Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier

By on February 6, 2008 @ 6 PM (1 Comment)

In our ongoing Thursday night beer reviews via the land line, we came to a real champion that’s very hard to say and spell, especially after you’ve lapped up the entire bottle like you were in the desert and had just found an oasis of beer. So here goes:

The Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier is brewed at the Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan in Freising, Oberbayern, Germany. It is said to be the oldest brewery in the world, around since 1040. You have to respect that.

An aggressive pour into a tall 22 ounce pint glass (very similar to a Weizen glass) generated a huge, 3 inch frothy white head that looks like a puffy cumulus cloud. Top notch! The head lasts quite a while, slowly dissipating. The body is a hazy cloudy light yellow to medium gold color. It’s relatively thin with tiny particles and mild carbonation. It looks fantastic sitting in the glass.

The aroma is your usual hefe, with some twists: Lemon? Check. Banana? Check. Pepper? Not in this one. Pleasant surprise aromas – a light yeast-doughy bread smell and a slight bubble gum smell, similar to Joe Blow.

The taste is strong on lemon and banana, mild on the bubble gum and mild on those biscuity malts. The initial flavor is a light sweetness that makes you want to not even put it down before you get your second taste. The finish continues to be lightly sweet with a slight sourness. This tiny bitterness really works and the finish lasts a while, but not from the mild hops that are present in the aftertaste. The peppery smell missing from the aroma returns in the finish and surprises you a bit. The mouthfeel is shockingly dry and the complexity increases as you drink it. It’s a gradual wow that really surprises you for a hefe.

It’s ultimately very refreshing and thirst quenching. A good alcohol balance at 5.4% ABV in a 16.9 ounce bottle. Of course we have an ongoing fascination with hefeweizens here at The BeerFathers, and this may be the best weissbier we’ve had. At the price – $2.89 for the bottle, it’s tough to beat. Extremely repeatable and very easy to drink, if you can find it, get it and some of it’s brothers so it doesn’t get lonely.

Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier Rating: 8 out of 10 (?)


1 Comment (Add Your Comments)

  1. Emerson says:

    Really, it’s not supposed to an enilsgh brown ale it’s just a north american Brown. north american honey browns tend to be lighter in color and taste, and tend to be blander and less roasted/malty.I don’t mind it. It’s not great like all of Rickards, but I wouldn’t pour it out.

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