Spell Check Just Blew Up

Beer #130 Kristall Weissbier / Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan, Freising, Germany

In what might go down as the longest brewery name on record, Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan gives us tonight's beer, their Kristall Weissbier.  As I'm sure you already guessed, the brewery name translates to Bavarian State Brewery Weihenstephan.  Just rolls off the tongue when you say it in German, though.  This classic wheat beer pours an effervescent pale yellow, and gives off faint aromas of bread and bananas.  It's highly carbonated, and there are flavors of clove, banana, yeast, and a sweet malt.  If you look up weissbier in the dictionary, you might find this as an example.  Very drinkable at 5.4% ABV, definitely be on the lookout for this beer during your summer drinking months.

Crooked photo. What do you want, I was drinking.

Clearly, a brewery advertising itself as the oldest brewery in the world has a story to tell.  This one begins in 725, when Saint Corbinian and twelve companions founded a Benedictine Monastery in Germany.  However, it took them until 1040 to get their license to officially brew beer, although it seems brewing was taking place before the license was issued.  The monastery was destroyed and rebuilt numerous times, until the monks were muscled out in 1803 by a secular government.  I don't know if this is officially the oldest brewery in the world or not, but when you're going back almost 1,300 years, you've earned a little poetic license.

Thing to Think About Today:
While beer is obviously a phenomenal export from Germany, let's spend some time thinking of another phenomenal German export: the dachshund.

You may be aware of this breed's tendency to be noble, fearless, loyal, loving, and stubborn.  But were you aware of their fondness for international diplomacy?  Check out this art project featuring a United Nations staffed by doxies.  Seems more likely to solve world peace than the actual U.N., actually.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAW4pn1NK3c

Beer 130: Weihenstaphan and Farting Cats



Go visit The Oatmeal right now.  He is pure genius.


Fart humor rules. So do fart propelled cats.

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Tonight I shall tell you about Weihenstephan's crystal wheat beer.  It poured a clear, crisp golden color with a full wispy head.  I should have taken some video of the carbonation - this beer is crazy active.  The smell and flavor of this beer is exactly what one would expect from a filtered hefeweizen -- light on the bananas, cloves, crisp hops and biscuit flavor. This is a solid beer. 

Interesting note about this particular brewery.  Gary brought this beer home a few night's ago and I declared it invalid because I swore we already drank a beer from the "world's oldest brewery". I checked their website but nothing was familiar?  Was I duped by another brewery purporting to be the world's oldest brewery?  Was this false advertising? 

In fact, no, I drank a beer that was a partnership between this brewer and Sam Adams.  Remember the Infinium?  Sadly I do.  Blech.  Lucky for me, this one had no Sam Adams influence. 

Cheers!

Beer 42: Infinium or Snowbound in Berwyn

The great beer-venture to Troeg's Brewery and the Brass Rail deli and bottle shop have been postponed due to inclement weather. I suppose it's better to be safe than to have some jackass end my beer blogging mission early due to his inability to drive in snow and ice. I hate being responsible.

Since my day has been limited to reading random stuff online and building two sets of shelves, I'm not feeling all that inspired to write anything creative.

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I should have had a Pupperoni!

I had been hearing a lot about Infinium lately but never encountered it at any of the bottle shops I frequent. I lucked out a couple of weeks ago and decided today was the day to sample it. Infinium is a collaboration between Sam Adams and Weihenstephan. The bottle is labeled ale and it poured amber  with a nice white head.

The smell reminded me of raisins and apricots. That smell carried through to the taste but I also got licorice and figs. It also has a nice spice and a hint of tartness.  It is billed as biere de champagne but what I'm drinking doesn't give me anything that could be compared to champagne.  I'd expect dryness and the Infinium is not delivering.  Now that I've drank more of it, it is leaving a slightly soapy aftertaste.  You know how some beers get better as you drink them?  This isn't going to be one of them.

I wish I had paid more attention to what I paid for this one...because it was definitely too much.  Perhaps I need to start a potential bottom 25.  Sorry Sam Adams, despite having all the history of the world's oldest brewery (that would be Weihenstephan), you didn't seem to learn anything.  More research also reveals that I probably should have drank it from a tall, thin pilsner or even a champagne flute.

Oh well, kids. Guess I lost this round...here's to a Beer 43 being a winner!