German Hefes

My personal taste just about matches your list exactly...but #5 is an easy choice for me. Franziskaner.
Damn AB-InBev

 

I like the list, except my personal taste might switch 2&3. And I haven't had the Hofbrauhaus so I can't put that on there

 

Per my reviews, it goes like this...

5. Schwelmer Weizen
4. Kapuziner Weissbier
3. Hofbräu Münchner Weisse
2. Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier Naturtrüb
1. Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier

 

nice listing love Ayinger but Franziskaner i put at #4

 

5. Maisel
4. Schneider
3. Ayinger
2. Weihenstephaner
1. Hofbrau Traunstein Gastro-Weisse

 

1. Weihenstephaner & Ayinger TIE
2. Paulaner
3. Franziskaner
4. Hacker-Pschorr
5. Schneider


For me the Weihenstephaner & Ayinger is a no brainer. I see them in a different league as the others. 3 through whatever is tougher.

 

Weihenstephaner
Andechser
Mahr’s
Franziskaner
Hofbrau

Since they’re a bit less fruity, I can see someone having a preference for Schneider or Augustiner, but they’re not really my thing. Weihenstephaner and Andechser are both super fruity, while Mahr’s is more of a vanilla cream flavor. After those 3, there’s definitely a bit of a drop off.

 

1. Franziskaner
2. Franziskaner
3. Franziskaner
4. Franziskaner
5. Franziskaner

It's always in my fridge. Nuff said.

 

I've got:

1 - Weihenstephaner Hefe
2 - Freising
3 - Ayinger
4 - Hacker-Pschorr
5 - Franziskaner

 

Paulaner #1
Frankzikaner #2

Not sure after that.

 

1- Weihenstaphaner
2- Paulaner
3- Hirsch
4- Schneider
5- Franziskaner

I guess I prefer the versions balanced between the clove-y phenols and banana esters, so there's my top three. But then I rounded out the top 5 with the two that exemplify each of those two characteristics really well (Schneider for cloves, Franziskaner for banana), because hey, sometimes you just want to lean one way or the other.

 

1. Weihenstephaner
2. Ayinger
3. Paulaner / Hacker
4. Franziskaner / Kapuziner / Hofbrau
5. Schneider

If we can include non-Deutsch Hefes then I put SN Kellerweis up there with Ayinger.
Still need to try Live Oak and Dancing Man.

 

1. weihenstephaner
2. Ayinger ur-weisse
3. Hacker-Pschorr Weisse
4. Paulaner
5. Franziskaner

though according to my ratings it is:
Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier
Mahrs Bräu Saphir Weiss
Schneider Georg Schneiders Wiesen Edel-Weisse
Erdinger Festweiße
Schneider Weisse Original
i think ur-weisse is actually considered a dunkelweizen

 

1. Andechser
2. Schneider
3. Ayinger
4. Weihenstephaner
5. Paulaner

 

The list in the OP is basically my list as well, although I would have to say I would rather replace #5 with New Glarus Dancing Man. I know it's not German, but...

 

Weihenstephaner is the clear #1 for me, but it gets fuzzy after that. I agree that almost all of the German Hefes listed above are tasty and deserving of being somewhere on the "best of" list.

 

1. Andechs
2. Schneider-Weisse
3. Muhlfelder
4. Weihenstephaner
5. Ayinger

Been to Germany three times and had the privelege to enjoy beers "fresh from the source" at Andechs, Schneider, Muhlfelder, and Ayinger. We visited several other small breweries that were incredibly good and better than the ones I listed but unfortunately didn't take good notes at the time. It was that first trip to Germany that opened my eyes to really good beer, since then, there's been no looking back. I'm itching for a fourth trip, I love the fact my wife is fluent in German and we want to take our kids as well to experience our family heritage.

Cheers to the OP, nice post!

 

I'm a sucker for Schneider:

1) Schneider Weisse
2) Ayinger
3) Weihenstephaner
4) Paulaner
5) Franzi

 

1. Weihenstephener



2. Hacker Pschoor
3. Julius Echter
4. Franziskaner
5. Schneider