On history, modernity and intrigue!

The Sparten brewery can trace its origins back to the late 14th century; just for a bit of perspective Richard II was on the throne of England at the time! It gained its present name when the brewery was taken over by George Spatt in 1622 (James I and VI), from where it got its current name. The Brewery was then taken over in 1807 (George III) by the "Royal Brewer" Gabriel Sedlemyer. By this stage it was already one of the largest and most influential breweries in Bavaria. On his death the brewery was taken over by his two sons Gabriel (Jnr) and Joseph. Joe went off to but the Leistbrauerei and left his brother with Spaten.

This is where the fun starts. There are dozens of different versions of this story and I'm pretty sure that none of them tell us the full story so I have just pulled out my favourite bits and tried to stitch together what could have happened.

In 1833 (William IV) Joseph Sedlemyer (Jnr) and his friend from Vienna, Anton Drecher visited the UK. They were both brewers and in search of British Know how around brewing and malt in particular. With the industrial revolution picking up pace and the epicentre of all things energy related coming out of England the controlled creation of lighter malts for brewing using coking coal for the heat source had created quite a stir. Before this malts would all have been toasted over Beech wood and varied considerably in quality. You could try a German Rauchbier to understand what beer would've tasted like. But I digress.

Sedlemyer and Drecher visited many breweries and there are many stories of them using hollowed out canes to steal a little wort (beer before it ferments), taking this back to their hotel rooms to analyse!

The two industrial spies then returned to Bavaria and Vienna and used this "stolen" knowledge to create lighter malts. Sedlemyer created the Munich malt enabling the production of modern Marzen beers and Drucher created the Vienna malt and thus produced Vienna lager. These are still names for two very important malts to this day. 

Sparten were the first brewery to use refridgeration in the lagering process and produced the first Munchner Hell beer.

Despite having an office in London in the 1891 (Victoria) century Sparten has not had a strong presence in the UK. It is a treat worth seeking out, however.

During the 20th century Spaten merged with Franziskaner-Leistbrau (remember them, above) and , later Lowenbrau. Finally in 2004 (Elizabeth II) the brewery became part of Interbrew (now AB InBev).

Sparten is one of the "Big Six" Munich breweries who create the Oktoberfest every year. Without doubt one of the most influential breweries of all time. 

Chaource is a white rind cheese produced in the Champagne - Ardennes region of France. It has a velvety white rind and a slightly nutty flavour. The way this cheese melts into smooth creaminess in the mouth is a delight. Like many white rind cheeses, with the tiniest bit of age it will start to liquify and migrate across the cheeseboard. Chaource has a DOC though it is allowed to be pasteurised or not. It is a lovely cheese.

These two were tried on a cold January evening: probably not the best time for such fare. However, they worked beautifully together with the top, hoppy notes of the beer cutting the fatiness of the cheese. It was quite a treat whilst the weather raged outside. A very modern pairing. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On the rural idyll, marketing and other myths, with some truth thrown in.

Image
The September sun has reached its peak in the sky. The plough rests on its side. A very large, powerful horse, maybe a Suffolk Punch or a Shire, chomps at the rich grass by the hedgerow made lush by recent rains. A strong, tanned man unpacks his canvas knapsack revealing: a hunk of bread, an apple, a slice of cheese and maybe a pickled onion wrapped in grease proof paper. He also pulls out an earthenware bottle containing a pint of the local ale. This is, of course, how the "Ploughman's lunch" was born and since then it has been available in pubs all over the country. Except, it's not. Whilst this rural idyll paints a lovely picture linking us back to a time when life was hard but simple the concept of the "Ploughman's" as a pub lunch was invented by a canny marketing executive at The Milk Marketing board looking to sell more cheese. It is an invention of the 1960's not the 18th century. Being fair, there are a few references in literature to the lun...
Read more

On secrets and truth with Mayfield and Pilsner Urquell

Image
I have been asked why I have chosen to be the Secret Cheese and Beer Guy. "I mean what's the big secret? You've told me that you are writing about cheese and beer." or "Oh you just want to sound mysterious, like some sort of secret agent." or also "You'll never become a famous food and drink writer unless your name is out there" There is truth and honesty in secrecy. Anybody who really wanted to find out who I am could do so really easily, I am not hiding. I have no desire to sound like a secret agent; if you knew my surname you would understand. I am not looking for fame and fortune, and I especially don't want to be in a position where I may be compromised by companies giving me stuff to promote (though I am miles from this actually happening). I simply wanted this blog to be all about the cheese and beer that I encounter.  So on the cheese and beer! We have all, I am sure, been seduced by pre-sliced Emmental in the fridge, pulling a slic...
Read more

On silly rules and how they make no sense.

Image
Stilton is one of the great cheeses of the world. There is probably not a better cheese symbol of Englishness than this crumbly, creamy, blue beauty. There are, however, a few things about this style of cheese that are so bonkers they just confirm its English eccentricity. To start with, if you lived in the village of Stilton (in Cambridgeshire) and made a lovely blue cheese you would not be allowed to name that cheese "Stilton". This is because, according to the PDO (see below) on Stilton cheese, it has to be made in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire or Leicestershire. To sum up, a cheese maker can't make Stilton in Stilton. PDO recognition is a European idea which we have held onto in this post Brexit era. The concept is that the regionality and style and often process surrounding a food product is protected. This is why Camembert only comes from Normandy and Champagne only comes from the region of "Champagne" in North East France. Indeed, a Melton Mowbray pork pie ...
Read more