Various questions about Weihenstephaner

I can't claim any special knowledge, but here is the wiki page on the brewery http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weihenstephan_Abbey

As to your question about if the same family has run it, the answer would be no. It was originally founded as part of a Benedictine Monastery. It is alluded to in the above article, but I believe I have read before (not certain where) that for most of its 1,000 year existence it existed as a Monastery and only sometime in the last century or two has it operated as a business.

 

First of all Weihenstephaner offerings are all world class.Secondly they are a steal for the price you pay. Even if you
had to pay a dollar more a bottle it would be worth it. So price for what you get- it is a no brainer.When someone who wants to try well crafted beer for the first time I always recommend either their hefeweiss or Vitus-my personal second favorite beer amoung hundred's that I have tried regardless of the price.THEY ARE AN ABSOLUTELY AMAZING BREWERY and and I am glad you brought up the subject.

 

Why don't they have VITUS and KORBINIAN available in 6 PACKS!?!?!?!?

My only gripe with them really. They also need to make their Munich Dunkel (Tradition) available in the U.S. as well

 

As been pointed out before, it wasn't a business for the longest time, but a monastery. Actually the monastery is probably even older, dating from the 9th (!) century. I think they now claim 1040 as their founding date, but usually this is only the earliest date they could actually prove that there was a brewery in action. Maybe, even probably, the bros from the other orders, before it became Benedictian, brewed some gruit beer in the 9th and 10th century already, all monasteries did in the Middle Ages.
When the monastery was abandoned due to secularisation in the early 19th century, the state of Bavaria became the owner of the brewery and still is today! Students and alumni from TU (Technical University) Munich, studying brewing, are working there today.
They were almost out of business more than once: several fires, the Plague, dozens of wars, even an earthquake. They always rebuilt it.
A short article on it is on the English Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weihenstephan_Abbey

 

Nice to see Weihenstephan appreciate here. I like those also.

But there is better place to ask those questions! You can send direct e-mail to the brewery. I am quite sure they will give you really nice replies!

 

The hef and vitus always put me in a state of nirvana. World Class Everything.

 

I can't answer all of those but I'll answer a few because I love this historic brewery from the heavens.

Are they as old as they say they are? Yes they are, they were a monastery (as a few mentioned before me)

Pretty sure their Hefeweizen and Lager are their oldest produced beers, but don't hold me to that

Prosperity? That's easy, they produced incredible beers. They are a brewery that prides themselves on heritage, quality, affordability, and detail. This inquiry was my favorite. I love a brewery that can maintain a level of superiority over an extended period of time, never deviate from brewing the finest examples of beers they release, and price point them at a level where even non craft beer enthusiasts would purchase.

I know I didn't answer all of them, but I'd rather answer the questions I know than BS ya lol. If you can get a hold of their Vitus, Korbinian, or Hefe you'll be in heaven. This brewery is by far my favorite as I don't have to take a day off work, then wait in a line to buy a super expensive beer. Their great beers are distro and affordable.

*waiting in line is fun at times. I love beer tasting with fellow line dwellers *

 

We just had an intern at our brewery who is a student at Weihenstephan, which is part of the Munich Technical University, specializing in beer and beverage technology. The school has a separate pilot brewery, but the commercial brewery is also involved in the large body of ongoing brewing research at the school and I think that is shows in the quality of their beer. Weihenstephan is widely considered the top brewing school in the world, so it's no surprise that their beer is awesome.