Brewed By: Weissbierbrauerei G. Schneider & Sohn in Kelheim, Germany
Purchased: 500ml/16.9oz bottle from West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013 purchase
Style/ABV: Weizen Bock, 8.2%
Reported IBUs: ?
Aventinus is one of my favorite beers, and a beer I penned thoughts on not too long ago. It's a huge, strong Wheat Bock, and it's one of the best strong wheat beers you can buy. The brewery has a little project going where they take that beer, and age it. I grabbed a 2006 and 2008 bottle, and am excited to see how this compares to the original. About Weissbierbrauerei G. Schneider & Sohn:
Reported IBUs: ?
Aventinus is one of my favorite beers, and a beer I penned thoughts on not too long ago. It's a huge, strong Wheat Bock, and it's one of the best strong wheat beers you can buy. The brewery has a little project going where they take that beer, and age it. I grabbed a 2006 and 2008 bottle, and am excited to see how this compares to the original. About Weissbierbrauerei G. Schneider & Sohn:
Weissbierbrauerei G. Schneider & Sohn have been challenging people with the pronunciation of their names since 1872. Their website is in German, but has an English translation button on the bottom of the site. I'm lazy, so I'm going off the Wikipedia article. The brewery began as a Bavarian brewery that acquired the Weisses Brauhaus/Microbrewery in Munich. The owners then expanded the brewery to Kelheim and Straubing. After Munich was destroyed in the 1944 bombing (World War II, folks), all production was moved to Kelheim. This is a family run brewery with lots of tradition, and is currently owned by Georg Schneider VI (source).
I'm not finding any info on this beer on the brewery's website, but the beer comes wrapped in paper, and has a little tag with some info. The tag reads:
"Aventinus, the world's oldest top-fermenting wheat-doppelbock, has received accolades for the perfect balance of fruity spiciness (banana, clove, vanilla) and notes of chocolate (crystal & dark malts). In addition, the beer has demonstrated wonderful aging potential with aromas and flavors of chocolate (very soft), port and sherry when aged for three years or more.
Therefore, in 1999, the SCHNEIDER brewery decided to age 240 cases of AVENTINUS each year in their historical ice cellar in Kelheim with each batch held for a minimum of three years.
Each Fall for many years t come B. United International is proud to release a small allotment of the latest vintage to all our customers across the USA. Please enjoy it now or hold on to it in your own cellar for further development ...if you can handle the wait."
So that is that. There's not much more for me to elaborate on...except that when you think of aging/cellaring beer, you usually don't jump to a wheat beer, even if it's a strong wheat beer. Then again, at 8.2%...this is a big beer. Let's get this into a glass, and mull over it like the classy white trash we are.
The bottle is definitely worn, as evidenced by the cap, and the shit around the top of the bottle. Surprisingly, a little carbonation hissed and some smoke poured out when I popped the cap off. This one pours a murky/hazy raisin color, and looks nothing like the beer when it is fresh. This beer BARELY kicked up a centimeter of head, and has settled with a ring of carbonation and some spotty cauldron happenings. Surprisingly, there's a ton of carbonation rising upwards in this, in the form of fairly large bubbles. Bright light casts a slightly golden color on the body, but this is still bayou murky. It's nowhere near as funky as some aged wild ales look, however.
The aroma on this is really interesting...I'm getting a big apple cider/apple juice aroma, lots of apple juice sweetness. It seriously reminds me of being a kid and getting the apple juice from the fridge, and diluting it with water to curb all the sugar. There's definitely a vinous thing going on, with some sherry/port, plums, and wet cardboard. Maybe it's just the color, but I'm getting some raisins...and I swear there is a little booze on the nose. I'm not pulling any chocolate off this. If you get chocolate on the aroma, you cray-cray.
It's incredible that this is still carbonated at all. This has some tingly carbonation up front, and then sort of turns into a wet dog. I say that in a good way. Wet dog, while not the most appealing thing, has some intrigue. And a wet dog is still lovable, or something. I'm getting a lot of rocky booze in my throat, like I just drank a strong spirit. There are raisins up front, with some plums, hints of red wine, sherry/port...and then the beer kind of fades into hints of banana, chocolate, and wheat. I shouldn't forget to mention the apple juice, which is definitely there, along with some grapes.
Despite the sherry/port/spirit elements, the alcohol in here is pretty much masked until the back palate. I'm amazed at how fruity this is...in fact, this tastes nothing like the original beer. I probably haven't emphasized that fact enough. This beer fresh is creamy, lively, has champagne-like dryness, and just blows your palate away with distinct wheat, dark malts, banana, and fruitiness. The beer I'm drinking now is fruity, complex, and kind of reminds me of a Doppelbock or something.
You get tingly carbonation up front, but this mellows out into something resembling a wine...as such, I'd call this medium-full. There's a quiet thickness about this, and you feel that 8.2% as rocky booze in your throat. Palate depth is quite spectacular, complexity isn't far behind. This is worthy of your snifter...as I find myself sipping rather than gulping. You get carbonation, raisins/grapes/plums up front, apple juice, and some red wine; this rolls into red wine, sherry/port, light cardboard, and faded wheat/chocolate/banana; the back end is lingering sherry/port, with some rocky alcohol. Finish is dry and musty.
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| Aventinus (2006 Vintage) |
The bottle is definitely worn, as evidenced by the cap, and the shit around the top of the bottle. Surprisingly, a little carbonation hissed and some smoke poured out when I popped the cap off. This one pours a murky/hazy raisin color, and looks nothing like the beer when it is fresh. This beer BARELY kicked up a centimeter of head, and has settled with a ring of carbonation and some spotty cauldron happenings. Surprisingly, there's a ton of carbonation rising upwards in this, in the form of fairly large bubbles. Bright light casts a slightly golden color on the body, but this is still bayou murky. It's nowhere near as funky as some aged wild ales look, however.
The aroma on this is really interesting...I'm getting a big apple cider/apple juice aroma, lots of apple juice sweetness. It seriously reminds me of being a kid and getting the apple juice from the fridge, and diluting it with water to curb all the sugar. There's definitely a vinous thing going on, with some sherry/port, plums, and wet cardboard. Maybe it's just the color, but I'm getting some raisins...and I swear there is a little booze on the nose. I'm not pulling any chocolate off this. If you get chocolate on the aroma, you cray-cray.
It's incredible that this is still carbonated at all. This has some tingly carbonation up front, and then sort of turns into a wet dog. I say that in a good way. Wet dog, while not the most appealing thing, has some intrigue. And a wet dog is still lovable, or something. I'm getting a lot of rocky booze in my throat, like I just drank a strong spirit. There are raisins up front, with some plums, hints of red wine, sherry/port...and then the beer kind of fades into hints of banana, chocolate, and wheat. I shouldn't forget to mention the apple juice, which is definitely there, along with some grapes.
Despite the sherry/port/spirit elements, the alcohol in here is pretty much masked until the back palate. I'm amazed at how fruity this is...in fact, this tastes nothing like the original beer. I probably haven't emphasized that fact enough. This beer fresh is creamy, lively, has champagne-like dryness, and just blows your palate away with distinct wheat, dark malts, banana, and fruitiness. The beer I'm drinking now is fruity, complex, and kind of reminds me of a Doppelbock or something.
You get tingly carbonation up front, but this mellows out into something resembling a wine...as such, I'd call this medium-full. There's a quiet thickness about this, and you feel that 8.2% as rocky booze in your throat. Palate depth is quite spectacular, complexity isn't far behind. This is worthy of your snifter...as I find myself sipping rather than gulping. You get carbonation, raisins/grapes/plums up front, apple juice, and some red wine; this rolls into red wine, sherry/port, light cardboard, and faded wheat/chocolate/banana; the back end is lingering sherry/port, with some rocky alcohol. Finish is dry and musty.
Rating: Above-Average (4/5 Untappd)
I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average on this beer. How do you even rate something like this? I suppose I could compare this to the fresh version, in which case I'd preference this beer fresh. If you compare this to wines/sherries/port or even some Bockbiers, this might be a worthy investment. It's not hard to find the aged Aventinus, and a bottle is only 6 or 7 bucks. This is a great sipping beer, and an even better journey into aged beer. I might serve this with strong cheeses or meats...but honestly, why not try this with some red pasta sauce, or muscles, or calamari...you could also pair this with dessert....I have a 2008 bottle which I'll crack open soon. This one is 7 years old, the '08 will be 5 years old.
Random Thought: Follow-up: the Bulls won. They didn't just win, they also supplied some good drama and entertainment by blowing a huge lead in the 4th Quarter and barely winning the game. But they won. Hooray.
I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average on this beer. How do you even rate something like this? I suppose I could compare this to the fresh version, in which case I'd preference this beer fresh. If you compare this to wines/sherries/port or even some Bockbiers, this might be a worthy investment. It's not hard to find the aged Aventinus, and a bottle is only 6 or 7 bucks. This is a great sipping beer, and an even better journey into aged beer. I might serve this with strong cheeses or meats...but honestly, why not try this with some red pasta sauce, or muscles, or calamari...you could also pair this with dessert....I have a 2008 bottle which I'll crack open soon. This one is 7 years old, the '08 will be 5 years old.
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