Beer Blog 4: Wheat

Cragus

Canada144 Posts

May 24 2012 04:56 GMT

People commonly like to say that Germany makes the best beer in the world. In my opinion, this is kind of like the mystique around Cuban cigars – a myth propagated largely by those that don’t know what they are talking about (or are heavily biased). I’m not saying I think German beer is bad (or Cuban cigars), but the quality is almost always exaggerated to near-mythic proportions, surprisingly often by people that have never had a German beer (and really often by people that have never smoked a Cuban). That said, Germans do brew some truly exceptional beers; in particular, Bavarian wheat beers are awesome and will be the first topic of this wheat beer post.

This is Weihenstephaner Hefeweizen, a good (and pretty commonly available) example of a Bavarian Hefeweizen. As is characteristic of a hefeweizen, there is decent spice present with strong notes of bananas (I think it tastes like banana nut bread myself). In general, this is the style I go for when I want a lighter beer after doing yard work, moving, etc. The combination of relative lightness with good, pleasant flavours and plenty of carbonation is truly refreshing (more so than most lagers which I find taste like dead animals [and not delicious dead animals like bacon]).

This is not C-plus (or Sunkist, depending on your region). Despite appearances, this is a fruit-flavoured wheat beer by the Quebecois brewery Unibroue, called Ephemere (cassis [black currant] version). Before I go further, is should mention that this is not my favourite style of beer by any means. I find wheat beers fruity and sweet enough to start with, and when fruit is introduced into the equation, it can get a bit excessive for my taste. That said, this is heady like most wheat beers (less than many hefeweizens though) with a bit of tang joining the expected black currant flavour. Its okay, but I wouldn’t buy it again (even though it was on sale for 4$ for a 750mL bottle).

PS: Sorry if my writing isn’t up to par. I recently discovered that a nearby grocery store sells growlers of local breweries ale – my nighttime mental capacity hasn’t been the same since.

PPS: While my wheat beer glass is branded with the Erdinger logo, I dont recommend their beers. They make okay brews, but they aren't exceptional at all.

Balgrog

United States1221 Posts

May 24 2012 06:32 GMT

I personally have never been a Wheat beer fan. Yes it is better if you throw in a orange or something, but there is not enough substance in the taste. I prefer beers where you can instantly taste them like dark beers, IPA, ales.

surfinbird1

Germany999 Posts

May 24 2012 10:26 GMT

Yeah, not a Weizen fan either. Its taste reminds me of soap with it's somewhat fruity aromas, *blegh*. But you're definitely right about the German beer stereotype. It's even propagated in movies like beerfest (which was terrible, by the way). Not every beer here is great but I think we have a lot of good ones and if you go to the supermarket and grab a random beer, it is most likely of decent quality (of course depending on your taste in the end). I'm personally a Pils fan and prefer their hoppy taste to Weizen or other types of beer. However resisting a Maibock in the Biergarten in summer is always tough. Anyways, good blog, keep it up and educate the ~~unwashed~~ sober masses.

Slithe

United States985 Posts

May 24 2012 21:42 GMT

@OP, I was wondering if you had any plans to talk about pairing foods with different kinds of beer. Also, how many different kinds of beer glasses do you have? It seems like you have a different one for each beer variety.

Cragus

Canada144 Posts

May 24 2012 22:45 GMT

On May 25 2012 06:42 Slithe wrote:
@OP, I was wondering if you had any plans to talk about pairing foods with different kinds of beer. Also, how many different kinds of beer glasses do you have? It seems like you have a different one for each beer variety.

I'm probably going to do a pairing one a bit down the road (want to talk about another few major styles first). As for glassware, I've got a few different glasses for different styles, but a lot of them are very similar and compose maybe 5 different families of glassware. I'm probably going to do a post about glassware this weekend actually and explain the logic behind why certain glasses go with certain beers .

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