When overpriced chocolate Santas line the shelves of Germany’s discount stores, many people crave warmth and sweets - and quite often, warm sweets. Winter is mulled wine season. Winter is gingerbread season. Although in Germany, and especially in Franconia, beer is technically a year-round beverage, for most - except the die-hard hop enthusiasts - that cold blonde is rarely the first choice during the cold months. Two breweries from Nuremberg now want to change that. "Schanzenbräu" and "Orca" are challenging the mulled wine and Feuerzangenbowle monopoly - blending Christmas cheer with practicality and sweetness with beer. Will this create a bittersweet winter delight?
Cooperation of Nuremberg companies creates a new beer blend
What happens when red beer meets gingerbread spices? a) Schanzenbräu is involved, and b) the result is called "Kleines Elisen-Seidla." As our editorial team reported in early November, this innovative drink is the outcome of an unusual collaboration between the Nuremberg brewery "Schanzenbräu" and the traditional gingerbread maker "Wicklein," which, according to its own claims, is the city’s oldest still-operating gingerbread bakery. The idea for this beer creation came from Julia Dobrecht of "Wicklein’s" marketing team, while the brew master "Markus Mann" from "Schanzenbräu" was responsible for bringing it to life.
The classic red beer from the brewery serves as the base for the "Kleines Elisen-Seidla," which was brewed with deliberately less hop intensity for the Christmas edition. It is refined with the Elisen spice blend from Wicklein - a mixture of cinnamon, clove, and other wintry ingredients.
Gingerbread beer: ingredients do not comply with the bavarian purity law
Officially, the drink is classified as a beer-based mixed beverage since the spices used do not comply with the Bavarian Purity Law. Yet despite this break with tradition, the comments on social media are overwhelmingly positive. One user writes on Instagram: "Picked it up today at Edeka in Lauf. Absolutely awesome. Goes down really smooth." Another comments: "I’ll definitely stop by the brewery tomorrow."
Schanzenbräu is not the only brewing artisan aiming to blend beer with gingerbread flavors. The young team from the craft beer cellar of "Orca Bräu," also based in Nuremberg, has simultaneously developed their own beer featuring Christmas spices.
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The "Nürnberger Lebkuchen Lager" is described as "a classic pale lager infused with gingerbread spices from Witte," a staff member explains in a Facebook video by Orca. Witte is a Nuremberg-based company that, according to its own statement, stands for "artisanal gingerbread, festive pastries, and many other delicacies."