Water & Soil

The last Ice Age shaped everything between the lake district and the Bodden coastline. Glaciers pushed together sand, clay, and gravel, and as they melted, they left behind hundreds of lakes. The land is flat, gently rolling, and full of water—and that's exactly what shapes what ends up in the brew kettle.

Brewing water in this region comes from groundwater beneath the Ice Age deposits. Just how hard it is depends on the specific location. Reliable measurements for individual breweries aren't available, so we won't cite numbers here.

For the region's Pils, the water source matters less than the treatment anyway. Modern breweries soften their water or adjust it with salts until it suits the style. A pale Pils calls for soft, low-mineral water, while a dark beer can handle more carbonate. These days, water doesn't define the style—it's adapted to fit it.

The landscape has more of an effect on what happens around the beer. The climate on the Baltic coast is mild and windy, with summers cooler than in the south. Beer is lagered in stainless steel tanks just above freezing; there are no rock cellars here like in Franconia, since the ground here is made of sand and clay rather than stone.

The wind carries salt and moisture with it, so a cold Pils at the harbor in Stralsund or Rostock tastes different than it does at home in the living room. That's down to the setting, not the water in the glass.