May 4, 2011

Beer: Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier, Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan

Can you pronounce those words? Any of them? Correctly? Without using a fake-sounding, German accent?

This brewery in Bavaria, Germany can trace roots all the way back to 768, making it the world's oldest continually-operating brewery. The Weihenstephan Abbey, where the brewery is today, was originally a monastery and a school. They are known for pale lagers and wheat beers.

How did I come to hear of this beer, you ask?

I'll tell you.

Beeradvocate.com has lists, rankings and reviews of beers all over the world. These reviews by countless imbibers can be separated by the region the beer came from, the type of beer, etc. One such list is called "Beers of Fame," which shows the Top 100 best reviewed beers in the world (combining the reviews of all drinkers and The Alstrom Bros - the creators of the site). This one came in at #9 - world class.

I took a trip over to Belmont Station to check out a few beers I noticed on that Top100 list (many of which you'll be hearing about shortly on this blog!) and found this hefe.

I decided that because today's weather was so nice, warm and sunny, a light beer like this would be perfect. Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier poured cloudy and murky - a true, unfiltered hefe. The head was spectacularly dense with stickiness all over the glass. With my nose in the glass, it smelled like fresh banana bread and lemon. One sip later I knew I had a gem in my hands. All of the perfect hefe taste characteristics were there - banana, cloves and nutty flavors so pleasant that it could make you want to drink this every day.

All hefeweizens are measured against this beer, and it's plain to see why. Weihenstephaner is truly a world-class beer, and one that I will be frequenting this summer on warm, sunny evenings. Find this beer and refresh yourself with one of life's simple pleasures.

Music:

I think that this song has been floating around my head for about a week now. "All The Young Dudes" by Mott the Hoople is often mistaken for being a David Bowie recording. The reason behind that is...well...David Bowie wrote it. Mott the Hoople was about to break up due to lack of success, and David Bowie sat down in front of them, cross-legged, and quickly penned the song. They had rejected his initial song offer - "Suffragette City" - which became one of Bowie's hits. David Bowie did record and perform "All The Young Dudes," but Mott the Hoople's version has become the most famous.