With all the focus in the craft beer world on IPAs, it can be easy to overlook the many other styles of beer that are worth trying as well. As well roll into Oktoberfest season, let me introduce you to one of Germany’s finest beer styles: the wheat beer.
Also known as weissbier, hefeweizen, or sometimes just weizen, this rich, cloudy beer is most distinctive for its texture. It’s thick, almost chewy, and while its hazy characteristics will be familiar to those who enjoy a hazy IPA, the flavors are quite different. It doesn’t have a strong bitterness to it — rather it’s a balanced, grainy flavor with plenty of yeast to add a slight tang and a banana-like note. It’s less sweet than Belgian-style witbiers, but it has a similar creaminess. It’s jokingly referred to as liquid bread, and that’s just the taste you should expect from it.
This style’s home is in Bavaria, Germany, but it has made its way across the pond as well as you’ll occasionally find U.S. craft breweries doing their own version of an American wheat beer. But you can look out for German wheat beers on sale too. My personal favorite brand is Erdinger, but you’ll often find Paulaner available internationally and that’s pretty good too.
As for how to drink it — wheat beer is not a beer for chugging, or for when you want a flavor bomb. Rather it’s a relaxed, casual beer, of the type you might sip on a chill Saturday afternoon. Germans like to say that it’s good to drink after playing sports as well, and putting aside the wisdom of combining exercise and alcohol, it certainly is filling and refreshing. The ideal place to drink a wheat beer might be in a little Bavarian monastery after a hike up a rolling hill, but at home in the garden on a sunny afternoon will do just as well.
It’s traditionally drunk from a special glass which is tall and thin with a bulbous top, but that’s not essential. Do remember to give the bottle a little swirl as you pour though, to help mix up the yeast which settles at the bottom. Finally, if you’re feeling truly brave, one popular option in Germany is to add a splash of banana juice to your wheat beer for more flavor. Personally I find that monstrous, but hey, some people like it.
