Zapfler brews small batches of craft beer according to historical recipes. Some date back for over 200 years!
These recipes are tweaked to match the modern day taste of beer lovers.
But still brewed according to the German Purity Law of 1516.
Brewing takes place in Jintan and near Shanghai. In Jintan we have a 10 HL brewery and a 50 HL brewery is located in the surroundings of Shanghai.
Here we make our craft beer, bottled craft beer, liquors and Heike Mate.
The grains are soaked in hot water (not boiling). Kinda like making tea. The water is drained and a sweet sticky liquid is left over. That’s wort! Which really is un-brewed beer.
Hops are added to the wort and boiled for about an hour. The bitterness in the hops balances the sugar in wort. The hops also provide flavor and are a natural preservative.
This is where the magic happens! Yeast is added after the wort is cooled, strained and filtered. The actual brewing process is finished and the fermentation starts. The beer is kept between 12-20 degrees Celsius, depending on the type of beer. While you’re waiting the yeast is working hard to eat up all sugar in the wort and creating alcohol in the meantime.
After fermentation the “green” beer is stored below 5 degree Celsius. This takes at least 3 months so the taste of the malt, hops and yeast can develop to its fullest.
Hooray! After waiting with such passion and patience, the new beer is FINALLY ready to be put on tap!