First Munich Helles Is Served

On June 20, 1895, Spaten officially launched its “Helles Lagerbier” in Munich. The beer had first been brewed in 1894 and tested outside Munich, especially in Hamburg, before being served in the Bavarian capital. Munich Helles was Spaten’s answer to the growing popularity of pale pilsner-type beers. Munich’s traditionally alkaline, carbonate-rich water had been better suited to darker malts, whose acidity helped produce an appropriate mash pH. Brewing a delicate pale lager therefore required Munich brewers to adapt their brewing process and manage the local water more carefully. The resulting style combined pale malt and bottom fermentation with a softer, maltier balance than pilsner and later became one of southern Germany’s defining beers.