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“There is no recipe for the real zoigl,” says brewer Reinhard Fütterer of the Schafferhof-Zoigl pub in Neuhaus. “Everyone has their own—that’s one of the things that make it so special.”

Brewed on the edge of the Mojave in St. George, Utah, Silver Reef’s Más Fuego Rauchbier won gold at the World Beer Cup last year. Here’s what goes into the elegant smoked beer that’s gained a following among brewers and other beer-savvy visitors to Las Vegas.

Based on an early 19th century recipe, this might well have been the kind of thing locals would’ve drunk fresh from the keller. It includes an older technique called hopfenrösten, which means the brewers boiled the hops separately in a small amount of wort.

Oh, is it that time again? For those who want to take on the classic seasonal, this is a wonderful “first lager” if you’ve never brewed one. (And as for the British malt in a traditional German style … well, we won’t tell if you won’t.)

In Munich in 1872, the famous Schottenhamel tent needed more beer. Josef Sedlmayer had beer to sell ... but it was a stronger lager brewed in the Viennese style. Thanks to beer historian Andreas Krennmair, we have an educated guess about the recipe.