Beer Advent Calendar - December 10th

Two days ago the advent featured a helles that I didn't find the greatest from a location quite the opposite. Today we get another example of this style, so let's see how it compares.

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Urtyp Hell

As expected, this beer pours a light straw color. A thick head builds with a long retention. The flavor profile is simple, but refreshing. Mostly built of basic wheat characteristics accented by a hint of honey. The hops are calm as well, not delivering much bitterness, and it all adds together for a smooth glass.

There's not a lot more to say about this one. Other pilsners have come through offering a lot more, so the basic profile of this beer earns it a basic score. I suppose it’s similar to the last helles but without the negative, off-putting flavors to drag it down, resulting in a better brew. Put simply, today’s advent will definitely satisfy without bringing anything extra to impress.

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Passau, Germany

Löwenbrauerei Passau was founded in 1874 and has existed at its current grounds since 1890. Despite two devastating fires within 30 years of each other in the early 1900s, Löwenbraurei thrives today, rising like the phoenix, now owning several breweries throughout Bavaria.

^{Passau 1892}

The success of Löwenbraurei is largely accredited to celebrated owner Franz Stockbauer, who founded the brewery when only twenty years old. He approached rebuilding after the fires as opportunities to improve. The second world war occurred after Stockbauer’s death, but as Germany recovered Löwenbrauerei continued in his tradition, building a new malting plant in 1951 and acquiring other breweries in the years to come, expanding their facilities each step of the way.

Passau is a city filled with fascinating facts, modern and historical. Today, approximately 20% of residents are students at the University of Passau, respected for its achievements in economics, law, theology, computer science, and cultural studies. That last field of study is likely no coincidence since Passau sits on the border to Austria, acting as a gateway to Germany for many refugees and migrants. City officials recognize their geographical location led to this and adapted municipal budgets to provide housing and food to these displaced people.

There are many fascinating tidbits about Passau from the last thousand-plus years. I can't dive into them all here, but much like the brewery rising from the ashes of fire, the whole town was nearly destroyed by a blaze in 1662. And just as WW2 caused great hardship on Löwenbrauerei (all breweries in Germany for that matter), the city of Passau suffered much worse scars.

Adolf Hitler lived in Passau with his family from age 3 to 5. At age four he was rescued from drowning in the Danube by a priest from St. Stephen's Cathedral. No good deed goes unpunished, I suppose. Heinrich Himmler also lived there for just as long, almost 10 years after Hitler.

In 1935, when the Nazi party was banned from Austria, a unit of Nazi soldiers known as the Austrian Legion was barracked in Passau. In addition, the town was home to three concentration camps that were part of the Mauthausen-Gusen complex, which totaled almost 100 sub-camps.

^{The area of St. Stephen's Cathedral, as seen across the Inn River.
The cathedral had the world's largest pipe organ until being bumped to second place in 1994.}

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_{Beer photographs by me. Pictures of Germany sources: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4}

_{Previous Advent Calendar entries: Intro - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9}