Aare Bier: when Bavaria comes to Bern2 reading minutes

Microbrewery Fridays - Max Moeschler

As in the rest of the country, the Swiss capital and its surrounding area are not to be outdone when it comes to craft beers: today's focus is on the Aare Bier brewery, one of the spearheads of Bern's brewing arsenal. 

Founded in 2006 in Bargen, in the Bernese Seeland on the banks of the River Aare, the Aare Bier brewery has enjoyed particularly resounding success in recent years, to the point of becoming a regional benchmark. It can be found in most of the region's stores, as well as at numerous events. It is also beginning to be exported with notable success to other cantons, after being confined to regional borders in recent years.

One of the reasons for this success is undoubtedly the meticulous selection of ingredients: the water comes from the pure springs of the Bargenschanze, and the hops and yeasts are meticulously selected from Swiss and German strains. The ancestral tradition of German-style brewing is also central to the brewery's philosophy, and all beers are brewed in accordance with the Reinheitsgebot of 1516, an edict on beer purity that is still the law in brewing circles across the Rhine.

The beers produced by the Aare Bier brewery are therefore resolutely Germanic in character, starting with the Kellerfrisch, Unfiltered blonde ale. Its lively taste with fine, crafted aromas makes it very accessible and easy to drink, and its assertive character makes it an advantageous alternative to most lagers.

Visit Weizen, This multi-award-winning white beer is in the purest Germanic tradition, with hints of citrus and a generous head. The use of different caramelized wheat malts, selected barley malts and finely dosed hops refines the whole, and it has no reason to be ashamed of the standards of the genre.

Soberly christened Amber, The brewery's amber ale is distinguished by the use of four different types of malt and three different aromatic hops, giving it a magnificent copper color and a beautiful complexity on the palate, with a caramelized finish.

Geographically close to the French-speaking part of Switzerland, the Aare Bier brewery once again demonstrates the permeability of the Röstigraben, at least when it comes to beer. Prost!

Write to the author: max.moeschler@leregardlibre.com

Photo credit: ©️ Aare Bier