Zoigl is a type of

German beer Beer is a major part of German culture. German beer is brewed according to the '' Reinheitsgebot'', which permits only water, hops, and malt as ingredients; and stipulates that beers not exclusively using barley-malt, such as wheat beer, must ...

brewed in the

Oberpfalz The Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz, , ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, and is located in the east of Bavaria. Geography The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and numerous ponds and lakes ...

, eastern

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, between Franconia and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. The name is believed to be derived from a

Windischeschenbach Windischeschenbach is a town in the district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab, in Bavaria, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe a ...

er dialect pronunciation of the German word ''zeigen'' or ''Zeichen'' meaning "sign", the symbol used to advertise that the beer is available at an establishment. Its two component triangles represent the joining of six beer ingredients: the first triangle denoting water, fire and air; the second and inverted triangle denoting malted

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

, hops,

water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

History

Zoiglstube in Tirschenreuth (Ausschnitt)

The first documented example of the word "zeigl" occurs in a 1508 document at

Neustadt an der Waldnaab Neustadt an der Waldnaab ( Bavarian: ''Neistodt an da Woidnaab'') is a municipality in Bavaria, Germany, and county seat of the district Neustadt an der Waldnaab. Sister cities Neustadt an der Waldnaab has one sister city: * Hays, Kansas ...

, having derived from the German "Zeichen" meaning sign, or "zeigen" meaning show. It was pronounced "zeigel" in the

region. Today the word "Zoigl" is still in use and has given its name to this style of beer production. Zoigl has been brewed for centuries in communal breweries, owned either by the town or by an association of homebrewers. Zoigl was only found in Windischeschenbach and Neuhaus until about 2000. The name and mark have been pilfered because they were not trademarked, leading to the over-advertising of Zoigl beer across Germany. The original comes from Windischeschenbach and Neuhaus, and people have their favorites, because each brewer has their own recipes.

Process

First wood is chopped, the fire started to cook the water and barley to temp, it is cooled over copper, then the

wort Wort () is the liquid extracted from the mashing process during the brewing of beer or whisky. Wort contains the sugars, the most important being maltose and maltotriose, that will be fermented by the brewing yeast to produce alcohol. Wort als ...

is distributed to the brewers' private cellars, where the fermentation takes place. The method used is bottom fermenting yeast and

lagering Lager () is beer which has been brewed and Brewing#Conditioning, conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be Pale lager, pale, Amber lager, amber, or Dark lager, dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of ...

. About two weeks later the beer is brought to these home pubs where it is tapped directly from the lagering tank. It is then sold in the brewer's house, which effectively becomes a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

until all the beer has been drunk. The pub that has Zoigl from that Friday through Monday then attaches the Zoigl-Star to the corner of his house to show he has beer available. Only about 9 or 10 people have "das Braurecht" in Windischeschenbach at one time.

Notes

References

The Beer Thrillers - An Educational Beer Blog

External links

{{Authority control Beer and breweries in Bavaria German beer styles Upper Palatinate Types of drinking establishment