Stiegl Weizen Gold Hefefein
Stieglbrauerei zu Salzburg GmbH

 

 

Mild and light bodied weizen from Austria, Cloudy copper color with medium fluffy head. Sediment is chunky, so I sense this bottle is a bit old, but not skunky. Aroma is typical weizen notes, but toned down. Looks thick, but is actually fairly light bodied. Taste is also somewhat subdued, slight banana/clove tastes. Passable weizen.

 

 

 

 

 

Pours a murky darkish orange with a 1 inch foamy off-white head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace slowly drip into the remaining beer on the drink down. Smell is of grain and white grape juice. Taste is the same with an odd funky and medicinal flavor on the finish. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty average hefeweizen with some aromas and flavors that I have not really experienced in beers of the style before. Not a fan.

 

 

500ml into a giant snifter...big bristly head on top of a darker than normal for the style body...wheat sharpness in the nose. Not quite as much yeast character as many of the German examples of this style. Very clean malt profile with some noble hops balancing the mild alcohol. Super refreshing taste, mild, sharp and endearing. Excellent mouthfeel. Not a bad value at $2 a 500ml...works out to about $8.50 per conventional US 6 pack by volume and is better than most wheat beers made by American breweries. Definitely recommended.

Appearance: Pours a cloudy pear nectar color with the not unexpected big head that delivers plenty of lacing

Smell: Not at the top of the banana scale, though there is certainly some banana present; lemon, too, along with a spicy coriander aspect

Taste: Opens bready and then darts in a puckering lemon and coriander direction, with the banana flavor developing by mid-palate; after the swallow, the banana flavor recedes and the tart lemon and spices dominate the finish

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body; somewhat creamy, with moderate carbonation

Drinkability: A bit different from the big banana German hefes, this Austrian beer is top notch in quaffability; imagine, these guys have been brewing since Columbus discovered the new world

From a 500 ml. bottle into a Weizen glass. Pours a hazy lemon golden with an inch of white head after a rather careful pour. Retention and lacing are quite robust as a steady carbonation emanates from the bottom of the glass.

Slightly sweet banana nose, some yeast and a bigger than average hit of wheat and some stronger yeast notes revealing themselves later. Very similar to the true Bavarian's in nature.

Taste is wheaty up front, and clean and crisp on the finish. Sweetness is only moderate at its peak. Bready and full bodied though perhaps a bit too much, as the flavor is somewhat muted by the abundant carbonation and relatively light residual sweetness. This yields a good dry feel yet keeps drinkability in check for me, as the flavor flattens out after a while.

Amazing appearance - thick, meringue-like head that jiggles and lasts a long time. Luxurious cloudy pale golden color. Yummy.

Nose leans a little herbal, maybe some clove, and some bready notes.

Palate is clean wheat malt with not much banana. This one is more wheat cracker like, with good esters, but not a lot of the old fashioned banana.

Very thirst quenching and probably great with food when you want a wheat beer but not necessarily big banana.

Poured a three-finger head that left lace patches on top of a cloudy, almost dakek orange body. A large but sharp citric note with some clove in the smell, almost like a wit, and there isn't much wheat/yeast twang in this aroma. A good tasting hefe, although like the smell it cuts a little sharp and has some wit beer characteristics. Not as full-bodied or fluffy as German hefes; a little slicker and a tad watery in the body. Still maintains a good citric taste along with some spice in the backbite. A simple beer to enjoy anytime.

This is a very tasty, well-balanced, interesting hefeweizen.

Lightly hazy yellow, rather pale, it has a huge creamy white head that slowly shrinks.

The aroma is at 1st more like a good pilsner with toasted grain and herbal hops, but soon takes on a more classic hefeweizen quality with fruit, mild banana, hint of bubblegum, some bread, and general grain qualities. It's very nice.

The taste is clean, crisp, but a little soft and very smooth with lemon, grain, some fruit. It has nice, non-artificial-tasting orange and lemon, plus light herbal bitterness. It's a little different from the normal hefeweizen, but still firmly in that category, and very tasty.

The color of this beer was a dark and very cloudy gold to almost brown. Had a nice white head that lasted a very long time. The smell seemed a bit light, but some citrus notes. Taste was good. Bananas and yeast, a bit light. Mouthfeel was just ok. Overall this is not a bad hefe. A little light, but refreshing. However this beer is more expensive then most good German Hefes. It is an interesting novelty being from Austria, however I doubt I will purchase it again with so many other good hefes for much less cost.

Appearance - This is a deep, rich, semi-bright orange in color with a beautiful, pillowy white lasting head.

Smell - This has a very balanced nose of raw yeast, light banana, and clove. You get some of these aromas in varying amounts with good Hefes but this is even Steven all the way around. Nice.

Taste - The yeast comes out more at the taste but I can still get some light grain and banana. Again, this is a very balanced brew with a wonderful flavor profile.

Mouthfeel - This is bigger than medium-bodied with a fluffy carbonation in the mouth that makes it go down velvety smooth.

Drinkability - This is an awesome weizen. I know I used the word "balanced" a lot but that's exactly the best way to describe this wonderful beer.

Presented in a 16.9oz bottle similar to the one in the picture. Poured into a tall hefeweizen glass.
Appearance: cloudy golden hue topped by a huge large-celled white head that sputtered and caved in on itself inside one minute. Plenty of ribbons of fine carbonation rush up from the floor of the glass.
Smell: grainy (though a bit soggy), with hints of yeast and modest fruitiness. Not getting much spice (clove) or banana aromas that I expect from a German-styled hefe.
Taste: more fruity but still lacking the banana-and-clove flavors I crave. Malt taste is doughy but there was an undertone of soggy grains that put me off a bit.
Feel: light but a touch watery.
Overall: Stieglbrauerei's hefe comes danger-close to falling into the category of "American pale wheat ale" versus a hefeweizen. Despite the label stating this is "world class" this brew never attains that level for me. At best, it's a second-tier hefe and, at $3.00 a bottle, I'm not inclined to buy this over some of my more favored (and less pricey) hefes.