Food & Beer Culture

What do you eat with Weltenburger Dunkel and Schneider Weisse? The Klosterschenke in Weltenburg and the restaurant at the Weißes Bräuhaus serve exactly what defines Bavarian cooking along the Danube: roast pork with crackling and dumplings, pork knuckle, Obatzda, and a Brotzeit platter with radish.

Dunkel is the match for roast pork, since the beer's roasted notes pick up on the crackling and the dark gravy, while the malt sweetness balances the fat. If you're trying the pairing, reach for the Dunkel, not a Pils.

Wheat beer pairs with Weißwurst, sweet mustard, and pretzels. The carbonation cuts through the mild sausage, and the yeast's fruity note complements the mustard. Steckerlfisch — fish grilled on a stick — and Obatzda go well with it too.

The journey there is part of the experience. A boat sails from Kelheim through the Weltenburger Enge to the monastery, or you can walk over the Michelsberg past the Befreiungshalle, a monument begun by King Ludwig I and dedicated in 1863. The beer garden awaits at the end.

Wheat beer is usually served by the Halbe, the half-liter, or in the beer garden by the full-liter Maß. With Bock, a quarter-liter often suffices, since it's stronger. Anyone driving should choose something else — alcohol-free wheat beer is available in many Bavarian beer gardens. Cheese, Wurstsalat, and fresh farmhouse bread also suit a Brotzeit, traditionally shared from a wooden board in Bavaria. After the walk, the Weißes Bräuhaus courtyard beer garden awaits, with chestnut trees, gravel, and long wooden tables.