Ayinger Bräuweisse
Ayinger Privatbrauerei

A finely topped by white froth finger of foam, and quite cloudy gold colored, thickish loolking brew. Not a poster child, but hey it's hefe laden beer we are talking about.

Not the usual aroma, in a good way, clove is joined by other spice and some nice sweet tangy yeast flavor, and some hops in there too I do believe adding wonderful bitter backing to a scent that has elements of sourdough to it.

Not the usual hefe taste either, missing notably is the banana. Clove now has coriander and pepper to buddy up with in a sip that is just sweet grainy enough, just rounded yeasty enough, just herbal bitter enough. Palate gets accustomed quickly to a joyous flavor that is raw and delicious.

Very low carb., maybe a touch under for style, but to this palate it makes a beer that is carried stunningly well. Quite full bodied and viscous also, but refreshing, and finishes clean and drier than usual for style.

Excellent beer, I may have passed without trying for years, but today it beckoned convincingly from store fridge. Glad I got it, highly recommended.

From a 330ml bottle into a Nonic.
An opaque straw colored pour with a big head that fades and produces a little lacing.
Pleasant toasted Hefe malt, and yeast flavors.
This particular bottle seems like it is getting a little old, although I don’t see a date on it.
I look forward to trying this one again, from a newer bottle, or on draught.

 

Superbly balanced weizen. Easily my favorite in the category.

 

0.5l bottle into a weißbier glass with the logo on it in the sun.
Deep bread and lemon nose.
Soft Gros Michel banana and subdued bubblegum arrival. Silty. Oystershell lime. Freshly baked vanilla buns. Lemon zest, lemon drops. Dry crackers.
Lively, but not at all attention seeking or bothering mouthfeel. Calm and bright.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hazy straw with a lumpy tower of stiff snow white foam; bread starter, banana chips, almond skins and low nutmeg; white sliced pan, banana chews, slight lemon, and numbing clove hum to end; soft, round, smooth.

4 x 5

Ayinger are tops across the board, but straight hefeweizen doesn’t so much excite me, so I’ve put this one off for a while.
And I’m not sorry I did. It’s well crafted, balanced and perhaps understated, which is another way of saying just not enough going on.
The body is there, and there’s a healthy, though not generous, serving of esters that shifts into vanilla and some more interesting tones.
But the phenols you feel more than taste (no real clove), the carbonation is slightly low, and maybe NEIPAs have spoiled me when it comes to mouthfeel but it’s just not as silky as it could be. Those last two together are problematic because they kill the weiss-as-summer-isotonic-quencher aspect of it.
I won’t argue that it’s a fine example - BJCP one, in fact - but it’s neither quaffable enough nor characterful enough to capture the best aspects of the style.

Solid, but I’m sticking with Weihenstephaner.

Nice mouthfeel with banana-cloves that aren't too overbearing as they can be in many other versions. It pours a golden yellow with hazy yeast. The carbonation and aftertaste are very enjoyable.