Hefeweizens...the best beer style for great beer lovers

Dry Dock makes one of the best American Hefeweizens I've ever had. $8.99 for a sixer.

 

That's the best thing about German beers, the classics are available almost everywhere.

 

Hefewiezen is my go to breakfast beer

 

I need to get on that Sierra Nevada hefewiezen.

 

My favorite style, hands down. Loads of flavor, great aromas and all at sessionable 5-6% ABV.

 

Live Oak, best American Hefe I'll put it up with any German bottle on the shelf in the States. Might be different if I was actually in Germany though.

 

I personally think wheat beers in general are underappreciated.
As far as other styles are concerned . . . Belgian Blondes or Blonde ales I think make for some good beer drinking, are available and economical.

 

Weihenstephaner and Ayinger are my favorites, and to OPs point, are widely available (and well priced)

 

My favorite style, and it has been for a long time. As I've said elsewhere, Weihenstephaner is at the top of the heap for me.

 

Draught only in Texas, so it is a little hard to come by for most. Luckily for me it is on tap at about maybe a half dozen places within a short walk, at most a couple of miles drive from me.

 

This is a bit of an exaggeration, but any style that's not one of the more popular/highly rated ones would fit the bill here.

Belgian - Quads, Dubbels, Tripels, Witbiers

German - Pilsners, Munich Helles/Dunkels, Dunkelweizens, Marzens...more or less all German styles listed on this site, freshness being the only issue here with the imports

....actually I'm not even going to finish this, my first statement covers it (I have to run for now, on a tight schedule). I'll just finish by saying there's world class examples of multiple styles that aren't Imperial Stouts, American IPAs, or "sours" that you can walk into any decent beer-centric liquor store and find in 2015.

Cheers!

 

As long as the beer is in good condition, many world class examples (not necessarily the best) are readily available. Are rare beers even worth the trouble?

Saison: Dupont
Dubbel: Westmalle
Tripel: Westmalle
Quad: Rochefort
BSPA: Duvel
Flanders Red: Vintage/Grand Cru
Oude Bruin: Goudenband
Belgian Pale Ale: Orval

Czech Pilsner: Urquell
German Pilsner: Jever
Rauchbier: Schlenkerla Marzen
Doppelbock: Celebrator
Dunkel: Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel
Helles: Weihenstepaner
Weizenbock: Aventinus
Eisbock: Aventinus Eisbock

English Pale Ale: Landlord
English Barleywine: J.W. Lees
Old Ale: Fullers Vintage Ale

RIS: Ten Fidy
American IPA: Two Hearted
APA: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
American Barleywine: Bigfoot
Steam Beer: Anchor
American Porter: Founders

 

Went Germany this past June... I drank everywhere I went and enjoyed every bit of it. Didn't care the brand, whatever type of Weissbier they had I drank.

 

I would like to point out that the reason top rated German styles are available in the US, is because this is American site, and only German beers readily available in the USA are rated. So, the phenomenon you are observing is quite artificial.

 

One of the problems in general is that the German/English/Czech beers have fallen out of favor with a lot of drinkers due to the influx of more US craft. Many of my retail customers have now changed selections (speak: shelf space) to be more US-centric at the cost of imports. The compounding problem is that the import beers that were already old (comparatively) are getting older on the shelves.

 

Awesome list!

 

That is a great beer!

Great value!

 

I've rated over 400 beers and not one of them is a hefeweizen but I am looking to rate one some day.

 

I love a good Bavarian style Hefeweizen or Belgian Wit, but they're the style of beer I can't go-to all the time. The yeast character is too much for my palate as an every day beer.

Start with a fresh SN Kellerweis -- thank me later.

 

That strikes me as odd - I'm in the southwest corner of Ohio, and could grab at least 4 of the top 6 witbiers off store shelves right now. Possibly 5 of them, if I drive to Kentucky. Perhaps I'm just in an odd witbier confluence, though.

That being said, allow me to pile on the hefe love! Esters are one of my favorite things, and hefeweizens tend to showcase them in easy-drinking yet flavorful packages.

 

Kellerweis is the one I am consider first, some day I will.

 

But but but..whalez bro!



Drink what you like, Hefeweizens can be awesome!

 

I personally don't care for the title of this thread either. They're okay kind of simplistic but yeah they drink easy.

 

Andechs makes a great hefe even though they are known for their doppelbock. I was lucky enough to have a Weihenstephaner Vitus on draft yesterday that was a rare treat

 

Should be bottled very soon though.

 

?? All these styles you listed have top rated examples that are readily available...

 

You don't know about Live Oak's...shall we say...nonchalantness They have said that for over 5 years. It sounds like there is actual progress, but I will believe it when I see it.

As a side note, RIP Steve Anderson. Live Oak would not be what it is without you.

 

Just don't like Hefes, I've tried but I don't.

 

I freaking love a good Hefewizen. Weihenstephaner is great, as is any witbier/Hefe from Urban Chestnut. Also Funky Buddha Floridian is really tasty, although I've only had 3 of those.

 

So many top hefeweizens are affordable because there aren't imperial barrel aged bacon flavored hefes crowding traditional ones out of the top 100. For example, if you scan through the top 100 porters and disregard anything over 7.5% and/or barrel aged you find things like Edmund Fitz, Black Butte, Founders Porter, Anchor Porter, Smuttynose Porter, etc. All are widely distributed and affordable, and would be ranked much higher if they weren't competing against imperial and barrel aged porters.

 

I recently posted about rediscovering Hefe's after a bit of a gap. It is a great style, with Weihenstephaner, Hacker-Pschorr, and Schneider being at the top of my heap. They are also very common and quite cheap where I am in China. I've tried 16 new Hefe's at an average cost of about $2.40/500ml can since arriving in China at the end of August.

To answer the other question, when I lived in Canada, Pils were readily available and cheap. Urquell could always be found, while several of Warsteiner, Bitburger, Radeberger, and Konig were also usually available. These beers were cheaper than most other drinkable stuff that was available.

 

These are a little midwestern-centric. I'd put Old Rasputin above Ten Fidy but honestly also flip a coin. Two-Hearted and Founders are both very much regionalized. American IPA is a category that has changed a lot in the past 5-10 years as more hop varieties have come out and trends have come and gone. If I REALLY had to pick one widely available in the entire US, I'd probably go 60-minute or 90-minute. I've also never had Founders Porter on the west coast or in the South. I'd say Black Butte there, but that's West Coast bias.

Either way, point well taken and I am very much in agreement with the concept of your list. Even the ones I'm being pedantic about are still easily accessible beers.

And hey! Maybe Portland bias again, but as cool as it is to find Widmer blase, Widmer's Hefe is still a great example of the American take on the style. And still very enjoyable.

 

I do as I lived in Texas every year except for this one. I know the labels were created and the equipment was purchased so they are actually close. Hopefully not much longer.