In 2013 the Beer Father and I were traveling in Munich, Germany the week before Oktoberfest on a father-son Euro trip. At one of the beer halls a patron told us about the village of Andechs and this amazing brewery we needed to visit.
A train ride outside of town, we set a course to an old Monastery that funded the church through their brewery. Upon arrival we could take a bus up to the Monastery or hike through the woods. We hiked, moving through a neighborhood and into the forest under an overcast sky.
We ascended the hill climb where we came to a clearing and in the distance the Monastery stood like an oasis on the German plains.
The first stop was the beer garden where liters were poured from wooden casks and lockers of steins filled the background. Helles and Doppelbock Dunkel from Kloster Andechs is still the best beer I’ve had to date.
The entire experience was magical and completely unique. The long table across from us was filled with German high school kids on what looked like a field trip. Liter glasses in hand the students and teacher chaperones were clinking and drinking without a care.
We finished our time in the beer garden and proceeded back down the hill, the Beer Father with a giant pretzel in hand. To this day my experience in Andechs was the most romantic beer trek I’ve had.
In honor of this journey, we’re using Andechs yeast for our lager program. Our pilsner, so rightfully named Field Trip in commemoration of the time spent at Andechs, is cold fermented, given time to properly lager, and uses no fining agents or filtration. This unfiltered pilsner is everything a lager should be. Clean, crisp, and snappy. The nose is remnant of lemon balm and eucalyptus. The first sip is crisp with notes of lemon marmalade and hearty country bread. Rich in complexity, this pilsner is an homage to doing things the long way, as tradition demands.
Pilsner is the life blood of brewers. We crave clean beer that really shows everything in our process. Come try a pint and taste the journey behind it all.
~ JOSH, Head Brewer
