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Beer Warrior had non-beer business in
Bavaria. On a (rare) free day, he and a client decided to
enrich their souls with matters spiritual and cultural.
What better way to do this than seek out a monastery, such
as the 15th century Benedictine Kloster Andechs on Sacred
Mountain which lies between Augsburg and Munich and is
surrounded by magnificent alpine scenery (visible only on a
clear day).
In the tradition of the pilgrims of bygone days, we trudged
up the steep slope which leads to the ornate rococo
monastery chapel, in the crypt of which, as surely everybody
knows, lie the remains of Carl Orff, the composer of
'Carmina Burana'. (Everybody? Come orff it). Believe me,
dear reader, it is pure coincidence that we should also
happen upon a holy order which has been brewing the most
divinely inspired bottom fermented bock beer imaginable for
over four centuries. Of course we had heard rumours about
this before setting out but........
Much to our dismay, the beautiful chapel and the wall plaque
commemorating Carl Orff were basked in solitude. By
contrast, the adjoining vast beer hall and beer garden were
overflowing with worshippers, devoutly downing glass litre
jugs of foaming beer, brewed on the premises and served by
master brewer monks. Phrases like "if you can't beat
'em, join 'em" and "the line of least
resistance" sprang to mind and we joined the throng of
German visitors, many shipped in by the coach load, to slake
our thirst (spiritual, of course). The celestial brew was a
divine revelation and we were soon converted.
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Bock beer, of course, is nothing like Pils
(which we, in the UK quite wrongly call lager), but,
instead, is a heavy, very substantial, invigorating and
satisfactory libation. There are five varieties, of which we
sampled the two most popular beers:
Light (in colour - not in substance - 6.8% alcohol) and
dark, (in colour, like a porter or stout - 7% alcohol). The
German for light is 'hell'. Surely this is a misnomer.
Kloster Andechs hell is sheer heaven. This bock beer is so
full bodied and flavoursome that, with eyes shut, one might
imagine one were drinking something much darker. Be warned,
it is both moreish and addictive and glides as smoothly as a
top of the range BMW, another Bavarian.
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The dark
version (Dunkelbock) has the same smooth characteristics
entirely untrammelled by any intrusive side flavours. Both
the 'hell' (sorry, heaven) and the 'dunkel' are beers which
are as pure (and cool) as the driven snow, the result of a
joyous union between a recipe formulated in 1455 and the
latest technology of 1996.
Alack and alas, Beer Warrior had to drive and was denied the
pleasure of any in-depth study of all that was on offer. Now
comes the tragic and really sinful bit - confession time.
The prat only brought ten bottles back home and is holed up
in purgatory for his lack of foresight. But salvation is at
hand. Of the 85,000 hectolitres produced annually, bottles
are supposed to be available all over Germany and Beer
Warrior does get to Germany a lot, all in the line of duty,
of course....
Beer Warrior in Bavaria was Peter Colin
Sep. '96
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