Yeast & Fermentation

Is Hofer Bier top- or bottom-fermented? Both occur. Pils, Helles, Export, Märzen, Dunkel, Kellerbier, and Bock are bottom-fermented, while the wheat beers are top-fermented. Bottom-fermenting yeast works at just a few degrees, top-fermenting yeast at room temperature and above.

Lager yeast is a hybrid of the brewer's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and a wild species called Saccharomyces eubayanus, only described in Patagonia in 2011. When it unknowingly made its way into Bavarian cold cellars in the Middle Ages, it gave beer its clean, smooth character. Pasteur, and later Emil Christian Hansen, turned this into a controllable pure yeast culture in the 19th century.

After primary fermentation comes lagering. The young beer rests in the lagering cellar, yeast and proteins settle out, the flavor rounds out, and carbon dioxide binds into the beer. This takes a few weeks for Pils and Helles, considerably longer for Bock and Doppelbock. Meinel has maintained its own fermentation and lagering cellars for this purpose since 1902.

Kellerbier, by contrast, is served unfiltered, remaining cloudy and retaining more yeast character. Within Hof's range of styles, it stands alongside Eisbier, a specialty made stronger through a freezing process.

Weissbier, on the other hand, relies on top-fermenting yeast, which produces banana, clove, and fruit notes at higher temperatures. To tell a Hefeweizen from a Kristallweizen, look at the clarity: Kristallweizen is filtered and clear. With Hefeweizen, the yeast stays in the bottle, which is why it's often gently swirled before pouring.