I think this might be my first hefeweizen review, and there’s a reason behind it. More often than not, I tend to feel like wheat beers can be thin and flabby, fairly one-dimensional. I think about beers — as nice as they are in their own right (because trust me, I know they have their own set of rabid fans) – like Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat or Bell’s Oberon. The wheat just doesn’t do as much for me in the complexity department like most other grains, specialty malts in particular. Thus, I don’t generally drink them.
After recently enjoying Aventinus, a weizenbock, and now this hefe from Weihenstephaner, I’m beginning to slowly change my mind on the broad category*.
An almost luminescent golden, hay colored cloudy pour. Massive billowing head, with a banana boat-load of fruity esters and a light gingerbread clove effect. A pleasing warmth in the nose.
Taste was more on the clove side versus banana, a bit spicy with a brief bite in the finish, all backed with of course a healthy dose of wheat. Medium-full mouthfeel, which as I noted is better than what I’ve come to expect with most hefes. Pretty light on the alcohol front, only 5.4% ABV. The beer paired extraordinarily well with my homemade shrimp chowder, the banana and clove becoming much more pronounced and pleasing after each spoonful of cumin- and cayenne-infused chowder.
This is just a simple, straightforward and glorious beer. I guess if the billing on their label as “World’s Oldest Brewery” is true, they’ve got a bit of a head start on the rest of us when it comes to mastering your craft.
Rating: A+
* I’m trying to branch out in the homebrew department with wheats, as well, having just brewed a lambic-style ale. However, on second thought, lambics have just about nothing in common with your average hefe aside from the initial grain bill, so scratch that.
July 17, 2009 at 8:20 am
This was a great Hefe, with out a doubt. It too changed my mind on the style. Having this hefe in “Beer Brawl 15″, I have found a couple other Hefe’s that are worth a taste – Flying Dog In-Heat-Wheat, Franziskaner Hefe-Weizen and the Brooklyn Weisse (if you can find it on draft).
Good luck with the lambic, I’ve been considering brewing one too. Love to hear how it turns out
July 17, 2009 at 9:34 am
It seems like I’ve brewed nothing but wheats this summer. They can range from very simple and refreshing, to extremely complex and flavorful. With a basic grain bill, you have a lot of options to customize your wheat with different yeasts and hop schedules. Obviously, the German hefeweizen yeats strains are going to produce more typical hefe flavors. However, it seems the trend this year is to use the wheat grain bill to brew a citrus hopped IPA. Lagunitas ‘Lil Sumpin Sumpin’ and Schneider/Brooklyn ‘Hopfen-Weisse’ are both good commercial examples.
You should give one of these a try, they’re really easy to brew and are a big hit during the summer (unless the temp is like today’s). Plus, if you’re using a bunch of hops, you might as well use US-05 which makes brewing even easier (for a fast, cheap, and dirty session beer).
July 17, 2009 at 9:55 am
Thanks for the recommendations, Simply Beer.
Forbiddendonut – I’ve seen the Lagunitas offering around here, I should pick it up. I may have already used it early on at one point or another, but I’ve read US-05 is a very clean strain that lets the true flavors from the grain/hops shine through without much ester or other characteristics. Any good wheat recipes you could send my way that have worked for you?
I’m planning to do a kolsch this weekend, which is a little off the beaten path for me as far as styles go, but I’m looking to make a nice light, refreshing ale for the latter half of summer.
July 17, 2009 at 10:21 am
Not sure if you read my latest blog, but I reviewed Schell’s Hefe and it was outstanding. I would like to try this one that you’ve reviewed and compare it. Sounds like they are both balanced towards the clove which is the way I like ‘em. How was the aftertaste with the Weihenstephaner? That was the one major difference that stood out for me in the Schells version. So clean and dry and refreshing. Great review, Aaron and good luck on the Kolsch.
July 17, 2009 at 10:31 am
Derek, I did see your post, that sounds like a great one from Schells (and like you, I also tend to overlook their stuff, which just means I’m probably missing out on some really good beers). Aftertaste with the Weihenstephaner was very clean.
July 17, 2009 at 2:34 pm
I agree on Schell’s, they make one of the best American Hefeweizens. It’s too bad it can be hard to find, which is the same issue with their stout and their alt. It seems like their best beers don’t receive the same distribution as some of their more average stuff.
For a hoppy wheat beer, start with Jamil’s recipe for an American Wheat from “Brewing Classic Styles.” Then, experiment with the hop schedule. I also add some caravienne to add a bit of color and sweetness (usually a half pound). My first attempt used 3 ounces of Amarillo (1 oz 60 min, .5 oz 15 min, .5 oz 10 min, .5 oz 5 min, .5 oz flame out). My second attempt was pitched onto the yeast cake of the first and included centennial as the bittering hop, then had summit and amarillo for late additions. Also, I added a little to the grain bill and added candi sugar to increase the OG but keep the body light.
July 17, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Good suggestions, thanks FD.
July 17, 2009 at 3:25 pm
This isn’t bad for the oldest brewery in the world. They’ve had a little time. I drank their Dunkel version of this not too long ago, too. They simply make terrific stuff.
July 17, 2009 at 3:33 pm
I have the dunkel on my beer shelf, really excited for it after trying the hefe.
July 17, 2009 at 3:42 pm
I always go back to Summit and Schells when I’m worn out with “extreme” beer. They both brew such solid and well balanced beer in some very common styles. Unfortunately, that also means they’re competing with a lot of breweries. I like to always have some of each on hand, as my normal session beer.
Plus, Dave Berg (Schells head brewer) is a super cool guy. We can all thank him for the current beer scene we enjoy. He was bounced around locally between a lot of brewpubs where he made good beer but wasn’t supported by the business owners. The work he did for the MN Craft Brewers guild was also vital to the success of our beer fests and our ability to buy growlers in this state.
I know that you should drink what tastes good, and I’d never support someone who brews crap no matter how nice they are, but it just makes sense to drink local beer… even when there might be one or two breweries out there who might possibly make a better example of the style.
July 17, 2009 at 3:45 pm
I like the way you think FD. Local first, if possible. Summit EPA is my go-to session beer (and Winter Ale in the colder months).
July 24, 2009 at 7:22 pm
I’ve been trying new beers recently and this was a great beer. I went with this after having good luck with another old German brewer Ayinger. The Ayinger bräu-weisse is an outstanding hefe and thier Ur-weisse is a great dunkel.
August 13, 2009 at 12:00 pm
[...] my general disdain for hefeweizens as a relatively mundane style (unless you’re talking about Weihenstephaner, in which case pour me [...]
August 23, 2009 at 10:24 pm
[...] been slowly getting more and more into traditional German wheat styles, and after enjoying Weihenstephaner and Aventinus, I’ve been itching to brew my own version. Dunkels are essentially dark [...]