Bitburger Vs Ayinger: Bavarian Pilsner Comparison

Bitburger and Ayinger Bavarian Pils are both German pilsners, with Bitburger being the third best-selling in Germany and Ayinger being ranked 14th globally. Bitburger, founded in 1817, is a 4.8% ABV pilsner with a straw-coloured, crystal-clear appearance and a lasting foam head. It is brewed with only the best ingredients and follows the German Beer Purity Laws, resulting in a delicate flavour profile with notes of honey, ripe cereal grains, white bread, and aromatic mountain herbs. In contrast, Ayinger Bavarian Pils, also known as Ayinger Bairisch Pils, is a 5.3% ABV pilsner with a glimmering, light-yellow appearance and a strong aroma of aromatic hops from the Hallertau region of Bavaria. It is highly fermented, smooth, mild, and sparkling, with a more pronounced bitterness that fades quickly. While both beers are German pilsners, they may differ in terms of taste, appearance, and fermentation process.

Bitburger Brewery history

The Bitburger Brewery, or Bitburger Brauerei Th. Simon GmbH, is a large German brewery founded in 1817 by Johann Peter Wallenborn in the town of Bitburg, in the southern region of the Eifel mountains. Wallenborn, who was 33 at the time, came from a family of brewers, as his father owned a brewery in Kyllburg.

The small rural brewery has now been in business for seven generations, spanning over 200 years, and is one of Germany's most modern and important privately-owned breweries. It produces more than 2.38 million hectolitres of beer in a single year, making it one of the most important beer brands in Germany. The company's products are distributed to more than 30 countries, including Finland and Australia.

In 1839, three years after Wallenborn's death, Ludwig Bertrand Simon, who married Wallenborn's daughter, took over the brewery and renamed it Simonbräu. Their son, Theobald Simon, took over in 1876 at the age of 29. On 15 January 1883, Theobald brewed his first pilsner, a type of beer invented in 1842 and named after the Bohemian city of Pilsen. In 1886, the first beer export left the brewery by horse-drawn cart to Echternach in Luxembourg.

In 1896, the brewery purchased a second steam engine to meet increasing energy requirements, enabling the introduction and operation of the first ammonia refrigeration system. After Bitburg was connected to the rail network, the brewery bought insulated rail carriages to transport the beer, ensuring its quality over long distances.

In 1909, the brewery launched its first large-scale advertising campaign for its new product, Bitburger Simonbräu Pilsener, with an advert in national newspapers and beer mats. The brand's iconic slogan, "Bitte ein Bit" ("One Bit, Please"), was introduced in the 1970s, with the words written in Dr Theobald Simon's own handwriting.

During World War II, the town of Bitburg and the Bitburger brewery were almost completely destroyed by Allied bombing. Reconstruction began immediately after the war, and by 1950, the brewery was able to resume exports to Luxembourg and the French-administered Saar region.

Bitburger's ingredients and brewing process

Bitburger is a German pilsner beer that has been brewed in Bitburg, Rhineland-Palatinate since 1817. It is the third best-selling pilsner in Germany and the nation's top-selling draught beer.

Ingredients

Bitburger is brewed using the four main ingredients for beer: hops, malt, yeast, and water. The German Beer Purity Laws of 1516 dictate that these four ingredients must be used for brewing beer in Germany. The laws were introduced by Bavarian Duke Wilhelm IV to ensure a consistent level of quality in beer brewing.

Brewing Process

The brewing process for Bitburger can be broken down into the following steps:

• Malting: The process starts with barley being malted at partner malthouses. The resulting malt is then milled, which leaves the malted barley in fragments of various sizes while keeping the husks largely intact. This releases the grain's precious insides without grinding the husks too finely. The barley grain husks need to be preserved as they will act as a natural filter later in the process.
• Mashing: The milled malt is gradually heated with water in a 'mash tun'. The natural enzymes in the malted barley grains convert water-insoluble starch into soluble maltose sugar. After yeast is added, this sugar is converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide during fermentation. The temperature levels and rest stages depend on the consistency and texture of the malt.
• Lautering: The mash is transferred into a 'lautering tun' where the grain husks help to separate the wort (the liquid part of the mash) from the smaller solids leftover from mashing the grain. The solids sink to the bottom of the tun, which has a false bottom with thin slits that act as a strainer. The solids collect on this strainer to form an additional natural filter layer, and the wort is strained through this layer.
• Boiling: Hot water is added to the grains to wash out any remaining ingredients and release residual sugar into the wort. The resulting wort is added to a boiling pan, which sterilizes the liquid and evaporates base aromas. Hops are added at this stage as high temperatures are needed to extract their flavour and aroma. The more hops are added, the drier and bitterer the beer will taste.
• Whirlpool: After the flavour has been extracted from the hops, the debris and solids left after the boiling stage (called the 'trub') are separated from the wort through rapid rotation in a whirlpool tank. The dense solids stack up in a cone shape in the middle of the tank, leaving the wort separate and easy to remove from the outer edges.
• Fermentation: The hot wort is first cooled down in a chiller and then transferred to a fermentation tank where yeast is added. Bitburger calls its yeast a 'little diva' due to its temperamental behaviour. The yeast converts the maltose sugar in the wort into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The main fermentation process lasts around seven days, followed by an equally long aging and cold conditioning ('lagering') period.
• Cold Conditioning: The beer is left to 'lager' (mature) at lower temperatures to give it time to rest. Bitburger has four lager cellars housing 168 tanks with a capacity of up to 3,700 hectolitres. The beer spends 14 days each in two different tanks for ample time to settle and stabilize.
• Filtering: Before bottling, the lagered beer is filtered once more to stabilize the flavour. It is passed through candle filters where the last traces of yeast and 'trub' are removed using a powder called 'diatomaceous earth' or 'kieselguhr'. Instead of using pasteurization, the Bitburger brewery uses a layered filter tank where the beer is slowly pressed through layers of cellulose until it is completely pure.
• Bottling: After the first stage of milling the malt, around four to six weeks have passed and the beer is now ready to be filled into bottles, cans, or kegs.
• Distribution: Around 160 trucks are loaded and unloaded at ten loading lanes every day, with each truck taking about 35 minutes to load. Approximately 1.6 million litres of Bitburger leave the brewery daily, amounting to about 700 million bottles and over two million kegs annually.

Ayinger Privatbrauerei's brewing process

Ayinger Privatbrauerei is a family-owned and operated brewery in Aying, Bavaria, Germany, about 25 km south of Munich. The brewery has been in operation since 1878 and is considered one of the world's most respected breweries.

The Ayinger Brewery is known for its strong financial, social, and cultural commitment to the well-being of its community and region. This commitment is firmly incorporated into the production of its beers, contributing to a unique brand name philosophy: "Aying, a Complete Work of Art."

Ayinger beers are known for their high quality, consistently awarded numerous prizes for their excellence. The deep roots of the brewery in the region form the nutrient base of its beers, and it sources select ingredients from the region. The brewing process combines these ingredients with the capacities of its brewing art and the values with which the craft has been performed for over 130 years.

One of Ayinger's most popular beers is the Ayinger Bräuweisse, a wheat ale with a spicy, crisp taste. It is unfiltered, giving it a cloudy/hazy medium golden colour and a tall, white head. The aroma and flavour profile include notes of bready malts, wheat, banana, clove, and a slight touch of bubblegum. The mouthfeel is light to medium, smooth, and creamy, with moderate carbonation.

In addition to its domestic market, Ayinger exports its beers to Italy, the United States, and the rest of Europe.

Taste, smell, and appearance of Bitburger

Bitburger is a German pilsner with a straw-coloured, clear, and translucent appearance. It has a white, foamy, and fizzy head that settles to a thin layer, with lacing that rises and falls as the beer is consumed. On the nose, Bitburger has a mild aroma with notes of pale cereal grains, grassy hops, and floral hops. It also has ultra-light cracker and floral tones, with low hints of sulphur.

On the palate, Bitburger offers a balanced taste profile. It has a mild bread flavour with a solid grassy bitterness and notes of grain and hay. The bitterness lingers on the tongue after drinking, and the beer has a dry finish. It is light-bodied with medium carbonation, making it crisp and refreshing.

Bitburger is also available in a non-alcoholic version, which has a similar golden appearance and a frothy head. The non-alcoholic variety has a grainy aroma with notes of mashed cereal grains, grass, and floral hops. On the taste, it is bitter with grainy and lightly hopped notes. It has a smooth mouthfeel and is described as a refreshing, thirst-quenching option.

Taste, smell, and appearance of Ayinger Bavarian Pils

The Ayinger Bavarian Pils is a highly-fermented beer with a smooth initial taste, a mild and sparkling body, and a pronounced bitterness on swallowing that quickly fades from the taste buds. The beer has a glimmering, light-yellow appearance with steady sustained carbonation. It has a strong cracker, salt, and pepper aroma with a hint of citrus and vanilla. The flavour is consistent with the aroma, with a strong presence of hops, a dry mouthfeel, and a cracker finish.

The beer has a soft bready malt flavour with a distinct, nutty grain character. The hops balance out the flavour, creating a clean finish. It has a light body with abundant carbonation and a slight floral sweetness. The Ayinger Bavarian Pils is highly drinkable, crisp, and well-balanced.

The Ayinger Bavarian Pils is a highly-rated beer with a unique flavour profile compared to Northern German pilsners. It is more aromatic, with a rounded body and restrained bitterness. It is also distinct from Czech Pilsners and other German Pilsners, making it a delightful and outstanding beer worth the extra money.

Overall, the Ayinger Bavarian Pils offers a stellar drinking experience with its crisp, cold, and refreshing taste, perfectly paired with bratwurst and potato salad.

Frequently asked questions