Name: Weihenstephaner Bavaricum’s Original Premium

This week, I was looking for a Bavarian beer, so I felt obligated to try Weihenstephaner — the label boasts it was made by “The World’s Oldest Brewery.” I was a little skeptical at first, but the monks at Weihenstephaner Abbey were the guys who invented beer sometime before 768.

Smell: The aroma is very light, only delicate notes of hops and grains reach the nose. 2.5/5

Look: The premium pours very thinly with a frothy, white head. The carbonation looks appetizing, but that’s it. It took me more than a couple of minutes to get over how the beer exactly resembles urine, so my advice is to leave it in the bottle. .4/5

Taste: The taste rewards you for overcoming your instincts to not drink anything that looks like piss but not enough to make it worth it. It’s light and understated; wheat, hops, lemon, bread, and honey combine in a basic but refreshing combination. 3.6/5

It’s always good to revisit beer’s origins, but I’m glad brewing has evolved. As should be expected, Bavarian beer is better in Bavaria. I’m bit indifferent toward it overall; any enjoyment I got from tasting the beer was tainted by how visually unappealing it was. 6.5/15

— by Dan Verhille