Franconian Beer Message Board

Kitzmann, Erlangen closes
Posted by M. Berger on 2018-10-06 10:59:39
Bavaria is geographically unique in Germany. In the south of Bavaria are the German Alps. And while there may be hills elsewhere in Germany, there are no other mountains. Thanks to the unusual geography, Bavaria had a primitive sort of refrigeration centuries before the rest of the country.

In addition to the mountains, there were also lakes and ponds. There were also stone caves. The Bavarians would wait until the lakes and ponds had frozen, then cut out large blocks of ice and bring them into the caves. They also planted leafy trees near the cave entrances to keep out sunlight. Barrels of beer were stored in these caves over the summer. Because of the danger of fire, brewing was not allowed during the summer months.

In the early middle ages Bavarian rulers were giving houses brewing rights so that townspeople would have beer to drink. These brewing rights were given as early as the 13th and 14th centuries.

Gradually communal brewing houses were set up. Mostly these were established in the homes of people with brewing rights. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of these communal breweries in Bavaria. Many of them were still active as late as 1990. Since then,however, many have closed. However, there are local beer enthusiasts who often try to renovate the closed brewery and bring it back into service. There is one in Junkersdorf that's been renovated. Here's a photo of the interior: http://vquante.jalbum.net/Junkersdorf/slides/Bild%20(2).html
and here's a photo of the building: http://vquante.jalbum.net/Junkersdorf/slides/Bild%20(5).html

One could perhaps say that for many centuries, the Bavarian people were rather spoiled. Most towns and villages had at least one brewery and part of the Bavarian Reinheitsgebot is that the beer should be of good quality.

At some point after 1990, commercial brewing replaced some of the communal breweries. While German beer is generally quite good, the commercial brewers  were perhaps abit of a disappointment after centuries of communal brewing. When I visited a Zoigl brewery in Mitterteich for the first time I was shocked at how full of customers it was.

Perhaps for older Bavarians who had grown used to the communal breweries, it was a bit disappointing to switch to a private commercial brewery. For younger Bavarians, I suspect they are the prime target of the new breweries making "craft" beer.

Some years ago, it was probably possible for a Bavarian to walk to his local communal brewery and buy a bottle of beer. Or there might be pubs in the village serving the communal brewed beer. Today that is rather rare.

Here is the abandoned communal brewery in Waischenfeld: http://vquante.jalbum.net/TdB2014/slides/Bild%20(8).html

And here's a view of the remains inside the brewery: http://vquante.jalbum.net/TdB2014/slides/Bild%20(7).html

I cannot say with dead certainty that the slow demise of communal brewing is the cause of commercial breweries closing in Bavaria. But it's as good a reason as any other. 
 
 
Followups:
                                 Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by Doug on  2018-10-07 07:12:16
                                 Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by barry on  2018-10-08 04:58:06
                                   Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by M. Berger on  2018-10-08 08:46:53
                                     Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by barry on  2018-10-08 09:38:11
                                       Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by Jason  on  2018-10-08 10:33:57
                                         Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by M. Berger on  2018-10-08 11:09:58
                                         Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by TomM on  2018-10-08 15:23:24
                                           Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by Jason on  2018-10-08 22:33:28
                                             Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by Jürgen Wening on  2018-10-09 00:30:59
                                               Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by barry on  2018-10-09 00:46:26
                                                 Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by Jürgen Wening on  2018-10-09 00:54:29
                                               Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by M. Berger on  2018-10-09 01:34:35
                                                 Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by Jürgen Wening on  2018-10-09 02:23:49
                                                   Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by M. Berger on  2018-10-09 02:53:22
                                                     Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by Jürgen Wening on  2018-10-09 03:11:24
                                                       Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by M. Berger on  2018-10-09 03:43:21
                                                         Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by Jürgen Wening on  2018-10-09 04:53:54
                                                           Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by M. Berger on  2018-10-09 05:29:14
                                                             Beer at Reindl by Mark Andersen on  2018-10-09 06:04:15
                                                             Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by Jürgen Wening on  2018-10-09 07:21:39
                                                               Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by M. Berger on  2018-10-09 08:27:20
                                                               Beer at Reindl by barry on  2018-10-09 09:24:39
                                                                 Beer at Reindl by Mark Andersen on  2018-10-09 12:18:31
                                                                   Beer at Reindl by Barry on  2018-10-10 01:14:01
                                                                     Beer at Reindl by Mark Andersen on  2018-10-10 03:33:16
                                                                       Beer at Reindl by barry on  2018-10-10 04:42:12
                                                               Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by M. Berger on  2018-10-11 00:45:53
                                                                 Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by Jürgen Wening on  2018-10-11 01:06:25
                                                                   Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by Mark Andersen on  2018-10-11 04:37:12
                                                                     Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by M. Berger on  2018-10-11 06:01:59
                                                                   Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by M. Berger on  2018-10-11 06:04:08
                                                                     Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by Jürgen Wening on  2018-10-11 06:28:45
                                                                       Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by M. Berger on  2018-10-11 07:17:08
                                                                       Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by Mark Andersen on  2018-10-11 08:13:00
                                                                         Kitzmann, Erlangen closes by barry on  2018-10-11 09:44:36
                                                                           Spielbach by Mark Andersen on  2018-10-11 11:29:22
                                                                         Beer at Reindl by AndyH on  2018-12-05 03:50:00