Personally, I think Belgium is the spiritual home of beer but, it has to be said, the Germans aren't too shabby when it comes to serving up a malt-based beverage. So in the spirit of European unification, I've decided to review a beer that originates from the Bavarian region of Germany....
Paulaner Hefe-Weizen
Founded by monks in 1634, the Munich-based Paulaner Brauerei is well-known for its styles of speciality beer. Oktoberfest-Märzen is the number one selling Oktoberfest beer in the world, and they also introduced the world's first Hefe-Weizen and Double Bock beers.
• The Style •
Certain weizens are bottle-conditioned and contain some yeast sediment - therefore they are labeled as 'mit hefe' (with yeast) or hefe weizen.
These beers are pale yellow-to-golden in colour, light-to medium-bodied, highly effervescent with a huge, foamy head*, and slightly malty.
*TIP: You can prevent the head from overflowing by rinsing your glass in cold water first.
-------------------------INTERLUDE--------------------------
A guy walks into a bar with his dog on a leash. The barman says, "That's a weird dog you got there. He's stumpy-legged, pink, and doesn't have a tail. I bet my rottweiller would beat the sh!t out of it.”
$50 is laid down. Out in the yard the rottweiller gets mauled to pieces.
Another drinker says his pit-bull terrier will beat it but the bet is $100.
Another trip to the yard and when it's all over there are chunks of pit-bull terrier all over the place. The drinker pays up and says, "So what breed is that anyway?"
The owner says, "Until I cut his tail off and painted it pink, it was the same breed as every other alligator."
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Back to the beer......
Paulaner Hefe-Weizen pours to a cloudy, orange-copper colour with a surge of champagne-like bubbles rising to a fluffy, unfeasibly large head that towers above the glass. The head dissipates a bit after a few minutes but still leaves thick rings of sticky lace all the way down the glass.
The aroma is fruity...lemons, oranges, pears and bananas...with a nutty, bready yeast note, traces of honey, and a distinctly phenolic, medicinal quality. The clove aroma is very evident.
This beer is so aromatic, it would be criminal to drink it....what can I say, I'm an outlaw!
As expected, the taste is very fruity and spicy. It's quite light-bodied and, contrary to the effervescent pour, it has a smooth and gentle mouthfeel. There's lots of contrasting flavours, some sweet - some tart, but it's beautifully balanced. The dominant fruit flavours are tangerines and bananas, with traces of peach. The clove flavour is a little bit overpowering for me but it doesn't spoil it and the beer would suffer without it. The hops are only there to balance and it's hard to find much input from them apart from a very slight bitterness.
It has a very refreshing finish, smooth with a somewhat spicy and warming aftertaste.
• The Verdict •
At 5.5% ABV, Paulaner Hefe-Weizen is smooth and very drinkable, and a great thirst quencher during hot weather. It's a very nice, easy-drinking beer with, or without a slice of lemon in it. I read somewhere that the brewery don't recommend adding a slice of lemon as the acidic reaction causes the head to vanish. Personally, I'm not a fan of the practice anyway.
Food-wise, there isn't a German beer in existence that doesn't go well with potatoes and sausage, but this would also go well with light dishes such as fish, chicken and salads. It's also great all by itself.
This beer is not all that easy to come by in my part of the world but I accquired it from a small specialist shop in Edinburgh, forking out well over 2 quid for the honour.
Would I drink it again? - I certainly hope so.
More German beers:
Franziskaner Hefe-Weissbier
Schneider Weisse
Warsteiner Premium Verum
Becks
Bitburger
Thanks for reading,
Sláinte
©proxam2003
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