Let's Talk About Weihenstephaner

As much as I love their dopplebock, helles and kristallweizen (as well as everything else they do), I have been longing for their Pils which was delicious. Unfortunately I only had it once and it doesn't seem to be distributed as much as their other styles. Keep your eye out!

I guess this is where taste is subjective. As much as I love their regular Hefeweizen (and I absolutely DO love it!), I have slowly become more of a kristalweiss fan as of late and thus have embraced Weihenstephan Kristallweizen as possibly their most underrated offering. I really enjoy how it retains the spicy/clove aspects of the traditional Hefeweizen while being crisp and clean, without becoming overly "heavy" with yeast and wheat sediment. A wonderful daytime/brunch beer for sure; I suggest you give it another try, perhaps it may be a fresher bottle?

 

I'm the opposite. The imported Weihenstephaner beers are hands down better than produced by breweries local to me (and beyond) despite the long shipping time. And the prices are usually the same (and sometimes lower) than many imitation domestic versions of the styles that Weihenstephaner produces.
I'd prefer to give my money to local or American brewers as well. But they have to produce the quality I'm looking for, and thus far, with few exceptions that is just not happening for the most part.

 

Which of course, in the end, doesn't matter at all.
So much of the new stuff pales in comparison to the tried and true classic stuff.

 

How does Schlenkerla fit into the mix?

Their Festbier is possibly my favourite beer of all time. Their Helles is fantastic, and I wish I could get my hands on their Krausen beer.

 

Agree, it's the lightest I've had but really good. Better than the SN IMO.

 

All three of the beers I've had from them (Hef, Vitus and Original) are outstanding.

 

OH agreed, I'd rather have a age old st. bernardus abt 12 (or a weinstephaner hefe of course!) than the latest rogue ceviche campbells tomato soup can aged double chocolate stout

 

VITUS is actually mentioned in this thread all the time...... isn't Vitus kind of a new beer? Well not "brand new", but I think it hasn't been around for much more than 10 years or so? I think even less? And what about Infinium?...
Otherwhise:
I personally hate to admit it, but although I love bavarian beer, I'm not the biggest fan of the breweries that are famous in the US (Weihenstephan,Ayinger,Andechs)... I won't complain when at a pub or Biergarten that serves Weihenstephaner. But I won't go out of my way to get it. And it's not like when I have an Original or Weisse it's like "Wow this hits the spot",it's more like "yeah I can live with that".And given the choice, I'd take Aventinus over Vitus any day.

 

Hey, rebuilding is an operation.

 

Oh yeah, their beers are an order of magnitude better than damn near anything comparable in the US, and that's something freshness doesn't compensate for (same with Ayinger, etc.).

 

Where did you get the lovely mug?

And yes, Weihenstephaner is one of the best out there in the world! Can't find a bad offering from them, whatever your try. My favorite is Vitus (of course) and Original (such sweet biscuity taste!).

Somebody mentioned Schneider Weisse earlier. I love them too, especially the Eisbock and the Aventinus.. However, I think they aren't as consistently high class as Weihenstephan. Great brewery though.

 

Weihenstephaner produces my "If I could drink only one beer for the rest of my life" beer, that being the Original. I've never had a bad beer from this brewery. The only thing that keeps it from being my top favorite is the Augustiner Brau.

 

I just practically did a 'spit take' of my morning tea reading that. Good one.
But be careful...writing stuff like that might compel Rogue to make it, and the BJCP to add it to the 'style guidelines'.

 

Where is there an overstock of this wonderful nectar? I must go there and buy/drink it ALL.

Seriously, I agree with all who said it just isn't trending with the hipster crowd right now and it is pricey. So people stay away.

 

I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Weihenstephaner. They were one of the first breweries to get me into drinking good beers. Other breweries can't even come close to their hefeweizen, and their other beers are world class.

 

oh god you're rite, this shit is dangerous

 

Vitus, Korbinian, Hefe, and Dunkelweiss, are probably my favorite beer from each of those styles, that is available in my area

 

I agree in regard to their wheat beers. I truly haven't had any American examples that come close to Weihenstephaner or Ayinger. I'm not sure that it is as true with the lagers. Yes, I think that, in peak condition, Weihenstephaner Original is better than Stoudts Gold or Victory Helles. However, I think that freshness does equalize things a bit. 2-week old Stoudts Gold is preferable to 4-month old Weihenstephaner Original, at least in my opinion.

 

If you can ever get your hands on Straub Hefeweizen (a summer seasonal) I would suggest you buy that beer. IMO Straub Hefeweizen is the equal of Weihenstephaner/Ayinger. The other advantage of Straub Hefeweizen is that I am assured that it is fresh; less than a month old when I purchase it.

I discussed this beer in a New Beer Sunday thread: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-543.315625/#post-3885934

Cheers!

 

Gimme Weihenstephaner. After that, gimme more Weihenstephaner. Korbinian was one of those beers that blew my mind at the beginning of my craft beer journey. Hefe is in my top 3 for beers all time, VITUS is awesome, Dunkleweisen is a great beer. They can do no wrong, pretty much.