Beer Revisited: Weihenstephaner Kristallweissbier
My focus on wheat beer continues with Weihenstephaner Kristallweissbier, brewed by the Brauerei Weihenstephan of Freising, Germany.
In honor of Week 1 of the high school football season, I am using my Weihenstephan “football” weizen glass. The color is clear, light gold. It is hard to keep the head under control so I had to stop and restart pouring a couple times. About four fingers of off-white, thick, billowy head dissipate slowly. A lot of carbonation bubbles from the bottom. The aroma is an inviting blend of yeast, wheat, fruit, and spice. Yeast and clove spice are most prominent and are complemented by soft notes of apple and banana. The scents come together to create a pleasing mélange. That is exactly what the flavor is like, too. There are flavors of yeast, clove, wheat, apple, banana, some bubblegum, strawberry, and light lemon zest.
Comparison to 2011 tasting: Why exactly do I do this for every beer I retry, even though they shouldn’t change all that much? That’s a good question. It’s worthwhile when trying beers I’ve aged but maybe not so much other beers. However, I have gained a lot of tasting experience over the years so I suppose it is fun (and a little embarrassing) to revisit beers and reviews. Also, beer recipes are adjusted ever so slightly.
For Weihenstephaner Kristallweissbier, the yeast and spice are much more prominent this time than last. Apple dominated the aroma and flavor the last time. I also mentioned ground pepper in the previous review, but I don’t get it this time.
In the embarrassment department, I wrote this in my last review: “There is no yeast at the bottom to give it a meringue-like topping, though.” Huh? What does yeast sedimentation have to do with head consistency? I’m blanking.
In honor of Week 1 of the high school football season, I am using my Weihenstephan “football” weizen glass. The color is clear, light gold. It is hard to keep the head under control so I had to stop and restart pouring a couple times. About four fingers of off-white, thick, billowy head dissipate slowly. A lot of carbonation bubbles from the bottom. The aroma is an inviting blend of yeast, wheat, fruit, and spice. Yeast and clove spice are most prominent and are complemented by soft notes of apple and banana. The scents come together to create a pleasing mélange. That is exactly what the flavor is like, too. There are flavors of yeast, clove, wheat, apple, banana, some bubblegum, strawberry, and light lemon zest.
Comparison to 2011 tasting: Why exactly do I do this for every beer I retry, even though they shouldn’t change all that much? That’s a good question. It’s worthwhile when trying beers I’ve aged but maybe not so much other beers. However, I have gained a lot of tasting experience over the years so I suppose it is fun (and a little embarrassing) to revisit beers and reviews. Also, beer recipes are adjusted ever so slightly.
For Weihenstephaner Kristallweissbier, the yeast and spice are much more prominent this time than last. Apple dominated the aroma and flavor the last time. I also mentioned ground pepper in the previous review, but I don’t get it this time.
In the embarrassment department, I wrote this in my last review: “There is no yeast at the bottom to give it a meringue-like topping, though.” Huh? What does yeast sedimentation have to do with head consistency? I’m blanking.
