Bavaria, Germany
Bavaria restricts brewing to the cooler months
Regulation confining brewing to the period between autumn and spring, which produced both Märzen and the practice of lagering.
Summer brewing was banned largely as a fire-safety and quality measure. Brewers responded by making a stronger beer in March and storing it in cold cellars packed with ice through the summer.
That storage is where lagering comes from — the German word simply means "to store" — and the March beer is the origin of Märzen.
What was going on around it
An event on its own is a date. These are the periods it belongs to, where the argument about what changed is actually made.
Why it matters
A regulation that accidentally created both a style and the maturation practice that defines an entire fermentation family.
How well this is established
| Certainty | Documented. Supported by contemporary records that survive and are agreed on. |
|---|---|
| When | 1553. Known to the year rather than to the day. |
| Where | Bavaria, Germany |
Styles this shaped
Traditions
- Bavarian lager brewing — Cold fermentation and extended cold storage, developed in Bavarian cellars long before refrigeration and later exported worldwide.
Either side of this
← 1516: The Bavarian purity ordinance · 1700: Porter emerges in London →
See the whole sequence on the beer history timeline.
Last reviewed 2026-08-16.