I have a similar story with hefewiezen and Guinness as well which showed me at a young age, beer is much more than crap light lager and can be incredibly tasty and drinkable.
Same here. Tried one because my dad is really big on German culture. Bought one and I'm like "wow, that's actually really good". Started buying IPA's after that.
Hey, a Bavarian here... Really loved your enthusiasm for our Weißbier and I learned something too! For me the Hefeweizen is something special, usually consumed at Sunday, either in the morning with a Weißwurst Frühstück or at a Biergarten :)
@@ClintOrris it's called "Radler" which means "cyclist". Many brands offer it with different kinds of beers as base. Some mix it with pure lemon juice others use their own lemonades. By the way it's not only a Bavarian thing, it exists all throughout Germany
@@ClintOrrisThe guy above me isn't very helpfu . Use Helles or Pilsener, mixed 50/50 with Sprite or homemade lemonade. Helles for Bavaria, Pils for everyone else. Hefeweizen and other non-cleared beer is not ideal for mixing with other carbonated beverages because the yeast particles are condensation points for carbon dioxide.
@@waynebimmel6784 anothe Bavarian here. You can totally buy mixed beverages with Weißbier in bavarian restaurants though. Although it's not called Radler but "Russ'n [Maß]" when it's made with Weißbier, but you can also get it mixed with cola (Mohr) or I've even seen it with Cherry and Banana juice (KiBa Weizen) or Waldmeister (woodruff) sirup (Illerwasser)
Hefeweizen is one of the most popular beers in my area of Illinois thanks to the local brewery that introduced us to it. Riggs Hefeweizen is in every bar and pub in most of central Illinois.
I went to that brewery earlier this year in my way back from St Louis. Is probably the best Hefeweizen made in US that I have tried. Great beer garden and good price!
The story about the beer induced wheat shortage reminded me of a saying we have in germany: "seven beers replace one meal - and then you havent been drinking anything yet"
I’m a commercial brewer these days, but back when I home brewed, I brewed more Hefeweizen than any other style. My dad’s favorite beer is the weinstephan hefe. The pursuit to replicate it improved my brewing process and moved me to pursue a formal education in brewing. To this day it’s my favorite style.
Never heard of the channel, but I imagine the video was recommended to me based on how much my phone hears me ordering a hefeweizen. Love the content and thanks for shining a light on hefeweizen, it's such a tasty brew.
it also “blind accesses” purchases from your bank card or bank app without divulging your private information, somehow. Because of privacy laws and all that... but then the “loophole” for internet “cookies” as long as it is not accessing the private information which is protected by law... well in the USA, in theory, anyways
It's so interesting seeing trends in every country. In Israel, hefeweizen and Belgian wietbier are probably the most popular beer style after the regular lager. Every bar will have a least one on tap.
Interestingly enough, they are hugely popular in China too. It’s the second most popular imported style after international lager and enjoyed with spicy food, which is a great pairing for the style. Not so clear on specifics but I hear it’s popular in a few other Asian countries for similar reasons.
As far as I known Paulaner and Schneider (confirmed) also use decoction to brew their Weißbiers. There are possibly others like Gutmann (absolutely recommended) that also use decoction. For home brewers: if you get fresh bottles of Schneider Tap 7 or Gutmann, you can propagate the yeast from the bottle for your own brews.
@@TheCraftBeerChannel Yes, I used their yeast from bottle sediments for many brews. They use their original yeast for bottle conditioning and don't pasteurize the bottles.
If you are a Gutmann fan - highly recommended! You must try to get to their Summerfest. Oktoberfest is a pfaff compared to that. Titting is a quiet village that lets rip for one weekend. Simply the best beer party anywhere. Full stop.
Growing up in the Midwest I was never really into beers that much. I know Falstaff should have changed my life but it wasn’t until I lived in Germany for a couple years in the military that I started rethinking beer. It all started with the hefe. I would love to go back and try some of the ones I had most in southern Germany. Thanks for the flashback!
For me too! I was stationed in Germany from 1992-95 and considered it my German Beer Tour years, with repairing Army Medical Evacuation helicopters in between all the drinking! I mean 'sampling ' the different beers and liquors! 😁
This is actually my favorite style of beer during Texas summers when it's just too hot to drink heavy stouts and porters. Definitely always swirl the bottle.
Least trendy for sure, but it's a proper underdog. I love brewing my own wheat beers playing with the fermentation temperature to bring out either the cloves or banana esters. The best thirst-quencher that exists
Back in '98 I visited Germany with my family, we were in a small town just in time for their Summer Solstice party. I was barely of age, and had never been a fan of the taste of alcohol...until I was given a giant glass of warm Hefeweizen, handed to my by an equally well endowed German woman. Maybe it was the beautiful buxom women dancing about the giant bon fire in their lightweight, nearly sheer dresses, but that was the best dang beer I've ever had...
My uncle who was stationed in Germany during his time in the military mentioned the Hefeweizen style of beer to me when I was younger, I’d say I was around 16 years old. I usually saw him drinking weihenstephaner, and I remember getting ahold of a 6 pack of weihenstephaner and immediately falling in love with it. Hefeweizen has to be the most amazing, beautiful style of beer that there is in my opinion. There’s nothing else that really hits all the correct spots for me as far as beer goes. I love imperial stouts, especially ones brewed with chocolate, coffee, maple syrup and all the other crazy adjuncts and flavor additions, but Hefeweizen just sits in a league of its own in my opinion.
Back in 1992 a buddy and I were doing the backpack through Europe thing and wound up drinking at some beer gardens along the Mosel river in Trier. We were just ordering lagers until we noticed beer being served in different glasses. We finally asked the bar maid "what's that?" and she said "Hefeweizen." Never had heard of it before but we said "Zwei Hefeweizen bitte!" The rest is delicious history. It still is my favorite summer drinking beer.
@@Aceman4Ever Well, to be fair, we did start the day with two bottles of wine in what was known then as the Dom Keller. Add to that the free shots of ouzo we were given when we stopped for some Greek food and it made for quite a boozy day. lol
I spent 2 weeks in Freiburg on business and was introduced to hefeweizen. It was made locally and was absolutely amazing. I drank it with every dinner the rest of the time I was there. I haven't been able to find anything good like it in the USA.
@@TheCraftBeerChannel Biére de Champagne, Grisette, Biére de Coupage, Kölsch, Mumme, Stjørdalsøl (Norwegian smoked beer), Flanders Red and Oud Bruin, Oyster Stout, Altbier, just to name a few. And maybe even Mead, tho not beer, but it’s really good👍🏼 Keep up the good work lads, cheers🍻
The traditional Bavarian breakfast is Weißwürst (White Sausages) with German Mustard, a large Brezel (Pretzel) all washed down with a Weißbier (Weissbier). Also as someone who has lived in Munich many locals have one to two Weissbiers as their first beers before moving onto Helles. This is because they say it is to first line their stomach ready for the drinking session. Rarely would they drink more than two as they are very filling where as Helles is not.
I just discovered Hefeweizen last year and it quickly became one of my favorites! Thanks to this video, I now have a deeper appreciation for this style of beer!
Accidentally ordering a hefeweizen years ago at Manchester Christmas Market was the start of me trying things that weren't Carling. Still one of my favourite styles and there's nothing better than being in a resort in Spain, bored of flat Cruzcampo in the hotel and you see Paulaner in a bar catering for the German tourists 👌🏼
Hands down my favourite style, closely followed by dunkel weizen. Would love to see a vid of you guys visiting some of these famous breweries in Bavaria. I reckon Brad would look good in a dirndl too.
This was my intro to craft beers, I may try a range of styles but I always find myself coming back to it, so much that I've travelled to Germany and Austria several times to try it. I was a bit surprised when I went to Munich in 2010 for Oktoberfest and couldn't find it, not that the festbier wasn't fantastic. The Weihenstephaner hefe still has to be one of my fave beers in the world, and I finally got to the brewery in 2019, a proud moment in my beer drinking life
@@Laszlo5897 well for one, because tourism is one of Bavaria's most important industries, and two because Germany is our third biggest audience in the world.
Lived in Munich for a decade and my favourite Weissbier there was "Unertl". First time trying it was eye opening. ... Our chemistry teacher always said that Weissbier has a slightly higher amount of "fusel alcohols" in it, thus it causes a bit more headaches when you drink too much.
Possibly my favourite year round beer style, the Weißbier. As it happens I have one fermenting at home, thought I’d try using Talus alone for it (unorthodox, I know); and am brewing one at work next week.
I keep a hefe in my keezer at all times. I follow the same traditional brewing method but play around with the hops to achieve different flavours. Adding hops during whirlpool makes for an interesting end product.
There’s some great Hefeweizen coming out of Japan now. One of my best drinking memories is going to the Daizen G brewery in Tottori and getting blotto on their Hefeweizen (WBA gold, 2011) and the crazy part was it only cost 1000 yen ($6.94) to drink as much beer as you like from 11am to 10pm!
Back in the late 80's/early 90's I ended up living in a hotel in the UK and in the bar was, from what I remember, schofferhofer beer. It was the first time I really started to enjoy beer. Little did I know it was a hefeweizen and an epic tasting beer to boot. Memories.....🙂
So glad you all did this style. Love Hefe. I had gotten away from beer years ago when the pursuit of highest IBUs got out of hand Hefe was about the only thing I drank for a time. Schneider Weisse Tap 7 is my favorite by far. Speaking of freshness, many of the German beers we get in the U.S. have Sell By/Packaged on dates that are indecipherable. Any tips on reading those date codes?
@@ATL-xi7lo hmm strange. Sounds more like a batch number then a sell by date. In Germany we have MHD, which is the date until when it’s guaranteed to be safe to consume the product. Next time I see a bottle of Ayinger, I’ll have a look.
I was introduced to hefewiesen when I worked as a prep cook in a brew pub and haven't found many offerings of the style with the yeast cloud since, with a good cloudy hefe it would be my go to summer beer
11:56 Weißbier (Whitebeer) is called white because all other beers have been much much darker that time. Helles (Pale or Bright) came much later. BTW: If a beer is named after the brewing place or location, add the letters "er" at the end. So Andechs become Andechser. (I am going to drink an Andechser) Many beers already have this in their name, like Erdinger, Hohentanner, Weihenstephaner etc. That's how it's pronounced correctly and it sounds better too. I love your canal keep it up! Greetings from Erding
@@Muchacho90 in Denmark ‘hvidtøl’, literally ‘white beer’ or Weiss Bier if you like has always entirely been known as a rather dark, very sweet beer, low in alcohol % preferably drank around Christmas. And it’s not made from wheat either. The name derived from the malt being so-called white malt which implies the barley sprouts are taken to the drying process while still white
I'm usually more partial to dark beers like stouts, but I always keep a Weissbier in the fridge! They're soooo good. I drank them before, but I fell in love with the style when I was in Germany last year. A really fantastic beer style with a rich history!
Love the Hefe......Hefe is still one of my tops styles. I always try them when I see them at a brewery, but I find myself going back to my usuals like Erdinger or Franziskaner. I will however, have to try that Andechs one.
Was the first style I fell in love with, and a good one is always fantastic. Also the fake banana flavor is actually a real banana flavor from a banana that fell out of favor in cultivation in modern farming.
I started into the craft beer world 15 years ago. Went through the IPA phase way before most people even knew what an IPA was. After probably 10 years of going through different favorite styles and sampling just about everything you could think of - I settled on Weihenstephaner heffeweizen. that was 5 years ago. Easily the best beer I've ever had but everyone has their own tastes
Two minutes in and I'm already wildly applauding. I've always thought hefeweizen is the most delicious beer out there. The best ever was old Hacker-Pschorr (before they were bought by Paulaner, who tragically f**ed up the recipe). Nowadays, Trader Joe's here in the US makes the best hefeweizen. Unfortunately, they're notorious for discontinuing their best products so I live in fear that they'll stop making it and I'll end up having to rely on Spaten or Schneider or one of the second-tier hefes. In any case, thanks so much for bringing attention to this glorious beer!
@@sergeantbigmac Yes. I recommend giving it a try. I usually don't like TJ's beer selections, but this one's like a 9/10 (assuming you like hefeweizens).
@@keppela1 Cool! I'll have to give it a shot then next time im at a TJs, its been a longtime since ive had a Hefe but I remember enjoying them. I also really like the price. Id drink German beer all the time if it wasnt 3 times as much as American macro. I respect the history of the German brews but im glad there is a cheap American option thats nearly as good as the real deal.
I'm surprised? It's as common as muck in the UK. I have to presume you're in the US? If so I would have thought that American micros would have produced a decent Hefeweizen or Kristallweizen?
@@johnp8131 Yes, I'm in the US. There are good Hefeweizens available, but it's hard to find Franziskaner in my area. Weihenstephaner and Paulaner on the other hand are easy to find in a liquor store with a good selection. I usually get Weihenstephaner because it's also excellent.
One thing worth adding is that traditionally you pour nine tenths of the beer out and then spin the bottle (basw on the table) from side to side to really agitated the last bit before pouring that on top. Airates the sediment to really bring out the flavour.
Hefes have a solid following in the States, especially in the midwest with so many folks with German heritage. It's a delicious beer when fresh & tastes great at an Oktoberfest.
Honestly, it's tough to find a craft brewery in my area of the US that _doesn't_ have a Hefeweizen. That doesn't mean they're all good, but quite a few are.
Do you live in Pennsylvania? Cause that's the only place I've seen it on craft brewers menus. New England is swamped with IPAs and pretty much everything but hefeweissen.
Wild. It is likely a bit of a hangover from pre-IPA days when US breweries made a pilsner, a red, a wheat and a stout at most. Never had a truly on point US hefe though so let me know the good ones!
@@theproceedings4050 Keep driving West. The Midwest into the Plains are heavily German descendant areas. Our breweries almost always have at least one hefe on the menu, often more than one. I've only seen one that didn't and they were consciously trying to imitate an East Coast taproom.
@@MuriKakari Ahh, yeah that pans out, there's definitely a lot more German beer influence in the Midwest. In New England, all the beer selections are heavily influenced by British tastes and varieties, though it seems to be starting a shift away from the IPA craze that has gripped the region, and instead light, brown, red and amber ales are starting to become in vogue here.
I got into weissbeir when I went into a German pub in London (pubs and market outside were heaving, German pub was dead, it was heaven). Since then I’m a pretzel and mustard man and I’ve got my own erdinger glass, as is my dedication.
Great video, thanks! While I love hefe’s, I recently discovered Weizenbock - in my opinion a stronger and better hefe 😀 Worth a review sometime, specially the Weihenstephaner Vitus 🤩
Man… Brad’s comment about Bavarians tasting bananas and going like “this reminds me of wheat beer” had me cracking up, too funny! 😆 And top content as always, guys! Cheers!
I wasn't a fan of Hefeweizen for a long time. But recently tried it a couple of times and appreciate now the soft and sweet flavor. I enjoy the flexibility and the different tastes beer can have. Thanks for explaining them. On your note on nostalgia. Smells are one of the first senses you learn and that is also a reason why smells can take us back in time 😉
The Gaffel brewery in Köln (famous for a mass produced Kölsch beer. I am not a fan.) recently-ish started releasing unfiltered and very hazy versions of their beer, under a kind of "like it was in the olden days" marketing, and it's so much better than the normal. It has a lot of flavour elements in common with Weißbier, but not as sour. (Also, in my stupid expat way, I always assumed Weißbier was something to do with the massive white head they have in the traditional glasses and maybe something to do with the double meaning of Weiß being white and "to know", or "wisdom". I have a feeling a native German may of once explained something like this to me, but I was too drunk to remember)
There was a Wiess/Wieß once a day, which was the original Kölsch. That's what you meant, I had it in the glass, too. And I'm not a fan of Gaffel either, but that was more the kind I like. I think, 'white' came more from 'wheat' (Weizen) and the lighter color this grain brings with itself. In older times, there were also other types like Braunbier (brown beer) or similar stiles (Ales, known as Altbier). Pilsner weren't evented before 1824. By a Bavarian.
I spent a fortune on beer when I was stationed in Bavaria...loved that place, Hefeweizens were my favorite..Paulaner was probably the brand I drank the most, but I tried many...
I love Hefeweizen. The most common brands here in NYC metro area are Paulaner and Weihenstephan. I personally like the later better but only by a slight bit. They are both great. We also get some small craft brewers making the style.
I’m American, and when I was growing up craft beer was not popular the way it is today. Luckily, my father was interested in beer, so I had books at home about beer and he always had some unusual (not the typical Coors or Bud) beer that he would let me taste. However, I never had a Weißbier until I went to Germany. To me, it tasted how I always thought beer should taste. I would say there is nothing better than a Paulaner on a sunny summer day.
Had my first hefe out on the BRD/CZ border back in ‘72 and it’s been my favorite ever since. After that, give me a good lager…preferably German or CZ, and that’ll make me happy, too.
17:00😂; in college, we had a beer glass called “the yard”, because it was a three foot tall beer glass. I believe it was a hefeweizen style beer glass though. But I never knew until right now! Right this very moment as I type! Because, after you mentioned “hefeweizen glass” I immediately googled to see what it is. And I learned. Hahaha as many beers as I’ve drank out of a glass like that, I had no idea that it was supposed to be specific to hefeweizen styles.
Yup, Andechs is an outstanding heffeweizen, my favourite in that style. I have been brewing a lot of decoction pilsner lately, I will give this one a go 👐🍻
Weißbier is a type of beer that originally only related to the distinction between brown beer (dark barley beers, bottom-fermented), red beer (red ale) and black beer (dark full-bodied beers, top-fermented). Although some of these definitions have changed over time, for example, today's Schwarzbier is mostly bottom-fermented.
I really love a good hefeweisen! There are several breweries here in Texas that make pretty good examples. However, Weihenstephaner and Paulaner are both pretty available, with Weihenstephaner being my favorite. Thank you for the info!
If you ever come north of the border to Saskatchewan or Alberta. There are some pretty good new micro brewery weissbiers available. Probably not as genuine as those Deutsch imports you mentioned in Texas, but still not bad.
Hey, I am also from Bavaria. Fist of all.... it's fun watching your channel! Did you ever try dunkles Weißbier? Dark Weißbier? I am a big fan of it. Guess I like it even a bit more than regular Hefeweizen.
Fun fact we have done banana weizen here in the southwest of Germany. By mixing weizen beer with thick banana juice. I can recommend Ziefalter Klosterbräu for Hefeweizen but also for a clear and tasty Kristallweizen. By the way the church of the abbey in Zwiefalten is super beautiful inside and outside.
And here I thought I was watching a video about a beer I didn't like, but I bet this is one of those "get a fresh bottle, don't get it on tap" beers. Great video and looks like I gotta keep trying them til I get it right. Cheers!
I just enjoyed a glass of Weihenstephaner. It’s always my go it. Easy to drink and refreshing, bready, and light. It was my go it when I visited Berlin and it’s my go to at home in the States. I’ve turned on so many of my friends to this beer they all love it too. In like a few others that I’ve commented it’s the beer type that turned me on to beer in the first place
I live in Bavaria. A few years ago, I won a prize from Erdinger and got to stay in the Erdinger hotel, drink all the beer I wanted, tour the brewery, etc. Erdinger treated us so well and the staff seemed to be treated well too (lots of employees had been there for 40+ years!), so I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Erdinger Hefeweizen. I wish you'd focused on a different macro Hefeweizen other than Paulaner - last year I won a few cases of Paulaner Hefeweizen and it was hard to give it all away... I was happy to see Weihenstephan, though; they have one of my favorite restaurants to visit and Obatzda cheese dip was allegedly invented by Weihenstephan, too.
@@TheCraftBeerChannel All the big German breweries frequently run sweepstakes, and there are more of 'em during soccer/ football tournaments. ;) Krombacher and Bitburger have sweepstakes all the time, too. Our local Hefeweizen favorites are Kuchlbauer Turmweisse (with Friedensreich Hundertwasser design!) and from Weißbräu Kößlarn - also worth looking for. It's not Hefeweizen, but in the region, you may also be interested in checking out Sister Doris Engelhard's brews - she is believed to be the world's oldest brewing nun, possibly the only brewing nun, but she hates Hefeweizen and doesn't brew it. ;) Also, I finished watching the video and to be pedantic, Weihenstephan doesn't have a brew school - the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has various programs in brewing and beverage technology and many of the classrooms are up on Weihenstephan hill. For the relevant parts of the curriculum, the TUM works together with Weihenstephan. Feel free to ask any other questions you have about the local bevvie scene!
RIGHT! SURVEY TIME! When was the last time you had a hefeweizen?
This summer🙌🏼 Lovely style
Had a Schneiderweisse last weekend, regularly pick up Franziskaner in the supermarket
As often as possible. Weihenstephaner is top of my list.
Paulaner and Weihenstepher both less than a week ago I think!
My local always has either Schneiderweisse or Paulaner Heffe on tap. I'm a lucky boy!
Hefeweizen was the first beer that convinced me beer could be good many many years ago. Still my fave.
I have a similar story with hefewiezen and Guinness as well which showed me at a young age, beer is much more than crap light lager and can be incredibly tasty and drinkable.
Same here. Tried one because my dad is really big on German culture. Bought one and I'm like "wow, that's actually really good". Started buying IPA's after that.
Weissbier dunkel, awesome style of beer. 🤘🍺
I am with you as well. Drank crap my whole life until I lived in Stuttgart and found out what beer really is. Yummy!
Same. Never liked beer until I tried Live Oak's Hefe in Austin, TX and been into beer ever since.
Absolutely love the idea that when bananas made it to Germany their reaction was "ooohhhh this smells like beer!".
Hey, a Bavarian here... Really loved your enthusiasm for our Weißbier and I learned something too! For me the Hefeweizen is something special, usually consumed at Sunday, either in the morning with a Weißwurst Frühstück or at a Biergarten :)
It just a incredibly good beer style. It's definitely my favorite kind of beer.
What is that half lemonaid half beer stuff you guys have in Bavaria? That was my favorite on a warm summer afternoon
@@ClintOrris it's called "Radler" which means "cyclist". Many brands offer it with different kinds of beers as base. Some mix it with pure lemon juice others use their own lemonades.
By the way it's not only a Bavarian thing, it exists all throughout Germany
@@ClintOrrisThe guy above me isn't very helpfu . Use Helles or Pilsener, mixed 50/50 with Sprite or homemade lemonade. Helles for Bavaria, Pils for everyone else.
Hefeweizen and other non-cleared beer is not ideal for mixing with other carbonated beverages because the yeast particles are condensation points for carbon dioxide.
@@waynebimmel6784 anothe Bavarian here. You can totally buy mixed beverages with Weißbier in bavarian restaurants though. Although it's not called Radler but "Russ'n [Maß]" when it's made with Weißbier, but you can also get it mixed with cola (Mohr) or I've even seen it with Cherry and Banana juice (KiBa Weizen) or Waldmeister (woodruff) sirup (Illerwasser)
"History in a glass, yet available in Sainsbury's" must be one of the finest quotes in the channel's history.
Why?
Followed by that distinct smelling sound it‘s just perfection haha
Hefeweizen is one of the most popular beers in my area of Illinois thanks to the local brewery that introduced us to it. Riggs Hefeweizen is in every bar and pub in most of central Illinois.
I went to that brewery earlier this year in my way back from St Louis. Is probably the best Hefeweizen made in US that
I have tried. Great beer garden and good price!
The story about the beer induced wheat shortage reminded me of a saying we have in germany: "seven beers replace one meal - and then you havent been drinking anything yet"
Brad made me guffaw out loud with that 'this banana tastes like wheat beer' comment 😂. Real left field thinking!
I’m a commercial brewer these days, but back when I home brewed, I brewed more Hefeweizen than any other style. My dad’s favorite beer is the weinstephan hefe. The pursuit to replicate it improved my brewing process and moved me to pursue a formal education in brewing. To this day it’s my favorite style.
I am sure you have seen, but the full recipe has been published on brewfather. Not an easy one to replicate at home!
It’s Weihenstephan haha Wein is wine in German so leaving out the h is a bit confusing 😂
Watching beer TH-cam is a mixed blessing--chill, pleasant, but tempts one to start guzzling beer immediately.
Never heard of the channel, but I imagine the video was recommended to me based on how much my phone hears me ordering a hefeweizen. Love the content and thanks for shining a light on hefeweizen, it's such a tasty brew.
it also “blind accesses” purchases from your bank card or bank app without divulging your private information, somehow. Because of privacy laws and all that... but then the “loophole” for internet “cookies” as long as it is not accessing the private information which is protected by law... well in the USA, in theory, anyways
It's so interesting seeing trends in every country. In Israel, hefeweizen and Belgian wietbier are probably the most popular beer style after the regular lager. Every bar will have a least one on tap.
No way?! Fascinating. Any idea of the historical reasons for that?
Surprised German style beer is sold in Israel
Same in Austria - I guess 80% of restaurants have a Hefeweizen on the menu - mostly in bottles though, not on tap.
same in Holland, in summer most bars have aHefeweizen on tap
Interestingly enough, they are hugely popular in China too. It’s the second most popular imported style after international lager and enjoyed with spicy food, which is a great pairing for the style. Not so clear on specifics but I hear it’s popular in a few other Asian countries for similar reasons.
As far as I known Paulaner and Schneider (confirmed) also use decoction to brew their Weißbiers. There are possibly others like Gutmann (absolutely recommended) that also use decoction.
For home brewers: if you get fresh bottles of Schneider Tap 7 or Gutmann, you can propagate the yeast from the bottle for your own brews.
So they use hefeweizen yeast to condition? Many use a lager yeast
WOW. Here is someone that knows Gutmann? Literally the best Weißbier in the world.
Greetings from central Bavaria ;)
@@TheCraftBeerChannel Yes, I used their yeast from bottle sediments for many brews. They use their original yeast for bottle conditioning and don't pasteurize the bottles.
@@januszkszczotek8587 So glad I found someone mentioning Gutmann here, just one of the best
If you are a Gutmann fan - highly recommended! You must try to get to their Summerfest. Oktoberfest is a pfaff compared to that. Titting is a quiet village that lets rip for one weekend. Simply the best beer party anywhere. Full stop.
Growing up in the Midwest I was never really into beers that much. I know Falstaff should have changed my life but it wasn’t until I lived in Germany for a couple years in the military that I started rethinking beer. It all started with the hefe. I would love to go back and try some of the ones I had most in southern Germany.
Thanks for the flashback!
For me too! I was stationed in Germany from 1992-95 and considered it my German Beer Tour years, with repairing Army Medical Evacuation helicopters in between all the drinking! I mean 'sampling ' the different beers and liquors! 😁
This is actually my favorite style of beer during Texas summers when it's just too hot to drink heavy stouts and porters.
Definitely always swirl the bottle.
Least trendy for sure, but it's a proper underdog. I love brewing my own wheat beers playing with the fermentation temperature to bring out either the cloves or banana esters. The best thirst-quencher that exists
The best after a good hike in the Alps!
Hefeweizen is my favorite beer style. So absolutely satisfying on a sunny summer day...or any day! A question @7:17 I've been asking for 20 years!
Saw the notification and immediately stopped what I was doing and started watching!
Love it! Brad looking like a really cool, orange spectacled, David Bellamy 🤙🏽
Back in '98 I visited Germany with my family, we were in a small town just in time for their Summer Solstice party. I was barely of age, and had never been a fan of the taste of alcohol...until I was given a giant glass of warm Hefeweizen, handed to my by an equally well endowed German woman. Maybe it was the beautiful buxom women dancing about the giant bon fire in their lightweight, nearly sheer dresses, but that was the best dang beer I've ever had...
My uncle who was stationed in Germany during his time in the military mentioned the Hefeweizen style of beer to me when I was younger, I’d say I was around 16 years old. I usually saw him drinking weihenstephaner, and I remember getting ahold of a 6 pack of weihenstephaner and immediately falling in love with it. Hefeweizen has to be the most amazing, beautiful style of beer that there is in my opinion. There’s nothing else that really hits all the correct spots for me as far as beer goes. I love imperial stouts, especially ones brewed with chocolate, coffee, maple syrup and all the other crazy adjuncts and flavor additions, but Hefeweizen just sits in a league of its own in my opinion.
Weihenstephaner is definitely my got to ! I love that brand with a passion.
Absolutely LOVE Hefeweizen. Before I only had crappy American Beer and after having Hefweizen I finally understood why people were into Beer.
Back in 1992 a buddy and I were doing the backpack through Europe thing and wound up drinking at some beer gardens along the Mosel river in Trier. We were just ordering lagers until we noticed beer being served in different glasses. We finally asked the bar maid "what's that?" and she said "Hefeweizen." Never had heard of it before but we said "Zwei Hefeweizen bitte!" The rest is delicious history. It still is my favorite summer drinking beer.
You drank beer in Germany’s wine region. 😂 I am glad you enjoyed it anyway.
@@Aceman4Ever Well, to be fair, we did start the day with two bottles of wine in what was known then as the Dom Keller. Add to that the free shots of ouzo we were given when we stopped for some Greek food and it made for quite a boozy day. lol
I spent 2 weeks in Freiburg on business and was introduced to hefeweizen. It was made locally and was absolutely amazing. I drank it with every dinner the rest of the time I was there. I haven't been able to find anything good like it in the USA.
Love these “history of” series. Would love to see more obscure styles
Agreed🫶🏼
Any in particular?
@@TheCraftBeerChannel Biére de Champagne, Grisette, Biére de Coupage, Kölsch, Mumme, Stjørdalsøl (Norwegian smoked beer), Flanders Red and Oud Bruin, Oyster Stout, Altbier, just to name a few. And maybe even Mead, tho not beer, but it’s really good👍🏼 Keep up the good work lads, cheers🍻
@@TheCraftBeerChannel Irish Red/Ruby ale. I have got a Franzikaner Hefe Weissbier in the utility.
@@TheCraftBeerChannel
Would love to see one on saisons or altbiers
Hefeweizen was the beer that got me into beer. Still love it.
The traditional Bavarian breakfast is Weißwürst (White Sausages) with German Mustard, a large Brezel (Pretzel) all washed down with a Weißbier (Weissbier). Also as someone who has lived in Munich many locals have one to two Weissbiers as their first beers before moving onto Helles. This is because they say it is to first line their stomach ready for the drinking session. Rarely would they drink more than two as they are very filling where as Helles is not.
Two Hefes to START!? That is gonna be a session.
@@TheCraftBeerChannel We are talking about Bavarians who think of Weissen as breakfast/food not beer!
That sounds like my kind of breakfast!
That might be the best breakfast I've ever heard.
@@JohnBender1313 sadly weißwurst isnt really delicious
I just discovered Hefeweizen last year and it quickly became one of my favorites! Thanks to this video, I now have a deeper appreciation for this style of beer!
Accidentally ordering a hefeweizen years ago at Manchester Christmas Market was the start of me trying things that weren't Carling. Still one of my favourite styles and there's nothing better than being in a resort in Spain, bored of flat Cruzcampo in the hotel and you see Paulaner in a bar catering for the German tourists 👌🏼
The Germans so I can get paulaner
I don't like Spanish beer so I always hunt out totels and bars that cater for German tourists
I've been searching for content like this. Glad to be here, cheers.
Hands down my favourite style, closely followed by dunkel weizen. Would love to see a vid of you guys visiting some of these famous breweries in Bavaria. I reckon Brad would look good in a dirndl too.
This was my intro to craft beers, I may try a range of styles but I always find myself coming back to it, so much that I've travelled to Germany and Austria several times to try it. I was a bit surprised when I went to Munich in 2010 for Oktoberfest and couldn't find it, not that the festbier wasn't fantastic. The Weihenstephaner hefe still has to be one of my fave beers in the world, and I finally got to the brewery in 2019, a proud moment in my beer drinking life
Why haven't the German breweries got you guys in to do a "cask" style documentary on the history of their beers. I'd watch that!
I AGREE! Let's find the funding and get it made!
I'm sure places like Riegele and Schneider would be down, for example
Why would German breweries who produce almost exclusively for the home market cater to some random TH-cam channel, mainly watched by Americans?
@@Laszlo5897 well for one, because tourism is one of Bavaria's most important industries, and two because Germany is our third biggest audience in the world.
@@TheCraftBeerChannel also because tours and interviews are pretty normal
Lived in Munich for a decade and my favourite Weissbier there was "Unertl". First time trying it was eye opening. ... Our chemistry teacher always said that Weissbier has a slightly higher amount of "fusel alcohols" in it, thus it causes a bit more headaches when you drink too much.
Possibly my favourite year round beer style, the Weißbier. As it happens I have one fermenting at home, thought I’d try using Talus alone for it (unorthodox, I know); and am brewing one at work next week.
I could see talus working really nicely so long as you keep the bitterness low
I keep a hefe in my keezer at all times. I follow the same traditional brewing method but play around with the hops to achieve different flavours. Adding hops during whirlpool makes for an interesting end product.
There’s some great Hefeweizen coming out of Japan now. One of my best drinking memories is going to the Daizen G brewery in Tottori and getting blotto on their Hefeweizen (WBA gold, 2011) and the crazy part was it only cost 1000 yen ($6.94) to drink as much beer as you like from 11am to 10pm!
Omg I need to visit this place.
Back in the late 80's/early 90's I ended up living in a hotel in the UK and in the bar was, from what I remember, schofferhofer beer. It was the first time I really started to enjoy beer. Little did I know it was a hefeweizen and an epic tasting beer to boot. Memories.....🙂
So glad you all did this style. Love Hefe. I had gotten away from beer years ago when the pursuit of highest IBUs got out of hand Hefe was about the only thing I drank for a time. Schneider Weisse Tap 7 is my favorite by far. Speaking of freshness, many of the German beers we get in the U.S. have Sell By/Packaged on dates that are indecipherable. Any tips on reading those date codes?
Good idea about the date coding.
Can you give an example? Usually in Germany it‘s simply DD.MM.YYYY - but I‘d assume it would need to be in line with U.S. regulations if sold there.
@@Oldskoola Ayinger is probably a good example. Back of label has L1336. This would be in the U.S., Ayinger Bavarian Pils.
@@ATL-xi7lo hmm strange. Sounds more like a batch number then a sell by date. In Germany we have MHD, which is the date until when it’s guaranteed to be safe to consume the product. Next time I see a bottle of Ayinger, I’ll have a look.
I was introduced to hefewiesen when I worked as a prep cook in a brew pub and haven't found many offerings of the style with the yeast cloud since, with a good cloudy hefe it would be my go to summer beer
11:56 Weißbier (Whitebeer) is called white because all other beers have been much much darker that time.
Helles (Pale or Bright) came much later.
BTW: If a beer is named after the brewing place or location, add the letters "er" at the end.
So Andechs become Andechser. (I am going to drink an Andechser)
Many beers already have this in their name, like Erdinger, Hohentanner, Weihenstephaner etc.
That's how it's pronounced correctly and it sounds better too.
I love your canal keep it up!
Greetings from Erding
Maybe all the Hefeweizen breweries do decoction mashing in some form to achieve that beautiful color. Also, I was born in Erding. Prost!
No its not, it comes from Weizenbier what the turned into Weissbier over time
I love boating on my canal with a Weisbier! Sorry...
I love motorboating my girl's canal after we have more than a few Weissbiere. Sorry....
@@Muchacho90 in Denmark ‘hvidtøl’, literally ‘white beer’ or Weiss Bier if you like has always entirely been known as a rather dark, very sweet beer, low in alcohol % preferably drank around Christmas. And it’s not made from wheat either. The name derived from the malt being so-called white malt which implies the barley sprouts are taken to the drying process while still white
I'm usually more partial to dark beers like stouts, but I always keep a Weissbier in the fridge! They're soooo good. I drank them before, but I fell in love with the style when I was in Germany last year. A really fantastic beer style with a rich history!
If you like stouts, try Diebels Alt. My favorite all day beer
Love the Hefe......Hefe is still one of my tops styles. I always try them when I see them at a brewery, but I find myself going back to my usuals like Erdinger or Franziskaner. I will however, have to try that Andechs one.
This is the best beer and always been my favorite. Enjoyed the video, thank you
Was the first style I fell in love with, and a good one is always fantastic. Also the fake banana flavor is actually a real banana flavor from a banana that fell out of favor in cultivation in modern farming.
I started into the craft beer world 15 years ago. Went through the IPA phase way before most people even knew what an IPA was. After probably 10 years of going through different favorite styles and sampling just about everything you could think of - I settled on Weihenstephaner heffeweizen. that was 5 years ago. Easily the best beer I've ever had but everyone has their own tastes
Hefeweizen is the best ever! I am always in a mood for it.
Two minutes in and I'm already wildly applauding. I've always thought hefeweizen is the most delicious beer out there. The best ever was old Hacker-Pschorr (before they were bought by Paulaner, who tragically f**ed up the recipe). Nowadays, Trader Joe's here in the US makes the best hefeweizen. Unfortunately, they're notorious for discontinuing their best products so I live in fear that they'll stop making it and I'll end up having to rely on Spaten or Schneider or one of the second-tier hefes. In any case, thanks so much for bringing attention to this glorious beer!
Which Trader Joes beer are you referencing to exactly? Is that the Josephsbrau I occasionally see on shelves? (but havent had the courage to pickup)
@@sergeantbigmac Yes. I recommend giving it a try. I usually don't like TJ's beer selections, but this one's like a 9/10 (assuming you like hefeweizens).
@@keppela1 Cool! I'll have to give it a shot then next time im at a TJs, its been a longtime since ive had a Hefe but I remember enjoying them.
I also really like the price. Id drink German beer all the time if it wasnt 3 times as much as American macro. I respect the history of the German brews but im glad there is a cheap American option thats nearly as good as the real deal.
@@sergeantbigmac Oh yeah, at a buck a bottle the price is laughable. It's an insanely good deal.
Weihenstephaner is probably my favorite brewery! Good video, love the history part
Franziskaner Hefe-Weissbier is one of my absolute favorites! I wish it was easier to find in my area
I'm surprised? It's as common as muck in the UK. I have to presume you're in the US? If so I would have thought that American micros would have produced a decent Hefeweizen or Kristallweizen?
@@johnp8131 Yes, I'm in the US. There are good Hefeweizens available, but it's hard to find Franziskaner in my area. Weihenstephaner and Paulaner on the other hand are easy to find in a liquor store with a good selection. I usually get Weihenstephaner because it's also excellent.
One thing worth adding is that traditionally you pour nine tenths of the beer out and then spin the bottle (basw on the table) from side to side to really agitated the last bit before pouring that on top. Airates the sediment to really bring out the flavour.
Andechs has long been my favorite brewery. Their other beers are also sensational!
yes unbelievable quality all of the sortiment... Kaltenberg is also very good on the sortiment - but Andechs is king -
Hefes have a solid following in the States, especially in the midwest with so many folks with German heritage. It's a delicious beer when fresh & tastes great at an Oktoberfest.
Honestly, it's tough to find a craft brewery in my area of the US that _doesn't_ have a Hefeweizen. That doesn't mean they're all good, but quite a few are.
Do you live in Pennsylvania? Cause that's the only place I've seen it on craft brewers menus. New England is swamped with IPAs and pretty much everything but hefeweissen.
Wild. It is likely a bit of a hangover from pre-IPA days when US breweries made a pilsner, a red, a wheat and a stout at most. Never had a truly on point US hefe though so let me know the good ones!
@@theproceedings4050 Keep driving West. The Midwest into the Plains are heavily German descendant areas. Our breweries almost always have at least one hefe on the menu, often more than one. I've only seen one that didn't and they were consciously trying to imitate an East Coast taproom.
@@MuriKakari Ahh, yeah that pans out, there's definitely a lot more German beer influence in the Midwest. In New England, all the beer selections are heavily influenced by British tastes and varieties, though it seems to be starting a shift away from the IPA craze that has gripped the region, and instead light, brown, red and amber ales are starting to become in vogue here.
@@theproceedings4050 Nope. Southeast. Florida.
The relationship comment from Brad was great - I loved how you included it then cut away right away to the next part of the video
I find your lack of Fanziskaner Disturbing.
I love franziskaner
I got into weissbeir when I went into a German pub in London (pubs and market outside were heaving, German pub was dead, it was heaven). Since then I’m a pretzel and mustard man and I’ve got my own erdinger glass, as is my dedication.
Great video, thanks! While I love hefe’s, I recently discovered Weizenbock - in my opinion a stronger and better hefe 😀 Worth a review sometime, specially the Weihenstephaner Vitus 🤩
Watching you guys gush about me favorite style makes me smile.
Man… Brad’s comment about Bavarians tasting bananas and going like “this reminds me of wheat beer” had me cracking up, too funny! 😆
And top content as always, guys!
Cheers!
I wasn't a fan of Hefeweizen for a long time. But recently tried it a couple of times and appreciate now the soft and sweet flavor. I enjoy the flexibility and the different tastes beer can have. Thanks for explaining them.
On your note on nostalgia. Smells are one of the first senses you learn and that is also a reason why smells can take us back in time 😉
I too am not a fan, but I found one that I like. Huber Weisse Kristall. Yes, in this case the not so popular Kristall is my favorite.
The Gaffel brewery in Köln (famous for a mass produced Kölsch beer. I am not a fan.) recently-ish started releasing unfiltered and very hazy versions of their beer, under a kind of "like it was in the olden days" marketing, and it's so much better than the normal. It has a lot of flavour elements in common with Weißbier, but not as sour.
(Also, in my stupid expat way, I always assumed Weißbier was something to do with the massive white head they have in the traditional glasses and maybe something to do with the double meaning of Weiß being white and "to know", or "wisdom". I have a feeling a native German may of once explained something like this to me, but I was too drunk to remember)
To be better than Kölsch, one could piss in a glass and let it go stale, it would be lightyears better.
@@SchulzffwAltbier fan or Pils appreciator?
@@radicalpaddyo Export Enthusiast Schulzffw Hundertprozent einer dieser Köstritzer trinker lol
There was a Wiess/Wieß once a day, which was the original Kölsch. That's what you meant, I had it in the glass, too. And I'm not a fan of Gaffel either, but that was more the kind I like.
I think, 'white' came more from 'wheat' (Weizen) and the lighter color this grain brings with itself. In older times, there were also other types like Braunbier (brown beer) or similar stiles (Ales, known as Altbier). Pilsner weren't evented before 1824. By a Bavarian.
It's just called Weißbier to distinguish it from the dark wheat beers that are also very common in bavaria. Which are almost as dark as Guinness.
Ayinger Urweisse was the first beer that ever blew my mind and it's still one of my all time favorites.
Best German Weizen / Weissbeers:
1. Faust
2. Gutmann
3. Schneider TAP 4
And Kuchlbauer 😎🍺
Faust I'm not so sure, the others are definitely top Weiße.
Someone other than me knows Faust, amazing :D I completely agree. It's almost a shame they decided to stay local. On the other hand, more for me...
TAP4! Yeah!
I'm intrigued enough to try it now. Thanks!
really interesting video -many thanks
Great style for summer drinking, very fond of Ayinger and also recommend visiting Kloster Andechts a great reward after a steep walk
I never liked beer much, until I visited Bavaria.
That’s the funniest way to end the video and I couldn’t agree more! Love the wheat 🌾 🍺
You guys have inspired me!
History in a glass! Brilliant!
I spent a fortune on beer when I was stationed in Bavaria...loved that place, Hefeweizens were my favorite..Paulaner was probably the brand I drank the most, but I tried many...
My favorite beer hands down!
I love Hefeweizen. The most common brands here in NYC metro area are Paulaner and Weihenstephan. I personally like the later better but only by a slight bit. They are both great. We also get some small craft brewers making the style.
They are one of my favorites!
I’m American, and when I was growing up craft beer was not popular the way it is today. Luckily, my father was interested in beer, so I had books at home about beer and he always had some unusual (not the typical Coors or Bud) beer that he would let me taste. However, I never had a Weißbier until I went to Germany. To me, it tasted how I always thought beer should taste. I would say there is nothing better than a Paulaner on a sunny summer day.
Will you go to Tierra del Fuego and make the people and area vulnerable?
I love this style of beer and witbier !!! Thanks for the video
Had my first hefe out on the BRD/CZ border back in ‘72 and it’s been my favorite ever since. After that, give me a good lager…preferably German or CZ, and that’ll make me happy, too.
I brewed a "Bavarian Hefeweizen" with Wyeast 3068, and it was excellent. My commercial favorite has got to be Weihenstaphaner and Franziskaner.
17:00😂; in college, we had a beer glass called “the yard”, because it was a three foot tall beer glass. I believe it was a hefeweizen style beer glass though. But I never knew until right now! Right this very moment as I type! Because, after you mentioned “hefeweizen glass” I immediately googled to see what it is. And I learned. Hahaha as many beers as I’ve drank out of a glass like that, I had no idea that it was supposed to be specific to hefeweizen styles.
Hefeweizen is super. Long time favorite of mine.
Yup, Andechs is an outstanding heffeweizen, my favourite in that style. I have been brewing a lot of decoction pilsner lately, I will give this one a go 👐🍻
Favorite beer ever hands down end of story. Totally underappreciated in the USA
Weißbier is a type of beer that originally only related to the distinction between brown beer (dark barley beers, bottom-fermented), red beer (red ale) and black beer (dark full-bodied beers, top-fermented). Although some of these definitions have changed over time, for example, today's Schwarzbier is mostly bottom-fermented.
Sitting in Austria and drinking Edelweiss is my favorite thing to do.. it's my favorite beer style!
Big ups from a Münchener because of Andechs!! Such a great local beer
One of my favorite styles.
Hefeweizen is my favorite type of beer of all time. I always look for one whenever I get a drink anywhere.
I really love a good hefeweisen! There are several breweries here in Texas that make pretty good examples. However, Weihenstephaner and Paulaner are both pretty available, with Weihenstephaner being my favorite. Thank you for the info!
If you ever come north of the border to Saskatchewan or Alberta. There are some pretty good new micro brewery weissbiers available. Probably not as genuine as those Deutsch imports you mentioned in Texas, but still not bad.
Ein augenblick hier! Hefeweizen is the BEST Bier for summer drinking ever!
Hey, I am also from Bavaria. Fist of all.... it's fun watching your channel! Did you ever try dunkles Weißbier? Dark Weißbier? I am a big fan of it. Guess I like it even a bit more than regular Hefeweizen.
Many times! Schneiderweisse tap 6 is one of my fav beers ever
A cold hefe with a lil piece of lemon in it on a hot day is my fav ,cheers 🍻 ☺
Fun fact we have done banana weizen here in the southwest of Germany. By mixing weizen beer with thick banana juice. I can recommend Ziefalter Klosterbräu for Hefeweizen but also for a clear and tasty Kristallweizen. By the way the church of the abbey in Zwiefalten is super beautiful inside and outside.
And here I thought I was watching a video about a beer I didn't like, but I bet this is one of those "get a fresh bottle, don't get it on tap" beers. Great video and looks like I gotta keep trying them til I get it right. Cheers!
I just enjoyed a glass of Weihenstephaner. It’s always my go it. Easy to drink and refreshing, bready, and light. It was my go it when I visited Berlin and it’s my go to at home in the States. I’ve turned on so many of my friends to this beer they all love it too. In like a few others that I’ve commented it’s the beer type that turned me on to beer in the first place
Hefeboys are sooo underrated, fantastic style!
I live in Bavaria. A few years ago, I won a prize from Erdinger and got to stay in the Erdinger hotel, drink all the beer I wanted, tour the brewery, etc. Erdinger treated us so well and the staff seemed to be treated well too (lots of employees had been there for 40+ years!), so I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Erdinger Hefeweizen. I wish you'd focused on a different macro Hefeweizen other than Paulaner - last year I won a few cases of Paulaner Hefeweizen and it was hard to give it all away... I was happy to see Weihenstephan, though; they have one of my favorite restaurants to visit and Obatzda cheese dip was allegedly invented by Weihenstephan, too.
You seem to have good luck in competitions!
@@TheCraftBeerChannel All the big German breweries frequently run sweepstakes, and there are more of 'em during soccer/ football tournaments. ;) Krombacher and Bitburger have sweepstakes all the time, too. Our local Hefeweizen favorites are Kuchlbauer Turmweisse (with Friedensreich Hundertwasser design!) and from Weißbräu Kößlarn - also worth looking for. It's not Hefeweizen, but in the region, you may also be interested in checking out Sister Doris Engelhard's brews - she is believed to be the world's oldest brewing nun, possibly the only brewing nun, but she hates Hefeweizen and doesn't brew it. ;) Also, I finished watching the video and to be pedantic, Weihenstephan doesn't have a brew school - the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has various programs in brewing and beverage technology and many of the classrooms are up on Weihenstephan hill. For the relevant parts of the curriculum, the TUM works together with Weihenstephan. Feel free to ask any other questions you have about the local bevvie scene!
One of my go to summer beers. Have you done a video on Weiss VS. Wit?
Not but it's a good idea!
Hefeweizen is my favourite style with a cheese platter. It goes amazingly well with brie, cheddar and Italian cold meats like prosciutto etc
good to know.
Brie, proscitto and hefeweizen went exceptionally well. Thanks, I never would have thought to pair them.
@@vincentr.6109 Your welcome! 🍻