Er-DING DONG - worth its wheat in gold!! - Erdinger Weizen Beer

****My journey to the centre of the Erdinger****

I first discovered stumbled upon the magical world of wheat beer back in 1991 when I arrived in the summer time and embarked on a year of "study" at Mannheim University in South West Germany as part of my Business and German degree course.

Up to this point I have to confess my knowledge of German beer was sadly lacking, somehow naively clinging to the assumption that premium Becks pilsner would be the king of beers across the land (rather than the reality that it in Germany itself its more of an Aldi style cheap and cheerful supermarket brew - don't you just love marketing)

Within a few days of my arrival, my education was underway. Out and about in the local taverns, I became fascinated by the spectacularly ornate colourful tall glasses, the electrifyingly efficient rapid fire diagonal pouring of glowing amber liquid bubbling with froth, speeding dangerously close to the top of the glass and then with one final flourish the vertical correction and splash down. Then the most bewildering part of all, into that bewitching cauldron of cloudy bubbles they drop a slice of lemon!

****First pint refreshment****

As the fates would have it, just so happened that the main on tap brew in this bar, on this night, happened to be Erdinger Weiss, with the red, blue and golden wheat eared circular logo capturing my full attention, so in my best efforts to blend in with the locals I ordered based on what I'd heard the last guy ask for - "Ein Heffer Bitte?"

Clearly this wasn't quite right, as often the case on my initial attempts in Germany, the bar chappie wasn't even sure I was speaking German, and enquired in equally broken English whether I was actually asking for a half of bitter. And so the first chance for me to utter the words "Er---dinger?!" and that was all in took - "Na ja, sie meinen Hefe Weizen - alles klar...". And so within moments it was there before me like an ice-cold work of art.

Sat down with my new pals, looked over at their woefully inadequate and lifeless pilsner drinks and proudly raised my glass to my lips (having sneakily already fished the lemon out - still too much for me at this stage).

Instantly my tastebuds seem to light up with the flavours, rich and zesty, nectar and summer fruits, all washing around with that top layer of froth and the bubbles bouncing all about my tongue, thirst comprehensively quenched, and moments later, the realisation that - hang on a minute there isn't actually any after taste. Years of disappointment with soggy warm bitters, chemically overloaded lagers and gut burning ciders suddenly melting away!

Thanks to that added carbonation, almost an instant after-glow effect up in the head just like that indefinable sensation you get from the first sip of champagne, a warm and happy feeling, perfect for a relaxed evening chatting away and getting to know your new exchange student mates. And in all the excitement I didn't even notice that great blob of foam now sitting prettily on my nose....

****Cafe culture****

Emerging late morning the following day, remarkably hangover free (see the science part!) a small group of us set out on a hot and sticky morning to stroll along the banks of the River Rhein. Didn't take me long to be lured into a café with an enticing array of ice-cream Sundaes splashed all across the menus. Then, looking around at a couple of the other tables it dawned on me. Here was my chance to combine my oldest and newest food and drink pleasures in one perfect fusion! Yes, you can happily sit and eat a gloriously indulgent ice-cream and wash it all down with a thirst bustingly refreshing wheat beer - genius!!.

No Hefe-Weizen here though, but a whole new discovery on the wheat beer front - Erdinger Kristall Weizen - clear and crisp, even more bubbly, so hard to drink quickly, the perfect opportunity to take things slow and savour the flavours, and yes I succumbed and left the lemon in this time - tangtastic!

****Beer for all seasons****

Now after those heady days of early summer-time discovery, I went on to spend a blissful year sampling many a variety of German wheat beer from a range of Bavarian breweries including the intriguingly titled Schneiderweissen, Hacker-Pschorr and Franziskaner, but for me nothing ever matched up to that Erdinger experience. Luckily Erdinger seemed to be the main wheat beer option in most of the pubs, so it was never hard to find.

Mannheim like most towns and cities in Germany, had numerous quirkily themed pubs, such as the Storks nest, which as bizarre as it sounds now literally used to sound out an alarm mid-way through the evening, then before you know it the bar staff are handing out umbrellas to every table, singing in the rain is piping out full blast and it actually rains indoors - I swear its true!!

But our favourite Erdinger haunt was the Broker's inn pub down on the main shopping thoroughfare in Mannheim - the 'Planken'. They had a classic ploy to display the prices of everything drink on offer on electronic boards, and over the night, different prices would be displayed according to who was buying what, just like the stock market.

On increasingly tight student budgets, timing was everything, but if you could hold out long enough at some stage every evening they would always be some kind of price drop, a golden opportunity for glory. I vividly recall one-night as the price of Erdinger suddenly went down from 5.5 German Marks (about £2.80) to less than 3 (£1.50) in a matter of moments - so our table went for it big style and bought 3 Erdingers apiece much to the bewilderment of our fellow drinkers. Gold rush fever - but naturally the prices surged back to above 6 for the rest of the night so we could go into smug mode and pace out those ever bubbling investment beers!

****The Erdinger Story****

The region of Bavaria, with the vibrant regional capital of Munich at its heart, is undisputably the home of German wheat beer accounting for over 85% of Weiss Bier Production. Back in 1886, in the small town of Erding on the outskirts of the city a brewery was founded, and from humble beginnings the brewery is now established as the largest privately owned Wheat beer brewery in the entire world.

It's so good there's even an Erdinger fan club you can join - according to its website http://www.erdinger.de as of June 2005 there were already 80,000 members in 52 countries world-wide!

****The science part*****

What makes Erdinger taste so special? Basically it comes down to the particular way they blend the yeast and hops which ensures the brewing process continues as the beer settles. As it says on the bottles - 'Mit feiner Hefer in der flasche gereift' - matured in the bottle with fine hops - (I knew all those years of German studying would pay one day.

As with all other traditional German beers it is brewed in strict accordance to the Reinheitsgebot (Purity Decree) which dates right back to 1516 so there are just five ingredients : water, wheatmalt, barleymalt, hops and yeast - so pure and simple - so moorish!!

****Where can you find it****

One of the great things about the relaxation of EU import laws over the last few years is that a whole raft of international beers including Erdinger are becoming established as firm favourites across the country in pubs and supermarkets.

Having until recently lived in and around Leeds for a number of years, am overjoyed to report that you can find Erdinger on tap there in numerous locations, not just in the smaller specialised international brew places, so am confident that's the case elsewhere in the land. Will expect to pay between £2.50 and £3.50 a pint, which is a little steep, but because of the added strength and bubble factor, it actually produces a comfortably merry state far quicker than standard fodder lagers and its really not a beer you'll want to rush.

You can certainly pick up bottles in the likes of Morrisons, Sainsburys and Tescos, priced around the £1.50 mark, again high-end, but you're worth it! A standard issue bottle contains half a litre (500ML), so just shy of a pint (568ML), but with the 5.3% alcohol strength it's more than sufficient to hit the spot!! Even the bottle itself has some attractive features - dusky chocolate brown glass with a little yellow neckerchief on the bottle with the distinctive blue and red Erdinger Weissbrau logo separate by an ear of wheat and the words Premium Weissbeer proudly displayed...

****Conclusion****

Now my afternoon drinking days are well and truly consigned to the history books, I am comforted in the knowledge that every so often, late on a Friday night, I will take a look in the Fridge, dig beneath the sprouts and other decaying veggies sitting in the bottom trays and unearth an ice-cold bottle genuinely deserving of the description "amber nectar"

Yes maybe, over the years I've lost patience with the art of the pouring the stuff out a a suitably angle of tilt, more often than not ending up with an overflowing fountain of dribble and froth filling the top half, but I am always guaranteed that as soon as I take that first guzzling mouthful, I feel truly back in balance with my world - the weekend has arrived....