The Weihenstephan Brewery

I recently poured myself a Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier, and it reminded me why some classic beer styles never really go out of fashion.

It’s an exceptional Bavarian wheat beer. Hazy and golden in the glass, with a large white head, plenty of lively carbonation and those familiar wheat beer flavours of banana and clove. There’s a soft, bready sweetness underneath, but it remains light and refreshing rather than becoming heavy or sickly.

At 5.4% ABV, it’s certainly not a lightweight beer, although it drinks remarkably easily. It’s smooth, creamy and full of flavour, but still feels like the sort of beer you could happily drink outside on a warm afternoon.

Even better than the beer, though, is the story of the brewery behind it.

Is Weihenstephan Really the World’s Oldest Brewery?

The Weihenstephan Brewery, officially known as the Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan, sits on the Weihenstephan hill above Freising in Bavaria.

It calls itself the oldest brewery in the world, with an official brewing history dating back to 1040. There are other breweries that make claims based on earlier references to brewing, but when it comes to a brewery continuing to operate on the same site, Weihenstephan has a very strong case.

The brewery began as part of a Benedictine monastery, although life on the hill wasn’t always peaceful. Over the centuries, the monastery was attacked, plundered and repeatedly rebuilt. Between 1085 and 1463 it burned down four times and also suffered through plagues, famines and a major earthquake.

Most of us would probably have taken the hint after the 2nd or 3rd disaster, but the monks kept rebuilding and, more importantly for beer drinkers, kept brewing.

In 1516, Bavaria introduced what became known as the Reinheitsgebot, or German Beer Purity Law. It stated that beer should be made using barley, hops and water. Yeast wasn’t mentioned because people didn’t yet properly understand its role in fermentation, even though they were obviously using it.

When the monastery was dissolved in 1803, the brewery passed into the hands of the Bavarian state. That explains the Staatsbrauerei part of its name, which simply means state brewery.

Ancient Brewery, Modern Beer Science

What makes Weihenstephan particularly interesting is that it isn’t simply trading on its age.

The brewery sits alongside the Weihenstephan campus of the Technical University of Munich, one of the world’s leading centres for brewing and beverage science. The research facilities there study everything from yeast and fermentation to brewing equipment, ingredients and quality control.

There’s something rather wonderful about that combination. Beer has been brewed on the hill for almost a thousand years, yet some of the most modern brewing research in the world is also taking place there.

It helps explain why Weihenstephan’s beers are so consistent. The brewery respects traditional Bavarian styles, but it certainly isn’t operating with equipment left behind by the original monks.

A Beer Trip to Freising

Weihenstephan is now firmly on my list of breweries I’d like to visit.

Freising is close to Munich Airport, which happens to have a brewery of its own. Airbräu opened in 1999 and claims to be the world’s first airport brewery. Being able to get off a plane and start the trip with a freshly brewed German lager sounds like a fairly sensible holiday plan to me.

The main destination would, of course, be the Weihenstephan brewery and its Bräustüberl. I’d love to sit outside overlooking Freising with a freshly poured Hefe Weissbier and something suitably Bavarian to eat.

Freising also has Weißbräu Huber, a traditional inn in the old town serving wheat beer from Hofbrauhaus Freising. Naturally, I’d have to try one for comparison purposes. It would be serious research, obviously.

More Than Just an Old Brewery

Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier is a brilliant example of a traditional Bavarian wheat beer. It has plenty of character, but it isn’t difficult to drink or something you need a beer qualification to appreciate.

Even someone who normally drinks a fairly light lager could enjoy it. The banana and clove flavours make it different, but it’s still smooth, refreshing and easy-going. You don’t have to abandon the beers you already enjoy, but this would be a very good place to start exploring German wheat beer.

The brewery’s history makes the glass a little more interesting, too. You’re drinking a beer from a site that has survived wars, fires, disease, an earthquake and nearly a thousand years of change.

Thankfully, after all that, they still make a cracking beer.