Kloster Andechs Weissbier Alkoholfrei

Klosterbrauerei Andechs is a Bavarian brewery run by a Benedictine monastic order in the municipality of Andechs. Located in the Starnberg district in the southern part of Bavaria, beer has been brewed at the monastery for over 550 years, pretty much since the abbey’s formation. And it makes perfect sense for them to have done so – being located on a high ‘holy mountain’ and receiving a steady stream of pilgrims on their journeys seeking higher guidance, there were sure to be a lot of thirsty mouths to fill with good ale.

The brewery’s Weissbier Alkoholfrei was first brought to market in 2016 and is the first non-alcoholic beer that they ever produced. The brewer only began brewing wheat beer back in the 1990s, with their ‘Andechser Weissbier Hell’ initially being released on Saint Joseph’s Day in 1993. However, Klosterbrauerei Andechs’ flagship beer has been their helles lager for hundreds of years, so I wonder why they didn’t go down the route that many other breweries have, and have their first venture into the nolo marketplace being a lager. Maybe due to alkoholfrei lager’s market saturation, or maybe to just test the waters, whatever the reason, Kloster Andechs seem to be invested in the alcohol-free movement – they’ve invested considerable money into their own reverse-osmosis plant nearby in Andechs. This enables them to gently remove the alcohol from their brews while maintaining most of the flavours, and most importantly in a weissbier, the yeasty goodness. Enough talking, let’s get this one in a glass shall we?

Pouring out the beer we get a murky orange brown liquid which produces a tight frothy head as it settles in the glass. On the nose we get the usual suspects you’d expect from a wheat beer – yeasty bready wheat, almost artificial banana and a pinch of clove spice. There’s even a touch of orange citrus in there at the back.

On tasting we’re introduced to a taste I don’t often associate with weissbiers, and that is fresh apple. There’s an unmistakable fruitiness up-front which is quite pleasant. The classic bready malt is around to back this up, along with banana esters. Also present is a background bitterness which is much stronger than in a standard weiss. The body is good, with the carbonation being on the high side, and the mouthfeel being good and creamy, great for an alcohol-free beer. The finish is dry.

Kloster Andechs Weissbier Alkoholfrei is not your average non-alcoholic wheat beer. While the standard aromas are all there, the taste is pretty unique, and builds upon what we expect in a weissbier. There’s certainly a lot more bitterness in the taste than usual, and I found that pretty appealing. If you’re a fan of a good German weiss then add this to your shopping list.

Buy Kloster Andechs Weissbier

You should be able to find some bottles from the Kloster Andechs range in your local off-licence. I got my Weissbier Alkoholfrei online from the following store:

Nutritional Information (per 100ml, taken from the side of the bottle)
ABV	0.5%
Energy	25 kcal
Fat	<0.1g
Carbohydrates	5.1g
Sugar	<0.1g
Protein	0.9g
Ingredients
Water, Malted Wheat, Malted Barley, Hops, Hop Extract, Yeast
Additional Information
Country of Production	Germany
Brewer	Klosterbrauerei Andechs – https://www.andechs.de/en.html
Gluten Free?	No
Vegan Friendly?	No