Hefeweizen Love

Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier is only second to there Hefeweissbier Dunkle, IMO. I got nothing but love for them both!

 

Weihenstephaner is currently my favourite German brewery. They make a killer Hefeweizen, along with numerous other classic German styles.

 

While not quite as good as Weihenstephaner, SN Kellerweis is in the same league.

 

I think it is better and I don't give a fark what the world thinks about that

 

Hefes are good, and even the American-made ones seem like quality stuff for me. Our brewers do a good job of nailing the style -- or coming close enough.

I work through a six-pack of the hefeweizen at least once a season, fall/winter/spring/summer. They're a great break from hops.

 

Live Oak Hefeweizen out of Austin, TX is another world class Hefe. It's only on draft in Austin, so it's tough for most people to get unless someone sends them a growler. However, good news, they will be canning soon! If any of you trade with someone in the Austin area, you should definitely get a can when they become available.

 

Love Kellerweis. I also enjoy the Victory Mad King Weiss, but that's a hoppier version.

 

Finally! Wheat beer getting some props. An oft-ignored style by many beer geeks, if you ask me. Being my favorite (possibly) style, it's been hard to stand listening to the Belgian-heads and the IPA-Snobs go back and forth, with the Stout/Porter/Dark beer fans staying out of the argument, while quietly flashing the occasional smirky smugness that reveals their own superiority complex.

I love all beer styles, more or less, don't get me wrong, but whenever I order a hefeweizen and profess my love of wheat beers, it's not uncommon to get those perplexed, judgmental, responses. "Oh... you like that whole banana thing?" HELL YEAH, I do. Sometimes I'm the mood for a straight up "punch me in the face with banana Runtz" kind of hefe, and other times I'm into the more reserved and restrained ones; those that balance more delicate fruity esters with clove, a light crispness, and doughy bread notes. Great "I feel like a beer" beer. Satisfying, yet easy to drink.

Snapshot of my favorite suggestions for whenever I evangelize as I now am:
- Weihenstephaner, to be sure (top 2 or 3 hefes in the world, I would say, easily). Not as much banana here, but so rich.
- Franziskaner (also top to, and my absolute all-time favorite go-to beer... like an old familiar friend. Possibly the best value in the entire world of beer). More banana on this one.
- Ayinger Brau Weisse - Chewy, bready deliciousness. Yeast comes through with lots of lip smacking goodness.
- Julius Echter - This is perhaps the sexiest wheat beer in my mind, and the classiest. Don't ask me why... cooler label? Perhaps. But something about the flavor profile just carries a touch more sophistication to the style. It's not just the drier, clovey-ness of it, there's something else there I've never been able to quite put my finger on.
- Any of the above in Dunkle-Weisse format... a great way to switch it up when you're in the mood for something slightly more brooding
- Sierra Nevada Kellerweis - not a huge fan of this brewery, but they make a damn good example of a balanced, but banana-forward hefe.
- Kapuziner - if you can find it, you should try it. Awesome beer.
- Paulaner - not my favorite, but this one has grown on me. Very good.
- Living in the Finger Lakes, NY region, both Cortland and Horseheads brewing companies have made truly excellent hefeweizens in recent years, but they are small batch, not sold in bottles, and are not available currently. Very big banana profile here.

Oh, and once you've broken the wheat beer mental block from which so many of our fellow aficionados suffer, you should realize that wheat beers are more than just hefeweizens and German weisses (although they are kings of this realm in my mind). Wheat beers are a whole FAMILY of styles. Go try a sour Berliner Weiss (yes, sour beers need not be wild fermented, nor do they need to be Belgian and carry a massive premium on the price). Try a Belgian White (witte) beer (how about Allagash White with all its refreshing peppery goodness). Forge your way into Weizenbocks for something more formidable or even indulge in the challenge of appreciating American wheat beers (and fighting the biases of associating the entire style with what macro brew has convinced us these beers have to be).

OK. Well now. Finally. I've gotten to gush about weizens in a forum thread where my gushing may not fall on def ears and dead brains... where my possibly peculiar predilections are not viewed with the same kind of awkward unrelatability as a banana fetish (no, you may not make a freudian banana joke in response to that!). They don't rank by alpha or IBU content; they don't rate because of high ABV; they aren't so dark they look bad ass; and they don't embrace pretension. They are just plain delicious! AND THEY DON'T $(@*ING NEED A SLICE OF CITRUS POLLUTING THE RIM OF THEIR GLASS

Cheers, fellow wheat heads!! Our time in the sun may yet come (in America, at least, much the rest of the world needs no convincing).

*Stumbles off soap box, pours himself a heady glass of goodness, and imbibes to the cause*

 

A style I need to explore, especially the import versions.

 

H'okay -- I likes me a good Bavarian Hefeweizen often enough, but where's the Schneider love? Yeah, I see @Domingo 's mention, but you can't talk about the good stuff without mentioning Schneider and a great Münchner Frühstück.

I don't know if the Chinese import it, but if they don't they're only solidifying their isolation from the outside world (yes, that is a rib-jabber ).

Go -- seek the Schneider -- and the Hofbrau isn't so bad either, a current find in local bars -- served in half-liter steins, usually beyond the expected volume.

 

Had a glass at the brewery. It's a dunkelweizen with smoked malts. Surly doesn't usually brew to style. They always throw a twist in. I liked it a lot, but a Bavarian would probably not be amused.

 

For german it's tough to beat weihenstephaner and for an American one I love sn Kellerweis

 

Love hefeweizen. As much as I get into more trendy styles like AWAs, DIPAs, BA stouts, etc... hefeweizens will always have a special place in my heart. It's like hefeweizens are Forrest Gump and I'm Jenny. I might go through my phases, but I'll always come back to the one that's been right in front of me at $9.99 the entire time... or something like that.

 

I really learned to appreciate Weiss beers spending a summer in Europe with no air conditioning. Schneider was the most readily available and was outstanding. Dunkels and weizenbocks are great variations for the cooler months. I just had Victory's Moonglow tonight and it was really enjoyable, but you can't beat Vitus!

 

You should try Weihenstephaner's Dunkel if you can find it

 

heh, yeah, probably not in the city he's now living (qinhuangdao). i've only heard of schneider weisse (on draft, no less) in shanghai. i believe aventinus bottles occasionally trickle in to shops in major cities.

 

I think a lot of people would agree with you, as the Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier is rate as the number one hefeweizen on this website. And for good reason, it is a fantastic example of a fantastic style of beer. The Schneider Original is also worth checking out for sure. New Glarus Dancing Man is a summer seasonal beer worth trading for if you love hefeweizens, (hopefully they decide to brew it this coming year, as they didn't this year).

 

I haven't seen these two mentioned, and they're both my favorite American-made hefeweizens at the moment.

Troegs Dreamweaver Wheat (can't believe this hasn't been mentioned!) and *gasp* YUENGLING Summer Wheat.

For imports, and slightly better than the American versions, but not by much in my opinion...

Weihenstephan Hefeweizen of course, and Andechs Weissbier Hell. Although I haven't had the Andechs in awhile, and it's a bitch to find fresh. Most of the imports when fresh are outstanding though, you can't really go wrong. It comes down to personal preference in my opinion, kind of like the Oktoberfests you see on the shelves right now.

Come to think of it, I'd kind of like to see imported hefeweizens be a summer seasonal here in the US like the Oktoberfests...at least we'd know they're fresh once per year.

Honorable mention to Kellerweis and Urban Chestnut

 

Not sure those are exported to China...