Franconian Beer Message Board
Sesslach and surroundings |
| Posted by barry on 2017-11-04 13:28:59 |
| You're right, Zoigl is not a protected word. It's a difficult problem because Zoigl beer is not a particular type of beer; in some places (e.g. Neuhaus, Mitterteich), it's really a sort of German-type Pilsner, made from mainly Pilsner malt but with Hallertau hops. In Windischeschenbach, it's usually more or less a 50/50 Munchner/Pilsner split. The Zoigl brwers from the five Kommunbrauhaus towns tried to make the use of the word protected, not because it's a different type of beer but because of the 'Zoigl' tradition, which includes the fact that Zoigl is Oberpflazisch and, AFAIK, doesn't belong to any other dialect - but I stand to be corrected, if the latter is wrong. In the end, they were defeated by objections from other brewers (including Bischofshof who brew an ersatz Zoigl) and they didn't have the financial muscle to fight the case. You have to remember that all the 'Echte Zoigl' people - Echte Zoigl being the term that they were allowed to protect - are working at this part-time. I've explained before here that what makes Zoigl unique is not especially the beer but the history and tradition behind this unique culture. IMHO, this is something that beer lovers and enthusiasts should get behind and support, which is why I'm always to happy to help - e.g. my English 'translation' of the Zoigl message at [http://zoiglbier.de/an-introduction-to-the-tradition-of-zoigl-beer/]. Any diminution of the meaning of Zoigl is as bad as it would be to filter and pastuerise proper beer - oh, has someone done this already? We should have a campaign against it! |