so only royal brewers were allowed to use it and only the upper classes were allowed to drink it. In time it became less popular to show such opulence, class warfare had done a fair bit of change to European high society by that time. Few would want to lose their head for their social standing, after all, much less over a beer. Lagers were the modern innovation of the time and had become prolific. Industrialization had improved wheat production so there was far less worry about a bread shortage. There was now nothing holding back Georg Schneider. Who’ s Georg Schneider? He’ s the guy that got the laws changed in 1872 so that he could take over the royal wheat beer brewery in Munich and brew wheat beer for the common people! Schneider
Weisse is still made today. It is considered the original hefeweizen and is available all over the world!
There are many varieties of hefeweizen. The weisse, pronounced“ VICE-uh,” is a light straw color and cloudy. It’ s around 5 % alcohol and has a higher carbonation than most beers. When poured it will produce a white, long-lasting, fluffy head. It’ s so fluffy that it’ s almost cartoonish! The beer is light, refreshing, and very bubbly with a pronounced clove and banana flavor. You should feel a little more weight on your tongue than other lighter ales and lagers due to the extra proteins and yeast that make it cloudy. A filtered clear version is called a kristallweizen. It will still have the banana and clove only with a lighter body and crisp, clean texture. An“ original” weisse is a little darker and will have a slight caramel flavor. This is the“ original” style of hefeweizen before lighter versions became fashionable. If you like it dark, though, then you should check out the dunkelweizen. The name means“ dark wheat” and is made with darker malts which add dark fruit and chocolate flavors. A weizenbock is a strong hefeweizen and can be dark or light depending on the brewery. Weizenbocks vary in strength but are typically 7-8 %.
Weizen doppelbock is an even stronger version and tends to be very dark and rich. Schneider pioneered this style with their Aventinus, it’ s the kind of beer that will warm you up on a cold night. It’ ll also stand up to a fullflavored cigar!
A proper weizen glass is tall and curvy with a wide top. It’ s called a vase and it wouldn’ t look out of the ordinary holding a bouquet of flowers. It’ s designed to accommodate a highly carbonated beer and two to three inches of foam. The rim of the glass is tapered to guide the fruity, spicy aromas to your nose as you take a sip. When pouring a hefeweizen, it’ s important to take it easy. The high carbonation level will require patience and a slow, steady hand. Be sure to swirl the last few ounces before pouring it in. This will gather up any yeast that has settled to the bottom of the bottle. You want every bit of that tasty goodness! Now look at that... It should have a uniform haze and fluffy white foam. When you drink it, you should end up with a beer mustache!
Hefeweizen yeast is so unique that it would be out of place being used for any other beer. At Saint Arnold we brewed our kolsch with hefeweizen yeast to teach people about yeast. We essentially made another hefeweizen! There was a time when American brewers were encouraged to stress the yeast by low pitching to create a banana Laffy Taffy flavor. Thankfully that’ s no longer as popular. Don’ t worry, there’ s a few banana bombs out there for those of you who like that kind of thing. There’ s also several of you who will mask the yeast flavor of a wheat beer with a slice of lemon. Hey, whatever floats your boat. I just really dig how the little guys basically hold hands while they work!
Chris Keller has worked in beer sales for a distributor, as a brewer for Saint Arnold Brewing Co. in Houston, and is the owner of Pint and Barrel Drafthouse in Palestine, Texas.
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