Brewed By: Paulaner Brauerei (Schörghuber) in Munich, Germany
Purchased: 6-Pack from Friar Tucks in Urbana, IL; 2011
Style/ABV: German Hefeweizen, 5.6%
This isn't a grammar blog, so I advocate whatever pronunciation works for you. I call them "Hefes," like the Spanish word for boss. Hefes are traditionally a summertime beer, but because they are so awesome you can now get them year-round. Thanks to my interest in the style, I have tried quite a few Hefes. Today I'll lay down my thoughts on one of the top-rated German Hefes, Paulaner's Hefe-Weizen.
Part of why I love a good Hefeweizen is the presentation. These beers are meant to be given an aggressive pour: you want to get a big pillowy head. You also want to stop pouring your beer when there is about 1/4 of the bottle left. At that point you want to swirl the bottle around to stir up and collect all the sediments and yeast at the bottom; make sure you get that stuff into your glass! Lastly, don't let the beer bottle touch your beer as you pour. This beer pours with a 4-finger head easy, but head size is hardly a science and is not a litmus test for the quality of the beer. The head takes on a golden color and is not white. The head is big and pillowy, and super foamy. The body of this beer is unfiltered, of course, and has a dark golden body. Around the edges the beer is more golden-yellow, but towards the middle the beer takes on a brown-golden appearance.
Hefeweizens have a few key aromas, notably banana and clove. With this beer you can definitely smell some banana, clove, white sugar, and crisp citrus that almost is tart. There is a good amount of wheat and grass as well. The nose is not banana-overpowering, and the citrus is very refreshing.
Having had 5 of these already, I have good news and bad news. The good news is this is a delicious, refreshing beer. The bad news is that in my opinion, the body of this beer is somewhat on the lighter side, even approaching somewhat watery. There is mild banana-vanilla, some mild mild clove, and lots of wheat in the body. The wheat is very refreshing, and takes on some grainy notes. There is also a nice refreshing wash of grass and very mild citrus. The mouthfeel is refreshing, with light carbonation. The front, middle, and back all flow evenly with wheat and grass. This is a light-bodied beer with almost no depth, is not very complex, but is very refreshing. And yes, this is super drinkable.
Make no mistake, this is one of the better authentic German Hefeweizens. I would not hesitate to recommend this beer to anyone. I have a few hang-ups with this beer though. Notably, this beer has a somewhat light and dare-I-say watery profile. It's kind of a first-world-problem though. So let me frame it in a way that might be meaningful to someone looking to try a German Hefeweizen:
This is a great session beer that goes down easy. The slightly watery body and lack of depth means there are no cloying qualities. You could easily drink a 6-pack of this in one night. Additionally, despite being light, this is still a great example of a German Hefe.
On the other hand, if you want a German Hefe with slightly more depth, you may want to try Weihenstephaner, Hacker-Pschorr, or my favorite, Ayinger Bräu-Weisse.
I love Hefeweizens. Hefeweizens are unfiltered wheat beers known for their banana and clove flavors and their giant foamy heads. They originate from Germany like many awesome things including Volkswagen, Schizer films, and Wagner. In fact, just like "Wagner," Hefeweizen is pronounced "HEH-feh-vite-zehn." Source, with audio clip: http://inogolo.com/pronunciation/Hefeweizen
This isn't a grammar blog, so I advocate whatever pronunciation works for you. I call them "Hefes," like the Spanish word for boss. Hefes are traditionally a summertime beer, but because they are so awesome you can now get them year-round. Thanks to my interest in the style, I have tried quite a few Hefes. Today I'll lay down my thoughts on one of the top-rated German Hefes, Paulaner's Hefe-Weizen. Part of why I love a good Hefeweizen is the presentation. These beers are meant to be given an aggressive pour: you want to get a big pillowy head. You also want to stop pouring your beer when there is about 1/4 of the bottle left. At that point you want to swirl the bottle around to stir up and collect all the sediments and yeast at the bottom; make sure you get that stuff into your glass! Lastly, don't let the beer bottle touch your beer as you pour. This beer pours with a 4-finger head easy, but head size is hardly a science and is not a litmus test for the quality of the beer. The head takes on a golden color and is not white. The head is big and pillowy, and super foamy. The body of this beer is unfiltered, of course, and has a dark golden body. Around the edges the beer is more golden-yellow, but towards the middle the beer takes on a brown-golden appearance.
Hefeweizens have a few key aromas, notably banana and clove. With this beer you can definitely smell some banana, clove, white sugar, and crisp citrus that almost is tart. There is a good amount of wheat and grass as well. The nose is not banana-overpowering, and the citrus is very refreshing.
Having had 5 of these already, I have good news and bad news. The good news is this is a delicious, refreshing beer. The bad news is that in my opinion, the body of this beer is somewhat on the lighter side, even approaching somewhat watery. There is mild banana-vanilla, some mild mild clove, and lots of wheat in the body. The wheat is very refreshing, and takes on some grainy notes. There is also a nice refreshing wash of grass and very mild citrus. The mouthfeel is refreshing, with light carbonation. The front, middle, and back all flow evenly with wheat and grass. This is a light-bodied beer with almost no depth, is not very complex, but is very refreshing. And yes, this is super drinkable.
Rating: Average
Score: 73%
Make no mistake, this is one of the better authentic German Hefeweizens. I would not hesitate to recommend this beer to anyone. I have a few hang-ups with this beer though. Notably, this beer has a somewhat light and dare-I-say watery profile. It's kind of a first-world-problem though. So let me frame it in a way that might be meaningful to someone looking to try a German Hefeweizen:
This is a great session beer that goes down easy. The slightly watery body and lack of depth means there are no cloying qualities. You could easily drink a 6-pack of this in one night. Additionally, despite being light, this is still a great example of a German Hefe.
On the other hand, if you want a German Hefe with slightly more depth, you may want to try Weihenstephaner, Hacker-Pschorr, or my favorite, Ayinger Bräu-Weisse.
Schneider Weisse is on my horizon, and I have not tried that yet, so expect my thoughts on that beer soon.
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