Advent Calendar, day 1: Maisel's Weisse Original

The first day of December brings a classic beer, one that I know well enough to write about while it is still cooling in the fridge: Maisel's Weisse Original. Once upon a time, this was one of the obscurities. It would show up rarely in a specialist off-licence, or German beer bar, but there was no reliable source. Things have changed and the beer is now available (in teeny, tiny, expensive bottles) in those Punch Taverns houses that try and have a decent beer range despite the best efforts of the chain's management. The beer itself is at the darker, amber end of the Weissbier spectrum. It's not the deep, traditional colour of Schneider, but the brewers have ignored fashion and let their product stand on its own. After all, if they want to do a trendy experiment, they have the "Maisel & Friends" range to play with. Disappointingly, I don't get to comment on how the beer is unchanged since Wagner drank it. The brewery makes no claims to great age, having been founded in 1887, three years after the composer who made Bayreuth famous died. I suppose I'd better invent some waffle about it being served at the early festivals instead, or perhaps comment on the sheer size of the brewery and its museum. But I haven't been there. The beer? Ah yes, the beer. It's a complex brew, with fruit, and pepper and exactly the sort of sourness you'd expect, lurking quietly. I'm looking forward to drinking it later, when I have nothing to do that requires I have my wits about me.