flavor.

The Vienna is usually bitterer than the Märzen. The Vienna beer can range between 18-30 IBUs, while the Märzen is a stricter 20-28 IBUs. The difference is because the hops contain less alpha acids in Bavaria. Another possible flavor difference may be due to the grains used. The grains in a Märzen are roasted at a higher temperature, enough to change the flavor. The grains used in Märzen usually are Munich, two-row, Pilsner, and Vienna.

One of the best commercial examples of Märzen is from Paulaner. Paulaner is a German brewer in Munich, and is served at Oktoberfest. The Gordon Biersch Märzen is also good, but slightly drier than the Paulaner Märzen.

Paulaner is a good example of a Märzen

The Märzen Recipe

Here’s the recipe I use to create my Märzen beer.

5.5 lbs of German 2-row Pilsner malt
6.0 lbs of German Munich malt
4.0 oz of Belgian Cara-Munich malt
2.0 oz of Belgian Biscuit malt
2.0 oz of Belgian Aromatic malt
1.0 oz of Tetnanger (4% AA)
1.0 oz of Hallertau Hersbrucker (3.7 AA)
Wyeast Bavarian Lager 2206
  or WPL820 Oktoberfest/Märzen Lager Yeast

OG: 1.060
FG: 1.016

If you are an extract brewer, you can use 6.5 lbs of Light DME. Create a grain tea using the specialty grains (in this case, everything Belgian) at 150F (65.5C) for 30 minutes. Add this to your wort at the start of your boil.

Mash the grains using a single-infusion mash at 152 F (66C) for 90 minutes. Since the recipe calls for a single-infusion mash, it is perfect for those of us who batch sparge. Add all of the hops at the start of your boil. We don’t add flavor or aroma hops, because the malt is accentuated in the Märzen beer.

Ferment the beer as close to 50F (10C) as possible. You can start the fermentation at a higher temperature, but you should reduce the temperature to 50F (10C) within a day or so. A better method would be to use a good lager starter.

After the fermentation ends, lager the beer for 2 months at a temperature between 34-40F (2C-4C). This is the tough part, waiting. The Germans make this beer in March, and usually serve the beer in September. If you want to make this beer for Oktoberfest this year, start now.

The beer should be carbonated at 2.57 to 2.73 volumes. The head should be solid.

This beer was quite a crowd pleaser for me. It has enough kick to let you feel it, but doesn’t knock you out.