Here are some wheat beer styles that we think you could get down with.
It’s Hefeweizen, Not Hefeweizer
THIS BEER’S FOR YOU IF YOU LIKE: BANANAS FOSTER. HIDDEN SPICE. HONEY. SUNNY DAYS. LOW ALCOHOL. FRUITY ESTERS. CLOVES. NO LEMON. A TALL GLASS. WHEAT.
The most commonly consumed and mispronounced wheat beer in the world is the famous Hefeweizen. (Say it with us now, HAY FAH-VIZEN—not Hefferwizer or Heffenweizen.) Hefe means “with yeast,” and weizen means “wheat.” Hefeweizen is a style of beer that originated in Bavaria, which is the southeast area of Germany. A true Hefeweizen is an ale that is brewed with a majority of wheat, usually 50% to 70%, and a special weizen ale yeast strain that is left unfiltered in the beer. Hefeweizens—or Hefes, as they are sometimes called in the United States—are low in hop bitterness and high in fruity flavor. Now, this is going to be hard to believe, because most people associate Hefeweizens with a citrus flavor, but the quintessential aromatic and flavor attributes of any great Bavarian style Hefe are bananas and clove. What? Yes, these rich flavors are a result of the specific type of yeast used and left to hang out in the brew, producing a cloudy, carbonated, beautiful beer. Note that if you are drinking a beer that claims to be a Hefe and it has no fruit and spice to it, you are not drinking the true German style. People love to drink this beer with a lemon wedge squeezed into it, but true Hefes are so full of flavor because of this yeast that they should really be consumed naked—that is, sans lemon. Try some of our favorite Hefeweizens and Hefe-style beers:
HEAVENLY HEFE: Craftsman Brewing Company, Pasadena, California. Our local Hefe and one of our favorites. True to its Bavarian roots, with amazing fresh banana aroma, clove bite, and a slightly sour finish. 5.2% ABV.
WEIHENSTEPHANER HEFEWEISSBIER: Brauerei Weihenstephan, Freising, Germany. A true Bavarian Hefe that’s bright and fresh. Clean tropical fruits and banana, with a waft of cloves. Super dry and light. 5.4% ABV.
DANCING MAN WHEAT: New Glarus Brewing Company, New Glarus, Wisconsin. Spicy clove and cinnamon, sweet banana bread, tangy lemon peel, and wheat. 7.2% ABV.
NFL DRAUGHT
Although we could be discussing the way Tom Brady’s ass looks in his uniform pants, the NFL we’re talking about here does not refer to the National Football League. We’re talking about a phrase that we beer drinkers should embrace: NFL—No fucking lemon!
Because American-style wheat beers tend to be more citrusy, you’ll often find a bartender mistakenly putting a lemon on the edge of a Bavarian-style Hefeweizen. Don’t do this. We know, we know... perhaps you like the citrusy goodness of a lemon or a lime squeezed into your beer. But we’re telling you right now that if you are drinking good craft beer, you are most likely ruining that delicately balanced brew by adding citric acid to it, killing the head and masking the flavor that was skillfully achieved by the brewer. Using wheat as an ingredient in beer was the first exception made to the famous beer purity law, Reinheitsgebot (see Chapter 1), and that exception was specifically made so that the nobility could continue to enjoy this style. As we mentioned, Hefes use a special strain of yeast left unfiltered in the beer, producing a flavor that shouldn’t be messed with.
How the “tradition” of using citrus in beer came about is a point of contention. Most likely, the reason is that many mass-produced beers suffer some kind of spoilage between the brewery and the consumer, especially beers that are in clear or green bottles, which can easily allow light to skunk the unprotected beer. Skunkiness in beer doesn’t come from age but is actually the chemical byproduct that happens when light interacts with the hops in beer. In fact, the chemical reaction that happens when light strikes beer is identical to a skunk’s spray! Now that would be a reason to put a lemon into a beer: to mask the skunky, gross aroma and flavor of a light-struck beer. But putting a lemon in a quality Hefeweizen is like putting Heinz 57 on filet mignon. Go ahead and do it if you like it. But, as your friends, we have to tell you that you’re making a big mistake.
PAULANER HEFE-WEISS BIER NATURETRUB: Paulaner Salvator Thomasbraeu AG, Munich, Germany. Classic Hefe with banana, citrus, and clove; well balanced. 5.5% ABV.
A Whiter Shade of Pale: Witbier
THIS BEER’S FOR YOU IF YOU LIKE: SPICE RACKS. CITRUS. HERBAL TEA. DRIED FRUIT. CREATIVITY. LOW BITTERNESS. CORIANDER. CURACAO ORANGE PEEL. PALE MALTS. THINGS BEING SERVED WITHOUT FRUIT.
Witbier (or White Beer) is a cloudy, unfiltered ale like Hefeweizen. It gets its name from yeast clouding up the light-colored beer, making it look almost white. If you see the word white on a beer in any language (blanche, blanco, etc.), chances are that it’s a Witbier, though, in truth, these beers tend to be a pale straw to yellow color, with a lot of carbonation and good head retention. Brewed with a majority of wheat malts, these beers fall under the category of a wheat beer. Like Hefeweizen, Witbiers are also low in hop bitterness, but unlike Hefeweizens, Witbiers have a different flavor profile and don’t have to adhere to any purity laws that restrict the ingredients used.
Wits were first created in medieval times, when they were brewed without any hops at all, using instead a blend of spices and other plants to add flavor and balance out the sweet malt. The blend was called gruit. Witbiers today often use a spice/fruit combination in the brewing, inspired by the ancient gruit. That combination usually consists of coriander, orange rind or other fruit, and some form of hops. Brewers can go crazy with this beer, using grapefruit rind, pepper, lemongrass, Curacao orange peel, clove, and so on. With these flavorings, Witbiers generally have a little more going on than Hefeweizens. They also offer layers of complexity due to the use of specific yeast strains that produce a variety of fruity notes, such as pear, apple, lemon, vanilla, orange, and sometimes even a bit of a sour taste. The subtlety of the fruit and spice varies, as does the dryness and the alcohol content, but most Wits stay between 5% and 7% alcohol.
Sadly, the Witbier is another style of beer that has been bastardized with a lemon or an orange wedge squeezed into it. Now we love fresh lemon or orange juice, and maybe you just want to add that to your Wit to create something new, but we are encouraging you to take a sip first. Understand what the beer’s nuances are, and you may find that the beer is great on its own. Give the brewer a chance to show you his or her creation (see “NFL Draught” on page 72). Here are some Witbiers that we dig:
ST. BERNARDUS WITBIER: Brouwerij St. Bernardus NV, Watou, Belgium. A quintessential true Belgian Witbier with subtle orange peel and spice. Nuanced, clean, and dry. 5.5% ABV.
ALLAGASH WHITE: Allagash Brewing Company, Portland, Maine. An American craft version true to style. Subtle coriander and bitter orange peel. Well balanced, dry, and complex. 5% ABV.
LOST COAST GREAT WHITE: Lost Coast Brewery, Eureka, California. A White Ale brewed with lemongrass. Citrus, herbs, and fruit with a dry finish. 4.8% ABV.
HITACHINO WHITE: Kiuchi Brewery, Ibaraki-ken Naka-gun, Japan. Like biting into a crisp pear; from a great Japanese brewery (originally a sake brewery) specializing in Belgian styles. 5% ABV.
ORCHARD WHITE: The Bruery, Placentia, California. Hailing from a wonderful small brewery in Orange County, brewed with coriander and lavender. Notes of wheat, oats, and citrus peel. 5.7% ABV.
All-American: Wheat Beers Born in the USA
THIS BEER’S FOR YOU IF YOU LIKE: ADDING FRUIT TO BEER. APPLE PIE. FOOTBALL AND SOUVENIRS. CITRUS FLAVORS. CLOUDS. BREAD. BEING LOVED BY ALL AMERICANS.
If you just can’t let go of the idea of putting a lemon into your wheat beer, then the American Wheat beer styles might be more to your liking than the traditional Hefeweizen. The American version of the wheat beer still uses the unfiltered, cloudy goodness of a traditional wheat beer, but instead of using a yeast style that adds banana and clove to the mix, American Wheats use a different kind of yeast that is much cleaner, if you will; in other words, this brewing method is missing the esters that are present in the German and Belgian versions. This is why many Americans are often surprised by the fruit and spice pre
sent in the Bavarian, German, and Belgian styles of wheat beer. They are used to American Wheats, which do not give off such distinct flavor notes.
American Wheat beers (some of which are confusingly labeled Hefeweizen) are medium bodied, super subtle, and refreshing, with a hint of citrus and biscuit, and a very mild hop presence. Because of this, American Wheat beers are often served and sometimes even marketed with a lemon or an orange wedge perched on their rim. While we generally pooh-pooh the use of fruit as a beer garnish (see “NFL Draught” on page 72), if you are going to do it, now is the time. You are much better off squeezing lemon into an American Wheat than a German one. The fruit will still kill the head and deaden the aromatics, but at least it won’t necessarily clash with any strong flavors in the beer. American Wheat beers are a good gateway beer for any beginner looking for something simple. Try some of these:
GUMBALLHEAD: Three Floyds Brewery, Munster, Indiana. Brewed with a touch of lemon, nice grapefruity hops, and some heft on the tongue. 4.8% ABV.
CRACK’D WHEAT: New Glarus Brewing Company, New Glarus, Wisconsin. An interesting take on the style; cinnamon and clove mixed with definite citrus notes. Hybrid style that uses both Bavarian and Wisconsin wheat. 5.9% ABV.
BLUE STAR GREAT AMERICAN WHEAT BEER: North Coast Brewing Company, Fort Bragg, California. A fine example of a no-frills American Wheat. This beer boasts unfiltered lemon notes. Very light fruit on the nose, with a dry hop finish. 4.5% ABV.
SIERRA NEVADA WHEAT BEER: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Chico, California. Simple in the best way, with big citrus on the nose and hints of spice; a mild bitter but nonassaulting finish. 4.4% ABV.
Are We Clear? Kristallklar
THIS BEER’S FOR YOU IF YOU LIKE: SHINY CLEAR THINGS. LIGHTER HEFEWEIZENS. SUN-TANNING. CLARITY. WAFTS, HINTS, TOUCHES OF CLOVE AND TROPICAL FRUIT. BEING UNOBTRUSIVE. LOW ALCOHOL.
In the craft beer world, authenticity is always appreciated. So if you’re not big on the bananas and spice in your traditional Hefeweizen but you still want to enjoy a true Bavarian Wheat beer, you actually have a great option in a rare but tasty beer style called Kristallklar. As we’ve reminded you ad nauseum, most wheat beers are unfiltered and cloudy. This style, however, is one of the only German wheat beers that is filtered. There’s not much mystery in this style, but Kristallklar (or Krystal Weizen, “crystal wheat” in German) is what you would imagine: a nice, crisp, clean ale that tastes like a lighter version of a Bavarian Hefeweizen. The filtration removes the residual yeast that contributes to the bananas and cloves in the beer’s flavor and character. Kristall Wheat beers are much lighter in body, are pale straw to light amber in color, and come in at around 5% ABV. You generally won’t find a lot of these beers on tap in America, but if you’re lucky, you may come across one. If you do, pick it up if only for the experience. These are perfect beers with which to lie out in the sun, and they make great summer refreshers. It’s a shame that this style isn’t more available in the United States. But if you like the Hefe, the banana, and the spice but want just a hint of those flavors, it would behoove you to hit the pavement and seek out this style. We like these two Kristallklars:
WEIHENSTEPHANER KRlSTALLWElSSBlER: Brauerei Weihenstephan, Freising, Germany. Light and lemony with light banana and clove. Crisp and refreshing with a hint of wheat. 5.4% ABV.
ERDINGER WEISSBIER KRISTALLKLAR: Erdinger Weissbrau, Erding, Germany. Crisp and clean grain with a touch of banana. Simple and mild. 5.3% ABV.
What about advanced wheats? Yes, there are other great styles of wheat beer, and don’t think that we’re leaving them out. There are dark, strong, intense wheat beers called Dunkelweizen and Weizenbock. There is even a super-sour and complex wheat beer called Berliner Weiss. We talk about these beers later on in this book; however, for the Neophyte, these beers might be a bit much. Remember, we are taking baby steps here. But if you have become a wheat-o phile and are curious about other wheat beers out there, please refer to Chapter 4, where we talk about these amazing styles.
Believe It or Not: Beers That Don’t Taste Like Beer
Every once in a great while, we will run across a person who has been so harmed by bad beer or so turned off by the marketing of said bad beer that they decide to turn away from beer forever. In these instances, more beer therapy than baby steps is needed. These people need shock therapy. They need to be awakened to the possibility that beer can taste like nothing they’ve ever imagined before.
While this therapy has been wildly successful, it’s also a bittersweet method for us because of the reaction that it invokes, which almost always is, “This doesn’t taste like beer at all!” No, no, no! We don’t want that reaction! We don’t want you to like this beer because it doesn’t taste like beer! We want you to love this beer because it’s representative of the variety of beer flavors that exist, the imagination that brewers have, and the skill with which they apply their knowledge and art. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: There is a beer out there for every person, even the haters. These are beers that “don’t taste like beer” but do indeed taste like beer.
Fruity Wheat Beers
THIS BEER’S FOR YOU IF YOU LIKE: CHERRIES. PLUMS. LEMONS. BLUEBERRY PANCAKES. STRAWBERRY PIE. WHEAT.
Because wheat contributes so little to a beer’s flavor while producing some much-desired qualities—such as head retention and a smooth, full mouthfeel—it is the perfect style to use as a base for many fruit beers. There was a time when virtually every brewpub we walked into was serving a wildly popular Raspberry Wheat Beer. Though this isn’t the case now, there are still quite a few of these fruity wheats. But fruited wheat beers aren’t limited to berries. Virtually every fruit and quite a few spices have found their way into a wheat beer recipe at some level. Although none has had the staying power and popularity to earn a separate style distinction, there are simply too many fruited wheat beers on the market to not acknowledge them.
Blueberry, apricot, and raspberry wheat are popular with the new-to beer crowd. The fruit is right there in the name and draws in those looking for a fruity flavor profile. Instead of leaving the fruit flavor to the esters in yeast, these brews usually add some fruit or fruit concentrate or syrup to a wheat beer. Here are some of the fruity wheat beers that we imbibe on a regular basis:
LOST COAST APRICOT WHEAT: Lost Coast Brewing, Eureka, California. Sweet and fruity, lots of bubbles. 5% ABV.
HE’BREW ORIGIN POMEGRANATE ALE: Schmaltz Brewing Company, San Francisco, California. Malty sweet, with a sour pomegranate flavor. High alcohol, but the fruitiness makes it a good choice for Neophytes. 8% ABV.
WATERMELON WHEAT BEER: 21st Amendment Brewery, San Francisco, California. Light candy watermelon flavor mixed with biscuit wheat, served in a can. 5.2% ABV.
SEA DOG BLUE PAW WHEAT BEER: Sea Dog Brewing Company, Bangor, Maine. A refreshing wheat beer made with wild Maine blueberries. Delicious and subtle. 3.5% ABV.
Into the Wild Beer Yonder: Lambics, the Secret Yummy Beer
THIS BEER’S FOR YOU IF YOU LIKE: TART RASPBERRIES. FRESH PEACHES. CANDY. STINKY CHEESE. HISTORY. BEERS WITH FRUITY NOTES. SOURDOUGH BREAD. PRETTY GLASSES. AIRBORNE YEAST. LOW ALCOHOL. NO BITTERNESS. SOUR FUNK. SWEETNESS. ACIDITY.
Lambic is an extra-special style of ale created through an unruly process called spontaneous fermentation. This refers to the magic of the yeast used in Lambics, which is in fact the wild, naturally occurring yeast that floats around in the air waiting to turn liquids into beer. Yes, it’s true; these yeasts drop in on the brew and create a crazy, often sour beer that is sometimes combined with macerated fruit. Lambic hails from the Senne River Valley in Belgium. This region naturally holds the magic bacteria and airborne yeast essential for this beer. The word lambic comes from the village of Lembeek, which is in the municipality of Halle, Belgium. This style gets extra props because it is the oldest style of beer and is the only style still fermented wildly. The magic of spontaneous fermentation is the way beer was made way, way back in the day, when people
didn’t even know about the effect of airborne yeast; they just knew that the liquid left out made them happy. So know that when you are sipping a Lambic, you are tasting history (pause for effect).
Lambics are brewed with a good amount (30% to 40%) of unmalted wheat and have the hazy look of other wheat beers. Lambic brewers use aged hops instead of the fresh hops used in all other styles. These aged hops impart none of the typical bitterness. Brewers use them for their tannic and preservative qualities. To ferment wildly, Lambic wort (the liquid extracted during the brewing process) is poured into “cool ships,” which are large vessels designed to cool down the wort before the yeast is added. Though brewers in olden times making other styles of beer hoped none of the airborne yeast would get into their wort and make the beer sour and funky, Lambic brewers desired the opposite. Everyone is welcome into the fermentation process, even dust and cobwebs. Nothing should be too clean because it might upset the life of the natural yeast.
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