Spaten Premium: The King's regular beer of choice (and how he came to find it!)

Staying on the beer theme for now, I had to follow up from my Franziskaner post to talk about the beer that I choose to consume on a regular basis - and that is Spaten Premium - also known in the USA as "Spaten Light".

For the uninitiated, Spaten is pronounced "shpahhh-ten" - the "a" is soft - similiar to the "a" sound in "car". It's often mispronounced with a long "a" as in "bacon" or the sound you hear in "apple". Spaten is a spade... just like on the logo to the right.

Like most, I believe in love at first sight. And when it comes to beer, I can honestly claim that love at first taste is even more real than love at first sight. Most people can recall when they drank their first Spaten.

It was the Summer of '89. And I had been driving around Watrous Park in Cromwell in search of my brother who was to have been playing volleyball on one of the park's fields. I parked my car, searched high and low, and couldn't find my brother on any of the fields. But I stopped and listened. And to my wonderment, I heard this incredibly beautiful "German Fest Music" being played.

I then saw three older German ladies (Frauen), and inquired about the music which I had recognized from my German language classes at UConn. I asked if I could go over and have a closer listen. And one of them smiled and replied, "It's a public park, you can go anywhere."

I wandered over. Inquired about the music and learned that I had stumbled across the Hartford Saengerbund's annual club picnic. I met a few of the members, shook hands, and before I knew it, one of them - an older gentleman, who had very thick glasses and a thick German accent poured me a beer from the keg. This man's name was Alois Hager, and the beer was a Spaten Premium.

I had a couple of glasses and engaged the members in quite a bit of dialogue about German language, history, and culture. The members were eager to share their stories, and I was an open listener to the wonders of Oktoberfests, World War II, and the land of good beer and Ompa-pa bands. I later became a member of the club - and enjoyed many a Spaten from the kegs, and heard many amazing stories about soldiering in harsh conditions in the Wehrmacht.

Well, Alois has long passed away. He was a good man and lived a great life in amazing times. I'm sure he's in Heaven drinking a Spaten now (with a Jaegermeister shot on the side), and smiling down on me as I write this entry.

So back to Spaten.

Spaten also makes a variety of other beers, including Oktoberfest, Optimator, Boch Beer, and a few other simple varieties. As a general rule, I prefer the light version for its simplicity, and the fact that its not heavy, and doesn't leave you with a hangover in the morning. I think the lack of hangover is more an expectation of drinking German Beer. German Beer follows the German Purity Law of 1516 referred to as the Reinheitsgebot.

When the kids are in bed on a Saturday night and I have a free moment after 9 pm. I put a few bottles of Spaten light into my 1 liter glass stein, and sit back, turn on Volksmusikaten.de and envision myself in a Munich Beer Hall. Hey, we all have our escapes.

And thanks to Alois Hager, The Hartford Saengerbund, and Spaten Brewing Company - I have mine.

Spaten

Franziskaner Weissbier: The beer of choice!

People have asked, "King, what is your beer of choice?"

This is a tough question because The King finds that there are plenty of excellent choices amongst the world's beers. In fact, I often will make my decisions for which I beer I choose based on my mood, the season, the weather, and general purpose (i.e. what do I want out of my adult beverage?).

To the right is probably my favorite beer - if given the choice of one beer upon notice that it would be my last: it is Franziskaner Weissbier (Hefe-Weisse style) brewed by Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu GmbH out of Munich, Germany. The beer is incredibly refreshing and tasty. It cannot be consumed directly out of the bottle, but rather poured properly into a Weissbier glass (see Ron Kwas' site for specific directions on how to do this properly). The beer is full and slightly heavy. I break the normal tradition of drinking this beer without tampering with its perfection by sometimes adding a slice of lemon to it. I learned this from actual Germans so in some respect, I think it's not a taboo.

I've been drinking this beer for close to 18 years now. For whatever reason, I always come back to it as a staple of perfection for days when I need a boast, or I'm home relaxing on the back porch. My Frau (wife) enjoys the darker version of the Franziskaner Weissbier, which is also quite delicious. But once you start with it, its hard to move to another beer since the taste is so strong.

Weissbier comes in a lot of varieties and brands. People argue on end about which one is best and it is really just a matter of personal taste and preference. There are some American versions of Weissbier that are simply terrible (UFO for example). These beers are a poor imitation of the real thing. If you purchase beer on price, than you might as well drink water because that's what you tend to get when you pick as substitute like UFO.

Franziskaner is fruity, full, and yet light at the same time. It also helps with allergy season due to the "hefe" which is said to dampen the effects of pollen and other airborne and respitory aggravants.

And 50 cents isn't worth the savings to be satisfied, and enjoy a proper beer.

Life is too short to drink cheap, unsophisticated beer. Try a Franziskaner and let me know what you think.