Water & Soil

Why does a monastery sit on a hill in the middle of lake country? The soil explains part of it. The Fünfseenland is Ice Age land: glaciers pushed debris and gravel into hills, leaving hollows between them where Lake Ammersee and Lake Starnberg now lie.

The Heiliger Berg rises out of this landscape like a stage. From the terrace, on a clear day, you can see across Lake Ammersee all the way to the Alps. Sitting up here, you understand why pilgrims made the climb.

Regarding brewing water, the monastery brewery states that it has drinking water quality and is regularly tested for microbes and chemical substances under the German Drinking Water Ordinance. We won't cite a hardness figure here, since it can't be stated credibly without a lab value.

Still, it's worth explaining what hardness actually means. Hard water contains a lot of dissolved lime and magnesium and makes the mash less acidic, while soft water lets hops come across leaner and more refined. Dark, malty beers traditionally fare well with a bit more carbonate.

Aging takes place in fermentation and lagering cellars that stay cool even in summer. For bottom-fermented beers, that's the whole point of the cellar: cold, dark, and quiet. The hill's climate helps only a little with this; the cold today comes from refrigeration technology. In the past, thick walls and winter ice did the job; today, technology takes over. In the end, what matters for flavor is simply that the temperature stays steady for weeks on end.