Our columnist rejoices as one of his favourite German wheat beers finally makes it into the country.

A FEW years ago, during a visit to Munich, Germany, I came across a bar called the Weisses Bräuhaus that seemed to be doing particularly well in a street already lined with beer gardens and beer pubs overflowing with summer season revellers. It was also selling a beer that I had never heard of at the time called Schneider Weisse.

What fascinated me the most about the bar was not just the beautifully rustic decor or the cozy yet busy atmosphere of the place, but the array of beers they had on tap, which consisted of seven different wheat beers labelled Tap 1 to Tap 7. Being the curious drinker that I am, I decided to try all the seven taps on the spot, and they turned out to be some of the best wheat beers I had ever tasted then.

Later, I found out that the producers of Schneider Weisse are actually one of the original pioneers of Bavarian beer – in fact, they proudly proclaim themselves to be the original Bavarian wheat beer brewers.

Fast forward to last year’s Beerfest Asia in Singapore, where I was pleasantly surprised to see Schneider Weisse being distributed in Singapore, and later, Malaysia. During this year’s edition of the Beerfest in July, I managed to catch up with the export director of the brand, Susanne Hecht, who gave me the low-down on this uniquely Bavarian beer.

Schneider Weisse has a history dating back to 1872, when the company G. Schneider Sohn was founded in Munich by royal brewer Georg Schneider I and his son Georg Schneider II. When the King of Bavaria later decided to sell the rights to brew wheat beer, Schneider snapped it up, acquired the Weisses Bräuhaus in Munich (the oldest wheat beer brewery in the city), and became the first “common man” to brew wheat beer in Bavaria.

According to the official website, the company expanded its operations to the nearby towns of Kelheim and Straubing in 1927, and subsequently, after the breweries in Munich were bombed and destroyed during World War II in 1944, they moved their entire production to Kelheim.

Today, led by the sixth generation descendent of the family, Georg Schneider VI, the brewery is spreading its wings outside of Germany, with Asia gulping down 22% of their total volume currently.

Now, wheat beer is not uncommon in this region, so what makes Schneider Weisse’s beers so special?

“We produce only wheat beers, and they are all brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot (Germany’s Beer Purity Law, which stipulates that beer can be brewed with only water, barley and wheat malt, hops and yeast),” said Hecht.

“The way we produce the beer makes it very smooth, balanced and more full-bodied. We don’t have beers that will please everybody, so we don’t brew in big volumes. Our beers have unique characteristics, and people will either like them or they won’t,” she added.

According to Hecht, the brewery still brews Schneider Weisse Original, their best-selling beer, according to the old traditional method created by their founder.

“We use open fermenters as well as real bottle fermentation, which is very important for the rich and smooth taste of the beer,” she said, adding that they use all local ingredients to create an all-natural product, which is unpasteurised and unfiltered.

As mentioned, Schneider Weisse’s basic assortment of beers consists of seven “Taps”. Surprisingly, their most popular and most famous beer, Schneider Weisse Original, was not Tap 1, but Tap 7.

“The reason for this was our owner was quite unhappy that many people in Germany knew about the Original, but not many knew that they have other beers as well. So when he designed the new labels, he decided to give Tap 7 to the Original, so that people will realise that there are Taps 1 to 6 as well!

“And it worked! Now we are selling a bit more of Tap 4 and Tap 5 in Germany as well!” she said with a laugh.

Of all seven Taps, only three are easily available in Malaysia right now – Tap 7 (the rich, spicy and complex Original); Tap 1 (Meine Blonde Weisse, a lighter wheat beer, that is not as spicy as the Original); and Tap 2, which is the Mein Kristall, a filtered version of their wheat beers which has no yeast in it and therefore looks crystal clear.

“Most of the Kristall is sold in Asia or countries where it is really hot, like Brazil, where it is doing very well,” said Hecht.

As for the other Taps, they consist of the non-alcoholic Mein Alkoholfreies (Tap 3); the Mein Grünes (Tap 4), which is produced with organic ingredients and was originally the beer that the family used to brew for Oktoberfest before they were barred from taking part because they no longer produce in Munich; Meine Hopfenweisse (Tap 5), which is a hoppy, pale, wheat doublebok beer; and the Unser Aventinus (Tap 6), a strong dark wheat doublebok beer with 8.2% alcohol base volume (ABV).

Then there is the Aventinus Eisbok, a wonderfully complex and powerful beer that is not part of the basic assortment. This was the beer that REALLY made me sit up and take notice of Schneider Weisse’s beers all those years ago (and at 12% ABV, it made me want to lie down right after that).

The Eisbok is made by putting the Aventinus into a tank, and then freezing the walls of the tank down to -20°C, after which part of the water comes out of the beer and freezes into ice.

“We pump away the concentrate, melt the water, and then do the same thing again with the concentrate. The process takes a while and is very expensive, so we only make about 100 hectolitres a year,” she said, adding that the end result is a beer that is pretty much a concentrate of the Aventinus. “By taking the water out, we get an even more complex taste and high alcohol content.”

While most of these beers have yet to reach our shores, the Original, Kristall and Blonde have already been spotted around Malaysia in outlets like the Weissbrau chain of pubs, as well as The Bier Bar and Bakita in Changkat Bukit Bintang.

Michael Cheang wishes all seven Schneider Weisse Taps will one day be available in Malaysia. Failing that, just bring in the Aventinus Eisbok, please. Reader response can be directed to star2@thestar.com.my.