Malt & Grain

What grain is the Landbier in the Itzgrund brewed from? Barley malt, as everywhere brewed under Bavarian law. Brauerei Schleicher states it uses exclusively regional raw materials and, according to its own information, avoids technical enzymes.

Malt is produced by letting barley germinate and then drying it in a kiln, a heated oven. The temperature and duration of kilning determine the color. Pale malt yields a straw-yellow beer, while darker malt brings bread and caramel notes. Coburg's Landbier beers tend to sit in the pale-to-golden range.

Schleicher offers one standout in its lineup: Lorenz' Meistersud, described by the brewery as a traditional smoked beer. For this, malt is dried over a wood fire, giving it a smoky flavor. This is the technique Bamberg is famous for, and it shows that Franconia is of one piece in this respect.

Which maltster supplies each brewery is a business matter and isn't published uniformly. What is certain is that the Franconian region has a long tradition of malting, and many smaller breweries source malt locally rather than from far afield, in keeping with a preference for short supply chains.

Anyone tasting Landbier, Vollbier, and Pils side by side will notice the difference in malt first, and only afterward in the hops. The Landbier is usually rounder and maltier, the Pils leaner. Whether a brewery sources its malt locally is often something you can simply ask about at the bar, and many landlords are happy to tell you.