I had a chance to go to a tasting event held by Susanne Hecht, Export Sales Director for Schneider Weisse. While I am very familiar with Schneider’s Aventinus Eisbock (one of my all-time favorites), I was not very familiar with the entire lineup or much of the brewery’s story, which is quite interesting. 

In the 1800s in Germany, wheat beer could only be brewed by the Bavarian royal family. Wheat beer sales had been steadily declining and in the 1870s King Ludwig II discontinued brewing wheat beer and sold the exclusive brewing rights to Georg I Schneider. Thus, the Schneider family saved Bavarian wheat beer from extinction. Today, the Kelheim-based brewery is run by Georg VI Schneider. That location, which the family acquired in 1927, is the oldest wheat beer brewery in Bavaria brewing continuously since 1607.

On to their beers. The lineup for the evening included: TAP 1 Meine Blonde Weisse, TAP 7 Unser Original, TAP 5 Meine Hopfenweisse, TAP 6 Unser Aventinus and Aventinus Eisbock.

The TAP 1 Blonde I found to be very refreshing, with aromas reminiscent of fresh spices and blooming flowers.

The TAP 7 Original is the beer that pays homage to the founder Georg I. It is brewed according to the original recipe from 1872. In the glass, this beer is a lovely deep, amber color. Aromas of clove, bananas and nutmeg dance out of the glass and pull you in for taste after taste. 

The TAP 5 Hopfenweisse is a collaborative effort with Brooklyn Brewery. This beer, I found to be surprisingly hop-forward for a Bavarian wheat beer. The beer is a reddish-gold strong wheat dopplebock with an intense tropical nose. It has typical dopplebock sweetness, balanced very nicely by a pleasant, bitter finish.

The TAP 6 Unser Aventinus is a deep ruby colored wheat dopplebock with a nose of bananas, raisins and plums that somehow morph into roasted notes and licorice spice. This would make a great pairing for roasted meats or fruity chocolate desserts.

Lastly, the Aventinus Eisbock is made by allowing barrels of the TAP 6 Unser Aventinus to cool to the point that some of the water contained in the beer freezes to the sides. The liquid that remains is concentrated, with more intense flavors and a higher ABV (12% compared to 8.2%). This is a great beer to have by itself, as an aperitif, on a cool evening by a fire. It is nearly black in the glass with aromas of ripe plum and bitter almonds accompanied by strong notes of banana and clove.

These beers are available to us at ABC Fine Wine & Spirits. If you do not see one of these beers, or any beer you are in search of in your local store, please ask us about it. We are always happy to do what we can to fill an order.

Rick Swartz, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits beer consultant

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