Never a consistent experience.

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by franznorniron, Apr 12, 2019.

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  1. franznorniron

    franznorniron Initiate (0) Apr 12, 2019 Ireland

    My Beer of choice is Franziskner but for the past year or two I've noticed that the beer is never consistent on taste and other things.
    Sometimes it tastes sweet and sometimes it's sour/bitter.
    Sometimes it has a foamy head and sometimes it has zero head yet is more fizzy/carbonated than normal.
    What am I doing wrong as it's been driving me mad as to why it's never the same.
     
  2. zid

    zid Grand Pooh-Bah (3,058) Feb 15, 2010 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Besides the possibility of batch variation, you might be buying bottles of varying age... and the things you eat/drink on a given day can impact your perceptions.
     
    Tdizzle, Chaz, sharpski and 13 others like this.
  3. Bitterbill

    Bitterbill Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,772) Sep 14, 2002 Wyoming
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Which of their beers are you referring to?
     
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  4. Tilley4

    Tilley4 Pooh-Bah (2,667) Nov 13, 2007 Tennessee
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I would guess that the age of the beer has more to do with anything here....
     
    FBarber, DIM, DrumKid003 and 3 others like this.
  5. franznorniron

    franznorniron Initiate (0) Apr 12, 2019 Ireland

    Franziskaner weissbier
     
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  6. MostlyNorwegian

    MostlyNorwegian Pooh-Bah (1,912) Feb 5, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society

    What's the age of it when you get them and and how has it been stored would be my first questions.
     
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  7. franznorniron

    franznorniron Initiate (0) Apr 12, 2019 Ireland

    Always with in date and refrigerated.
     
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  8. AZBeerDude72

    AZBeerDude72 Initiate (0) Jun 10, 2016 Arizona

    Mine always have been tasty. I would assume it is either an age thing or how they are stored at the store/stores. I would try and purchase from another location to see if it changes your luck. Otherwise maybe your tastes have changed and the beer is fine but your perceptions are different now.
     
    GetMeAnIPA and franznorniron like this.
  9. nc41

    nc41 Initiate (0) Sep 25, 2008 North Carolina
    Trader

    I’m not a Hefe expert by any means but the potential to cause variations are numerous. Age, heat, light right off the top, it doesn’t have to necessarily be old to be off if it’s stored in a 90 degree warehouse or a trailer. Storage conditions count as well as age, could be your retailer or distributor, it
    could easily be age sensitive. I had a Hefe that was like drinking bubblegum, I didn’t like it a bit.
     
  10. PapaGoose03

    PapaGoose03 Grand Pooh-Bah (5,291) May 30, 2005 Michigan
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Welcome to the BA site, franznorniron.

    Of the descriptions of this beer that you describe, the one that is most curious to me is the varying amount of carbonation. That sounds like a bottling issue that should easily be caught by the QC folks. However, by missing that issue it could be an indicator that the QC folks are also missing other things throughout the brewing process and are allowing an inconsistent beer to leave the brewery.
     
  11. GetMeAnIPA

    GetMeAnIPA Pooh-Bah (2,535) Mar 28, 2009 California
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Never had a sour and or bitter Franziskner. Any other beers that you regularly drink that vary as much?
     
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  12. SFACRKnight

    SFACRKnight Grand Pooh-Bah (3,274) Jan 20, 2012 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    How clean is your glass? Dirty glasses can cause issues with carbonation and flavors.
     
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  13. Giantspace

    Giantspace Pooh-Bah (2,879) Dec 22, 2011 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Jai Alai has/had major batch issues, at least it did when I stopped buying it before the buy out.

    Have had Jai Alai from the same six pack that was juicy amazing beer and the next one was bland and boring and the next was flat. A pure gamble I chose to not make after too many loses. Most were quite fresh too.

    Can’t think of any others right now.

    Enjoy
     
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  14. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    There are a number of conditions that can impact Franziskaner weissbier qualities (e.g., flavor profile):
    • How fresh is the beer? Just being within the breweries best by date does not necessarily equate to the beer not being old.
    • How was the beer continually stored since it left the brewery. Was it continually stored cold throughout the multi-tier supply chain?
    • Was the beer treated roughly in transport (e.g., during shipping across the Atlantic)?
    In my opinion the Hefeweizen beer style is a delicate beer style and it can suffer if not treated properly.

    Cheers!

    P.S. Do you have any local breweries/brewpubs that produce Hefeweizen beers near you? That may be your best bet here?
     
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  15. Buckeye55

    Buckeye55 Pooh-Bah (2,828) Jan 11, 2019 North Carolina
    Pooh-Bah

    Are these variances from the same purchased lot? Other than that, I would go with age of product.
     
  16. PapaGoose03

    PapaGoose03 Grand Pooh-Bah (5,291) May 30, 2005 Michigan
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Out of curiosity, have these two characteristics that I bolded above ever happened in the same beer, and is 'tart on the tongue' a better description than sour/bitter? If so, you likely had an infected beer. That condition would also indicate slack QC in the brewery that allows sanitation conditions to deteriorate and a wild yeast or some other unfriendly gritter got into the beer.
     
  17. mkh012

    mkh012 Pooh-Bah (1,681) May 7, 2015 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Franziskaner is a fairly mass-produced hefeweizen, and I've found some batch variation with it myself. It's also a beer that's on tap at places like Buffalo Wild Wings in my area, and sometimes the lines aren't super clean at places like that.

    Pick up some Weihenstephaner if you can tolerate the stupid date code.
     
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  18. nc41

    nc41 Initiate (0) Sep 25, 2008 North Carolina
    Trader

    One ipa I’ve never ever cared for.
     
  19. nc41

    nc41 Initiate (0) Sep 25, 2008 North Carolina
    Trader

    The only Hefe I really like.
     
    mkh012 likes this.
  20. mkh012

    mkh012 Pooh-Bah (1,681) May 7, 2015 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Ayinger, Franziskaner, and Paulaner are good, but Weihen is amazing.
     
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