Water & Soil

Rain and snow are no rarity in the Allgäu. Clouds pile up at the edge of the Alps and release their load over hills and meadows. The water seeps into the moraines and gravel beds left behind by Ice Age glaciers, resurfacing as spring and groundwater. Several Allgäu breweries report brewing with water from their own wells or springs.

For beer, what matters most is how much dissolved carbonate the water contains—its carbonate hardness. High carbonate content makes the mash less acidic and the beer rounder, with more malt character. Soft water lets the hops come through clearer and sharper. How hard the water is varies well by well; there's no single figure for the whole region.

The landscape plays its own part here too. This is grassland, crossed by streams, ponds and bogs, overlooked by the Grünten, known locally as the Guardian of the Allgäu. Where cows graze, no one ploughs. That becomes clear with the next ingredient: grain.

Rettenberg, at the foot of the Grünten, sits right in the middle of this rain-soaked land. Like every brewery, Zötler treats its water for the brewhouse, adjusting slightly depending on the beer. What ends up in the glass is always a blend of spring and craft.

Climate, too, is part of the recipe. Summers at the edge of the Alps run cooler than in the lowlands, and winters stretch long. Beer cellars were traditionally dug into hillsides or built beneath the brewhouse, and winter ice kept them cool well into summer. Refrigeration handles that today, but the image of the hillside cellar has stuck around.