Teisnacher 1543 Festmarzen |Teisnach, Germany When I pulled it out of the box I got real excited. I really like Marzen-style beers. Is there a difference between a Marzen and a Festmarzen? Don’t know, but I don’t think so. So what is a Marzen? I turned to my handy Oxford Companion to Beer (you got to buy this for your favorite beer lover for Christmas). It’s got a lot of stuff on Marzen. Ah, the plot thickens. Under marzenbier it says “also see Vienna Lager.” Yesterday’s calendar beer was a Wiener Lager or “Vienna Lager.” Marzen” comes from the term Beers of March because they had to make a lot of beer before it got too hot. These brews made in March where often a bit stronger so they could store long into the summer months. Sounds like the stronger IPAs the British would brew so they could survive the…
By Dan Doughtie
