A ZOIGL COMMUNITY
A New Old Tradition of Beer
By SARAH KINZBACH WILLIAMS
E
astern Bavaria in the
15th century was a great
time and place to grab a
beer. In the midst of the
European Renaissance, this
era of communal brewhouses
spawned the Zoigl-style beer.
Characterized by
community involvement
and shared brewing space,
traditional Zoigl-style beers
were brewed in the township’s
shared brauhaus, or brewery,
fermented at home, tapped
when ready, and served in
the family’s garden or sitting
room. In the six centuries of
the Zoigl-brew, the concept
traditionally stayed in towns
of the Upper Palatinate of
Germany.
Until now.
Stephen Guetersloh is
lanky, relaxed, and as likely
to discuss radiation physics
as Eastern Bavarian history
and the chemical reactions
occurring in his most recent
brew. The Bryan/College
Station Zoigl is Guertersloh’s
creation.
“Zoigl brewery is around
a community, not just the
taste of beer,” says Guetersloh.
Surrounded by the traditions
of Texas A&M University,
German and Czech heritage,
and in the heart of Downtown
Bryan’s rejuvenation, the
Bryan/College Station
Zoigl is perfectly aligned to
maintain the key ingredient
to the historic Zoigl concept –
community involvement.
“We want anyone who
is willing and able to come
brew,” says Guetersloh. “If
you don’t know how, we’ll
teach you.” From old school
sodas and ciders to beer and
sake, Guetersloh says Bryan’s
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INSITE May/June 2016
Zoigl brewery is around a community,
not just the taste of beer
newest brewery will try
to accommodate anyone’s
interests. With a simple
partnership agreement,
anyone can brew and have
their creation tapped and
served when ready.
The Zoigl concept has
literature dating back to the
early 1400s, according to
zoigl.de. “Zoigl,” pronounced
zoy-gul, is a German derivative
of “zeichen,” meaning sign.
Houses with brews ready
to serve would have the
community’s zoigl sign
hanging outside to signify
their home was open as a
pub until the cask had run
dry, says Guetersloh. The
zoigl sign looks similar to the
Star of David, with six-points
combined to represent the
three ingredients (malt, hops,
and water) and the three
natural elements (earth, fire,
and water) necessary to brew.
Even today, the five remaining
Bavarian townships still
operating a Zoiglbraurie use
the town’s zoigl sign and open
their home to share the cask.
The B/CS Zoigl will store
the casks to ferment prior
to serving in their private
space behind the Square One
Downtown Bryan Events
Center & Loft. Styled with
traditional zoigltisch – long
picnic patio tables for everyone
to sit together – the B/CS Zoigl
will be ready this summer to
serve the brews straight from
the cask, along with locally
catered German food, and live
music. By fall, they hope to
have mounted big-screens for
Aggie football fans to watch
the games with a new/old kind
of brew.
“[We’re} trying to do as
close as a facsimile to the
traditional Zoigl as possible
under the Texas legal
structure,” says Guetersloh.
The legalities aside, the
concept is simple: community
involvement brewing,
teaching, and enjoying the
company of all involved over a
pint of fresh, local brew.
For more information, visit
bcs-zoigl.com. i