Schneider Weisse on a Mountain

Ah, German beer. How do I love you? Let me count the ways. I love the richness of your flavours that signal top notch quality raw materials; I love the brewing standards that make for an impeccable achievement of authentic style; I love the quaffableness (or is it quaffability?) that allows me to drink you in vast quantities. I could go on, but let's stop here and turn our attention to the beauty of the day. Schneider Weisse - a classic among Bavarian wheat beer - I fell in love with it in Munich, where I lived for two years as a teenager. Even though Schneider Weisse literally means Schneider White, this original brand is actually a dark wheat beer (copper, rousse), something one would hardly see in a Belgian wheat beer (notable exceptions are brewed in Quebec). And I took this specimen to the top of Mont Tremblant, making sure a Bavarian beer receives a quasi-Bavarian backdrop. Unfortunately, certain compromises had to be made to take the photo. I would have liked to serve up Schneider in a real Weissbierglass, but it would have been too bulky to take one up the mountain, given that I was already carrying my camera equipment, the 500ml bottle, and various other things. Another issue was the serving temperature - my aims are not just toward the picture but more importantly the savoring of the beer, and a wheat beer should be enjoyed chilled. I made it just about in time, so my refreshment on the peak of the mountain was still cool. On the up side, walking up and around the mountain for a while made for a convenient way to mix some of the yeast sediment into the beer, which you can see in the cloudy appearance below. I do think the mountainous backdrop made this beer taste particularly refreshing, or maybe it was the walking... Either way, the Schneider Weisse has a dominating acidic character that comes with certainty from the yeast flavours (sour dough bread) but possibly also from the dark malts. The taste is bread all the way - I always knew beer is a food, and I am sure the reader will agree with me. Overall, this is a nicely balanced beer that makes you want to yodel of joy into the valleys below.