Beverage of the Week (B.O.W)
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BOW for the Week of: May 2 to May 8, 2012
Perhaps there is no place in the world that reveres Beer more than Bavaria. Beer is an inseparable part of daily life as it is woven into the tapestry of the culture. As expected, standards for Beer are high here so it is no surprise that some of the best Beers in the world come from this zone in and around the capital city of Munich.
Just 25 kilometers to the southeast of Munich lies the small, 1,200 year-old village of Aying. Aying is a classic Bavarian village in every respect with its mix of very old and new structures, a maypole in the town’s center square, ancient churches, local restaurants serving schnitzel the size of your head, and a great brewery – Brauerei Aying (Ayinger).
Ayinger has been producing incomparable Beers for more than 130 years. Like the village of Aying, the Ayinger brewery is a clever blend of old and new. The old portion of the brewery was once home to the Bernried Monastery and has the look of an old abbey and seamlessly marries with the new modern brewery completed in 1999.
Ayinger produces 12 different styles of Beer, a great commitment for a brewery of this size. Ayinger has been owned and operated by the Insellkammer family since 1878. They have consistently won awards around the globe but the local Bavarian residents are seemingly unmoved by medals awarded in some foreign land. They have always known that they possess something special in Ayinger and they happily consume 90% of the brewery’s production with just a scant 10% leaking out to export markets.
The great Beers from Ayinger have been available in the US for more than two decades. Our BOW, the great Jahrhundert-Bier was first created in 1978 to celebrate the brewery's 100th anniversary. Recently it has been made available in cask in the US. Get it while it is here, it won't last long.
