It can make the perfect Easter Egg for the Beer Lover in Your Life.
Beer: Aventinus
Brewery: Private Weissbierbrauerei G. Schneider & Sohn GmbH (aka Schneider Weisse)
I don’t personally find Aventinus to be King of the Weizenbocks, I just wanted to type “der König”. Aventinus while not my personal favorite, it is generally accepted as the standard bearer of the style. Weizenbocks are strong German wheat beers, generally in the range of 6.5% – 8.0% abv (most commercially available versions are 7.5% to 8.5%). The style ranges from very pale (such as Weihenstephaner Vitus) to a very dark reddish-brown or near black that is Schneider’s Aventinus. Weizenbock is not a beer that I would generally age nor recommend aging. Even when darker malts are used, the body of Weizenbock is subtle, light and the fruity hefe-weizen yeast character tends to age out in an unappealing fashion. As a rule of thumb I drink most Weizenbock’s within a year of bottling. Two other commercially available versions worth seeking – the complex and malty, with subtle cherry notes Moonglow from Victory Brewing and the paler somewhat drier clove and lightly smokey take from Ayinger. Brooklyn Brewery and Schneider Weisse have produced a collaboration on the style the past few years at each respective brewery. Pale and dry hopped with each Brewmaster’s touch of choice hops, the beers are excellent but it appears unfortunately being shelved for a bit.
Appearance: Pours dark amber to near black cherry, looks a bit like a merlot. A dense fluffy light tan head, hugely effervescent. The two inch thick foam stand could stick seemingly for hours.
That is Bottle Re-fermentation!
Aroma: Deeply fruity sweet and rich. Sour cherries, licorice, anise, cloves, cinnamon and apple pie. No hop aroma to speak of as appropriate. Some blooming hyacinth flower.
Flavor: Clove, licorice and wheat upfront, some vanilla and cherry. Root beer float. Cracked pepper and thai basil. Lightly bittered, the alcohol note is well balanced and blends into the fruit flavors with a slight warming in the finish.
Mouthfeel: Very deceptive, the body is more to the lighter side with as previously stated extreme effervescence producing a slightly carbonic bite. Visually you might anticipate this beer being heavy, cloying and rich, based on the color and aromas. The finish however is soft and dry, with a faint grainy wheat character and plenty of fruity and peppery phenolic notes.
Overall Impression: Truth be told I appreciate Aventinus extremely fresh, its effervesce is a big part of its character pushing the wheat and yeast derived esters and phenols to their maximum potential in aroma and flavor. I have had the special cave cellared rendition of this beer one time and was not only underwhelmed, I could not drink it. It had become lifeless, thin and cola like.
Cellaring Recommendation: Personally, I believe you can get a maximum of 12-18 months out of properly cellared Weizenbocks, and in particular Aventinus before things go south. I am going to take a peak at two more bottles from this particular batch.
Tasting Date: March 25, 2010
Next Projected Tasting: December 2010
