Authentic Bavarian Brewhouse Ð Opens In Vail Ð
Kaltenberg Castle Royal Bavarian offers flavor of the Alps
April, 1998It's easy to see why many visitors to the town of Vail, Colorado have remarked about the European character of this popular tourist destination. With its European-style architecture, countless roundabouts and Saab police cars, this town seems to have all of the traits of a mountain town in the Bavarian Alps. Now, with the addition of The Kaltenberg Castle Royal Bavarian Brewhouse, the flavor of the Bavarian Alps has become present there also.
This unique 12,000 square foot microbrewery and restaurant opened just in time for Vail's 1997-98 ski season. This authentically Bavarian brewhouse is owned and operated by The Kaltenberg Castle Brewery, Inc., a subsidiary of Kaltenberg Castle Brewery, of Bavaria. The Castle is even complete with its own Bavarian Prince and Bavarian Brewmeister. His Royal Highness Luitpold, Prince of Bavaria, the great-grandson of the last King of Bavaria, Ludwig III, is the head of the Schlossbrauerei Kaltenberg, a company that gives direct technical support and license to Kaltenberg Brewery Inc. Their brewmeister is Harald Schuhmann who came to Vail in 1997 from his home in Bavaria to help with the brewhouse assembly and production. President of the company, Finn Knudsen explains "All of our Royal beers will be produced to exactly the same recipes and standards as in Bavaria, according to Reinheitsgebot and under strict control of Prince Luitpold and his brewmasters." Their beers will be brewed in equipment designed by Hopfen und Malz of Bavaria with only the finest imported Bavarian ingredients.
All three beers brewed at the Kaltenberg Castle Royal Bavarian Brewhouse hold DLG gold medals-the most prestigious award for beer in Germany. They are as follows:
Kaltenberg Pils- a finely balanced elegant Pilsner beer. This blond lager-with 11.5 degree Plato and a 4.8% alcohol per volume-is famous for its clean, dry palate. It is brewed with selected aroma hops from the Bavarian Hallertau area. The fine bitterness and hop flavor of Kaltenberg Pils is obtained by adding the hops at a later stage in the brewing process.
Konig Ludwig Dunkel-a bottom fermented beer using dark malt, which gives it its rich deep color and also imparts a subtly distinctive flavor. The basis for this highly attenuated beer is a multiple mash system. Through this intensive mashing process, a greater part of the malt starch changes into fermentable sugars. The original extract is 12.7 degree Plato and the alcohol by volume is 5.1%.
Prinzregent Luitpold Weissbier-a naturally cloudy, tinglingly refreshing, traditional wheat beer. For finest quality, the malt is produced from two row summer barley and winter wheat respectively. Its distinctive fruity palate is achieved by using their own special yeast strain. It is top fermented at moderate temperature. Only mild aroma hops are used to retain the refreshing qualities of the brew. The beer is served cloudy with brewers yeast (containing vitamin B12) in the glass.
Some seasonal beers, such as Kaltenberg Spezial (a classic festival beer), a Christmas beer and a strong Bock (which is traditionally served for Lent) will also be produced. All of Kaltenberg's beers will naturally be brewed according to Reinheitsgebot (The German Pure Beer Law).
In addition to producing approximately 7,500 barrels of beer per year, The Kaltenberg Castle Royal Bavarian Brewhouse also features a 460-seat restaurant (consisting of both indoor and outdoor seating) with an authentic Bavarian/Austrian menu. The decor is reminiscent of the interior of the "Musician's Hall" in the most famous Bavarian castle, Castle Neuschwanstein. Beers from Kaltenberg Castle Royal Bavarian Brewhouse are also featured in the on-mountain restaurants of Vail, Keystone, Breckenridge and Beaver Creek.
Prince Luitpold believes," A great area of strength for our Bavarian beers in Europe is in the Alpine resorts of southern Germany and Austria. After a day of skiing on Vail Mountain, I feel that the fun atmosphere, delicious Bavarian food and traditional beers offered at Kaltenberg Castle Royal Bavarian Brewhouse will be popular with skiers and non-skiers alike. Just think of it as being able to enjoy an authentic Oktoberfest in the Vail Valley year round!", he declares. Having been to Oktoberfest and Castle Neuschwanstein myself I have to agree with him that the Kaltenberg Castle Royal Bavarian Brewhouse truly offers its visitors the flavor, character and cheer of an authentic Bavarian celebration.
