Days of the Beer, October 6

The beer for today, is Penn Weizen.

On October 6, 1683, William Penn brought 13 German immigrant families to the colony of Pennsylvania. These were the first German people to immigrate to America.


You'll remember William Penn was trying to be profitable without exploiting the natives or immigrants. So he opened up his colony to people outside of England. He basically made up a brochure highlighting Pennsylvania (the first time share pressure sales?) He wrote a prespectus, considered to be honest and well-researched for the times; that promised religious freedom as well as material advantage. Eventually, he sold 300,000 acres to more than 250 settlers; most of which were from London. Additionally, he attracted people from France, Holland, Sweden, Finland, Ireland, Wales and Germany.

As to the beer:

Authentic wheat beer, brewed in the Southern German tradition, won the Silver Medal in 1997 and the Gold Medal at the 2000 in GABF. Penn Weizen is top-fermented, cask-conditioned, and very effervescent with a slight hint of tangy clove flavor.

Whenever I think of German beer, the first style I think of is Weizen. So, for the first Germans to arrive in Pennsylvania, have an award winning German style Weizen made in Pennsylvania.