In England, I drink a lot (and it's my go-to) wheat beer/weissbier is Franziskaner. It's just a very, very solid and enjoyable wheat beer. I'm of to open a bottle :-)
I am in Spain and can buy Franziskaner or Paulaner. Its €1.50 a 500cl bottle. Or every quarter, they do an offer on the Monk and you can get it for €1.09, which is when I buy a dozen. I do actually prefer the Franziskaner too. And Lidl sell a reasonable copy for under a Euro.
I have tasted the same ones as in the video and Franziskaner is my go to if i can choose, but they are all quality beers. If was at a pub could just have ”a weissbier” i would be perfectly happy with any of these.
Englishman here. I live in Germany now and, yes, Franziskaner is my go to here as well because the local stuff is not so nice. I really miss British-style ales, though: there’s nowt like them here and it honestly makes me sad.
I am very into this style of beer right now. It’s my favorite. So I typed in “German drinking Hefeweizen” and I got this. Exactly what I was looking for.
That's what I did, too. I was watching a tasting of American macro (i.e., flavorless lager) beers and suddenly thought, "Why am I watching a guy taste that when my favorite beers are German hefeweizens? I ended up here, watching this guy compare my four all-time favorite beers.
Great video! I've been drinking Franziskaner as my go-to hefeweizen for the past decade, but lately I have been more into Paulaner. I should try the other two; my local Wegmans has a great import beer section with all four of these weissbiers.
Before even watching the video, this is the best acording to me: 1. Andechs 2. Franziskaner 3. Schneider Weisse tap 4 4. Erdinger 5. Weihenstephaner The rest. I love German beer.
German Weissbier is one of my favourite styles as well. I would say that Paulaner is my favourite but I like Erdinger and Schneider weisse as well. But I also prefer a thicker head of foam on this style of beer in particular closer to your first pour than the other ones. I think it brings out some of that wonderfully creamy mouthfeel. Excellent review I enjoyed your video.
I’ve had all four over the past week and there is something about the Erdinger that keeps calling my name. They are all great German beers but the Erdinger has something that’s very special going on. I’ve left ,came back , left again and for me the Erdinger is special.
They’re all superior. My favorite is Weihenstaphaner and Franziskaner is a close 2nd. Schneider Weisse is also a favorite as are their respective dunkels.
*AUSTRALIAN* who lived in Coburg, Bavaria for five years. I couldn't believe they had a pub _inside_ the local gym where patrons would enjoy a tall bananaweizen (hefeweizen with banana syrup) after a workout. And the summers there were just magical. Warm, sunny days in the park enjoying great beer and friendly, relaxed vibes.
Great to see a new beerchannel on TH-cam, weissbier is one of my favorite beerstyles. My favorite is the Weihenstephaner and in second comes the Erdinger. Greetings from the Netherlands, cheers! 🍻
Hello Daniel, I'm German, though not Bavarian, and in the past my favorite Weizen has actually been Störtebeker Bernsteinweizen (amber wheat) from the Baltic coast town of Stralsund where it's somewhat of a tradition since Hanse trade guild times to brew wheat beers for export markets. If you can get it in Sweden I recommend you give it a try.
I'm out of the deepest bavarian forest and i never saw someone rolling the bear bottle over the table😂 I would advise you aside from that the "Schneider Weiße", it's one of the most liked
When I was stationed in West Germany the Hefeweizen beers were so carbonated that you had to pour them at almost 180* angle. Then I went back to Nuremberg in 2018 and the beers wasn't as carbonated. When did this change? Even for a regular beer, you had to wait at least 5 minutes to get it off the tap. The beer that I had was Patrizier, the most popular in Nuremburg.
German here 👋 Hefeweizen has the most carbonisation in the beerworld. About up to 9 g/l. Lager for example has only up to 5,5 g/l. Maybe you had an beer in a restaurant and they hadn‘t so much pressure on the barrel. There are often big differences between tapped and bottled beer.
I'm glad you used the proper glassware and did the swirl/secondary pour to get the yeast out. Great video. I love all four of them, like Franziskaner the best.
Really appreciate this kind of video. With a style, take a handful of available, well made beers and taste your way to your preferred beer. Heles. Pils. Kolsch. So many styles to explore.
@@SwedishBeerGuysometimes I see an older rating of mine on untapped of a beer I'm drinking now. I take another sip and think "I was either drunk or very thirsty when I rated that" 😂
Good to see a new beer channel come up here, so subscribed after seeing this very good review. I have to agree with you on your ratings. I find Erdinger+Franziskaner to be more toned down weissbeirs compared to weihenstephaner and paulaner but all 4 are great beers and extremely drinkable. Keep up the good work. 👍
I've once bought all the hefeweizens I could get in my local supermarket. I didn't taste them side by side though. In the multiple day test Paulaner was the winner, weihesetephaner was close too. Didn't have a clear order for all the others. But those two stood out to me. Fun to see you got a similar result on your side by side.
Having watched your videos over the last few weeks I went on a hunt to try various hefeweizens and fiestbiers. Weinstephaner was definitely the tastiest one I tried!
Franziskaner has always been my favourite! It took me a while to get use to how cloudy it is! Also it is not as strong! Definitely they all have to be server very cold!
Hefeweizen is the ultimate beer to enjoy during Summer months! I have tried all of these beers on tap in Germany and bottled varieties in the USA and they are all great! Just so you know, bottled Franziskaner sold in the USA is brewed and bottled in St. Louis, Missouri, but still tastes good. Overall these beers are the best but Augustiner is my top favorite and it is not available in the USA. I enjoyed it many times on tap under their trademark orange umbrellas, in Munich, right across from the Rathaus Glockenspiel.
The Franziskaner we drink in Sweden is brewed and bottled in Germany, so that seems to be different depending on where you live. I need to go to Munich soon - that sounds lovely!
@@SwedishBeerGuy I edited my comment so people don't think ALL Franziskaner is brewed in the USA. Well, now is the time to visit Munich for Oktoberfest! I have visited twice, once during Summer and during Oktoberfest. It is enjoyment on a massive scale! While in Munich, some side trips are the bus tour to see Castle Neuschwanstein, day trip by train to Salzburg, Austria, and a bus trip to nearby Klosterbrauerei Andechs (Andechs Monastery) where monks have brewed their beer for centuries.
The bitter note is latgely attributed to hops. Usually three or so hops are added to the cooking process. The first is the bitter hops, which are added early in the process. The fruity and more aromatic then towards the end so the aroma is not cooked out. The creaminess and banana flavoues comes with the choice of wheat over barley as carb source.
I beg to differ. Tried the exact same recipe with wheat and barley. Everything else untouched. Same environment, same hardware, ... I know that it's the prevailing opinion. But try it yourself and be surprised. I'm not saying that it doesn't help. I'm saying that the wheat by far dominates. @@azgardener79
@kavehvahedipour2089 I've brewed several wheat beers using different yeast strains and keeping all other variables the same and found it to be the yeast.
I would be glad to see Schneider Weisse also. The best for me. Never did a side test, but vetwenn these I would go with Weihenstephaner or Fraziskaner.
The banana/clove scent/flavour is mostly caused by fermentation temperature control. On the warm side, more banana. Fermenting cooler, you get more clove. I was fermenting some wheat beer, and it got too warm. The airlock hit the ceiling, 18 feet high. (Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan yeast.) steve
I tried Weihenstephaner years ago. It was new to me who has been consuming sub par beer. Now, I don’t know if you guys consider the Weihenstephaner common but to me it was the best I’ve ever tried. Paulener is readily available in my country but it’s just not my type.
paulaner weihenstephaner franziskaner are all amazing in my view Erdinger is a few leagues below. great video mate you have a fantastic personality looking forward to more vids cheers 🍻
You should name this video „Which is the best Hefeweizen of the big industrial breweries?“, since there is no of the very good midsize breweries like Schneider, Kuchlbauer, etc. in this competition. Maybe because they are not available at your location? But despite this I totally agree with your tasting results. 👍
That would of course be more correct, but a dry title like that wouldn’t get clicked much. It is a challenge to create enticing titles without being misleading, but I think I got the right balance here - attracting both beer connoisseurs and more casual drinkers. Unfortunately the less known brands are difficult to get your hands on here in Sweden. You have to travel down to Germany to buy them, or in some cases order a 20/24-pack (that’s a lot of bottles!). I would love to try some of the other Hefeweizens as well!
Before the brewery shut down in Erlangen, Kitzmann hefewizen was hands down the best weizen I ever had the pleasure to drink. Gutmann from Titing was a close second. Beer in Germany is on an absolute next level and food!!! The "German" beers they sell here the US are absolutely NOT the same. They carry the same name and labels, but just do not have the same flavor. Damn purity laws.
Even before seeing anything, i am happy to announce: this guys channel has the right vibe. asking the right questions about life ,and all that remains at the bottom of the bottle. PUT THE DAMN GLASS OVER THE BOTTLE.And then put like 60-70% in.let it rest. And then swirlingly put the rest in.Completly fine for some Nordic people to get only some parts wrong (wrong ,in not efficient,but not really wrong) .. The Mastery of Weizen, is to put the glass all the way on the flask,turn it 180° ,remove it at the right time.and then wait,its a two step process, that will take a minute or two ,to get a perfect Weizen.The most moment is when there is an equilibrium in the glass and the flask (remember the bottle is down in one hand and the the glass in the other) when you get to the more open parts of the glass to swirl like 500°/sec.Youll be left with some 0.070 Liters of Joy,and wait for the perfect moment to pour it down the bubbles. Get a closed flask and put a glass down on it,it is important.second step is to put the glass over the flask,and then turn it over 180° degreees. But at least,you spare me the heresy of some spanish people drinking hefeweizen from the bottle.Timing is everything to get 100% and not 90%,with your doings ... and drink it in 20 minutes
I haven't actually seen any Germans (only Americans) put the glass over the bottle like that, and some say it's unhygienic. But I'm eager to learn the best ways of course. Do you live in Germany?
This is fascinating to me and a remarkable coincidence, since those are my four favorite beers. Among them, Paulaner has always been my favorite because of its rich flavor. I like Weihenstephaner very much, but it's too expensive for daily consumption and I don't think it has the richness of Paulaner. I subscribed.
Weihenstephaner is the only one I think I can easily get where I've been living for the past 9 years, and I can't remember if or when I've tasted the other three. I definitely love Weihenstephaner, but I'm not hearing anything that would deter me from drinking the other three, if I were at a bar where they were served. I also can get three styles of Tucher, here-Hefe Weizen, Dunkles Hefe Weizen, and Festbier-and I like all of them.
Weihenstephan is by far superior to the other ones. It’s not only the oldest brewery in the world (officially) but their output is way less than the other ones. It’s not like they’re a craft beer brewery but I would say they put more effort into their product.
Just got back from a couple weeks in Germany with my wife. We both like Hefeweizen / Weisbier. They can be very regional or almost town specific there. While in Koblenz we had a Benediktiner weisbier which was excellent. Not sure I can find it in the US though. Great video, thanks.
Yank here who lived in Germany for 4+ years and Hefeweizen was my favorite beer 🍺. Had all four quite often but seem to remember Erdinger was my go to. Hmm… need to pick up some for the weekend..
In Holland we got Grolsch Weizen ..it was best Weizener of the world in 2022..My German favorites are Weihenstephaner and Weihenstephaner Vitus , Ayinger and franziskaner
And if I may: It's Weihenstephan. There is not "er" at the end. Nice experiment though. You should have included Schöfferhofer to your lineup. That's a distinctly different fruitiness towards citrucy, grapefruit flavours.
I have tried all the above except Erdinger. The Paulaner to me is the clear favorite. I brew my own beer as well, and made a honey hefe that was really good. The natural sugar in the honey made it a bit sweeter, but also a LOT stronger in alcohol content. It was delicious.
Remembering the days, when I still drank alcohol, I always prefered Weißbier with lots of foam, like you poured the first one. But that is more of a preference then anything I guess. Even though, according to the czech, more foam keeps the beer fresh for a longer time, as I learnt recently.😅 The Weizen I digged the most was Waldhaus actually, which comes from the Black Forrest area. You should try that one, if you get it somewhere ;)
Excellent video, very hard to pick one.. Franziskaner was my favorite from 20 years ago but they dampened the flavor a few years back.. Paulaner and Weihenstephaner are also amazing.. very hard to pick a clear winner.. All 4 of these beers are still very very good and way better than almost any American beer.. tough call.. great video thanks
I've tried all of these, and enjoyed them all, though not equally. The Erdinger was good as a general beer, but I much prefer Weihenstephaner and Franziskaner in the hefeweizen style. Paulaner's hefe is also very good, but... I almost always get distracted by the Salvator right next door because I love a good doppelbock even more than I do a decent hefe, sometimes.
I have only had the Erdinger as in my part of Canada it is the only one readily available. I enjoyed it, so I definitely will try the others if I ever get the opportunity to try.
Great video! Weihenstephaner is my favorite of those four. The hefeweiss that I have the most often is Weihenstephaner Vitus, which technically is a doppel wheat bock. I’d be curious to know which you like better between Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier and Weihenstephaner Vitus. I think you should also sample a hefeweissbier from Schneider-Weisse Brewery.
Weihenstephaner Vitus vs their regular Hefeweizen is on my video ideas list! 📝 I did try Schneider Weisse in this video: th-cam.com/video/XhXQ-DJsjkQ/w-d-xo.html but it wasn’t amongst my favorites. Maybe it’s time to give it another shot!
@@SwedishBeerGuy Thanks so much for your reply! I really enjoyed your video! Have you done any videos of Swedish and Danish beers (or Scandinavian beers in general)? I’ve subscribed to your channel.
@@Slapshot59 No Danish beers (yet) but lots of Swedish ones in this playlist: th-cam.com/play/PLKUELycFuDjbLhAySDZxGGYdTCDliCL_S.html&si=P2M67zbZxLGfyCFE
The first Weihenstephaner I tried changed the way I think about beer. It's near impossible to find where I currently live (stupid local craft brews dominate and none taste better than a crappy knockoff), so when I find it, it's a treat myself moment.
In Germany there are over 1500 breweries🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻. Of these, over 50% have white beer in the range. The four wheat beers are the best known, but not the best in quality. They come from the smaller family breweries from Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany🍻🍻🍻
Excellent video! I did a similar tasting, but included Ayinger Urweisse. For me, the Ayinger ranked number one and then the rest just as you stated. Ayinger's Bräuweisse is also very good. Cheers! 🍻
I can only get two of these here in the Alabama/Tennessee border area. Shame, I really want to try the other two. I can get the Paulaner & Erdinger, but that is all. Perhaps I will harrass my grocery store manager...Danke für das Video! Lasst uns noch mehr gutes Bier trinken!
Haven't tried Erdinger yet, but I agree with your ranking of the other three. I like Weihenstephaner's dunkel even better, but I'm a big fan of dunkel in general. Their Vitus weizenbock didn't seem any better or worse than the standard weissbier to me, but I didn't do a direct comparison, just drank them at different times, so I can't really say for sure.
They're all good but Erdinger from a bottle is my least favourte. Probably go for Weihanstaphaner overall as it's the most bananary to me. Franziskaner is the easiest to get for me, what with Tesco and Lidl selling it and that is really very nice too.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Weihenstephaner hefe/dunkel hefe, everything else is a close 2nd but my 1st close 2nd is Shofferhofer. ive never tried Franziskaner but i will be on the lookout for that now. Paulaner another fantastic wheat beer and erdinger i wouldn buy it again but i would still drink it if offered.
great video! I wonder if the test would have different results if you were able to sample draft beers rather than bottled. It would be an easy loss if one of these bottles were significantly older than the rest as flavors do degrade over time.
Freshness is an important consideration for this style of beer. Here in the US these German imports sometimes are bland, and when you check the date it’s because they are old. Nowadays I only drink them on tap. For bottled /canned I look for domestic brews that are faithful to the German style. Gordon-Biersch (labeled as “JosephBrau” at Trader Joe’s) is my current favorite.
Once working with some Koreans here in Colombia (IT department at LG) they brought Franziskanier with them and let me tell you something, I consider myself someone who doesn't like beer, I can't stand the taste of beer but I think franziskanier was touched by the hands of God himself because I really like the taste and flavour 😭 Wish I had more
Weihenstephaner is one of the oldest breweries in germany, if not the oldest. So it makes sense that it would be the most "typically hefeweizen" if you will. The one that is really missing from this tasting if you are looking for the great german breweries of the traditional styles is Ayinger. Though they are more known for their doppelbock, pretty much everything they make is a perfect representation of the style. Also one of the older breweries in Germany. I don't know how easy it is to get Ayinger in Sweden however. But Sweden of course has its own beer claims to fame in the form of Narke Kaggen Stormaktsporter, consistently rated as one of the top 5 beers in the world. It is damn near impossible to get Narke here in the states, I had to make a rather expensive trade (not in terms of the cost of the beers, but in terms of the insane shipping costs) to get my hands on a bottle and I've only had it the once, and then a few years later I had a variation of it brewed with smoked malts that was delicious. I would imagine if you live in Sweden its likely much easier to get your hands on a bottle. The Ikea plug made me laugh. I forgot to mention my top 4. For Hefeweizen its a tie between Ayinger and Weihenstephaner. Followed by Andechser and Schneider.
I'm traveling down to Gothenburg soon - the beer capital of Sweden 😁 - and there I will probably get my hands on both Ayinger and Schneider wheat beers (and make an even bigger comparison video!). Interesting that Närke's porter is famous abroad. I will definitely make a porter deep dive video eventually too!
@@SwedishBeerGuy the demand for Kaggen has only grown that I have seen. It fetches quite a price on the secondary market and is often mentioned in the same breath as beers like Westveleteren 12. I also appreciate that Kaggen comes in these neat little small format bottles (the one I had was 25cl) that make it much easier to consume a higher octane beer. American brewers I wish would learn from this but instead have gone the opposite direction in recent years, many doing away with 12 or 11.2 oz in favor of 22oz or 750ml format for the big imperial stouts and strong porters.
Huh interesting that you pick the one of the four I haven't tried. Going to have to pick that up next time I'm at the store. I really, REALLY love Franziskaner though as one of my top 10-20 beers probably.
I have all 4 of the glasses and have had all 4 beers. The Weihenstephaner is another level up from the other 3. Erdinger is the meh-est of the bunch. Weltenberger Assam Kloster beer is another beer at the highest level. The limited edition Paulaner Octoberfest beer is another favourite when available.
It’s a superior quality bock beer. Also the collaboration between Schneider Weisse and the Brooklyn brewery called hopfen weisse is outstanding. I don’t know if it’s a regularly available brew or whether it was a limited collaboration though.
In England we get Weihenstephaner in Sainsbury’s and it’s currently going for £2.50. That is my go to hefeweizen. Otherwise it’s Franziskaner. The W. Vitus version is probably my favourite though but going for over £4 a bottle online.
The problem is by the time I get it, here in the States, it has been cooked in a shipping container for months and mishandled by retailers. Not worth the money.
the best hefeweizen in my opinion is from Brauerei Gutmann . But I don't think it is sold outside of Germany, in fact i don't think it is sold all over Germany - at least I never saw it when I was up north, but primarily southern regions. If you go to Bavaria for holiday you should pick up two cases to take home! The town of Bamberg also has multiple great breweries, like Brauerei Fässla
I live in Australia now but I grew up in Munich so yeah weissbier was my favourite and erdinger weissbier is the best then Konig Ludwig paulaner franziskaner that's my 27 years experience.
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In England, I drink a lot (and it's my go-to) wheat beer/weissbier is Franziskaner. It's just a very, very solid and enjoyable wheat beer. I'm of to open a bottle :-)
Ditto
I am in Spain and can buy Franziskaner or Paulaner. Its €1.50 a 500cl bottle. Or every quarter, they do an offer on the Monk and you can get it for €1.09, which is when I buy a dozen.
I do actually prefer the Franziskaner too.
And Lidl sell a reasonable copy for under a Euro.
When I lived in Munich my German friends only drank Franziskaner and claimed it was the best and I still agree.
I have tasted the same ones as in the video and Franziskaner is my go to if i can choose, but they are all quality beers. If was at a pub could just have ”a weissbier” i would be perfectly happy with any of these.
Englishman here. I live in Germany now and, yes, Franziskaner is my go to here as well because the local stuff is not so nice. I really miss British-style ales, though: there’s nowt like them here and it honestly makes me sad.
I agree. The Weihenstephaner is the best out of these. They are all good, but only one of them is the best.
I am very into this style of beer right now. It’s my favorite. So I typed in “German drinking Hefeweizen” and I got this. Exactly what I was looking for.
That's what I did, too. I was watching a tasting of American macro (i.e., flavorless lager) beers and suddenly thought, "Why am I watching a guy taste that when my favorite beers are German hefeweizens? I ended up here, watching this guy compare my four all-time favorite beers.
Great video! I've been drinking Franziskaner as my go-to hefeweizen for the past decade, but lately I have been more into Paulaner. I should try the other two; my local Wegmans has a great import beer section with all four of these weissbiers.
Try Maisel's Weisse, it is from my home town Bayreuth and it is amazing
Before even watching the video, this is the best acording to me:
1. Andechs
2. Franziskaner
3. Schneider Weisse tap 4
4. Erdinger
5. Weihenstephaner
The rest. I love German beer.
German Weissbier is one of my favourite styles as well. I would say that Paulaner is my favourite but I like Erdinger and Schneider weisse as well. But I also prefer a thicker head of foam on this style of beer in particular closer to your first pour than the other ones. I think it brings out some of that wonderfully creamy mouthfeel. Excellent review I enjoyed your video.
I’ve had all four over the past week and there is something about the Erdinger that keeps calling my name. They are all great German beers but the Erdinger has something that’s very special going on. I’ve left ,came back , left again and for me the Erdinger is special.
Love the Erdinger as well. Prefer it to all of the others there.
They’re all superior. My favorite is Weihenstaphaner and Franziskaner is a close 2nd. Schneider Weisse is also a favorite as are their respective dunkels.
*AUSTRALIAN* who lived in Coburg, Bavaria for five years. I couldn't believe they had a pub _inside_ the local gym where patrons would enjoy a tall bananaweizen (hefeweizen with banana syrup) after a workout. And the summers there were just magical. Warm, sunny days in the park enjoying great beer and friendly, relaxed vibes.
...the unisex saunas were also an eye-opener.
😅sorry. Original is Kristallweizen with granieri bananajuice😊😊
@@thomasschafer7268 Ah thanks. I never drank it myself - so I didn't know. Do you enjoy it?
Weihenstephaner is my go to wheat beer. Thanks for sharing.
Great to see a new beerchannel on TH-cam, weissbier is one of my favorite beerstyles. My favorite is the Weihenstephaner and in second comes the Erdinger. Greetings from the Netherlands, cheers! 🍻
Hello Daniel, I'm German, though not Bavarian, and in the past my favorite Weizen has actually been Störtebeker Bernsteinweizen (amber wheat) from the Baltic coast town of Stralsund where it's somewhat of a tradition since Hanse trade guild times to brew wheat beers for export markets. If you can get it in Sweden I recommend you give it a try.
I recognize the name and the logo, thanks for the tip!
I will try this
that is an awful beer. Franken and Bayern overall make much better wheat beers
I'm out of the deepest bavarian forest and i never saw someone rolling the bear bottle over the table😂
I would advise you aside from that the "Schneider Weiße", it's one of the most liked
Had the Maisel Weisse recently and enjoyed it!
When I was stationed in West Germany the Hefeweizen beers were so carbonated that you had to pour them at almost 180* angle. Then I went back to Nuremberg in 2018 and the beers wasn't as carbonated. When did this change? Even for a regular beer, you had to wait at least 5 minutes to get it off the tap. The beer that I had was Patrizier, the most popular in Nuremburg.
German here 👋
Hefeweizen has the most carbonisation in the beerworld. About up to 9 g/l. Lager for example has only up to 5,5 g/l.
Maybe you had an beer in a restaurant and they hadn‘t so much pressure on the barrel. There are often big differences between tapped and bottled beer.
I'm glad you used the proper glassware and did the swirl/secondary pour to get the yeast out. Great video. I love all four of them, like Franziskaner the best.
i've tasted all of them but in my opinion paulaner has the best flavor out of all of them
I agree. It has a richness and balance that make it my favorite.
Really appreciate this kind of video. With a style, take a handful of available, well made beers and taste your way to your preferred beer. Heles. Pils. Kolsch. So many styles to explore.
Yes, you learn so much! And you might have to rethink your previous ratings...
@@SwedishBeerGuysometimes I see an older rating of mine on untapped of a beer I'm drinking now. I take another sip and think "I was either drunk or very thirsty when I rated that" 😂
Good to see a new beer channel come up here, so subscribed after seeing this very good review. I have to agree with you on your ratings. I find Erdinger+Franziskaner to be more toned down weissbeirs compared to weihenstephaner and paulaner but all 4 are great beers and extremely drinkable. Keep up the good work. 👍
Yeah, I thought I'd give it a try and see if I enjoy it - very fun so far. Thank you for the encouraging words!
Augustiner makes also a great weissbier. Quite bold in style, bit more caramel malts as well. Excellent choice with the heavy food!
I've once bought all the hefeweizens I could get in my local supermarket. I didn't taste them side by side though. In the multiple day test Paulaner was the winner, weihesetephaner was close too. Didn't have a clear order for all the others. But those two stood out to me.
Fun to see you got a similar result on your side by side.
Having watched your videos over the last few weeks I went on a hunt to try various hefeweizens and fiestbiers. Weinstephaner was definitely the tastiest one I tried!
Franziskaner has always been my favourite! It took me a while to get use to how cloudy it is! Also it is not as strong! Definitely they all have to be server very cold!
Nein, nicht sehr kalt! Kuhles.
Hefeweizen is the ultimate beer to enjoy during Summer months! I have tried all of these beers on tap in Germany and bottled varieties in the USA and they are all great! Just so you know, bottled Franziskaner sold in the USA is brewed and bottled in St. Louis, Missouri, but still tastes good. Overall these beers are the best but Augustiner is my top favorite and it is not available in the USA. I enjoyed it many times on tap under their trademark orange umbrellas, in Munich, right across from the Rathaus Glockenspiel.
The Franziskaner we drink in Sweden is brewed and bottled in Germany, so that seems to be different depending on where you live. I need to go to Munich soon - that sounds lovely!
@@SwedishBeerGuy I edited my comment so people don't think ALL Franziskaner is brewed in the USA. Well, now is the time to visit Munich for Oktoberfest! I have visited twice, once during Summer and during Oktoberfest. It is enjoyment on a massive scale! While in Munich, some side trips are the bus tour to see Castle Neuschwanstein, day trip by train to Salzburg, Austria, and a bus trip to nearby Klosterbrauerei Andechs (Andechs Monastery) where monks have brewed their beer for centuries.
Try making a lemonade shandy with some Hefe, It's my favorite after a hot day working outside.
I love German wheat beers. I haven't had the Eringer. Hacker Pschor has a very good wheat beer as well. I'd say Franziskaner is my favorite.PROST!🍻
Ayinger
I came to appreciate German weissbeer during lockdown. I'm enjoying an Erdinger right now :-) but I wouldn't quibble over any of them
The bitter note is latgely attributed to hops. Usually three or so hops are added to the cooking process. The first is the bitter hops, which are added early in the process. The fruity and more aromatic then towards the end so the aroma is not cooked out. The creaminess and banana flavoues comes with the choice of wheat over barley as carb source.
The creaminess does come from the wheat, but the banana flavors come from the yeast strain, as does the clove and candy/bubblegum flavors
Banana flavora/aroma is from the yeast strain.
I beg to differ. Tried the exact same recipe with wheat and barley. Everything else untouched. Same environment, same hardware, ... I know that it's the prevailing opinion. But try it yourself and be surprised. I'm not saying that it doesn't help. I'm saying that the wheat by far dominates. @@azgardener79
@kavehvahedipour2089 I've brewed several wheat beers using different yeast strains and keeping all other variables the same and found it to be the yeast.
I would be glad to see Schneider Weisse also. The best for me. Never did a side test, but vetwenn these I would go with Weihenstephaner or Fraziskaner.
I'll try to get the Schneider Weisse!
I love all 4, but Erdinger would be my 4th option.
The banana/clove scent/flavour is mostly caused by
fermentation temperature control. On the warm side,
more banana. Fermenting cooler, you get more clove.
I was fermenting some wheat beer, and it got too warm.
The airlock hit the ceiling, 18 feet high. (Wyeast 3068
Weihenstephan yeast.)
steve
Yes, But also in the mashing. Phenol brings on the clove, step mashing the grains is a big deal.
I remember trying this beer when I first got to Germany. It was very good but extremely thick and filling.
It'll leave you bloated for sure but its my fav style of beer
Yes, these are liquid bread - gives you a whole meal :-)
I tried Weihenstephaner years ago. It was new to me who has been consuming sub par beer. Now, I don’t know if you guys consider the Weihenstephaner common but to me it was the best I’ve ever tried. Paulener is readily available in my country but it’s just not my type.
paulaner weihenstephaner franziskaner are all amazing in my view Erdinger is a few leagues below. great video mate you have a fantastic personality looking forward to more vids cheers 🍻
Thank you very much!
Have to say, I love all four of these beers and would be very pleased to drink any of them at any time!
I like all those weissbiers apart from Erdinger, try and get a bottle of Franziskaner Royal 🍺
Great video, sir. Nicely cut down, entertaining and educational. Dropped you a sub. Cheers from England!
You should name this video „Which is the best Hefeweizen of the big industrial breweries?“, since there is no of the very good midsize breweries like Schneider, Kuchlbauer, etc. in this competition. Maybe because they are not available at your location? But despite this I totally agree with your tasting results. 👍
That would of course be more correct, but a dry title like that wouldn’t get clicked much. It is a challenge to create enticing titles without being misleading, but I think I got the right balance here - attracting both beer connoisseurs and more casual drinkers.
Unfortunately the less known brands are difficult to get your hands on here in Sweden. You have to travel down to Germany to buy them, or in some cases order a 20/24-pack (that’s a lot of bottles!).
I would love to try some of the other Hefeweizens as well!
@@SwedishBeerGuy Thanks for your feedback. Totally understand. It’s the same with the beers from Scandinavia here in Germany. Cheers!
Before the brewery shut down in Erlangen, Kitzmann hefewizen was hands down the best weizen I ever had the pleasure to drink. Gutmann from Titing was a close second. Beer in Germany is on an absolute next level and food!!! The "German" beers they sell here the US are absolutely NOT the same. They carry the same name and labels, but just do not have the same flavor. Damn purity laws.
I’ve had a bunch of Hefeweizen and it’s a toss up between Ayinger and Weihenstephaner for me
I was in Melbourne last month and I really enjoyed the franziskaner beer in one of the German beer shop.
Love the intro! My favourite is Weihenstephaner great 👍 video subscribed cheers or Prost!
Even before seeing anything, i am happy to announce: this guys channel has the right vibe. asking the right questions about life ,and all that remains at the bottom of the bottle. PUT THE DAMN GLASS OVER THE BOTTLE.And then put like 60-70% in.let it rest. And then swirlingly put the rest in.Completly fine for some Nordic people to get only some parts wrong (wrong ,in not efficient,but not really wrong) .. The Mastery of Weizen, is to put the glass all the way on the flask,turn it 180° ,remove it at the right time.and then wait,its a two step process, that will take a minute or two ,to get a perfect Weizen.The most moment is when there is an equilibrium in the glass and the flask (remember the bottle is down in one hand and the the glass in the other) when you get to the more open parts of the glass to swirl like 500°/sec.Youll be left with some 0.070 Liters of Joy,and wait for the perfect moment to pour it down the bubbles. Get a closed flask and put a glass down on it,it is important.second step is to put the glass over the flask,and then turn it over 180° degreees. But at least,you spare me the heresy of some spanish people drinking hefeweizen from the bottle.Timing is everything to get 100% and not 90%,with your doings ... and drink it in 20 minutes
I haven't actually seen any Germans (only Americans) put the glass over the bottle like that, and some say it's unhygienic. But I'm eager to learn the best ways of course. Do you live in Germany?
Thanks for giving Alagash a shout out.. It's my favorite when I'm in Maine
Franziskaner and Paulaner are my favorites, but I like all of them 😂 Great video! 🍻
Franziskaner and Weihenstephan for me :P
Franziskaner and Paulaner for me too
Paulaner is my favorite, with Weihenstephaner a close second.
I love this style of beer.
This is fascinating to me and a remarkable coincidence, since those are my four favorite beers. Among them, Paulaner has always been my favorite because of its rich flavor. I like Weihenstephaner very much, but it's too expensive for daily consumption and I don't think it has the richness of Paulaner. I subscribed.
I'm partial to this style of beer and really love them all. My rankings are #1 Weihenstephaner, #2 Franziskaner, #3 Paulaner and #4 Erdinger. All 5/5!
Weihenstephaner is the only one I think I can easily get where I've been living for the past 9 years, and I can't remember if or when I've tasted the other three. I definitely love Weihenstephaner, but I'm not hearing anything that would deter me from drinking the other three, if I were at a bar where they were served. I also can get three styles of Tucher, here-Hefe Weizen, Dunkles Hefe Weizen, and Festbier-and I like all of them.
Weihenstephan is by far superior to the other ones. It’s not only the oldest brewery in the world (officially) but their output is way less than the other ones. It’s not like they’re a craft beer brewery but I would say they put more effort into their product.
Just got back from a couple weeks in Germany with my wife. We both like Hefeweizen / Weisbier. They can be very regional or almost town specific there. While in Koblenz we had a Benediktiner weisbier which was excellent. Not sure I can find it in the US though. Great video, thanks.
It might be possible to order here in Sweden. I'll put it on the list!
Yank here who lived in Germany for 4+ years and Hefeweizen was my favorite beer 🍺. Had all four quite often but seem to remember Erdinger was my go to. Hmm… need to pick up some for the weekend..
Always loved the Weihenstephaner. Paulaner has never done me wrong either.
In Holland we got Grolsch Weizen ..it was best Weizener of the world in 2022..My German favorites are Weihenstephaner and Weihenstephaner Vitus , Ayinger and franziskaner
I've actually got that suggestion before - I need to get my hands on a bottle of Grolsch Weizen!
And if I may: It's Weihenstephan. There is not "er" at the end. Nice experiment though. You should have included Schöfferhofer to your lineup. That's a distinctly different fruitiness towards citrucy, grapefruit flavours.
I love Schofferhofer.
I have tried all the above except Erdinger. The Paulaner to me is the clear favorite. I brew my own beer as well, and made a honey hefe that was really good. The natural sugar in the honey made it a bit sweeter, but also a LOT stronger in alcohol content. It was delicious.
Subscribed because of this video. Good, orderly reviews; clean, crisp presentation. Skol!
Remembering the days, when I still drank alcohol, I always prefered Weißbier with lots of foam, like you poured the first one. But that is more of a preference then anything I guess. Even though, according to the czech, more foam keeps the beer fresh for a longer time, as I learnt recently.😅
The Weizen I digged the most was Waldhaus actually, which comes from the Black Forrest area. You should try that one, if you get it somewhere ;)
Waldhaus rules....
Thanks for the tip! Waldhaus is on my list but it's not available in Sweden.
Excellent video, very hard to pick one.. Franziskaner was my favorite from 20 years ago but they dampened the flavor a few years back.. Paulaner and Weihenstephaner are also amazing.. very hard to pick a clear winner.. All 4 of these beers are still very very good and way better than almost any American beer.. tough call.. great video thanks
I've tried all of these, and enjoyed them all, though not equally. The Erdinger was good as a general beer, but I much prefer Weihenstephaner and Franziskaner in the hefeweizen style. Paulaner's hefe is also very good, but... I almost always get distracted by the Salvator right next door because I love a good doppelbock even more than I do a decent hefe, sometimes.
Tucher in America is the here I was introduced to...which inspired to home brew. It's best made at home. We brewed witbier too....
I have only had the Erdinger as in my part of Canada it is the only one readily available. I enjoyed it, so I definitely will try the others if I ever get the opportunity to try.
Great video! Weihenstephaner is my favorite of those four. The hefeweiss that I have the most often is Weihenstephaner Vitus, which technically is a doppel wheat bock. I’d be curious to know which you like better between Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier and Weihenstephaner Vitus. I think you should also sample a hefeweissbier from Schneider-Weisse Brewery.
Weihenstephaner Vitus vs their regular Hefeweizen is on my video ideas list! 📝
I did try Schneider Weisse in this video:
th-cam.com/video/XhXQ-DJsjkQ/w-d-xo.html
but it wasn’t amongst my favorites. Maybe it’s time to give it another shot!
@@SwedishBeerGuy Thanks so much for your reply! I really enjoyed your video! Have you done any videos of Swedish and Danish beers (or Scandinavian beers in general)? I’ve subscribed to your channel.
@@Slapshot59 No Danish beers (yet) but lots of Swedish ones in this playlist: th-cam.com/play/PLKUELycFuDjbLhAySDZxGGYdTCDliCL_S.html&si=P2M67zbZxLGfyCFE
@@SwedishBeerGuy Thank you. Skol!
The first Weihenstephaner I tried changed the way I think about beer. It's near impossible to find where I currently live (stupid local craft brews dominate and none taste better than a crappy knockoff), so when I find it, it's a treat myself moment.
Of these four Paulaner is my favorite. Ayinger is also very good.
In Germany there are over 1500 breweries🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻. Of these, over 50% have white beer in the range. The four wheat beers are the best known, but not the best in quality. They come from the smaller family breweries from Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany🍻🍻🍻
Yeah, I need to travel around in Germany soon! 🍺
Great review thanks. Unfortunately we can’t get Kronenburg Blanc in the Uk anymore but thankfully we can get these four in your review 😊
It´s very sweet, nothing like the hefeweizens. In my opinion you are not missing much, but you always want options of course!
Great comparison and review . Welcome to Youthube. Greetings from Scotland. I do think a weizen needs and benefits from a larger head
You might be right. Thank you for the kind words!
Excellent video! I did a similar tasting, but included Ayinger Urweisse. For me, the Ayinger ranked number one and then the rest just as you stated. Ayinger's Bräuweisse is also very good. Cheers! 🍻
Thank you for this excellent review. I like your style!
You really hit it! That is exactly what I smell and taste when I have had those four! My Favorite is Paulaner, by far! Gut, Besser, Paulaner!
I love Paulaner - my favorite beer, by far.
I can only get two of these here in the Alabama/Tennessee border area. Shame, I really want to try the other two. I can get the Paulaner & Erdinger, but that is all. Perhaps I will harrass my grocery store manager...Danke für das Video! Lasst uns noch mehr gutes Bier trinken!
Haven't tried Erdinger yet, but I agree with your ranking of the other three. I like Weihenstephaner's dunkel even better, but I'm a big fan of dunkel in general. Their Vitus weizenbock didn't seem any better or worse than the standard weissbier to me, but I didn't do a direct comparison, just drank them at different times, so I can't really say for sure.
The Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel is on my list! I will pick it up the next time I go to Gothenburg.
A little tip: rinse the glasses with cold water beforehand! Then the foam will work better.
They were rinsed just before I started recording.
They're all good but Erdinger from a bottle is my least favourte. Probably go for Weihanstaphaner overall as it's the most bananary to me. Franziskaner is the easiest to get for me, what with Tesco and Lidl selling it and that is really very nice too.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Weihenstephaner hefe/dunkel hefe, everything else is a close 2nd but my 1st close 2nd is Shofferhofer.
ive never tried Franziskaner but i will be on the lookout for that now.
Paulaner another fantastic wheat beer and erdinger i wouldn buy it again but i would still drink it if offered.
great video! I wonder if the test would have different results if you were able to sample draft beers rather than bottled. It would be an easy loss if one of these bottles were significantly older than the rest as flavors do degrade over time.
Freshness is an important consideration for this style of beer. Here in the US these German imports sometimes are bland, and when you check the date it’s because they are old. Nowadays I only drink them on tap. For bottled /canned I look for domestic brews that are faithful to the German style. Gordon-Biersch (labeled as “JosephBrau” at Trader Joe’s) is my current favorite.
The best that I've tried is Andechs Hefeweizen. But it's hard to get in the UK, and has to be bought from a specialist beers shop.
I was going to write the same, than i found your comment.
Andechser Weißbier is the best Hefeweizen
Once working with some Koreans here in Colombia (IT department at LG) they brought Franziskanier with them and let me tell you something, I consider myself someone who doesn't like beer, I can't stand the taste of beer but I think franziskanier was touched by the hands of God himself because I really like the taste and flavour 😭 Wish I had more
I have had all three but Weinstephaner only in Europe. In UK I can only find Edringer Franzikaner and Paulaner (my favourite)
Weinstephaner is available in waitrose
May I suggest you enlist a friend to pour the beers to glasses labeled only by number to make it a blind test?
I have thought about it and I might do that in the future, but it's just something about drinking the beer in the brewery's own glass!
Fun video. New subscriber here. Glad to see you went the extra step and put in the branded glasses...nice classy touch. Greetings from Ohio. Prost!
Weihenstephaner, Ayinger, Franziskaner. Honorary mention, Hacker Pschor
Paulaner, Erdinger.
Weihenstephaner is one of the oldest breweries in germany, if not the oldest. So it makes sense that it would be the most "typically hefeweizen" if you will. The one that is really missing from this tasting if you are looking for the great german breweries of the traditional styles is Ayinger. Though they are more known for their doppelbock, pretty much everything they make is a perfect representation of the style. Also one of the older breweries in Germany. I don't know how easy it is to get Ayinger in Sweden however.
But Sweden of course has its own beer claims to fame in the form of Narke Kaggen Stormaktsporter, consistently rated as one of the top 5 beers in the world. It is damn near impossible to get Narke here in the states, I had to make a rather expensive trade (not in terms of the cost of the beers, but in terms of the insane shipping costs) to get my hands on a bottle and I've only had it the once, and then a few years later I had a variation of it brewed with smoked malts that was delicious. I would imagine if you live in Sweden its likely much easier to get your hands on a bottle.
The Ikea plug made me laugh.
I forgot to mention my top 4. For Hefeweizen its a tie between Ayinger and Weihenstephaner. Followed by Andechser and Schneider.
I'm traveling down to Gothenburg soon - the beer capital of Sweden 😁 - and there I will probably get my hands on both Ayinger and Schneider wheat beers (and make an even bigger comparison video!).
Interesting that Närke's porter is famous abroad. I will definitely make a porter deep dive video eventually too!
@@SwedishBeerGuy the demand for Kaggen has only grown that I have seen. It fetches quite a price on the secondary market and is often mentioned in the same breath as beers like Westveleteren 12.
I also appreciate that Kaggen comes in these neat little small format bottles (the one I had was 25cl) that make it much easier to consume a higher octane beer.
American brewers I wish would learn from this but instead have gone the opposite direction in recent years, many doing away with 12 or 11.2 oz in favor of 22oz or 750ml format for the big imperial stouts and strong porters.
Huh interesting that you pick the one of the four I haven't tried. Going to have to pick that up next time I'm at the store. I really, REALLY love Franziskaner though as one of my top 10-20 beers probably.
Finally, I have found my people and I have found my style of beer!
Cheers from the US
Cheers / skål! 🍺
I love the Erdinger. You can drink it good. It has not so much CO2.
Fraziskaner is my favorite I’m glad others enjoy it just as much
I have all 4 of the glasses and have had all 4 beers. The Weihenstephaner is another level up from the other 3. Erdinger is the meh-est of the bunch. Weltenberger Assam Kloster beer is another beer at the highest level. The limited edition Paulaner Octoberfest beer is another favourite when available.
I'll put Weltenberger on my list!
It’s a superior quality bock beer. Also the collaboration between Schneider Weisse and the Brooklyn brewery called hopfen weisse is outstanding. I don’t know if it’s a regularly available brew or whether it was a limited collaboration though.
Stofferhoffer is my all time fav. Can't find it in the states though....I do like Pauline as well.
From left to right (for the viewer) is correct. Only thing you need to do is drop a bottle of Ayinger in here because it’s hands down the best!
In England we get Weihenstephaner in Sainsbury’s and it’s currently going for £2.50. That is my go to hefeweizen. Otherwise it’s Franziskaner.
The W. Vitus version is probably my favourite though but going for over £4 a bottle online.
I need to try the Vitus!
The problem is by the time I get it, here in the States, it has been cooked in a shipping container for months and mishandled by retailers. Not worth the money.
My favorite hefeweizen is probably a Schneider. But my favorite wheat beer overall is Weihenstephaner Vitus (a weizenbock)
my favorite is konig-ludwig , if i remember , it is brewed by the same people who make warstiener .
the best hefeweizen in my opinion is from Brauerei Gutmann . But I don't think it is sold outside of Germany, in fact i don't think it is sold all over Germany - at least I never saw it when I was up north, but primarily southern regions. If you go to Bavaria for holiday you should pick up two cases to take home! The town of Bamberg also has multiple great breweries, like Brauerei Fässla
Thank you for the tips, I will put them on my list!
Love your review!! So funny. Love Weihenstephaner too😂
I live in Australia now but I grew up in Munich so yeah weissbier was my favourite and erdinger weissbier is the best then Konig Ludwig paulaner franziskaner that's my 27 years experience.
Cool video, never drink but would love to try this.
I don't normally like drinking wheat beer, but I have to say that I really like the Franziskaner and get it every now and then.
Paulaner hefe-weiss är min favorit av weissbier