Aying brewery tour in English

According to Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Bavaria, the whole U/S-Bahn area at Marienplatz will be closed off anyway on Saturday due to the Pope's visit, i.e. the trains will run through without stopping. It won't be just your average Munich Saturday this week, so be prepared.

EDIT: Sorry, Sarabyrd, the first time I read your post I thought you meant something like "everyone on the Aying tour who is not getting the train at Marienpl", but reading it again, I guess you meant all the millions of people who can't get on at Marienplatz precisely because it's closed. (Shame on me - how could I have even imagined that you didn't already know that?)

are people actually wearing DIRNDL!?!?!!??!?!

seriously? because i'll join you if you are!

OK, watching this for a while now. Why not, I have missed some of the others, and well after living in Munich this long and not doing the beer tour is a scandal ! so put me down then, I need to get some Wies'n practice in.

@DDBug- glad to know that my service are so good that you'll follow me! i'll glad to offer them up on the tour (my babysitting service, not your children)

Yep, the pink one. Did you get that blue one you were trying on? I think I asked already but forgot the answer.
OK, this may be the final list, I think it looks great:
sarabyrd+Scogs
autoholic
thelbc
Green Tea
mere (unconditional) (possible +1)
Lupo (the spy)
UVAexpat
tsaishiou (if she's still here)
Grinner -1 (wine queen, but she went home for the weekend)
Elfenstar (sorrrrrry!)
Linedimi +3
pteren +1
Valentina +1 (by bike)
staceyd
petemoss +1
DDBug + 2 x 1/2 (?)
pepper
I talked to the brewery this morning and told them about 20 ppl so they know how much bread to slice up for us. Anyone still unsure about meeting point and other organizational aspects, PM me for my moby number. Cheers.

The mini-bugs are interested (hm kids interested in a brewery tour?), however, we have some logisitical issues that need to be worked out still (like one also wanting a friend to stay the night, me wanting to get a last minute dirndl, having to work until 6 tonight, etc). Sooo - will call or PM tonight.

oh, sarab, i'm not on your list, but count me in. is there stilll a big t.v. in hauptbahnhof? i thought they took that down ages ago. but you mean the steps that go up to burger king right?

Thanks, Elfenstar, I haven't been there for about 6 months. And sorry for forgetting you, I had this nagging feeling that someone was missing.
Okay, we will meet at the foot of the openwork stairs leading up to the Burger King in the ticket hall of the Hauptbahnhof (central station). Look for the sturdy blond dame in the pink Dirndl, that's me. Easiest way of getting there are U1, U2, U4 and U5 as they will not be hit so hard by the sheep heading towards Marienplatz to see their head shepard. Surface lines such as busses and street-cars may be interrupted, the S-Bahns heading towards and coming fromKarlsplatz will probably be full, though, as the stop at Marienplatz is closed down. Meet-up time is 11.45 am, we will head for the S-Bahn at 12.00 noon sharp as it leaves at 12.08pm.
We will be meeting others at the S-Bahnhof in Aying; does anyone know a good meeting point there? I've never taken the S-Bahn there so I can't even start making suggestions.

I'm not familiar with Aying, but why not simply meet on the S-Bahn platform there? A group of 20 or so English-speaking people, many wearing Tracht, should be fairly easy to spot.

I'll join you on the train at Ostbahnhof, to avoid the chaos in the city centre. Just hope the trains will be running on time. If I'm not in the same coach as the rest of you on the train, I'll look out for you when I get off in Aying.

I will be getting on at Ost-BH too

See ya all there!

hey! not sure when we'll be getting there. if we don't jump on the Sbahn at Rosenheimerplatz then we'll be meeting you at the Sbahn station in Aying at 12:48 when the train comes in!

make sure to wear your Tracht!!!

I have no tracht, since I didn't have a chance to go shopping today. I may have an extra kiddo with me, or I may commit hari-kari.
So - someone please PM me their handy number so I can let people know either to wait for me or that I will not be there and not to worry or wait? Thanks.

sent you the # hopefully see you there

Thanks! Hopefully I'll be in a better mood tomorrow! Even if I have an extra kiddo. (How do these things multiply??)
They are definately going to their Aunts (bzw) mothers afterwards, though. Then I will go drink lots more beer

Mr. Dramadiva has decided that it would be fun to drive out today and meet you all at the brewery (he's feeling the need to get in shape for Oktoberfest!)...Have fun!

Wow, this thing really has developed dynamics! We may hit the 30-mark after all.
See you all soon.

It's the scent of the Ofest in the air - makes us all want beeerrr.

Fab time.. lashings of beer and got stuck in my local on the way back too!!

My head will hurt in the morning.

Thanks to Sara for all her efforts!

G

Ditto!

Ok, finally managed to upload photos, the best ones were taken by mini-bug.

Thanks Sara for organizing this! it was a fun time!
i'm sure everyone else had a good time too

Some After Brewery Piccies..

[img]http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c148/satman124/Ayingandmisc068.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c148/satman124/Ayingandmisc069.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c148/satman124/Ayingandmisc048.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c148/satman124/Ayingandmisc083.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c148/satman124/Ayingandmisc082.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c148/satman124/Ayingandmisc073.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c148/satman124/Ayingandmisc069.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c148/satman124/Ayingandmisc055.jpg[/img]

I have to say... the little DD Buggers were very well behaved... even though it probably wasnt very interesting for them... just yet.

G

Thanks, Grinner.
I'll refrain from telling them to blow bubbles in your face in the future

Happily surprised to see so many equipment shots DDBug!

That was the Minibugs at work. I took pictures of them, you can pretty much tell when they got ahold of the camera (strange, just as I got my first taste of unfiltered beer).

Thank you all for coming and being so interested in the brewing process even though there was nothing to really be seen. The hard-cores got stuck at the Bräustüberl and the Kastanienhof after a delightful walk through the village, a thoroughly enjoyable day indeed.

Here's a link to the Gallery, please PM if you want yourself removed.

sorry for the delay in uploading. i was out all morning and afternoon riding my bike around munich and just enjoying the sunshine.

Elf's Ayinger Brewery Pics

i got a little carried away with resizing, but I think everyone gets the picture. ha, no pun intended! thanks sara for the orga. and to lupo for not laughing at my dumb beer questions. now, what kind of german equivalent of beer was an ale again?

@ Elfenstar: top fermenting Helles, wasn't it?
@ DDBug, loved the industrial shots the Buggettes provided. And their manners are lovely, even though they are such lively little sprouts.

Helles is bottom fermented. It's Weissbier that is top fermented like ales. But that's where the similarities between Weissbier and ale end (fortunately).

Ah, but Kölsch (German link) is a top fermented Helles. This is the kind of useful information you obtain from this tour, not just the free beer (go easy on the unfiltered stuff, it does things to your insides).

Please pardon the beer geekery, but... Kölsch is actually a style unto its own, and really nothing like the pale Munich lager that is typically referred to as Helles, aside from a pale appearance. Yes, it is top-fermenting (and thus an ale, not a lager), though there are many styles of ale that are pale in appearance, including Kölsch, that would not be described as a Helles. In short, Helles is Helles, Kölsch is Kölsch...

Note: oops, I am signed in as my wife. This message was actually written by petemoss14.

Ah, I was wondering how a lady knew so much about beer

You're correct though, whoever you are! Helles is a uniquely Bavarian product.

Great day out, thanks Sara for organising everything. Very smart planning too, to have it on the weekend of the Pope's visit and take advantage of the specially ordered "Pope weather"!

I took your question to mean which beer here in Germany is similar to ales. To be more specific is not as easy as it sounds! First off, "ale" defines a broad category of beers including English, Scottish, and American variants. The word itself has roots in Proto Germanic, Norse and Old Saxon languages (Ealu, Öl, Alo). Ales are most often brewed outside of Reinheitsgebot guidelines (e.g. using unmalted grains, fruits, honey, ginger, orange peels etc.) There´s India Pale Ale (IPA), Bitter Ale, Mild Ale, Amber Ale, etc. Ales are also differently hopped! I think STB and the other TT CAMRA afficionados are better able to define a typical English ale...Here´s what the Oxford English Dictionary says:

"[A]t present 'beer' is in the trade the generic name for all malt liquors, 'ale' being specifically applied to the paler coloured kinds, the malt for which has not been roasted or burnt; but the popular application of the two words varies in different localities." [OED]"

To answer your question though, the nearest German beers would have to be top fermented, clear, and carrying at least some similar taste profiles. My answer again would be Altbier (e.g. Diebels) and Kölsch (an upper fermenting, helles i.e. pale beer). Otherwise stick to Wheat, Rye, Dinkel, Emmer beers (all also upper fermented, and here in Germany produced via RHG) they at least have some similar flavors although they may dominate with banana or pineapple. Not all though. Cheers

Is there an exam on this tomorrow?

thanks lupo! i tried and liked the dunkles beer. maybe i'm a convert.

Thank you for confirming that yes, a lady can know about beer.

I'm sure that Lupo used the word "helles" (note the lower-case 'h') to refer only to its colour (hell - light). Sorry to be a pedant, but it's just not accurate to describe Kölsch as a top-fermented version of Helles.

Thank you Small Town Boy -- I too was going to point out the difference between helles as a descriptor and Helles as a beer style... but didn't want to be a pedant...

Note: dammit, I did it again! --petemoss14

Thanks, uh, Michele. Although I think that was the most pedantic post I've ever made. The following morning, the TT tagline read as follows, and although I may be being paranoid, I don't think it was coincidence

Ok, Kölsch is a top fermenting light beer but even light Helles is bottom fermenting. Linguistics rule!