Jason and I arrived in Munich, Germany on Thursday, June 28th and were escorted by Chris Meyer to Munich with a short beer stop on the way.
Weihenstephaner is the world's oldest brewery and my personal favorite brewery. Based on a university in Freising, Germany, Weihenstephaner offers two of the world's finest wheat beers,
Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier and
Weihenstephaner Vitus. These are somewhat readily available in the States, so do yourself a favor a pick up a couple of bottles today!
After Weihenstephaner, we checked into our hotel and proceeded to the Augustiner beer garden near Munich's central train station. We tasted their Helles and Weizen beers, both of which were good but not transcendental, while watching Germany get the shit beat out of them in the Eurocup Semifinal. As the game wasn't much of a game, we left the packed beer garden at halftime to visit Andechs am Dom, a bar near Marienplatz Munich, which features most of Andechs' lineup.
Andechs Doppelbock Dunkel is simply world class and possibly the finest example of the style. Unfortunately, it's not available in the USA. Not only is the Doppelbock world class, but their
Hefeweizen is also a delectable treat. We called it a night shortly after tasting several Andechs brews.
Friday was reserved for traveling and a half day beer tour of Bamberg, Germany. Many fail to realize that Bamberg is possibly the finest beer city in the world. While it once featured over a hundred breweries, today there's still dozens within a few miles of the city. Our first stop was Schlenkerla, a brewery world famous for their smoked beer. It was nice to try their
Rauchbier Märzen fresh at the source. This is Märzen or an Oktoberfest-style amber lager that has its malts smoked with beechwood. While it may not sound it, its notes of smoked meats, caramel, and ash really make this beer world class. We also tried their
Rauchbier Weizen, a smoked wheat beer, and
Aecht Schlenkerla Kräusen, a young smoked beer. After Schlenkerla, we made stops at
Ambräusianum,
Brauerei Spezial, and
Brauerei Fässla. Spezial was a highlight of the tour with a nice Hefeweizen and a couple of fun smoked wheat beers.
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| Chris, Jason, and Aaron at Spezial in Bamberg, Germany |
Following our half day Bamberg beer tour, we arrived at
Gänstaller-Bräu, a brewery that opened in Hallerndorf-Schnaid just last year in 2011. We were given a very personal brewery tour by their brewmeister, Andreas, followed by an absolutely fabulous dinner and a tasting of his beers. We all opted for the schnitzel, which was crusted with spent grains from brewing (uhhh, fuck yeah!). Before, during, and after dinner, Andreas walked us through the seven beers that he currently had on tap. We began with the
Kellerbier which had an unbelievable yeasty and bready aroma followed by a cracker, mild citrusy, yeasty flavor. Next, we tried
Birra Kultura Scura, a Dunkel brewed for an Italian bar, which had a delicious cocoa, nutty, caramel flavor that was unlike any German Dunkel I've ever had. After the Dunkel, we tasted
Zoigl that could possibly be the finest unfiltered lager currently being produced in Bavaria. The Zoigl was transcendental. The
Pils,
F.X.G Dark Smoked Märzen, and
Quator followed and were all prime examples of their styles and some of the best best beers in Bavaria. The tasting ended with Andreas' newest treat, a German IPA, called
Green Gold IPA (104 Germany Meets USA). I couldn't have been more impressed by this concoction. Upon tasting it, you got a fruit explosion from the hops like mango, passion fruit, and pineapple. The American hops were thus very evident, but the German influence was notable by the grassy, noble hoppy presence and the fact that the beer was unfiltered and fairly yeasty. It was simply a fantastic treat to end possibly the finest brewery experience any of us had ever experienced.
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| Andreas (mastermind and brewer at Gänstaller-Bräu), Chris, Jason, and Aaron |
Over the past three days, we have been working through seven racks of beer picked up at Landbierparadies, a beer shop that is well known for their sizable selection of beers from small Franconian breweries. The tastings over the past three days have taken place at Jason's new apartment in Schlitz and has been a whirl wind, but some of the stand out beers include
Weiherer Rauch,
Vierzehnheiligen Nothelfer Bio-Weisse,
Hebendanz Bayerisch Edel-Pils,
Pfister Landbier, and
Kraus Weißbier Hefetrüb. I wish I could write more about this delicious and tiring experience, but it's time to rest up for the next stop on our beer tour tomorrow: Cologne. Prost!
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Day One of the Great Franconian Beer Tasting.
Gert, Chris, Aaron, and Jason enjoying beers in the beer garden.
Guten Appetit! Welcome to civilization! |
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