![]() Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about Schalken’s Gemeindebrau, a turbid orange-gold concoction that foamed as soon as I opened the bottle. If you pay close attention during your wanderings through contemporary Vienna, you’ll start to notice a variation of the following on several of building facades: “Erbaut von der Gemeinde Wien aus den Mitteln der Wohnbausteuer im Jahre XYZ.” (Built by the Municipality of Vienna in XYZ year with funds from the Building Tax.) It’s a sentiment that Schalken tried to capture with its playfully absurdist rendition of the phrase on its label. After being ousted from power during a brief civil war in 1934, the Social Democrats returned to power in Vienna after WWII and reinstituted the building program. What could be more “wienerisch” than a beer that evokes Vienna’s Gemeindebauten, those municipal housing projects that responded to an acute need for housing in the grim and uncertain years after WWI? The Social Democrats that ran Vienna between 19 instituted a building tax on wealthier Viennese to fund these projects. Highly attenuated with a crisp and snappy finish. The hops are the real star here, building mid-palate with pleasant noble hop flavours of spice, a twist of citrus, and hop leaf. Gusswerk’s Wiener Lager doesn’t disappoint the maltheads in the crowd, but it’s a restrained maltiness held in check by a firm bitterness. Elegant hop spice and petunia aromas mingle with sweet bready malt accented by nuts, while an ever-so-slight grape nut “earthiness” lurks in the depths. A hint of orange zest wreaths “Leibniz-biscuit” malt, toasty melanoidin, and autumn honey, all delivered with a light touch. Gusswerk’s unfiltered Vienna Lager is at the orange-amber end of the spectrum, and offers a panoply of aromas that occasionally evoke a Maris Otter-malted ale with the esters tamped down. But Ottakringer’s offering is still Vienna Lager through and through, and not only because it’s brewed in the heart of Vienna’s sixteenth district. A lighter body compared with many other contemporary Vienna Lagers adds to the perception of bitterness, and the beer finishes slightly drier and more austere than many of its compatriots. Ottakringer is taut and slightly fruity on the palate, combining marzipan, toast, and a hint of caramel. Meanwhile, the yeast/fermentation character imparts a note of mineral-peach that gives the beer a certain levity. Herbal-pepper-floral hop notes open out onto subtle toast, caramel, hazelnut, and even an undertone of white chocolate. Aroma-wise, the Ottakringer is not quite as intense as some of the other Vienna Lagers that have appeared in recent years, but it delivers complexity to spare. Luminescent light amber with orange hues, Ottakringer’s crystal-clear Wiener Original is a fine-looking beer. Ottakringer, Wiener Original, Vienna, 5.3% * Pro tip: Drink these beers around 10C/50F so the malt can express itself. ![]() You can expect a medium-bodied and effervescent beer with a malt bedrock of toast, biscuit, melanoidin, bread crust, and light caramel supporting spicy hop aromas and flavours redolent of Central European hop fields. It also has a more pronounced hop character. Vienna Lager is also malty, but less intensely so. Nowadays, Märzen is a delectably malty beer that showcases toasty aromatics and melanoidin richness. The two styles diverged slightly over the next century. In fact, the Märzen that Joseph Sedlmayr’s Franziskaner brewed for the 1872 Oktoberfest was an homage to the Vienna Lager brewed in the Habsburg Empire at the time. During the latter half of the nineteenth century, the two styles were similar if not identical. Though distinct from a Märzen at second glance, it’s easy enough to confuse Vienna Lager with Märzen, especially if the former isn’t named Dos Equis. Stylistically, Vienna Lager occupies the amber middle ground between standard-strength light and dark lagers. But it wasn’t until earlier this decade that Vienna Lager found its way home. ![]() Though it eventually faded into obscurity in its native land, the style lived on in other places, including Mexico, and was one of the styles that figured in the North American craft beer revival. Not long after Anton Dreher tapped his first Vienna Lager in 1841, it became the toast of Europe. And, of course, you’ll find tasting notes aplenty. ![]() ![]() You’ll also find the beginnings of a meditation on the price of craft beer in Europe. Below you’ll read about beer names that evoke colourful characters and aspects of Viennese history. What began life as a rough-and-ready list of Vienna Lagers to accompany “A Heavenly Drink, Like Concentrated Sunshine: Vienna Lager Past and Present” has morphed into something more than that. ![]()
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