Wheat Beer Varieties
Created | Updated Jul 22, 2005
In response to talk in the other conversation strand about varieties of wheat beer, I though we could set up a wheat beer review list here. As a BIG enthusiast for the stuff myself I thought I'd get the ball rolling, best to start with...
The big Munich breweries
Erdinger Probably the most popular German Weissbier (wheat beer), and with good reason. It is lighter in colour than a lot of the German ones and in accordance has a light refreshing flavour. Very summery and easy to drink. I have just now (05-04-03) tried their one-off Scneeweiße Winterbier too. It is darker than the normal Erdinger with more wheat to the odour and flavour. Also a spiciness to the flavour that adds depth and warmth.Paulaner A fairly standard Bavarian Weissbier. Nice, wheaty, but lacking an obvious distinctive character.
Schneider Weisse From Schneider and Sohn brewery (Weisses Bräuhaus) in Munich. This is one of the most flavoursome brands of Weissbier I have encountered. This is not always a good thing as it detracts a little form the characteristic refreshing quality of most Bavarian Weissbiers. If you are looking for rich flavour however then I cannot recommend this beer highly enough. especially the Aventinus Weizenbock (strong wheat beer), which is a taste explosion, and I believe around 8%. Bossel specifies that this beer shoul be sampled at their premises in 'the pedestrian zone' (I presume on in Munich).
Hacker-pshorr I would welcome others' views on this beer as I have not tried it.
Franziskaner My favourite beer in the world. Although undoubtably less thickly flavoursome than Scheider Weisse, this beer has a unique quality. It is darker than Erdinger but has the same summery refreshingness (is this a word?), while also adding a fruitiness, which comes out in the odour as an unmistakable banana scent.
That having covered the main famous breweries her are some...
Other German varieties
Andechs If in Munich I would a recommend a short S-Bahn train trip out to Ammersee (a lake to the west) to see the Andechs Monastery. A beautiful building in itself overlooking the lake, and attached to the marvellous Andechs Brewery. I have only sampled their normal Weissbier and their Doppelbock, both were exquisite and the rich, thick, sweet flavour of the Doppelbock rests on my lips to this day.Weihenstephaner Claiming to be the oldest brewery in the world, this is a good yeasty Weissbier. Both the cloudy and clear versions are flavoursome but perhaps lacking individual character.
Schöfferhofer A german beer, but one I have only ever seen in Scotland. Certainly not popular in Munich and I can see why. while being a fairly tasty beer, it has a tendency to taste simply wheaty, and not much besides.
Karg Weissbier review Sir Bossel says "Made by a small brewery in Murnau (Staffelsee), and on top of all, Gutmanns Weizen. The name says it all hmmmmmm [Gutmanns = Goodmans], their Weizenbock is just ...drool". Also I have just had the opertunity to sample their Dunkles Weizen, with a heavy deposit of very flavourful sediment, this beer has a sweet flavour with deliscious fruity overtones. A very fine beer indeed.
Berliner weisse : Despite living in Berlin for 6 months I remained in blissful ignorance of this beer variety. I'm told it is a light beer (possibly more like a Hoegaarden) and is often served with a dash of fruit cordial.
Belgian Wheat beer
Hoegaarden: This is obviously the most famous Belgian Wheat beer, at least in the UK. This takes the refreshing lightness I spoke of earlier to another level. Also has an impressive depth of Character to it though, confered on it by the spices (corriander and cloves I believe) used in its brewing.
Brugs review I tried this Belgian wheat beer in a Glasgow bar recently, it is very much like Hoegaarden. However for those put off by Hoegaarden's spiciness and slightly sour taste, this makes a much easier-supping alternative.
British Wheat Beer
Yes! it does exist!
Black Isle Brewery produce Black Isle Organic Wheat beer, this Scottish wheat beer is one of the first British ones I found. Despite making reference to the german tradition on the bottle, this is certainly a very different beer. My old review read as follows: "I was highly impressed with its rich, slightly fruity flavour and (as one may expect from a British beer) more flat ale-esque character. A great beer!". All the examples of this I have tried in recent years have been sour and deeply dissapointing, tasting so soured that I have ended up pouring them away and needing to take the taste away. An interesting chat with a friend from the Black Isle recently tallied the time this change took place with a shake up in management which apparently saw the chief brewer leave.
St Austel now have joined the new British love of this variety with Clouded Yellow, named rather poetically after the butterfly which like Wheat Beer is a visitor to our shores from Europe. It claims to be inspired by the Bavarian tradition but to my mind has more to do with the belgian beers, flavoured as it is with whole spices. It has a wonderful rich amber colour and warm, clove-rich aroma. The flavour is spicey and slightly tart on the roof of the mouth, especially if the sediment is poured. This tartness is in my experience a danger zone in Wheat beers. If allowed to go too far it leads to an unpleasant 'off' flavour as in the case of 'Black Isle' in recent years, in the example I tasted it was perfectly balanced.
