Capturing the essence of beers from the Franconian region of Germany
A new collaboration between Chuckanut Brewery and Icicle Brewing is a great excuse to talk about one of the more interesting corners of the beer world — Franconian lagers. The beer is available now at Chuckanut, and an official release party goes down on June 5th at Icicle Brewing in Leavenworth.
“Chuckanut Brewery invited Icicle Brewing to their Skagit Valley brewery back in March to collaborate on a lager,” said the release announcement. “The two breweries decided to make a Franconian Lager style of beer for a June release.”
As for the resulting beer, Chuckanut describes it this way: “Franconian Lager is a very creative beer capturing the essence of beers from the Franconian region of Germany. This particular lager rendition is brilliantly clear, golden, and smooth with a bready malt character and a polite hop finish. A very refreshing crisp beer for drinking on its own or with food.”
The Release Event
The beer is already pouring — and available in cans — at Chuckanut’s Burlington taproom. But the official tapping happens at Icicle Brewing in Leavenworth on Friday, June 5th at 5:30pm, with live music kicking off at 6:00pm.
Leavenworth, Washington’s wonderfully committed Bavarian-themed mountain town, is arguably the perfect place to tap into such a Bavarian-inspired beer.
So What Makes a Beer “Franconian,” Anyway?
Fair question. Franconia is a region in northern Bavaria, and its brewing culture is renowned, especially among the most-seriously hard to impress beer aficionados: professional brewers. Franconian brewers are celebrated for their creativity and range — the region produces everything from deeply smoky rauchbier to the almost absurdly strong eisbock. If there’s a throughline, it’s the malt. Most Franconian brewers source from two legendary maltsters: Bamberger Mälzerei and Weyermann Specialty Malting. Hops traditionally came from Spalt in Middle Franconia, though today’s brewers reach for a wider selection of European varieties.
Because Franconia is a place rather than a codified style, a “Franconian-style” beer has some creative latitude. When I picture one, though, I picture a lager that skews a bit more copper or amber than the bright yellow of a helles — malt-forward without being cloying, balanced by a clean noble hop bitterness at the finish. Not as bright and snappy as a helles, not as rich and roasty as a dunkel. Somewhere satisfying in between.
This collaboration leans right into that tradition. Chuckanut and Icicle brewed theirs with Bamberger Pilsner malt and Weyermann Barke Vienna malt, plus a blend of Spalt and Hersbrucker hops — two German classic hop varieties that would feel right at home in any Franconian brewery.
As for food pairings, the brewery has strong opinions and they’re hard to argue with: “It’s a fabulous beer to enjoy with any roast pork dishes or roasted root vegetables like carrots, beets, onions, and parsnips. You will find it especially refreshing with any kind of BBQ!”
A German-inspired lager, brewed in Washington, officially tapped in a Bavarian mountain town, best enjoyed with a plate of roasted something. Sign me up!
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