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Aying...Beer, Beer Tradition, and Beer Experience
A
visit to Bavaria is eye-opening for an American beer drinker. Beer is everywhere,
and myriads of beer styles abound: wheat beer, snappy pils, bock, helles,
doppelbock. Of Germany's roughly 1250 breweries, more than 600, from small
to large, are in Bavaria.
Just a few kilometers south of Munich is the small town of Aying, a rustic spot with traditional Bavarian homes, a church with a domed steeple, and fields of barley and wheat (for beer-making, of course) surrounding the town. Aying captures the spirit of tradional southern Bavaria. The journey there is like a trip to another era, peaceful, friendly, and solid...with a top-quality brewery, Brauerei Aying, with local roots and a world-wide reputation. Today, Ayinger beers are available not only in the nearby metropolis of Munich, but in most states of the U.S., where they are distributed by the Merchant du Vin (www.merchantduvin.com).
Humans
have been living in and around Aying at least since 1150-1200 BC, during
the Bronze Age. During the Roman period, a trading route between Salzburg
in present-day Austrtia and Augsberg in Bavaria, passed just within a mile
(about 2 km) from Aying. The first record of a tavern and inn in Aying dates
from 1385.
The modern Ayinger brew scene got its start around 1820, when Franz and Katharina Liebhard purchased a farm and tavern, which became the forerunner of the current Brauerei Aying. Their son Peter took over the business around 1840, as did his son Johann and his wife Maria in 1877. It was Johann Liebhard, who built a full-fledged brewery that year, making beer from barley and wheat grown on his own farm. On February 2, 1878, he proudly wrote in his diar that “the first beer from our brewery is served.”
Johann Liebhard's old brewery
tavern is on the left. T the Brauereigasthof, built in 1923, is on the right.
The first customers loved the brew and sales grew rapidly, with deliveries even to the surrounding towns and villages. In 1904, the business passed on to their eldest daughter, Maria and her husband August Zehentmair, who expanded the business by adding an inn, today's Ayinger Brauereigasthof Hotel, in 1927. The next generation of Ayinger brewery owners was once again led by a daughter, another Maria, who was married to Franz Inselkammer. This couple was in charge of the business for 50 years, from 1936 onwards. By the time their son, Franz II and his wife Angela, took the reigns, Ayinger beers had become availble in many parts of the world, including Italy and the United States.
In
the 1990s, demand for Ayinger beers was outgrowing the capacity of the old
brewewry in the center of Aying and a new, modern brewery was built just
outside. Its was completed in 1999. Today visitors can tour the facility
and enjoy an spectacular multi-media show that explains in detail the myriad
steps in the Ayinger beer-making processes. Ayinger now has approximately
80 employess, producing about 140,000 hectoliters of beer per year (roughly
370, 940 U.S. gallons).
Brauerei Aying makes a complete line of Bavarian beer styles. These include a hefty pale lager called Jahrhundertbier (Yar-hoon-dirt-beer), a "centennial brew" first made on the occasion of the brewery's centennial in 1978; a rich but gentle dark lager called Altbairisch Dunkel (ullt-by-rish doon-kul) which means “old Bavarian dark”; a pale wheat ale or Hefe-weizen called Bräu-Weisse (broy-vice-uh); a dark Hefeweizen called Ur-Weisse; a magnificent strong fall lager called Oktober Fest-Marzen; and a deep, elegant, complex, compelling, exotic, seasonal Dopplebock called Celebrator.
The
1927 Ayinger Brauereigasthof Hotel in the center of Aying offers 34 cozy
rooms
all furnished in traditional Bavarian country decore.
Renovated in 2002, the Brauereigasthof combines stylish
easy-on-the eye elegance and soul-soothing ambiance with all the modern
amenities of a first-class hotel, including Internet access,
ISDN phone connections, screens, plenty of
power outlets, a Finnish sauna
and a fitness room...a perfect place to emerse yourself in a rustic beer
culture experience, with nature at your doorsetp, great beer as fresh as
it can be, a sophisticated cuisine of hearty yet healthy food from the surounding
farms, fresh flowers daily, Alpine peaks as a backdrop, and cosmopolitain
Munich just a short, 35-minute ride by commuter rail away. The hotel is
fully equiped to accomodate conferences, meetings and functions for any
occasions, business or private, in a lavish country-style atmosphere!
In
the surrounding area, Aying offers plenty of opportunity for excursions,
sports and hiking! Dozens of miles of bicycling paths start right at the
inn's doorstep. There are six gold courses in the neighborhood, one only
2 miles away. There are opportuinities for horseback riding and horse-drawn
carriage rides or covered wagon trips. In the wineter, there are sleigh
rides by torch light and peaceful trails for cross country skiing. For Alpine
skiing, Spitzing, Brauneck and Wallberg are only 45 minutes away by car.
King Ludwig's famous castles are all in easy driving distance, too, and
for an evening of opera, theater or a concert, there is always Munich.
Bavarian cuisine ranks among the finest in Germany! At the Ayinger Brauereigasthof Hotel, an expert team of chefs prepares the finest local, national and international specialties for its guests, all prepared to match perfectly with Ayinger's many fresh brews. Many of the ingredients come fresh from the Inselkammer family farm and market garden, and fresh game comes from the surrounding fields and woods.
Selections
from the Ayinger Brauereigasthof
Menu
Schweinsbraten in Ayinger Dunkelbiersauce mit Kartoffelknödel und Speckkrautsalat
Pork roast in Ayinger dark beer sauce, served with potatoe dumplings
and white cabbage salad
Ayinger Grillteller mit Kräuterbutter,
frischem Gemüse und Röstkartoffeln
Ayinger grill plate, served with herb butter, vegetables and home fries
Kartoffelspinatroulade
auf Kresseschaum mit gebratenem Gemüse
Potato-spinch-roulade and fried vegetabvles served in a watercress sabayon
Rehpfeffer
mit gerösteten Schwammerl, Semmelknödel und Preiselbeeren
Pepper roast of venison with roasted wild mushrooms,
bread dumplings and cranberries
Ochsenlendensteak
vom Rost mit Sauce Bearnaise, feinem Gemüse und Röstkartoffeln
Roasted ox loin steak with sauce Bearnaise, fresh vegetables and home
fries
Kalbsgeschnetzeltes in Weißwein-Rahmsauce
mit Rösti und frischen Salaten
Medaillions of veal in a white wine sabayon served with Rösti and
fesh salad
Riesengarnelen
in Kräuterknoblauchsauce mit Lauchgemüse und Bandnudeln
Giant langustines served in a garlic-and-herb sauce with leaf vegetables
and egg noudles
Waller
aus dem Wurzelsud mit Senfbutter auf Safranreis und Broccoli
Catfish in mustard butter on safran rice served with broccoli
Directions
Aying is south-east of Munich, just half an hour
from the Bavarian capital. By car, take exit
“Hofoldinger Forst” of the Autobahn (freeway) München-Salzburg.
Follow the signs for Aying approx. 8 km.
By commuter S-Bahn (commuter rail) 35 minutes from downtown Munich, take train S6 in direction “Kreuzstraße.” Exit the train at Aying and follow that the signs for the brewery, about 300 meters from the train station.
The
Brauereigasthof Hotel Aying and the brewery administration building are
located in the town center, approx. 10 minutes on foot from the S-Bahn station.
Pick-up for hotel guests available if arranged in advance.
Address
Brauerei Aying
Administration: Zornedinger Straße 1
Brauereigasthof Hotel: Zornedinger Straße 2
D-85653 Aying
Administration Phone: +49 (0)8095 88-0
Hotel Phone: 08095-9065-0
Administration Fax: +49 (0)8095 88-50
Hotel Fax: 08095-9065-66
brauerei@ayinger-bier.de (brewery)
brauereigasthof@ayinger-bier.de (hotel)
