Weißenoher Klosterbrauerei

Green Monkey beer is not something you associate with tradition. However, the Weißenohe monastery brewery brews Green Monkey beer AND is listed in some almanacs as Franconia's oldest brewery. The Weißenohe monastery was founded in 1050 and it is assumed that brewing began around the same time.

Monastic past

The Weißenoher Monastery Brothers were a Benedictine abbey. In addition to prayer, a monk's daily routine always included physical exercise. To balance out the contemplative, more spiritual work with God and prayer, the monks did manual work. They often ran farms, made cheese and brewed beer. Beer played a major role, especially during Lent, as it was very nutritious. But in the Middle Ages, people drank beer rather than water. This was mainly due to the contamination of drinking water, which caused illnesses and epidemics. Thanks to the heating during the brewing process, beer does not contain any germs, so it was safe to drink. The monks' beer was so popular that it certainly led to one or two conflicts over the centuries. A little anecdote from the Weißenoher Monastery Brewery, for example, says that the monks once had to beat a few Frankish soldiers with a stick. In their wild thirst for beer, they had kicked down a door and, with drawn swords, attacked the brewmaster who, in their opinion, had supplied them with too little beer.

So good that you sometimes lose your head!

Traditionally regional

In the trials and tribulations of time, the monastery was destroyed and rebuilt several times. Finally, in the course of secularization, the entire complex was sold to a private individual. The monastic brewer stayed on until 1827, when master brewer Friedrich Kraus owned the brewery and building rights. Today, the brewery is in fifth generation family hands and feels committed to its monastic brewing tradition. The brewery's rural location enables the brewers to buy fresh, regional raw materials from nearby. The excellent barley, for example, comes from the Jura heights, where poor soil provides the perfect conditions for low-protein barley. And the water also comes from the Jura heights. The springs there provide water of excellent quality. If you think that the Weißenoher brew very traditional, bland beer, you are far from it. The brewery's illustrious range includes funky beers such as GreenMONKey Polaris and Thirsty Ale Summer Edition .

The Green Monkey beer is anything but monkey business!