Falling in Love with German Beer…

Sister Doris — Mallersdorf Abbey Brewery

For nearly 45 years, Sister Doris has been brewing beer in Mallersdorf Abbey, a 900-year-old monastery located in a sleepy corner of Lower Bavaria.

Twenty percent of the modest 3000 hectoliters (about 80,000 U.S. gallons) she brews every year are consumed in the abbey.

The rest is sold in and around Mallersdorf, with small batches sometimes making their way to Munich and Bamberg. The revenue from her two-person brewery helps support the abbey.

The craft beer revolution hasn’t made its way to Mallersdorf, but that’s OK. Sister Doris is a craft brewer without even knowing it.

Sister Doris rises before most of the other sisters on brewing day. She’s allowed to skip the obligatory morning prayer. She starts her magic in the abbey brewhouse by 3:30 AM .

Depending on the time of year, she turns out a copper-toned Vollbier (lager), light Bock, Zoigl Beer, Doppelbock or Maibock — beers with character and heft that you love to drink with friends.

These pictures show a woman at work, doing what she loves. Our thanks to Peter von Felbert and Maria Tillmann for making them available.

The manuscript outlines an agreement between Mallersdorf and another monastery. It’s one of the oldest documents from Mallersdorf Abbey in existence and dates to 1339. Courtesy of the Bavarian State Archives.

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