Andechs Brewery

It's like a fairy tale: nestled in the hills outside Muenchen, a group of monks brew beer, perfecting the art over hundreds of years and selling it only to the brave souls who make the trip to their mountaintop brewery. We dared make this perilous trek, and were rewarded with perhaps the greatest beer I have ever tasted. We started early, taking the S-Bahn out of town to a city at the base of the mountain. From there we humped it, going through the town (in circles for a while) before making our way up the hill to the Andechs monastery/brewery. The hike actually wasn't that bad, except for a pretty steep part near the end. Actually, the most dangerous part was when we almost got hit by an ambulance...

Once we made it to the top, and before sampling the beverages, we took a look through monastery. I may be mistaken, but I believe that it was a Rococo style building, similar to the Wieskirche near Neuschwannstein. Really, a beautiful architectural style.

Andechs

After touring the church, we got down to business: trying their highly recommended beer. We found the restaurant area and took a seat, with a half liter and a hunk of pork apiece. The food was decent, but nothing spectacular, but the beer... Oh man. They poured our masses from giant oaken casks, which is a testament to how delicious it would prove to be. I can only describe the flavor like this:

When I was a kid, I used to watch the Simpsons quite regularly, and Homer was always drinking Duff beer. My only knowledge of beer up to this point was the amber liquid that Homer was so entranced by. Because I had never actually tasted beer, I could only imagine what it must taste like; I could only guess at what flavor could drive Homer to such distraction. My friends, that wonderful flavor I concocted long ago, the most wonderful beverage flavor I could imagine, I tasted that when I tasted the Andechs Dopplebock that day.

That day I climbed a mountain. And it was sweet.