Moscato d'Asti and another beer

So, one of our favorite drinks of late is Moscato d'Asti - it's a carbonated white muscat wine, most suitable for dessert. It's very sweet, though not as syrupy as its carbonation-less cousin. With 7% alcohol, it's about as strong as a strong beer, but given its sweetness (and the relatively small bottles it tends to come in) you'll rarely ever drink enough to get more than a slight buzz (which are both the reasons why my fiance likes it).


We picked up a bottle of Nivole Moscato d'Asti from (yet again) the local Whole Foods market and it was very satisfying. It has a clear muscat flavor that isn't overwhelmingly sweet and the flavor is crisp with only a soft aftertaste. While I generally don't like many dessert wines, I'm finding that the Moscato d'Asti is what wine coolers want to be when they grow up.




In addition to the Moscato d'Asti, there was a bottle of beer that caught my attention, simply because the label claimed it was "The World's Oldest Brewery." I picked up the bottle of Weihenstaphaner (Hefeweissbier Dunkel - it comes in a lighter version, too) and took it home. Lo and behold, according to Wikipedia, it *is* indeed the world's oldest operating brewery. Brewed at Weihenstephan Abbey (established in 1040!!! ...although there are some indications that brewing started as early as 768), it is a Bavarian beer (I'll have to ask my German friend to see what the locals think of it). Personally, I enjoyed it. It wasn't as distinctive as the Franziskaner in my opinion, but was definitely smoother - sweet going in, but leaves a slightly bitter aftertaste. Given that it's a dark hefeweiss beer, it's a bit on the heavy side, so a single bottle will likely weigh you down if you are drinking it with heavy foods.