Vibrant Freising, 1000 Year Old Beer

Freising is a vibrant and energetic town with a population size of about 45,000. The city is full of cute shops and restaurants. There are several "Tracht" shops, which are clothing shops that especially feature traditional garments, like lederhosen and dirndls. There are numerous restaurants, cafes and coffee shops with outdoor seating, where you can sit with a cappuccino or espresso and watch the throngs of pedestrians and bikers move past. While the streets are open for automobiles, you see more people getting around on foot or bicycle, and there are large bicycle parking lots all over town.

Weihenstephan Brewery

One of the major attractions in the city is the Weihenstephan brewery. Weihenstephan is the world's oldest continuously operating brewery. That's right...the oldest brewery in the world. Most likely in the whole solar system. Without any evidence to back me up, I am going to go out on a limb and say that in the entire Milky Way, this is the oldest brewery. Weihenstephan brewed its first batch in the year 1040 (Okay, the Milky Way is a LOT older than that, so there are probably older breweries out there somewhere, and I would like to find them). The brewery grew out of a monastery that was founded by the patron saint of the city, St. Korbinian. Korbinian started the city of Freising as a school, church and monastery. The brewery gives a fascinating tour, but be sure to call a few months in advance to reserve one. They make several varieties of beer and export them all over the world. 976 years is a long time. It is sobering to think about all the nations that have risen and fallen in that time and they keep making beer. If it is too sobering for you to think about that, then crack open a Weihenstephaner Hefe Weisse Bier. I sampled 6 of their beers, and it was my favorite. It would be really cool to go there for their millennial celebration in 2040. It would be even cooler to be there for their bimillennial celebration in 3040, and a goal I will shoot for. The only disappointment was that they are no longer selling bottles of their original batch.

Any institution that exists for 1000 years is bound to have an impact on the community. A university grew up around the brewery and is a well respected science college. Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University offers a variety of science degrees, including of course, a degree in brewing. They also specialize in green engineering, not surprising, since Germany is constantly making strides in renewable energy, recycling, and reducing their carbon foot print. I've been watching them over the past few years as they have increased their percentage of renewable energy, and they are mostly renewable at this point. They are huge on recycling. We need to learn from the Germans before we destroy the planet.

Surrounding the Brewery and the University are beautiful gardens with fountains and benches.  The gardens are constantly maintained and full of a wide variety of flowers and trees. The brewery, university and gardens are located on the top of a high hill overlooking the city.  One of the best views in Freising is from the top of that peaceful hill. You look over the city, the Upper Bavarian Plateau, and see the Alps in the distance. The place is quiet, tranquil, a perfect place for quiet conversation, a picnic, or meditation.

View of Freising from atop Weihenstephan Hill 

One of my favorite experience in Freising was the hotel we stayed at. The Bayerischer Hof gives excellent service. I had stayed there once before, a few years ago. I was so impressed with the service that I wanted this to be the first place I stayed for my honeymoon. I emailed them ahead of time to tell them that. The went all out on the decorations for us, which was a huge surprise.  They also gave us a  complimentary bottle of German wine. Their service is fantastic, with friendly and competent staff. And their breakfast buffet is fresh, local and delicious.

 

The kitchen with full menu at the Bayerischer Hof was also fantastic. I had dinner at the Bayerischer Hof three years ago. For the first time in my life, I had sauerkraut and actually liked it. I didn't just pretend I liked it because I am of German heritage. For that matter, the same is actually true of beer. The truth is, I never liked beer until I went to Germany three years ago, and had it at the Oktoberfest. And if that isn't enough, the sausages in Germany were dramatically better than American sausages. They were much less greasy and had a better flavor. When I experienced espresso in Germany three years ago, it was like falling in love with coffee for the first time. I changed the way I make coffee at home because of it.  I always hear people talk about going to Europe and making grandiose statements that one thing or another is better over there than it is here. They sound a bit enamored. You hear and wonder if these things can really be better over there. We have the same exact thing here, right.  Your mind looks for explanations. Maybe its just that they were on vacation and had a nice trip. They were relaxed. They were sprinkled with fairy dust. It was spells cast by gypsies. Anything to try to rationalize.  But no, it is not grandiose. These things really are better over there. The sausages, the coffee, the sauerkraut, the beer … its not fairy dust, hallucinogenics or transcendental meditation.  These things really are better in Germany. Better quality ingredients and better preparation result in superior products. The pork roast and sauerkraut at Bayerischer Hof was an eye opening experience. The meat melted in my mouth. It was so tender I didn’t need a fork, I could have just used a straw. The pork roast really was outstanding and it changed the way I looked at sauerkraut.

The staff is friendly and professional the food is fantastic, and the location is perfect. If you want to spend some time in Freising, I strongly recommend Bayerischer Hof. Its only a twenty minute walk from the hotel to the brewery, university and gardens. The hotel is in the middle of town, you can spend several days walking around and exploring.