June 5, 2009: Aventinus

When I first started the 365brews project, one of the most common questions that I got besides "Why the hell are you doing this?" was "Do you really think that you're going to be able to find that many different beers?"

"Of course!' I said 'There are thousands of different beers in the world, I've got to be able to find at least 365."

As it turns out, I was right. There are plenty of beers out there for me to choose from. The problem that I hadn't anticipated however, was finding beers that interested me. At first I figured that drinking a beer every day would be great and that I wouldn't have any trouble grinditg it out. I mean, how bad could it really be drinking my favorite beverage constantly? I was convinced that my entire plan was foolproof, but there was one problem that I never accounted for. The one factor that I had forgotten to plug into the equation was finding beer that still interested me after a few months of drinking beer everyday. By this point in the 365brews project, alot of these beers start sounding the same. Blah blah blah hefeweizen..... yadda yadda yadda white ale.... you just never know what to expect until you pop the top and find out for yourself.

Thanks to my newfound ennui for all things alcoholic, I've found it hard to muster up any sort of inspiration when I'm shopping for new beers. I used to be a lot more thorough with my selection process, but by this point my selection criteria has devolved into these two categories: A.) Is it cheap? and B.) Have I had it yet? This is hard for me to admit as a self confessed beer snob, but the process by which I choose each beer has become more or less a crap shoot. Sometimes you reach for the first thing on the shelf and strike gold, and other times you come up with liquid crap. Fortunately, tonight I've struck it rich with a surprising little beer called Aventinus. I found this one on sale for a pretty modest price at my local beverage shop, so I didn't really expect much. However, I was pleasantly surprised by Aventinus when I tried it for myself and it didn't totally suck. This one pours a rich, dark shade of chestnut brown that has become the hallmark of most dunkels. Aventinus is a bit darker than the average dunkel, which gives a much more complex and layered flavor with hints of caramel hops, spice and even banana. There have been a few times during the 365brews project that I've found myself to be mired down in a horrible slump, but whenever that happens, it simply takes a fine beer like Aventinus to free me from my rut and remind myself of why I'm doing this absurd project in the first place.

Prost!
Ian

http://www.schneider-weisse.de/