Erdinger Weissbier Kristallklar
Erdinger Weissbräu

elNopalero from California

4.13/5  rDev +14.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Surprisingly enough, this is one of the last styles I haven’t tried and rated. Which means the last time I tried a kristalweiss might have been ... ages ago? SN’s Crystal Wheat (?) comes to mind, fresh at the Chico facility. Let’s see how this compares.

This certainly nails the appearance, crystalline clear with a bright foamy cap. Slow pour gives it some thickness once it settles. I get the classic weissbier notes, dialed in and restrained. Some clove, some banana, a hint of coriander. Clean and smooth finish, easy drinker.

Jun 02, 2021

REVZEB from Illinois

3.96/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Crystal clear bubbly golden appearance, pinky finger of pearl white foam. Smell and taste are clones: wheat with light banana, lime, decent cloves, german yeast, and general grains, little more on the raw and sweet side in the taste, muddling what should be a crisp and clean complexion. Feel is not muddled though, thin, crisp, clean and higher in carbonation, wheat lingers past the sip. A good kristallweizen for spring or summer

Feb 27, 2021

zeff80 from Missouri

3.62/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

500ml bottle. Poured out a clear, straw-yellow color with a small, white head of bubbly foam. It left sudsy trails of lace on the glass. It smelled of banana, clove, wheat and yeastiness. Sweet wheat taste with hint of citrus, banana, clove and spices.

Feb 14, 2021

JonnoWillsteed from England

2.8/5  rDev -22.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

L- A rich golden amber, clear as a bell, with a 15mm pillowy pure white head (ps holding well 10mins later, pps even 20mins later!).
S- Extremely mild, just some grains.
T- The flavour is quite 'bright', light, and I notice a somewhat 'carbonic' dry/soda-water note from the heavy carbonation on the palate. It tastes more like a standard factory 'Euro-lager'* to me than a weissbrau or from one of the big/reputable Bavarian brewers.
F- It has a dry side to it, refreshing on a summer's day, but there is very little body or feel of interest.
O- The colour+head might be the most appealing aspect here. This beer seems to lack any distinctive taste/feel character at all - very disappointing. I lived for 3yrs in Berlin, enjoyed scores of varieties of local wheat beers, and Erdinger's range as well. Then I saw this in London (Waitrose) I realised I hadn't reviewed it and chuckled 'Wow/ironic, a German trad beer I haven't already tried, and I find it in London '. So my expectations were high; yet this is surprisingly disappointing. It's almost like they've filtered the weissbrau and it's filted out all of the weizen character with it!
500ml bottle BB: 03/2021

* the likes of UK brewed Stella and Kronenbourg.
ps. This review was written before reading the beer lable or any reviews below. Just popped back to add a ps onto this review to say how ironic that the descriptive notes right below the bottle image refer to a 'carbonic' taste, so not just me it seems...

Jul 13, 2020

BJB13 from Maryland

3.49/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

500 ml bottle poured into a weizen glass.
Best by: 7/20/20

L: Brilliant pale gold, lots of briskly rising bubbles, three fingers of thick white foam with good retention, leaves decent lace.
S: Light wheat, spice and yeast aromas.
T: Rich and malty but straight forward, wheat and light yeast.
F: Light frothy body, medium carbonation.
O: Drinkable and refreshing but as I remember other examples of this style, overrefined and a little bland.

Jul 06, 2020

tone77 from Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a brown 16.9 oz. bottle. Has a golden color with a 1 inch head. Smell is mild, malts, some bananas. Taste is the same as the aroma, light sweetness, highly refreshing. Feels medium/full bodied in the mouth and overall is a decent beer.

Apr 02, 2020

thehyperduck from Canada (ON)

3.48/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

500 mL bottle from a gift pack picked up at the LCBO; best before July 2019 and served slightly chilled. Haven't reviewed a kristalweizen in years.

Pours a clear medium golden hue, giving rise to nearly an inch of foamy, frothy white head that fizzles off within several minutes' time. A thin collar lives on, in the midst of a decent swath of uneven lacing; I don't think I could tell this apart from a pale lager without getting my nose involved. It smells of banana candy and bubblegum, with notes of orchard fruit also coming through amidst a backbone of bready wheat malt sweetness. Slightly yeasty, too; nothing unexpected so far.

Not bad - a straightforward wheat beer, dominated mainly by flavours of grainy malts and bready, doughy wheat sweetness, with that ripe banana and/or bubblegum ester being the other major component. Hints of appleskin are easily missed towards the finish, with the wheat malts and subtle banana notes carrying through into the aftertaste. Light in body, with lively carbonation that assertively prickles the palate, frothing up a little in the mouth. Crisp and refreshing, with high drinkability.

Final Grade: 3.48, a B-. Erdinger Kristall is a serviceable brew that falls somewhere between a Euro lager and a German hefe. While I do enjoy both of those styles, this is one of those 'jack of all trades' cases where it doesn't totally sate my thirst for either one. In the interest of transparency, I'll say that Erdinger's Weissbier is not a favourite of mine - so if this recipe is in any way a variation upon their flagship beer, that would explain why I'm lukewarm on the whole experience. On the flip side: if you love their Weissbier, you'll likely appreciate this one, too, so purchase accordingly.

Feb 01, 2019

HardTarget from Texas

4.07/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.25

Appearance: Does what it says on the tin, it's clear, with a rich gold color holding a solid finger of sticky bright white foam that is dropping into a creamy glob.

Aroma: Earthy hop note with a mineral water background, classic German profile. Some mild citric esters give a hint of complexity.

Taste: Very balanced, goes a touch toward bitter in the front with a mineral tonic edge but then slowly fades over to a mild sweet almost candy finish. Aftertaste is grainy, wheat and barley, a light malt.

Mouthfeel: Medium body, oily finish, firm carbonation.

Overall: Solid beer, see through version. I think the goal of the Kristal approach is reducing the yeast, giving a more refined, champagne like finish. It works, but I like yeast and so the extra effort is somewhat lost on me. Still, it's easy to appreciate the craft involved and this isn't a light beer by any means. An easy sipper for a cold afternoon.

Jan 02, 2019

Snowcrash000 from Germany

2.91/5  rDev -19.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3

Pours a clear golden coloration with a large, foamy head and visible carbonation. Smell is quite subdued, with only very faint aromas of wheat and yeast coming through. Taste is similarily unremarkable, with only very faint notes of grainy wheat malt, grassy hops and yeast esters, with a certain medicinal band-aid note was well. Finishes quite crisp, with a light bitterness and a slightly metallic, medicinal aftertaste. Effervescent mouthfeel with a light body and very lively carbonation.

This is very crisp and clean, but completely lacks the rich wheat and estery yeast character you would expect from a regular Hefeweizen. Ok as a refreshing summer beer, but has nothing in common with a proper Hefeweizen, basically the AAL of Hefeweizens.

Oct 17, 2018

MKV from Belgium

3.33/5  rDev -8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.5

Very beautiful color in a shapely glass. No distinct smell. An airy and light body, kind of like drinking a cloud. However, there's not much actual flavor besides the distinct wheat character.

Jun 26, 2018

tigg924 from Massachusetts

3.56/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Pours clear, gold in color with one and a quarter inch head. Taste is bready, wheat, and a touch of bubblegum. Light bodied, high carbonation, and sweet. Tasty and a nice German lager, but I do prefer other versions of the style.

May 01, 2018

PatrickCT from Connecticut

3.25/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Flat bonde body. Kristall clear. 3 finger white head that fizzed away quickly.
Wheat and grass in the aroma. Some bubblegum and Band Aid from the yeast.
Bready malts with some grass and spice. bubblegum and Band Aids show up towards the end.
Medium body, medium carbonations. A little weighty on the the palate.

I am bored to death.

Edit: And bananas. I get over ripe bananas.

Jan 15, 2018

Mdog from Minnesota

3.83/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Clear yellow, big head.

Smell: Very big bubblegum, I like it.

Taste: Bready, some earthiness, mild sweetness. No bubblegum or banana, kind of disappointing.

Overall: Beer #2 from the sample pack. I really liked the smell of this beer but none of the smell was apparent in the flavor. Tasted like a standard lager or generic wheat beer.

Oct 01, 2017

OlaB from Norway

3.53/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

L: Pous a clear golden color with a big top of creamy white head that disloves slowly, sticky nice lacings on the glass.

A: Aroma is off wheat,grass,banana with some slight notes of citrus and spices.

T: some malty and bready notes in the back with some fruity sweetness and hint off spices in the front, slightly dry finish. Aftertaste is quite weak. Very little that resembles a weissbier in this one.

M: Medium body with medium carbonation. The mouthfeel is crisp and clean but a little to watery.

O: Is decent and easy enough to drink, but not very interesting in any aspects.

Sep 01, 2017

rocketcat from Finland

1.33/5  rDev -63.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

I have to say that Erdinger Kristall is the worst beer that I've tasted so far. Taste and feel are awful (very sappy), very far from my own zone. Maybe this is good for someone else, but not for me (I mostly dring lager-type beers).
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FINNISH: Täytyy sanoa että Erdinger Kristall on huonoin olut mitä olen maistanut tähän mennessä. Maku ja suutuntuma ovat hirveitä (todella imelä) ja kaukana omasta alueestani. Sopii ehkä jollekin toiselle, mutta en näe tätä sopivana lager-tyyppisistä oluista pitävälle.

May 14, 2017

anon from California

3.35/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Light copper hue with some greenish tinge. Nice head on this one, standing two fingers tall, great retention. Light lace. Smells of crackers, bread dough, straw and butterscotch. A little subdued.

Taste starts with malts cracker, bread, straw, grain and grass, giving way to sweet flavours of bubblegum, butterscotch, light caramel and some banana. Light bodied, clean finish. A decent take on the style.

Aug 09, 2016

PorterPro125 from Canada (NB)

4.35/5  rDev +20.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Serving Type: 500 mL Bottle poured into an Erdinger Weissebier glass

A- Pours a "Kristal" clear gold colour (a little richer than a typical light lager). Fluffy white head with good retention. Thick patches of lacing.

S- Mainly bready with a hint of bubblegum. No typical Banana flavour found in a Weissebier (I expect that has something to do with the filtering process. A clean, crisp flavour that is a nice change of pace from the typical Wheat Beer.

T- Like the aroma, the flavour is very clean and crisp: Mainly a wheat/bready note, a hint of bubblegum, and an earthy/floral hops.

M- Light Body and steady, smooth moderate carbonation. Wet finish. Extremely refreshing.

O- The first Kristalweizen I've had the Privilege to try and I have to say that I was deeply impressed. Clean and crisp flavours comparable to the Czech Pilseners with the added Body/flavour of Wheat malt.

Apr 27, 2016

chippysteve from Germany

4.45/5  rDev +22.9%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.75

One of the best Krystal Weizen in Germany. I've lived it for 10 years and tried others. Only Weihenstephan beats this....but that's difficult to find. (I[m in NRW. There are great lagers, Helles, down south.) No Banana taste in this one. If you order it from a bar, ask for it without lemon... not required.

Nov 05, 2015

SitkaSteve from Idaho

3.9/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This was poured into a weizen glass.
The appearance was a fairly clear, pale golden yellow color, with about a three finger puffy white foamy head. After the head dissipates, there's some stringy lacing sliding into the beer nicely.
The smell starts off with a bready sweetness and lets in some of the typical "bubblegum" notes of a krystalweizen. Banana esters become faint with light cracker details, and is somewhat wheaty.
The taste was mainly sweet through the previously mentioned flavors adding a light earthy to semi-grassy hop bite closer to the aftertaste. There's a light sweet wet finish.
The mouthfeel sat about a light on the body with a nice smooth carbonation running about.
Overall, as a krystalweizen, it works, but I think I'd rather go for a Weihenstephaner one first.

Aug 03, 2015

biboergosum from Canada (AB)

3.63/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

500ml bottle, just called 'Kristall', and part of the new Erdinger mixed pack, one much more interesting than their previous hefe and dunkel-only offerings.

This beer pours a clear, pale golden yellow colour, with a teeming tower of puffy, tightly foamy, and somewhat fizzy bone-white head, which leaves some thick strands of streaky lace around the glass as it slowly ebbs away.

It smells of bready, doughy pale malt, a subtle wheat graininess, a touch of chewing gum, faint banana chip esters, and earthy, leafy, and mildly grassy noble hops. The taste is grainy, lightly crackery pale and wheaty malt, a bit of Rhine Valley white wine gasohol, pithy Pez candy, a still weak banana fruitiness, and the same leafy, weedy and wannabe grassy hops from the nose.

The bubbles are quite active in their swirling and meandering frothiness, the body an adequate middleweight for the style, and a bit edgy from I know not where, to be deemed particularly smooth. It finishes off-dry, the fruity wheat and mixed hops frolicking into that good night.

I've always found Kristalweizens to be a dumbed-down (ISAs, anyone?) compromise for those, ahem, new world pussies who can't abide cloudy beer. Given that, what we have here is testament on high - a tasty brew, to be certain, but somehow neutered-seeming, and I'm not even that big of a fan of hefes in the first place, rabble, rabble, rabble.

Jun 09, 2015

drmeto from Germany

3.06/5  rDev -15.5%
look: 5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 2.75

L:
-pours a clear golden colour with a big fluffy white head
-crazy amounts of carbonation rushing up the glass
S:
-very grassy,earthybubble gum,cardboard and a slight banana aroma
T:
-very grassy,honey,bubble gum,slight banana w a sweet, bready finish
F:
-medium-high carbonation,light-medium mouthfeel
O:
very different flavour profile as other Hefeweizens.
at times it tasted more like a Pilsner than a Weizen.
Not quite what i want from the style.

Apr 05, 2015

geodonnokepyo from Pennsylvania

3.63/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

look - pours yellow/gold with a slightly darker hue, very clear, very carbonated, frothy head dissipated rather quickly but left good retention.

smell - has a pilsner malt smell with a hint of bananas

taste - initially tastes like an american light lager, cant really detect any wheat, but it finishes with a caramel sweetness along with hints of banana and spiciness throughout.

feel - crisp and well carbonated. a bit savory with the aftertaste. obviously an easy drinker.

overall - has its attributes but overall is kind of plain/boring

Jan 24, 2015

jazzyjeff13 from England

3.31/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

A 500ml bottle with a BB of Sept 2014, so it's just out of date. Picked up a while back from a supermarket. I presume this is the filtered version of Erdinger's regular Weissbier.

A: Poured into an Erdinger weizen glass. A clear pale-gold hue with plentiful carbonation. Produces a huge head of creamy white foam with good retention; this steadily reduces to a persistent surface layer.

S: Aroma of vaguely fruity yeast esters with hints of grainy wheat, husks, subtle pear/apple juice, earthiness, stewed leaves and a sulphurous twang in the background. As the style goes this is rather flaccid.

T: Tastes of mildly fruity yeast with a dry, lingering finish. Notes of grain, subtle wheat, bread, fruity yeast esters, mild apples, a hint of banana, earthiness, stewed leaves and a touch of cardboard. Faintly sweet, followed by a prolongued yeastiness upon swallowing.

M: Mouthfeel is smooth, tingly and dry, with spritzy carbonation and decent body. Somewhat astringent, accompanied by an aftertaste of fruity yeast esters, mild wheat and faint stewed leaves.

O: So-so; not as good as the unfiltered Weissbier (itself hardly the champion of the style). Looks alright, however the aroma and flavour are a lacklustre blend of fruity yeast notes and subtle wheat. None of the bold fruitiness and spicy character that would be expected from a better weizen. Body is OK. Drinkable enough but equally forgettable. No need to hunt it down.

Oct 30, 2014

KYGunner from Kentucky

3.65/5  rDev +0.8%

The pours with a bright pear color, fizzy tall foam and a lively carbonated spirit.

The nose is light but resembles apple juice, with wheat malts, light yeast and a pear like sweet aroma.

This very light refreshing beer has a tone of orchard sweetness, light bubblegum, wheat, apple, pear and a doughy maltiness.

This seems to be aptly named, as it has a crystal clear complexion, feel and light clean taste.

Sep 26, 2014

titvs from Portugal

2.5/5  rDev -30.9%

Review following the BJCP2008 guidelines (style 15A). Bottle 50 cl - Batch L291107. AROMA: light wheat aroma with faint vanilla notes and a sweet background. no hops, diacetyl or DMS aromas present. APPEARANCE: gold color and translucid (kristall version). average white and moussy head with average retention. TASTE: grainy and bready flavours with faint wheat character. some vanilla notes and finishes sweet. very low bitterness. no DMS or diacetyl. PALATE: medium-low body with medium-low carbonation. OVERALL: a bulk filtered weizen that lacks the aromas and flavours of a standard weizen.

Sep 06, 2014