Beer of the Weekend #10: Weihenstephaner

Today is the first day of summer, the longest day of the year for us in the northern hemisphere. My dad has a thing about the summer solstice and I’m not sure why. Every year he told me, “Today is the longest day of the year. We get more sun today than any other day.” He also has a thing for the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. He’s a solstice guy I guess. I’m more of an equinox guy.

It sure fucking feels like summer. A good ol’ weekend heat wave is broiling SoCal. At 7 p.m. the temperature was still 90º. Down by the beach I’m sure it was much cooler. Ahh, that moist, cool Pacific breeze blowing in from the sea. I don’t live by the beach. Boo.

Hot summer days are lager weather, and this week’s beer — Weihenstephaner, brewed by the Brauerei Weihenstephan of Freising, Germany — should hit the spot.


Serving type: Six 12-ounce bottles.

Appearance: Light straw yellow, which surprised me. I thought it would have a little more depth and tint. A light, white, effervescent head formed on the top but dissipated quickly (I think I’ve said that for all of my tasting blogs; I guess it goes to show most beers have one thing in common), and left a thin layer lingering on the top and a ring around the edges.

Smell: That grassy, malty smell of most German helles beers. Mmmmm. I also got hints of lemon and orange, though neither were overpowering.

Taste: Not as clean or smooth as Paulaner, last week’s brew. Though the beer is clear it has a bit of a cloudy taste to me. For my first taste I got a strong hop bite at the end, but my second sip was much more even and the hop tinge was not as intense. The hint of lemon and orange from the smell were also present in the taste.

Drinkability: Sun hot. Beer cold. Beer good.

Fun facts about Weihenstephaner:

-Alcohol content: 5.1 percent.

-Serving temperature: 46ºF.

-Food pairings include “rich, earthy soups and stews.” Not exactly summer food.

-Founded in 1040 by Benedictine monks (those wily Catholics, again), the Weihenstephaner brewery is purportedly the oldest brewery in the world. Here’s an interesting passage from
Beers of the World:

Over the years the monastery completely burned down four times and was ravaged on numerous other occasions by plagues, famines, wars, and an earthquake. The monastery was dissolved in 1803 and ownership was passed over to the Bavarian state, although the brewery still stands on the same illustrious site on top of the Weihenstephaner hill. Since 1852, it has also been home to the world’s leading brewery school, where many of the world’s leading brewers learned their craft.

Ver-y in-ter-esting.


The Quiet Man’s grade: Solid and above average. That’s worth a B.

Comments

Popular Posts