Brewed By: Weissbierbrauerei G. Schneider & Sohn in Kelheim, Germany
Purchased: 11.2oz bottle bought at Binny's in IL; 2013 (2011 bottle???)
Style/ABV: Eisbock, 12.0%
Eisbock...I haven't talked about those yet. Thankfully, it's like the most straightforward twist on a popular style of beer. Eisbock is a traditional Kulmbach beer, brewed by freezing a Doppelbock (freeze distillation, baby) and removing the ice to concentrate the flavor and alcohol. I guess I am kind of half-assing it, since my homies at The German Beer Institute have a lengthy write-up on the style.
Obviously, this style is pronounced "Ice-Bock," only in ze Germans. Ice Bocks are a warming, nourishing, comforting beer -- perfect for the winter. These strong beers benefit from the fact that water freezes before alcohol, so you can remove the water from beer (or any alcoholic solution) to increase alcohol concentration. Eisbocks are members of the Bockbier family, and are most similar to Doppelbocks. The style should have some alcohol present, but as a "fiery afterglow," not a harsh assault. This is as style of beer intended to be sipped like a Sherry or Port...which is funny, because many American breweries have pushed the envelope well past 12.0% ABV. You can read more about the accidental discovery (or alleged history) of the Eisbock at the German Beer Institute...and definitely do, their website is the tits.
About Weissbierbrauerei G. Schneider & Sohn:
Obviously, this style is pronounced "Ice-Bock," only in ze Germans. Ice Bocks are a warming, nourishing, comforting beer -- perfect for the winter. These strong beers benefit from the fact that water freezes before alcohol, so you can remove the water from beer (or any alcoholic solution) to increase alcohol concentration. Eisbocks are members of the Bockbier family, and are most similar to Doppelbocks. The style should have some alcohol present, but as a "fiery afterglow," not a harsh assault. This is as style of beer intended to be sipped like a Sherry or Port...which is funny, because many American breweries have pushed the envelope well past 12.0% ABV. You can read more about the accidental discovery (or alleged history) of the Eisbock at the German Beer Institute...and definitely do, their website is the tits.
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).
The Schneider Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock is a hearty beer. Punching in at 12.0%, this beer is described as featuring aromas of ripe plum, almonds, marzipan, banana, and clove. Ratebeer has a blurb about how Aventinus re-discovered the Eisbock by accident, when prior to the 1940s Aventinus would ship their beers across Bavaria in containers that didn't have temperature control. I'm curious how that story holds up, but I'm no beer historian. Anyway...
The beer pours a raisin, dark brown, cola-black color, with a hazy body. This beer looks like it has some age on it, and if the "2011" by the bottle number indicates anything, it's that this beer has seen some serious shit. With an aggressive pour I kicked up a finger or two of tan head, but that rapidly fizzled away. There's a ring of tan lacing on the edges, and swirling the beer unlocks some sexy alcohol legs. In bright light the beer is a dark golden raisin/grape/swamp brown color. Ain't no light shining through this murky stuff.
When I was pouring this I was getting aromas of raisin bread, and hot damn, I love raisin bread. This has a sweet aroma, with lots of wheat, and HUGE banana. I'm also getting BIG banana bread...like, melted banana bread. There's some clove, bubble gum, waves of raisins and grapes, hints of leather, and an earthy, wine-like aroma. The nose is also velvety and smooth...hinting at what I'm likely about to taste.
This is some nice shit. This is super smooth, but it retains a wheat beer quality without going full Doppelbock...but it's still very clean. There's some booze in this, but it's a warming heat more than anything. I'm getting big wheat, banana, banana bread, raisins, grapes, berries, blueberry syrup, almost maple/maple syrup, and a big kiss of heat...the heat is fantastic, without any tannin presence or kick. It's like a super smooth port wine or something. As you pick up the heat towards the back palate, you get those complex berries and fruits with the booze, along with kisses of sugary maple. Really fantastic stuff.
This is dense, full-bodied, and has growing heat/booze on the finish, followed by sticky sweetness. I should say, the wheat and smoothness of this beer help carry it front to mid-palate, where it is more like a medium-full beer. Palate depth is divine, and complexity is alright. I feel like this could go places...but it's still fantastic. Wheat, banana, clove, banana bread up front; that rolls into a touch of hop bite, almonds, marzipan, complex fruits, grapes, raisins, burgeoning berries and booze; the back end is warming heat, berries, maple syrup, complex sugars, and fade to a hot, sticky finish (oh..la...la).
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| Schneider Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock |
The beer pours a raisin, dark brown, cola-black color, with a hazy body. This beer looks like it has some age on it, and if the "2011" by the bottle number indicates anything, it's that this beer has seen some serious shit. With an aggressive pour I kicked up a finger or two of tan head, but that rapidly fizzled away. There's a ring of tan lacing on the edges, and swirling the beer unlocks some sexy alcohol legs. In bright light the beer is a dark golden raisin/grape/swamp brown color. Ain't no light shining through this murky stuff.
When I was pouring this I was getting aromas of raisin bread, and hot damn, I love raisin bread. This has a sweet aroma, with lots of wheat, and HUGE banana. I'm also getting BIG banana bread...like, melted banana bread. There's some clove, bubble gum, waves of raisins and grapes, hints of leather, and an earthy, wine-like aroma. The nose is also velvety and smooth...hinting at what I'm likely about to taste.
This is some nice shit. This is super smooth, but it retains a wheat beer quality without going full Doppelbock...but it's still very clean. There's some booze in this, but it's a warming heat more than anything. I'm getting big wheat, banana, banana bread, raisins, grapes, berries, blueberry syrup, almost maple/maple syrup, and a big kiss of heat...the heat is fantastic, without any tannin presence or kick. It's like a super smooth port wine or something. As you pick up the heat towards the back palate, you get those complex berries and fruits with the booze, along with kisses of sugary maple. Really fantastic stuff.
This is dense, full-bodied, and has growing heat/booze on the finish, followed by sticky sweetness. I should say, the wheat and smoothness of this beer help carry it front to mid-palate, where it is more like a medium-full beer. Palate depth is divine, and complexity is alright. I feel like this could go places...but it's still fantastic. Wheat, banana, clove, banana bread up front; that rolls into a touch of hop bite, almonds, marzipan, complex fruits, grapes, raisins, burgeoning berries and booze; the back end is warming heat, berries, maple syrup, complex sugars, and fade to a hot, sticky finish (oh..la...la).
Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)
I'll go with a Decent Divine Brew. I'm really enjoying the way this beer works across the palate, providing a nice variety of flavors and finishing with a fantastically complex boozy/warming back end. This beer would be dynamite in the winter months. I know there are stronger beers out there, but for whatever reason, the 12.0% in this beer really gets the job done. I'm feeling a lot of warming in my tummy, and it's pleasant and nice. I would drink this beer by itself, or pair it with some pecan pie. You could also pair this beer with something really spectacular, like a super raunchy burger, duck, or something like that. This sells for like 6 or 7 bucks a bottle...which is a steal. Check this out.
I'll go with a Decent Divine Brew. I'm really enjoying the way this beer works across the palate, providing a nice variety of flavors and finishing with a fantastically complex boozy/warming back end. This beer would be dynamite in the winter months. I know there are stronger beers out there, but for whatever reason, the 12.0% in this beer really gets the job done. I'm feeling a lot of warming in my tummy, and it's pleasant and nice. I would drink this beer by itself, or pair it with some pecan pie. You could also pair this beer with something really spectacular, like a super raunchy burger, duck, or something like that. This sells for like 6 or 7 bucks a bottle...which is a steal. Check this out.
Random Thought: I love three-day weekends. And the best part isn't just the holiday weekend, it's the fact that the following work week is only four days long. Four days to go...
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