![]() What is not exactly traditional in our version is the choice of hops. So a pretty quaffable beer, with still lots of malt character without being sweet. Compared to other Vienna Lagers in Austria, ours is much drier in taste and does not have an overly sweetish caramel character which some examples have. According to brewmaster Johannes Kugler “we work with almost exclusively Vienna Malt and add only a hint of Caramel Malt. “Malzstrasse”, or “Malty Way”, Brew Age’s Vienna, is what they describe as an “ode to malt”. They chose Vienna because they did not want to make a Märzen (which in Austria is more like a helles), the ubiquitous and mass-produced brew. The gypsy brewery known as Brew Age focuses on American style brews, but makes a Vienna Lager as they find it important to have a traditional beer as part of their core lineup. Their “imperial Vienna lager” called Crown Princess, comes in at 7.2-percent alcohol, and has an added hop presence from a whirlpool addition. Ottakringer has an offshoot brewery called Brauwerk, and they have a lineup consistent with American trends. The historic brewery Ottakringer makes a version that uses Vienna and Melanoidin malts, hopped with Saaz. It’s worthwhile to note that Vienna lagers keeping with the original style can be found. If a lager is brewed with a majority of Vienna Malt, is roughly in the range of 5 to 5.5 ABV, finishes on the dry side, and falls somewhere in the vicinity of deep gold to amber in color, I’m fine with that being called a Vienna Lager. Yet, the guidelines for this style are not in keeping with the original version. Is it appropriate to continue calling these beers Vienna Lager? Most that are identified as a Vienna Lager fall within the parameters set forth in the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) Style Guidelines. What is the result? I cannot say from experience, but I am optimistic. Some of the new brewers in Vienna are also using a blend of malts, and nontraditional hop varieties, straying from the original style. ![]() Using a variety of different malts, particularly Munich and Crystal, the style grew darker in color and sweeter in taste. Vienna Lager transformed as it made its way from Austria to Czechia, Mexico, the United States and elsewhere. Though this rebirth may not be a precise re-creation of the original, it is nonetheless exciting to see Austrians once again giving attention to lager brewed with Vienna malt that is somewhere between a Helles and a Dunkel. While Vienna Lager had long been a stranger in its birthplace, there are signs of hope as the style is being embraced by a new generation of brewers. ![]()
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