Welcome to The Midweek Drink. I hope you have all brought your presents for your loved ones: from expensive jewellery to a poorly-knitted wooly hat made by your nan who believes they are a ‘master’ when it comes to a ball of yarn and a pair of needles. But it’s really all about getting together on Christmas Day, am I right? Stuffing your face, watching that one family member make a fool of themselves as they over do it on the wine or beer, playing Christmas games and watching The Great Escape.
This week, I will be going back to the homeland of beer, Germany, to try out an ‘unpasteurised’ and ‘unfiltered’ wheat beer known as And Union Der Graf von Bayern, brewed by And Union.
This contains only five ingredients: water, wheat, barley, yeast and hops and comes in a 500ml bottle.
A brief history on And Union
A father, son and long-time business partner dreamed of producing traditional beer; and with great determination it became a reality.
In 2007, And Union began to work with small breweries in the Bavarian region; the oldest being 500 years old to a much younger one only 90 years old.
With such great partnerships and skills, they were able to produce a great selections of lager, wheat beer and ale the old-fashioned way. And with these skills, they had managed to produce a non-alcoholic beer with - wait for it, you sporty bunch - isotonic properties.
Three senses and a beverage
For this drink, I had to use a tankard glass just to appreciate the colour, taste and aroma, properly. But before I go into describing the drink, the artwork on the bottle needs to be mentioned.
What it has on the front is a black & white photo of a man dressed in traditional Bavarian clothing, which I believe is called a Lederhosen? (Please correct me if I’m wrong), sitting on a rock and looking quite regal.
Right, let’s get back to the drink!
It has a cloudy orange colour, a frothy off-white head that dissipates quickly with a light body and a slight fizziness to it.
It has a light maltiness, with strong wheat and fruit notes, very crisp and not at all bitter. And for the aroma, again, the wheat is strong enough to detect.
If I had to describe this beer in one word and straight to the point, it would be the one that’s been printed on top of the bottle cap: YUM.