It's funny how sometimes a food or a drink can take you back to a memory and make it really clear. All of a sudden you’re back, eating or drinking in a time gone past, reminiscing about the good (or bad) times. There are a few beers that do this for me, but today I’m going to talk about someone else’s memory that comes to mind whenever they drink a typical German wheat beer.

Recently I travelled to Rotorua for my Mum’s birthday, and for her birthday lunch we had fresh homemade bread, some pate, some cream cheese, some smoked salmon, some good Dutch komijnekaas (cumin seed cheese), all accompanied by a nice cold glass of Schofferhofer Hefeweizen. After taking a single sip of the beer, my Mum started recounting a story I’ve now heard many times, about how when they were driving a van across Europe with a baby and another couple they stopped at a closed campsite in Bavaria which took them in anyway. They were provided with a
delicious platter of meats, breads and cheeses with a big glass of beer, while the owner took care of my very adventurous big (but little then) brother. Apparently my brother later came in to the dining room riding an Alsatian.

Hearing such stories certainly does inspire me toward taking a trip across Europe, sampling the many delicious beers it has to offer. However, it is nice to know that there are good examples of German beer available here in New Zealand, close enough to stir memories of those available in the fatherland. The Schofferhofer is one such beer.

The Schofferhofer Hefeweizen is a nice smooth wheat beer with quite a big mouthfeel, perhaps a bigger mouthfeel than other popular wheat beers like Hoegaarden. It certainly complimented the available food very nicely, especially the komijnekaas, which was one of the best batches of komijnekaas I’ve had in a long time. There certainly is a nice simple pleasure in enjoying a good Bavarian style meal with a good Bavarian style beer.

– Stephen