Never a consistent experience.

Wish I could remember which one tasted like bubblegum, hated that beer. I’m thinking it was a US brewed beer.

 

Could be your palate. Taste and smell can be a fickle combo and cause wide variation in sensory experiences over time.

 

If it was a US beer, the bubblegum taste was probably intentional!

 

You would think that the brewer would stick, but absolutely no clue, but imo that was a serious flaw.

 

The only things that I can add to this discussion (besides Franziskaner being a Spaten brand which was once the largest selling hefeweizen in Germany, and which is now owned by Anheuser-Busch IN BEV) is that
1 - everyones taste buds die off and get replaced every ten days or so
2 - CO2 is acidic
3 - yeast can also be acidic and is sometimes perceived as bitter
4 - temperature plays a part in the flavor perception of all foods

I think that perhaps a combination of things regarding temperature and how the beer has been poured, also linked to the age of the bottle, may be at fault. Additionally, the number of beers or other alcoholic drinks you've had prior makes a great difference. Personally, I start to find less sweetness and an increased perception of bitterness after I've had a few. I'm not really suggesting "drinker error", but at the same time I think maybe there's a little bit of that going on as well.

 

All of which suggests it should be 100% consistent batch to batch as it leaves the brewery.

 

A lot of hefeweizens, Franziskaner included, contain a large amount of live yeast in the bottle, and will taste different based on whether or not you pour that yeast into the glass. It's not right or wrong to pour it; it's all up to personal taste.

 

One thing I most definitely don’t like is a brewer that’s inconsistent. I really hate guessing when I’m paying north of $12 a sixer, most time a bit more depending on the style. Smaller breweries really have their work cut out from the beginning when it comes to contracts, and perhaps even cash flow to take advantage of buying in quantity. I don't brew, but I suppose a big variable would be the consistency of the hops, it explains why blending of hops makes a lot of sense.

 

Weissen are one of my favorites and I've noticed what you're talking about with weihenstephaner, paulaner, and ayimger beers.Unfortunately they don't age well and don't deal well with heat.
Based on my experience what you're describing is most likely caused by overheating during shipping and storage.
The beer might be within freshness dates and in the refrigerated section of the store, but it's unlikely that it was refrigerated during the trip over from Germany or in the importer's warehouse.

 

When you buy white bier only buy it in the 1/2 and make sure you swirl near the end. Let it warm up for more flavor. Franz is macro. Try Maisel, Andesch or Weihenstephaner. Schneider is excellent too but different and unfortunately much more expensive than those.

 

Welcome to BA! I see you have had many great responses with possibilities. Have you tried other Hefes? Although Franziskaner is very good, I prefer Paulaner and Weihenstephaner. If you can get these brands in your area, why not try them for awhile and see if you experience the same thing. If not, perhaps it is the brewery or distributor.

 

I strongly doubt this is is a brewery mistake as much as it is a distribution problem. It's also probably a good time to be finding these inconsistencies; considering that we are pretty much smack in between seasons, and where you'll probably have a ton of old stock that is probably well out of its recommended sell window. At this point, how that beer was stored before it got served to you is probably the mission critical part of why you are getting such randomness from it. If you're getting it from the same place. They are not doing FIFO with their product.
For your own yucks and something which QA/QC programs utilize for tasting and sensory analysis purposes is to take two beers from the same batch and store them at vastly different temperatures. Because how its stored matters deeply, and if you do it on your own time with some you pick up at your local packy, you will probably discover the key to what these differences are that you are experiencing.

 

My favorite German Restaurant used to have Franzikanner Weiss on tap and it was always excellent. When I buy it off the shelves, I have the same experience. Unless you get a brand new bottle just off the ship, you will probably be disappointed. All kinds of abuse can occur between the brewery and your house. The beer goes from the brewery to the exporter and sits in a warehouse until there is enough beer to fill a container. Then the container sits on a dock until there is enough containers to fill the ship. If the shipping container is refrigerated the beer has a good chance of surviving the voyage. If not it is a crap shoot. The temperature of of the beer in the shipping container can vary by several degrees based on where it is in the container. Then the beer sits in a dock in the US, gets shipped to the importer, sits in the importer's warehouse, gets shipped to the distributor, sits in the distributor's warehouse and then gets delivered to the retailer where chances are it sits on a unrefrigerated shelf under bright fluorescent lights for several months to years until it gets into your shopping cart.

 

Sometimes you just need to take a break from it for a bit. As they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Try another beer for a couple of weeks and then revisit it.