Remember May 2019 when I wrote about the 24th Schneider Weisse Fanclubtreffen in Eindhoven we organised? Yeah, this yearly international event obviously could not take place either the last couple of years, but last weekend it finally happened: The 25th Schneider Weisse Fanclubtreffen! And since it coincides with 150 years Schneider Weisse brewery, of course Kelheim was the place to be!
So we bundled ourselves up for an eleven hour train ride to Bayern and with sore backs and butts we arrived in Kelheim late Thursday night. This post is going to be high on pictures (made by Schneider Weisse Fanclub Nederland/Eindhoven) and low on text, because basically you had to be there (or be a rectangular thyng).
Schneider Weisse is a family brewery that began in München in 1872, with Georg Schneider the first. These days Georg Schneider the sixth holds sway in Kelheim. Schneider Weisse has a lot of fanclubs around the world and it is tradition that every year one of the fanclubs organises a three-day event for all the other fanclubs. Mostly it’s about showing your hometown and of course it always involves trachten and a lot of Weißbier. If you want to read more about the Schneider brewery itself, you can read some here and here. If you want to see some pictures of the brewery, stay tuned, because a tour was included this weekend! Thursday night we were among the first ones to arrive, which meant we could start the Friday leisurely before all the action would take place. Which started at 4 o’clock in the afternoon with hugs and kisses with all the fanclubs at the Schneider biergarten. Even though we come from all around the world, the fanclubs seem to be pretty tight-knit, and new fanclubs are always welcomed warmly into the Schneider fanclub family. The hugs and kisses were followed by food, music and a lot of beer to celebrate the start of the weekend.
The next day we had to get up really early, because the boat would leave at 9 o’clock from the harbour nearby. With a slight detour via Kloster Weltenburg and a lot of beer, music, dancing and singing later – and luckily also some sleeping, which was perfectly possible because the boat was huge! So huge, we even had to leave the upperdeck for some time, because else we could not safely pass under some low bridges without being beheaded – we arrived in Regensburg around half past 1 where you could choose to do a city tour or wander the city yourself. We chose the latter. Unfortunately some of the venues we wanted to visit were closed (I am looking at you Zur Geflickten Trommel), but the city itself is quite enjoyable anyway and the park at the south of the city center is gorgeous!
After a bus ride back and a short nap and subsequently changing into trachten it was time for the big party which involved a lot of food, a lot of beer and other drinks, a lot of music, a lot of gift exchanging, a lot of dancing and a lot of shenanigans, and of course live music by the Bier Boys.
Some of us had a perfectly normal night of eight hours of sleep, others came back to the hotel at around four in the morning, to be up again by seven for the Sunday Weißwurst breakfast in the biergarten. Again with beer and music of course. Followed by a quick tour in the brewery itself by Stefan Hecht, diplom biersommelier and one of the big names in the Schneider family. We even had the honour to take a sneak peek in the fermentation room. At the brewery they only brew their Weißbier at the moment, but in a few years the untergarige beers (Helles landbier), which they now brew in Regensburg, will come to Kelheim as well. The most impressive part is their bottling line though. Especially the 144 Krones filler machine, which you will only find in few other factories in the world for now. And did you know they use malt instead of sugar for the secondary fermentation on the bottle? After the tour we said goodbye to the Schneider family and explored the gorgeous forests in the vicinity.
All in all, awesome weekend. I am tired. I cannot type. Or think. Or write a proper story. I need coffee. I hate trains. I hope you enjoyed the pictures instead 😉 Did I mention it was an awesome weekend?
When are you going to visit Kelheim?
