I got to brew my favorite beer with the homebrew club this past Saturday — the fabled Märzen bier of Bavaria. We spent around nine or ten hours brewing, then about two weeks fermenting, and then nearly six months lagering. As a club we did 90 gallons, and I’ve taken five home.
“Six months!?!?!” you ask? That’s right, we won’t be drinking this beer until Oktoberfest at the end of September.
The name Märzen itself comes from the German for March, and has been used for centuries to refer to beer brewed at a high original gravity at the end of the brewing season. Beer was usually not brewed during the heat of the summer. They were generally intended to last through the hot months without spoiling, and were stored in caves near lakes that would freeze during winter, allowing the cave to be easily stocked with ice to maintain a cool temperature. Traditionally, these Märzens were high gravity beers. (more…)