Märzen
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Märzen or Maerzen is a traditional pale lager, the origins of which go back to at least the 17th century. Brewed at the end of the brewing season in March (German: März), it was a stronger beer intended to last through the summer months.
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[edit] Description
The German style is most often characterized by a medium to full body, a malty flavour balance, a wide range of colours, and a clean dry finish, though wide variations are notable amongst German breweries marketing Märzen. Amongst these variations are colors ranging from pale to dark brown.[1]
The North American style normally exhibits a stronger, though not aggressive, hop aroma and bitterness balance. The Austrian style closely resembles a Helles in color, body, and flavor balance, and is the most popular beer style in Austria.[2]
Common names for Märzen include:
- Maerzen
- Märzenbier
- Festbier
- Oktoberfestbier
- Wiener Märzen
Beer styles related to Märzen include:
[edit] Historical background
In All About Beer, author Graham Lees describes the historical background of the style:
What Dreher achieved by the end of the 1830s was a beer that combined the clean palate and crispness of a lager with the paler hues he had admired in English ales. His marriage and adaptation of techniques produced a new style of beer-methodically bottom fermented and a copper-reddish-brown color. The precise recipe and flavor is not recorded and, in any case, he may have refined his new beer over several years. For instance, it is unclear whether he isolated a particular yeast at the beginning. Dreher called his new beer Schwechater Lagerbier, after the Vienna suburb home of his brewery, and its popularity grew rapidly-giving him the last laugh over those ridiculing rivals. Generically, Dreher's beer may for a time have been dubbed Wiener Typ (Vienna style) after his malting process, which produced a reddish caramelized crystal malt, but the enduring name for his style is Märzen. Ironically, the name was coined 30 years later by Josef Sedlmayr, younger brother of Gabriel. Although bottom-fermenting techniques had swept across Europe by 1870, beer color in Bavaria had remained dark (Dunkel). But in 1871 Josef Sedlmayr, who had separated his brewing activities from Gabriel years earlier, decided to produce a slightly paler beer. Perhaps because of the old Sedlmayr-Dreher link, he chose to brew a reddish "Vienna style" beer. He called it Märzenbier because he had brewed it in March, although it was September before he broached the first barrels for public judgment. Traditionally, Bavarian brewers had produced large batches of beer in March and April before the weather got too warm for brewing and then stored it in cool places to use during summer. But by the 1870s this practice was becoming obsolete with the development of mechanized refrigeration. This was also a time of railroad development, which enabled tens of thousands of Bavarians to travel to the Munich Oktoberfest. Whether Josef intended his new Märzenbier for the festival is unclear, but it became the Oktoberfest beer style for the next 100 years and its popularity spread. The style faded in Vienna after World War I. Sadly, Märzen has in recent years been supplanted at the Oktoberfest by a paler, less robust "Oktoberfestbier" to suit broader international tastes. But even this beer still retains a deeper amber color than the average lager beer.
—Graham Lees, All About Beer[3]
[edit] Style notes
According to Deutscher Brauer Bund - translated from German
Märzen
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[edit] Producers
Märzen is an extremely popular style in many lager-producing countries, and is produced as a seasonal special (usually for the autumn) by a great many breweries around the world.
[edit] Germany
- Augusta Augsburger Märzen - continuously available
- Augustinerbräu Oktoberfest Märzen - seasonally available
- Ayinger Brewery Fest-Märzen - seasonally available
- Calwer-Eck-Bräu Märzen - seasonally available
- Dinkelacker Märzen - continuously available
- Distelhäuser Märzen - continuously available
- Eichhorn Märzen - continuously available
- Fässla Zwergla Märzen - continuously available
- Feierling Festmärzen - continuously available
- Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest Märzen - seasonally available
- Hebendanz Märzen-Gold - continuously available
- Herbsthäuser Goldmärzen - continuously available
- Hummel-Bräu Märzen - continuously available
- Hummel-Bräu Räucherla Märzen - continuously available - notable for its use of smoked malt
- Leimener Märzen - continuously available
- Mucker Bräu Märzen - continuously available
- Palmbräu Ur-Märzen - continuously available
- Paulaner München Märzen - seasonally available
- Rothaus Märzen Export - continuously available
- Schlenkerla Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen - continuously available - notable for its use of smoked malt
- Schlössle Spezial Märzen - continuously available
- Schwaben Bräu Das Echte Märzen - continuously available
- Spaten-Bräu Ur Märzen - seasonally available
- Spezial Rauchbier Märzen - continuously available - notable for its use of smoked malt
- St. Georgen Bräu Gold Märzen - continuously available
- Vogelbräu Märzen - seasonally available
- Wagner Märzen - continuously available
- Wichtel Märzenbier - continuously available
[edit] Austria
- Argus Bräu Märzen - continuously available
- Augustiner Bräu Märzen - continuously available
- Bauers Bräu Märzen - continuously available
- Baumgartner Märzen - continuously available
- Branger Bräu Märzen - continuously available
- Kaiser Märzen - continuously available
- Zipfer Märzen - continuously available
- Eggenberger Märzen - continuously available
- Erlauftaler Märzen - continuously available
- Freistädter Märzen - continuously available
- Fohrenburger 1881 Goldmärzen - continuously available
- Gösser Märzen - continuously available
- Grieskirchen Märzen - continuously available
- Großstübinger Märzen - continuously available
- Haselböck Märzen - continuously available
- Haydnbräu Märzen - continuously available
- Highlander Märzen - continuously available
- Hofstettner Märzen - continuously available
- Hubertusbräu Märzen - continuously available
- Johannesbräu Märzen - continuously available
- Kaiser Märzen Faßtyp - continuously available
- Kapsreiter Märzen - continuously available
- Keller Bräu Märzen - continuously available
- Königsdorfer Helles Märzen - continuously available
- Medl-Bräu Märzen - continuously available
- Moar Bräu Märzen - continuously available
- Mohrenbräu Pfiff- continuously available
[edit] United States
- Abita Fall Fest - seasonally available
- Boston Beer Company Samuel Adams Octoberfest - seasonally available
- Clipper City Balto MärzHon - continuously available
- Flying Dog Brewery Dogtoberfest - seasonally available
- Gordon Biersch Märzen - continuously available
- Spoetzl Brewery- available as an anniversary edition
- Summit Brewing Company Oktoberfest Märzen - seasonally available
[edit] Other countries
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Bierspezialitäten. Märzen. Deutscher Brauer Bund. Retrieved on 2006-11-02.
- ^ The New World Guide to Beer, Michael Jackson page 193, ISBN 0-7475-0227-7
- ^ Lees, Graham (March 1996). Stylistically Speaking. Märzen. All About Beer Online. Retrieved on 2006-09-30.
- ^ Bierspezialitäten. Märzen. Deutscher Brauer Bund. Retrieved on 2006-11-02.
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