Name: Aventinus

Brewer: Schneider-Weisse

Style: Wheat / Double Bock

Cellared On: July 17th, 2007

Original Tasting: July 28th, 2007

I love, love, love this beer! I had my first Aventinus at this small little resort outside of Lake Placid, NY. It’s called the Lodge on Lake Clear. A fantastic place, a must stop for beer lovers if you’re ever in the area. The family that runs it has a strong German background, and the main lodge is in a style that is half Adirondacks, half German. In true German tradition they have their own beer cellar, in which it was recommended to me that I have an Aventinus with dinner that evening. I was so glad I did, because this brew has become a favorite of mine ever since.

This is a dark brown beer that forms a crisp white head. Heady smells of sweet malt, fruit, and clove rise up from it. A rich clove flavor dominates for me, with some yeasty zest and hints of chocolate. Very smooth and easy to drink. Waaaay to easy to drink.

Other online tasters report tastes of fruit, chicory, caramel, brown sugar, and banana.

Six Month Tasting: February 5th, 2008

There’ve been some changes in appearance over the past few months. The brew is noticeably darker, and seems to not be as murky as it was before. A beautiful head formed on the beer, but it completely dissolved away without a trace within a minute.

Taste-wise, this beer is very similar to my tasting six months ago. Smells and flavors of clove are dominate, with banana and brown sugar tastes coming into play. The body is a bit lighter to me, and some of the hoppiness is gone from the finish, which still has some of the spiciness intact.

One Year Tasting: July 23rd, 2008

Pours a deep cola-like brown. Smells of clove and sweet malts filled the air.

Not too much has changed in the past six months, expect maybe some of the subtle background flavors. Just like before, there’s clove flavor but now I’m getting some hints of chocolate, and ripe cherry (not sure where that came from) to go with it. I didn’t get too much of the banana I tasted earlier, but the brown sugar sweetness is still there.

Absolutely delicious, and still very drinkable.

Cellar Outlook: Extremely good. Many tasters have reported good results from cellaring this. I can’t wait!

Six Month Outlook Notes: Still holding strong after six months, I think we’ll see some further flavor development from the clove/banana notes.

One Year Tasting Notes: I don’t see any signs of fading from this brew. I expect the sweetness to keep slowing pulling back and letting some subtle flavors come more to the front as a result.

Next Tasting: Mid July 2009