Zoigl… Whatgl? - Zoigl Trip

Zoigl… Whatgl? - Zoigl Trip - Part 1 of 13

Zoigl… Whatgl?

Zoigl Trip - Part 1 of 13

I was at a gathering with a bunch of Philly craft beer legends recently. Bopping from one-on-one conversation to another, I mentioned that I just got back from a Zoigl brewery tour. Several of the craft beer gods had no idea what I was talking about. So if you’ve never heard of Zoigl, you’re in good company. If you follow this series of posts, we'll learn about this amazing beer subculture together.

Decades Ago, Zoigl First Appears on My Radar

The first I heard of Zoigl is when I bought a half of Appalachian Zoigl Star Lager for the Grey Lodge Pub way, way back in the late 1990s or early 2000s. Researching what kind of beer Zoigl was led me down a Web rabbit hole, which started a travel itch that took about two and half decades to scratch.

My Attempt to Explain Zoigl in as few sentences as possible.

Zoigl is not so much a style of beer, but a culture.
There are several small towns in Bavaria, where brewers take turns selling their beer.
When it is their turn, they hang a six pointed brewers star (Zoigl) outside. Well except in at least one town, there they put out a branch.
All the beer is brewed at the communal brewery in town.

Pretty wild, huh?

Over a series of posts, I will go into all things Zoigl, and mention some of the non-Zoigl highlights on the trip.

Next Post in this series: The (Zoigl) Stars Align 24 Years Later with Rich Carbonara the Beer Wanderer

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