Beer of the Weekend #250: Weihenstephaner Kristallweissbier
Tomorrow night I will begin my Great Adjunct Adventure. In the meantime, however, I have something I want to sample.
The beer of the weekend is Weihenstephaner Kristallweissbier, brewed by the Brauerei Weihenstephan of Freising, Germany.
Shamefully, I have never had kristalweizen. While browsing John’s one night earlier this week, I decided it was high time I sample one. Hofbräu Hefe Weizen was probably very similar to kristalweizen, but, as the name suggests, it is supposed to be the cloudier version. Apparently, kristalweizen is just a filtered hefe, so I am expecting the same aroma and flavor experience, though a much crisper and lighter mouthfeel.
The BevMo! on Beach stocked a lot of kristalweizen for some reason. (Come to think of it, the selection of weißbier was much better there than it is at John’s — or maybe I think that because I have already had them all.) John’s offers a couple kristalweizens, so I will likely interrupt my Adjunct Adventure every now and then for a kristalweizen. (And for my remaining New Glarus stock. Ugh.) I also want to try an authentic kölsch.
Serving type: One 500 ml (16.9-ounce) bottle. There is a cryptic batch code on the back label, but nothing discernable as a freshness date.
Appearance: Poured into a half-liter weizen glass. The color is a clean and clear — very filtered — pale gold. Three fingers of thick, fluffy head dissipated very slowly to create a billowy cap and eventually a half-finger lacing. There is no yeast at the bottom to give it a meringue-like topping, though.
Smell: The aroma is crisper, sweeter, and not as wheaty as that of its unfiltered brother, but it exhibits many of the same characteristics. The apple is much more dominant than the usual ripe banana, and there are also hints of lemon, orange, clove, and bubblegum.
Taste: It mirrors the smell for the most part: dominant apple followed by ripe banana, orange, lemon, clove, and bubblegum. There is also, surprisingly, a bite of ground pepper spice.
Drinkability: Very good stuff. Having never had kristalweizen before, color this hefeweizen lover impressed.
Fun facts about Weihenstephaner Kristallweissbier:
-Style: Kristalweizen. Duh. Here is the BA description of the style:
-Price: $2.79/bottle at John’s Grocery in Iowa City. The bottle of Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier I bought the same night was 20 cents more expensive. I guess you pay for the yeasty cloudiness.
-Serving temperature: 45ºF. The front label, however, recommends this: “STORE DARK AND KEEP COOL 46º-52ºF.”
-Alcohol content: 5.4 percent ABV.
-Food pairings: In Tasting Beer, Mosher writes that “Kristal (filtered) versions have the same specs” as hefeweizen, so his hefe food pairings were: “wide range of lighter foods: salads; seafood; classic with weisswurst.”
-A couple weeks ago my Beer Karma on BA was somewhere in the 280-285 range; I was a lowly Acolyte once again after the points for each level of karma were doubled. After posting my review of Hofbräu Hefe Weizen last Friday, I checked my review on the beer’s page and noticed the image of a mug with a little beer inside next to my screen name. I checked my profile and my Beer Karma had rocketed to 889.2. I am now a Disciple — one rung above Initiate and two above Acolyte. Why? Because I became a subscriber to Beer Advocate’s magazine. I subscribed, and was charged for the subscription, in early-June, but apparently nothing was processed until last week; I received an email saying I should expect my first issue in six to eight weeks. Wow. I subscribe in June and probably will not receive my first issue until September.
The Quiet Man’s grade: A-.
The beer of the weekend is Weihenstephaner Kristallweissbier, brewed by the Brauerei Weihenstephan of Freising, Germany.
Shamefully, I have never had kristalweizen. While browsing John’s one night earlier this week, I decided it was high time I sample one. Hofbräu Hefe Weizen was probably very similar to kristalweizen, but, as the name suggests, it is supposed to be the cloudier version. Apparently, kristalweizen is just a filtered hefe, so I am expecting the same aroma and flavor experience, though a much crisper and lighter mouthfeel.
The BevMo! on Beach stocked a lot of kristalweizen for some reason. (Come to think of it, the selection of weißbier was much better there than it is at John’s — or maybe I think that because I have already had them all.) John’s offers a couple kristalweizens, so I will likely interrupt my Adjunct Adventure every now and then for a kristalweizen. (And for my remaining New Glarus stock. Ugh.) I also want to try an authentic kölsch.
Serving type: One 500 ml (16.9-ounce) bottle. There is a cryptic batch code on the back label, but nothing discernable as a freshness date.
Appearance: Poured into a half-liter weizen glass. The color is a clean and clear — very filtered — pale gold. Three fingers of thick, fluffy head dissipated very slowly to create a billowy cap and eventually a half-finger lacing. There is no yeast at the bottom to give it a meringue-like topping, though.
Smell: The aroma is crisper, sweeter, and not as wheaty as that of its unfiltered brother, but it exhibits many of the same characteristics. The apple is much more dominant than the usual ripe banana, and there are also hints of lemon, orange, clove, and bubblegum.
Taste: It mirrors the smell for the most part: dominant apple followed by ripe banana, orange, lemon, clove, and bubblegum. There is also, surprisingly, a bite of ground pepper spice.
Drinkability: Very good stuff. Having never had kristalweizen before, color this hefeweizen lover impressed.
Fun facts about Weihenstephaner Kristallweissbier:
-Style: Kristalweizen. Duh. Here is the BA description of the style:
A filtered version of a Hefeweizen, showcasing bright and clear bodies from pale straw to light amber. Overall character will be more clean and softer on the palate, and the common banana and phenols will be more subtle.
-Price: $2.79/bottle at John’s Grocery in Iowa City. The bottle of Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier I bought the same night was 20 cents more expensive. I guess you pay for the yeasty cloudiness.
-Serving temperature: 45ºF. The front label, however, recommends this: “STORE DARK AND KEEP COOL 46º-52ºF.”
-Alcohol content: 5.4 percent ABV.
-Food pairings: In Tasting Beer, Mosher writes that “Kristal (filtered) versions have the same specs” as hefeweizen, so his hefe food pairings were: “wide range of lighter foods: salads; seafood; classic with weisswurst.”
-A couple weeks ago my Beer Karma on BA was somewhere in the 280-285 range; I was a lowly Acolyte once again after the points for each level of karma were doubled. After posting my review of Hofbräu Hefe Weizen last Friday, I checked my review on the beer’s page and noticed the image of a mug with a little beer inside next to my screen name. I checked my profile and my Beer Karma had rocketed to 889.2. I am now a Disciple — one rung above Initiate and two above Acolyte. Why? Because I became a subscriber to Beer Advocate’s magazine. I subscribed, and was charged for the subscription, in early-June, but apparently nothing was processed until last week; I received an email saying I should expect my first issue in six to eight weeks. Wow. I subscribe in June and probably will not receive my first issue until September.
The Quiet Man’s grade: A-.
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