At Pub 27 in Pompeii
Die Weisse 1901 Original
Date: November 8, 2018
The Story— One of the joys of drinking and eating at Die Weisse is the feeling that you’ve stepped back in time—about a hundred years which isn’t all that much for Salzburg, but it still is a different feel from a 21st century tap room. These guys have been slinging tasty wheat beers longer than any of the oldest patrons in a house that welcomes a wide range of aged drinkers.
The Beer—This dark Hefeweizen may be their best – and it’s in a style in which excelling isn’t easy. A modest 4.4 alcohol makes this an exceptional session beer. The taste is roasty and herbal and there’s some leather in the roast that’s softened by some sugar-like sweetness. A chewy feel leads to a touch of molasses. Ellie found it an interesting blend of flavors, and I would concur.
Value — Very good to excellent. Beer is a bargain in most places outside of Vienna in Austria — a well above average beer, then, is pretty close to a steal.
This week we return to HIGHLIGHTS OF EUROPE– Surprisingly good beer in “bad beer cities.” The best we’ve found in researching our next book – a guide to great beer in European tourist cities. (Planned publication 2019.) We’ll shift back to great American beer finds next week.
Next week we return to the US to highlight some great American craft beers, some of which we’ve found in researching out first US Beer publication: Brews and Snooze-– Breweries you can visit and walk back to a fine place to spend the night. Look for it in 2019.
About these posts: We taste and evaluate over a thousand beers every year. The beers posted here rank in the top quarter of those tastings. Values: “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.
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