 Franz Inselkammer (Ayinger Owner/Brewer) with Owen Ogletree in the beautiful Ayinger Brewery Guesthouse restaurant. |
Brewtopia Events LLC www.ClassicCityBrew.com Travelogue / Photo Album AYINGER BREWERY Aying, Bavaria, Germany By Owen Ogletree  |
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Don Beistle (Dr. Brewski columnist for Southern Brew News) and I were invited by Merchant du Vin Importers to attend a special tour and dinner at Ayinger Brewery in early 2008. It has always been my opinion that the craft beers produced by this brewery (located just 15 miles from Munich) are among the very best in flavor and quality of any German beers. The text and photo album that follows contain information about the Ayinger Brewery and guesthouse / restaurant. We hope that this page will encourage international travelers (who love great beer) to venture out from the larger cities in Germany to see the welcoming and beautiful country landscapes and enjoy the regional beers. Click here for more information on how to arrange a visit to the Ayinger Brewery. Text & Photos by Owen Ogletree - Posted February, 2008 Owen Ogletree is a national beer judge and beer writer for Southern Brew News and ClassicCityBrew.com. He is also the founder of the Classic City Brew Fest and the Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting. |
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| AYINGER HISTORY The brewery was founded by Johann Liebhard in 1878 in the small Bavarian village of Aying. The 4th generation current owners have the family name of Inselkammer and sincerely view the town of Aying as their cherished home. The Ayinger owners are proud proponents of the area's historic beer styles and beer culture. "Maintaining and conserving all of these cultural elements is our greatest concern and responsibility," says Angela Inselkammer. BREWERY The original brewery (located in the center of Aying next to the guesthouse) was moved in 1999 to a modern, new facility just outside of town at Zornedinger Strasse 1. 150 hectoliters of beer are made in each batch at Ayinger. The sparkling new brewery was built around the goal of maximized automation, and even the cleaning process here is totally automated. Brewers receive text messages on their cell phones from the brew system when something is in need of attention. The Ayinger brewing program starts running on Sunday nights and produces 15 batches of beer a week, following by the automated cleaning program. The brewery has 80 employees and an annual output of 150,000 hl. Ayinger beers have always been honored by a multitude of awards, and the rate of accolades has seen a definite increase after construction of the new brewery. The barley comes from farmers in the surrounding area, and the elegant noble hops used by Ayinger are grown in the Holledau region of northern Bavaria. VISITS The new brewery is an impressive, state-of-the-art, automated facility that offers guided tours, a gift shop and attractive function room. The Schalander Festive Room is a complete bar and dining area formed around the upper portion of the brew kettles. Conferences, dinners, seminars and even weddings are held here on a regular basis. A 3-D film of the brewing process is also included on the guided tours (which may be arranged at individual or group pricing). Special "beer culture experience" tours with food are also possible. GUESTHOUSE / RESTAURANT For the past several years the Brauereigasthof Aying has received a multitude of gastronomic awards from critics and publications throughout Germany and Europe. The guesthouse and restaurant are located in the center of Aying, just a short distance from the new brewery. The restaurant has seating for 100 people and incorporates the best fresh, local ingredients. All the Ayinger beers and distillery products are also available with your meal. A sampling
of the delicious Ayinger beer range in early 2008...
Photo Album of our Ayinger Visit...
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