Cousin Don praises the Weissbier at the 7 Stern Brau brewpub in Vienna.

I haven't had the pleasure of visiting Vienna's 7 Stern Brau brewery since 2006, and this needs to be rectified, although the sheer excellence of my last time there probably cannot be topped. It involved beer, spareribs, sauerkraut and camaraderie, each in huge portions.

My first experience at Sieben Stern probably was 1997, so I'm delighted they're still going strong after all these years. How do I know? Because my cousin Don recently wrote. He goes to Vienna each year in late July, meets a friend, and spends at least one evening at the brewpub.

For at least fifteen years, Randy and I have been in search of the world's best Weissebier. It is a quest more worthy and valuable than the discovery of the Holy Grail, which actually never existed at all.

Yesterday we might have found that Weissebier in Vienna. We decided to have an early dinner around 4 P.M. at the Seven Stars (Siebensterngasse) brew pub/restaurant. Their food is superb, and their beers are excellent, especially the Marzen and Rauchbier -- but they now brew an eighth draft beer, a wheat beer!

So of course, we had to try it.

The beer had a beautiful golden and opaque color, a robust and delicious flavor that included a distinct but not too strong hint of banana. Randy took a photo which he is sending to you.

Our quest for the world's finest wheat beer will continue for the remainder of our lives, but so far we have discovered the best wheat beer in Vienna. However, we will await your judgmental expertise.

I offered no such expertise in my reply.

I'm happy to hear this. There was a time when I'd turned against German-style wheat ales, primarily because I could not move customers past them. But everything's a pendulum, and I'm really into them now.

Don, the bicyclists and I found a good one in 2003 in Passau, which is a place worth visiting. Up on the hill, place called Anhofer or something like that. The house wheat ale is heavy on the clove, but still balanced.

I looked it up, and the name of the brewery in Passau actually is Weissbrau Andorfer. Passau is a wonderful place, and I regret only having been there once.

Overall, it's still hard for me to choose against Schneider Weisse, and I know better than to attempt selecting "the best" of anything.

As Don recognizes, it's not the kill that matters -- it's the thrill of the chase, and as it pertains to Europe, I just need to figure out a way to get back.

Maybe 2016.