In a new weekly feature I’ll be taking you though the best beer styles, one by one, you should be drinking and why.
Indeed the current #flagshipfebruary campaign incongruously enough helped inspire this idea. If you haven’t heard about this movement within the craft beer industry you might have been living under a rock, or somewhere outside the USA. Essentially #flagshipfebruary was an initiative started by fellow craft beer writer Steve Beaumont in response to craft beer geeks’ ongoing obsession with the shiny and the new. Classic beers that helped pave the way to where we are today are under an acute degree of pressure to the point they could even fade into obscurity.
Herein lies a fundamental flaw within the #flagshipfebruary campaign: It is targeting craft beer’s already captive audience when brewers should be going after new markets. When one in two people worldwide are still drinking beers within the AB-InBev portfolio, one feels there is still a vastly untapped market out there.
To that end, not only is this this series geared towards the craft beer drinker no longer interested in anything unless it has DDH or Milkshake in its name, I hope it to be appealing to drinkers new to styles beyond pale ales and lagers.
Each introduction will feature a brief history of the style, its flavour profile, what to have with it for dinner, why it is generally awesome and a handful of examples of the style - or a full blown blind tasting to follow in coming weeks. So save some room in your fridge and clear your calendar for every Wednesday from now on.
First up,… German Hefe weissbiers.
Just imagine sitting on your balcony or back patio. It’s Friday, the heat of the day has gone over the top of the curve and it’s now just north of balmy. The trials and tribulations of the evening commuter crush remain fresh in the memory, but you suddenly have a one worded epiphany: Hefe-weissbier.
As you meticulously pour your beverage into its appropriate vase-like wheat beer glass (see below for the pouring method) and the heady aromas of banana, clove and lemony citrus waft towards your nose, the grind of the working week fades away and suddenly you are transported to a luscious Bavarian biergarten. Maybe you’ve been there before, or maybe it’s the biergarten of the imagination.
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| A freshly poured glass of Weihenstephaner's Hefe-weissbier. Photo supplied by Weihenstephan Australia Image shows a glass of wheat beer with a lively head, with blurred beer taps in the background |
Origin: Munich, Germany.
Etymology: “Weissbier” (meaning “white beer”) generally refers to the family of German wheat beers. Hefe (yeast) weissbiers refer specifically to the most common wheat beer style being discussed today. They’re otherwise known as “hefeweizen” (literally yeast-wheat) outside Bavaria.
Where to find them?: Very easy to find at supermarket chain bottleshops and smaller retailers too. Some pubs and brewpubs even feature weissbier on tap.
Appearance: Pale straw to gold in colour, sometimes may appear to have an orangey hue. Huge, mousse or meringue-like snow white head. A visual delight when poured correctly.
ABV: Sessionable, between 4.9-5.8%.
Approachability: Highly approachable, though with complexities that may compound a few newbies at first.
Glassware: Vase-shaped wheat beer glass (see below picture).
Seasonality: All year round, but great in summertime.
Serving temperature: Cold, but not ice cold (7ºC is ideal).
Hefe-weissbiers… A (not quite so) brief history
The idyllic and quiet setting of the Munich beer garden has seen many a wheat beer poured and consumed for centuries. The style formed a loophole within the Reinheitsgebot (German purity law) in that wheat could be used as an ingredient alongside malt, water, yeast and hops.
So popular in fact were wheat beers in Bavaria after spilling over from the style’s ancestral home of Bohemia that the Degenberg family obtained the exclusive rights to brew them from the ruling Whittelshach dynasty. Though ordinarily such a move would have been originally thought to be inconsequential, the Bavarian dukes could only watch on in horror as the Dagenberg family raked in vastly greater profits than anticipated.
Not only did the Dagenbergs wield an unfair balance of power and wealth, they also diverted wheat from food stocks to their brew kettles. In 1567, Duke Albrecht V declared (rather incorrectly) hefe-wiessbier to be: “A useless drink that neither nourishes nor gives strength, but only encourages drunkenness.” Wheat beer brewing was categorically outlawed within his entire realm, but of course it was nothing doing as feudal etiquette dictated that an exemption be granted to the Dagenberg dynasty. A lack of an heir soon put paid to all the shenanigans following the passing of Hans Sigmund of Dagenberg passing in 1602, and Whittelbach Duke Maximilian I happily assumed total control of wheat beer production.
As with anything, change is a constant. The ruling faction within Bavaria relinquished its monopoly over the production of weissbier lasted for 200 years, after which time all could have at it. As pale lager began its ascent in central Europe from the mid-nineteenth century, weissbier’s popularity began waning to near the point of extinction.
In 1872, the Bavarian Dukes sold the rights to brew wheat beer to one Georg Schneider, of Scheider Weisse Brewing. Amazingly, after the sheer popularity of wheat beer in Bavaria during those heady days of corruption and conjecture, its popularity sunk to just 5% of the market. It wasn’t until the 1960s the style began its steady revival. Today, the style enjoys 25% marketshare in Bavaria’s biergartens.
Elsewhere, the hefe-weissbier style goes in and out of fashion like nobody’s business. And that’s why we’ve arrived here at this post. I’m hoping that this history lesson has made you thirsty for more, such that a bottle of hefe-weissbier is a constant in your fridge.
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| Though hefe-weissbiers are best enjoyed from the bottle rather than from the tap due to allowable carbonation levels, that doesn't take anything away from how good they are. Blasta Brewing in Perth brews a lovely example of the style available on draught. Image shows a glass of wheat beer on a wooden outdoor table with a grey-coloured brick wall in the background. |
Hefe-weissbiers… The taste of summer
On a balmy late summer’s afternoon few beers could be so more-ish while being so packed with interesting flavours as hefe-weissbiers. No these are not hop bombs with stripped back malt profiles that might promise refreshment but are in fact unbalanced beyond belief. Nor does fruit need to be the star of the show like the latest raspberry gose.
Speaking of fruit, I’m not going to enter the debate over whether or not you should garnish your hefe-weissbier with a slice of lemon. It looks nice and may have been historically added by old timers to compromise for the beer’s lowered acidity as it became less sour over time. That’s all I’m going to say on the matter.
When the beer is poured properly into the glass, with or without garnish, nothing could be quite so alluring. Just look at that thing. If you’re not thirsty for one of these bad boys by now you might be one of those straight-edge types and you’ve landed on this page by some miraculously impossible accident.
Your thirst will only build even more as you take in the aroma. Suddenly, your pupils dilate, your mouth uncontrollably salivates and you head into a trance-like state. Soft banana not unlike banana cake. Spicy hints of clove. A tinge of vanilla, and maybe bubblegum. It’s all there and it’s all too happy to take your hand to that Bavarian biergarten of your dreams.
The flavour of the beer is not that far removed from its complex, malt and ester (yeast-derived) aroma. Malt sweetness at its base is balanced by more banana and clove-like character, offset by a touch of acidity, dry finish, low hop bitterness, creamy mouthfeel and very full carbonation.
It is this elevated carbonation that suggests for the optimal hefe-weissbier experience, you’re best off enjoying this beer from the bottle rather than on draught. Most beer taps at your favourite bar are set to a carbonation level that is far below hefe-weissbier’s own naturally occurring carbonation.
Why hefe-weissbiers are so awesome
I have mentioned the beer’s appearance and presentation multiple times, which are in themselves awesome. But this awesomeness cannot be achieved without the equally awe-inspiring pouring method this beer commands.
Check out a full demonstration of the “inversion pour technique” by author Stefan Bolz here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smlLwa4Mx8Y
Notice all that yeast sediment that practically oozes out towards the end of Bolz’s pour? Turns out, contrary to a certain Bavarian ruler’s claims, that stuff is particularly good for you. If you cast your mind back to my previous post (the first edition of the Six Pack o’ Beer Facts series) you might remember I discussed the topic of hefeweizen yeast being particularly rich in B-complex vitamins. So, not only should you have German hefe-weissbier in your fridge regularly, perhaps you might want to think of it as being a dinner table staple.
Hefe-weissbier is better than wine with…
If you’re going to look for serious food matchings with hefe-weissbier as well as it being a fantastic all round table beer, you have quite a few compelling options.
Weisswurst and other German sausages are of course the traditional and cultural pairing. If you are lucky enough to have a local butcher or pub that offers up German meat in tube form, you can then really complete that transportive Bavarian biergarten experience.
A less traditional though no less delicious match is Indian curries rich in tomatoey gravy. Think masala, korma or vindaloo. Hefe-weissbiers are higher in acidity than most beers hence they are enough to stand up to the tomato in the curry. High carbonation helps cut through the rich and sometimes creamy sauce, the malt sweetness matching the starch of rice, potato or naan bread. Banana, clove aromas then come in and rocket to the stratosphere with the spices by their side. If it’s a particularly hearty, spicy-hot vindaloo, the subtle sweetness may even help temper the heat for balance.
Watch this space for a full Blind Taste Test of a selection of beers within this style in the coming weeks.
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