Wheat beers have held a certain fascination for me ever since I tried my first one at Victory Brewing Company. For some reason I’m drawn to the swirling of the yeast and protein in the glass and the bready and fruity tastes of these beers, resulting in the vast majority of the beers I brew at home being weizenbocks. Lately I’ve made a point of trying some of the progenitors of my favorite styles, which led me to this week’s Dark Hefeweissbier from Weihenstephaner.
Weihenstephaner is actually the oldest documented continuously operated brewery in the world, having been established prior to 1040 in the city of Freising, Germany. The brewery was founded on the grounds of Weihenstephan Abbey by Augustinian monks and remained in their hands until it was nationalized by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1803. The brewery is now known as the Bavarian State Brewery Weihenstephan and operates both as a commercial brewery and a teaching facility for the Technical University of Munich. Currently available are eleven beers, ranging from a light wheat to a pilsner to a traditional bock.
This is a good opportunity to comment on some of the distinctive characteristics of wheat beers. These beers are fairly unique in that the yeast produces a distinctive combination of phenols and esters, for a reason that I have yet to find a definitive explanation for; some say it’s the specific yeast strain itself that puts off these byproducts, while others say it’s the wheat malt which reacts with yeast in general to form them. I think it’s probably a combination of the two, but for our purposes it really doesn’t matter. Phenols are a group of compounds which contain a carbon ring with alternating single and double bonds that has a hydroxyl group tacked on the side. Molecules from this family, especially 4-vinyl guaiacol, are responsible for the spicy “clove” character common in these beers. Esters are chemical compounds created by reacting an acid containing a carbon double bonded to an oxygen with a molecule containing a hydroxyl group, such as an alcohol or a phenol. There are many types of esters, but the subset of interest is responsible for the smell of many fruits, such as strawberries, plums and bananas. If you think your beer smells like a certain fruit, it’s probably because the yeast is producing the same, or a very similar, ester to the one in the fruit itself.
One last topic before we end today’s chemistry lecture; the “bread” taste in many wheat beers. What you actually taste is the yeast, as this is what you taste in bread. The starches making up flour are generally too long to deliver tasting much sweetness of their own, even though they are chains of linked sugars, so without the yeast the bread would be much blander, like a cracker. German wheat beers such as hefewizens actually have their own dedicated style of glassware, known as a Weizen Glass because of this. This glass is narrower at the bottom of the glass than the top, flaring at the base and curving in at the lip, to showcase the turbidity and color of the beer while still retaining room for the large head.
The beer poured a hazy dark golden brown color with two fingers of long lived, pillowy off-white head. The color is actually towards the dark end for this style, which ranges up to a pale straw like a Belgian Witbier, and the head is typical of unfiltered wheat beers. The aroma was low in intensity, but surprisingly dominated by apple and some plum with only a little bit of the bready yeast and spiciness showing through. Most beers of this style have a much stronger spicy character, often described as smelling like clove, and more of a banana smell, although the lack of a hop aroma is normal.
The first impression from this beer is that it is quite smooth and drinkable. The yeast taste in this beer is present but not overpowering, fading into a slightly sweet malty finish. The taste was nicely accented by citrus and spice notes, which were just enough to keep the beer interesting without making it harder to approach. The mouthfeel was full bodied, although initially it thinned out towards the end with due to the moderate carbonation present.
The taste is a bit more malt focused, especially towards end, than I expected from a hefeweizen, and while it has a yeast presence, overall the beer is fairly restrained. This beer actually reminded my more of a slightly weaker weizenbock than it did of American hefewizens, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. I thoroughly enjoyed this beer, and I will probably be adding it to the battery of beers I give to new drinkers since it was so smooth.
Size: 16.9 oz
Price: $4.35
ABV: 5.3%
Look: 4.5/5
Smell: 4/5
Taste: 4.5/5
Mouthfeel: 4/5
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