Where oh where has my weissbier gone?
September 24, 2010 10:00 PM Subscribe
Wonderful wheat beers served in berlin beer bars, what brands are they?
I was in berlin last year and loved the wheat beers they served there (these would be in the beer gardens, tiergarten and that divey beer garden next to the zoo I know I had them there, but were everywhere).
They were poured out of .5L bottles and were unfiltered, so the sediment in them was an important part of the character, which was very very spicy and not overly malty. Back in the US, I can't find anything as good, even at specialty beer bars here in the bay area (trappist, beer rev, monk's kettle, etc) some come close, but are not the beers there.
So, I homebrew and want to read up on these specific beer brands to possibly emulate, but I don't trust my memory for the brands. Could someone who is more familiar with Berlin bars tell me what wheat beers are served in the bottles there please?
They may be berliner weisse (although NOT the brand that they serve with apple syrup) or hefeweizens or even weizenbocks.
I was in berlin last year and loved the wheat beers they served there (these would be in the beer gardens, tiergarten and that divey beer garden next to the zoo I know I had them there, but were everywhere).
They were poured out of .5L bottles and were unfiltered, so the sediment in them was an important part of the character, which was very very spicy and not overly malty. Back in the US, I can't find anything as good, even at specialty beer bars here in the bay area (trappist, beer rev, monk's kettle, etc) some come close, but are not the beers there.
So, I homebrew and want to read up on these specific beer brands to possibly emulate, but I don't trust my memory for the brands. Could someone who is more familiar with Berlin bars tell me what wheat beers are served in the bottles there please?
They may be berliner weisse (although NOT the brand that they serve with apple syrup) or hefeweizens or even weizenbocks.
Weihenstephan.
Ayinger.
Given that you mention sediment, I'll assume you're not talking about the decidedly acidic but ever-so-refreshing Berliner Weisse.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 3:01 AM on September 25, 2010
Ayinger.
Given that you mention sediment, I'll assume you're not talking about the decidedly acidic but ever-so-refreshing Berliner Weisse.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 3:01 AM on September 25, 2010
Forgot about Schoefferhofer, Erdinger, Schneider...meh, just check this list (scroll down).
posted by obiwanwasabi at 3:05 AM on September 25, 2010
posted by obiwanwasabi at 3:05 AM on September 25, 2010
Best answer: Paulaner, Augustiner, Erdinger, Franziskaner, and Hoegaarden (which is Belgian) were the brands I saw in Munich, if I remember correctly. (Maybe in that order, or in any case I'm pretty sure I remember seeing Paulaners.)
posted by Busoni at 6:36 AM on September 25, 2010
posted by Busoni at 6:36 AM on September 25, 2010
All of the above beers are pretty much available in the US in .5 l bottles, usually in high-end grocery stores.
posted by Ironmouth at 8:45 AM on September 25, 2010
posted by Ironmouth at 8:45 AM on September 25, 2010
Sounds like Weissbier, possibly Dunkles Weissbier. You can get Franziskaner and Erdinger in the Bay Area (Andronico's).
Weissbier is a Bavarian specialty. In Berlin, they often call it "Weizenbier". The best Bavarian Weissbier, IMHO, is Schneider. A lot of people also like Ayinger. Franziskaner and Erdinger are OK (very popular, big companies, they are the "standard" usually served). I would not recommend Augustiner Weissbier and would definitely never serve Spaten Weissbier. Spaten has a very bad reputation in Munich and their Weissbier is even worse than their Helles.
posted by The Toad at 11:47 AM on September 25, 2010
Weissbier is a Bavarian specialty. In Berlin, they often call it "Weizenbier". The best Bavarian Weissbier, IMHO, is Schneider. A lot of people also like Ayinger. Franziskaner and Erdinger are OK (very popular, big companies, they are the "standard" usually served). I would not recommend Augustiner Weissbier and would definitely never serve Spaten Weissbier. Spaten has a very bad reputation in Munich and their Weissbier is even worse than their Helles.
posted by The Toad at 11:47 AM on September 25, 2010
If it was a Berliner Weiße, it would have been more sour than most Lambics. It was a hefe weizen of some sort, if there was yeast in it and it tasted spicy. Even if no spices are added to them, they can have a really strong coriander flavor.
posted by DoktorFaustus at 6:15 PM on September 25, 2010
posted by DoktorFaustus at 6:15 PM on September 25, 2010
Best answer: I guess the takeaway message from the above (and certainly from my travels in Germany) is that you can get the same wheat beers all over Germany. You may have had something from an obscure local brewery - who knows?
If you want to brew spicy weizen at home, then yeast choice and fermentation temps are more important considerations than trying to clone a particular brand. White Labs WLP380 Hefeweizen IV gets consistently high ratings for 'spiciness', with low levels of the banana flavours associated with Bavarian weizen.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 2:40 AM on September 26, 2010
If you want to brew spicy weizen at home, then yeast choice and fermentation temps are more important considerations than trying to clone a particular brand. White Labs WLP380 Hefeweizen IV gets consistently high ratings for 'spiciness', with low levels of the banana flavours associated with Bavarian weizen.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 2:40 AM on September 26, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks everyone, I was incorrect in assuming that the beers I was drinking were not bavarian, as for the yeast rec, thanks a lot. I had a suspicion those were the brands, but they taste very different here than in germany, so I wanted to check. I will continue researching this.
posted by Large Marge at 8:24 AM on September 26, 2010
posted by Large Marge at 8:24 AM on September 26, 2010
Revisiting this, I'm actually not so sure I would have been served Hoegaardens while in Munich, it was a while ago and I might just be confusing German-looking labels in my mind. This looks like a more trustworthy source.
posted by Busoni at 10:55 PM on October 22, 2010
posted by Busoni at 10:55 PM on October 22, 2010
« Older Help me find a good ophthalmologist in Bellingham... | Help me convince friends I didn't make this up? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
Augustiner
Franziskaner
Paulaner
Tucher
as well as Lammsbräu.
But I think Gutmann makes the best, if you ever get the chance to give it a try.
posted by cmonkey at 2:36 AM on September 25, 2010