Thursday, April 28, 2011

Kloster Andechs: possibly the best beer of the planet?

This month we had the opportunity to visit one of my favorite places in Germany: Kloster Andechs.
My wife and I had to travel from Italy (where we attended Vinitaly) to Mainz (to attend the VDP Weinboerse) and this wonderful monastery just happened to be on our way....
 

Kloster Andechs is a Benedictine monastery just south of Munich renowned in Germany and beyond for its Baroque church (1712), but mostly for its beer which it has been brewing since 1455. 
Carl Orff (the composer of Carmina Burana) is buried in the Andechs chapel. 

Andechs makes a few varieties of beer, they are all excellent and here's a list of them:

1 ▪ Andechser Weißbier Hell – an unfiltered, cloudy wheat beer with a light colour.
Tastes a bit fruity and very, very nice (5.5 per cent alcohol).
2 ▪ Andechser Weißbier Dunkel – this is what they call a “character beer”, quite heavy so you shouldn’t need to eat for a while afterwards. It’s an unfiltered, dark, wheaty brew with a pleasant aroma (5 per cent alcohol).
3 ▪ Andechser Hell – touted as a “beer for daily enjoyment”, this is basically lager with a nice malt flavour (4.8 per cent alcohol).
4 ▪ Andechser Spezial Hell – a lager that’s often pulled out for festivals and special events (5.9 per cent alcohol).
5 ▪ Andechser Dunkel – a slightly spicy dark beer, good after big meals.
It’s got a very similar taste to the Doppelbock Dunkel with a smaller kick (4.9 per cent alcohol).
6 ▪ Andechser Doppelbock Dunkel – the internationally famous knock-out brew. This dark concoction is guaranteed to knock your socks off (7.1 per cent alcohol).
7 ▪ Andechser Bergbock Hell – the light-coloured, mild version of the famous Doppelbock (6.9 per cent alcohol).

My favorite is the Andechser Doppelbock Dunkel. A beer that tastes like wine... Is that why I love it so much?  :)

Cheers,
LA
 

Kloster Andechs
Location: Berg Strasse 2, 82346 Andechs
Phone: (08152) 37 62 61





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  • 3 comments:

    Anonymous said...

    Do you know where I could purchase this from to have it delivered to new York or new jersey, USA?

    My wife and I visited this place in 1996 and it is still my all time favorite.

    Jack
    Jack.p.oconnell@gmail.com

    Anonymous said...

    I love this place. I've visited 3 times; the first visit being in 1991. The beer really is special; the best I've ever had.
    I'm going back soon!

    Anonymous said...

    Currently, there is no where to get this fine brew in the US. Some local shops every so often carry it as the owners go to Germany and bring back cases. There have been talks for a long time about a distributor deal but each time Andechs has turned it down.

    I have a family friend who lives 20 minutes away from Andechs and always brings me a case when she visits.

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