Spaten

Why it matters

Gabriel Sedlmayr’s work at Spaten in the nineteenth century — on malting, on lager fermentation and on refrigeration — is foundational to modern lager brewing.

Details

Reference beers

• Spaten Münchner Hell5.2% ABV

  From the brewery that produced the first Munich Helles in 1894, in response to Bohemian pale lager taking its market.

• Spaten Oktoberfestbier5.9% ABV

  One of the six beers served at the Munich Oktoberfest, and an example of how the festival beer shifted from amber Märzen to pale Festbier.

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Styles it is associated with

• Märzen — A rich amber lager brewed in March for autumn drinking, with deep toasty malt and a clean, firm finish.
• Munich Helles — Bavaria’s everyday pale lager: soft, bready and malt-forward, with just enough hop to balance and nothing to distract.
• Munich Dunkel — Deep brown Bavarian lager led by rich Munich malt — bready and gently chocolatey, without real roast bitterness.

Traditions

• Bavarian lager brewing — Cold fermentation and extended cold storage, developed in Bavarian cellars long before refrigeration and later exported worldwide.