Weihenstephaner Pilsner

I’ve been really appreciating pilsner lately, so during my last beer run, I saw this on the shelf. I’ve had a few beers from them and really enjoyed them, so I wanted to try this one. I picked a day to have it when I just needed something lighter and crisp and this beer delivered.

ABV: 5.1%

Style: German Pilsener

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Golden-yellow and bright, with 32 bitter units and quite hoppy compared to most of the other Pilsners our Weihenstephaner Pilsner comes up with a distinctive aroma of hops with a pleasant bitterness. This combination provides a balanced mix and guarantees great enjoyment. Brewed according to our centuries-old brewing tradition on the Weihenstephan hill.”

Random: I haven’t had the regular hefeweizen from this brewery. For some reason, I thought I reviewed it, but I have to put it on my list to look out for.

This beer poured with a half a finger of pure white head. It dissipated quickly and left no lacing on the glass. There was a small crown left on top of the clear, light-yellow body. The nose was sweeter than I’m used to for the style. It had grain and light honey, primarily. The taste had more minerality than the nose, which was quite nice. It also had the same honey-sweetness and grain. Slight bitterness came through with mild grassy hops. The body was light and crisp with lots of carbonation. It had a quick finish with grain and honey sweetness. A single bottle of this was $2.10 ($.18 per ounce). This beer was very well-crafted and went down without issue. I wouldn’t hesitate in having this again.

Untappd Rating: 4.0/5.0

Weihenstephaner Korbinian

I’m almost completely caught up on the posting. I really have to try to find time to post more than once a week, then I wouldn’t get so freaking backlogged. Anyways, I picked up another brew from Weihenstephaner to try. I tend not to like the style, but we’ll see how it goes.

ABV: 7.4%

Style: Doppelbock

Trivia: This comes in at 32 IBUs.

Random: I’ve been watching a lot of World War II movies lately. I just finished “The Boy In The Striped Pajamas” and now I’m watching “Europa, Europa.” The first one, although fictional was very poignant and moving. I would definitely see it again. The one I’m watching now is subtitled in English. It sounds like it’s in Polish mostly.

This poured with a finger of off white head that dissipated slowly and left a bit of lacing on the mug. The body was a clear and deep brown with heavy carbonation visible throughout the body. The nose had licorice, heavy malt, chocolate and dark fruit. This was a malt bomb for sure. The taste was cocoa, licorice and malt sweetness. The booze was pretty invisible in this one. The body was thick with heavy carbonation. The finish was long with licorice pronounced. I could appreciate the flavor in the brew and that this was a well made beer, but it just wasn’t my style. It is definitely worth a try, especially if you like maltier beers. I may even give this a shot in a year or two to see if my tastes change.

Untappd Rating: 3.5/5.0

Weihenstephaner Vitus

After having a not-so-great experience at Jack’s, Kate and I walked down the street to The Draft House. It had reopened about 3 weeks ago and is really putting an emphasis on craft beer. We’re actually going to a craft beer dinner there later this week. Anyways, here was what I tried there.

ABV: 7.7%

Style: Weizenbock

Trivia: According to worldbeerawards.com, “Gentle spicy aroma with sweet fruits and vineous notes. Full, rich and tasty. Smooth citrus flavour. Subtle hop and honeyed notes, bubblegum and coriander. Cloves, spiced apple and sweet grain. Good warming alcohol, surprising balance for it’s strength, smooth yet potent. Good, lingering finish.”

Random: This also won “Best Wheat Beer” in 2012, I guess it’s good enough for me then.

This poured with a one finger, white head that dissipated quickly with some lacing left on the glass. The body is hazy, light orange color with light carbonation visible throughout. The nose was lemon, coriander, yeast and grain. I also got some bread on the nose. It was very reminiscent of a hefeweizen The taste was even better. I got lemon, yeast and coriander that were in the nose. Then, some pepper and clove came through as well. The body was on the thicker side with heavy carbonation. It had a long finish with lemon and yeast. The booze was not apparent in this one at all. This was just an outstanding beer with great flavors. I would definitely have this one again. If you haven’t tried it, go grab one. You won’t regret it.

Untappd Rating: 4.0/5.0

Weihenstephaner Kristallweissbier

This was another selection that my father picked up for Christmas. First of all, I’ve really enjoyed every brew that I’ve had from this brewery. Second of all, I haven’t tried as many beers from this style that I should have. So, definitely time to pop this bad boy open.

ABV: 5.4%

Style: Kristalweizen

Trivia: According to wikipedia.com, “The brewery produces a range of pale lagers and wheat beers including Weihenstephaner Weissbier, a 5.4% abv weissbier which is available in filtered (Kristall) and unfiltered (Hefe) versions. The strongest beers the brewery produces are Vitus (a 7.7% abv wheat beer) and Korbinian (a 7.4% abv strong lager or bock).”

Random: I’m starting to get into Guy and Rachel’s Celebrity Cook Show. It’s quite interesting. I like seeing Hines Ward cook.

This one poured with a huge, three finger white head that dissipated slowly. After the head dissipated, there was no lacing left on the glass. The body was a clear, straw yellow color with heavy carbonation visible throughout. The nose was wheat, banana and a touch of clove. I really enjoyed it. The taste was definitely banana and subtle spice, but it had a crispness to it as well. The taste was really clean as well. It reminded me of a diet hefeweizen. The flavor was really full, but the body was light with heavy carbonation. The finish was quick with banana. This was just a great beer, flat out. It had a lot of flavor typical to the style, but the crispness just added to the beer. Add this to the list of beers I will definitely have again.

Untappd Rating: 5.0/5.0

Weihenstephaner Festbier

The second review of the night…I finished the movie with my sister. We watched The Bourne Ultimatum. It was actually pretty good. Now, we’re onto watching Chopped on the Food Network. They’re currently on a round that has malted milk balls, pumpkin, pie crust and lamb heart. Seriously…gross. This is one of the last beers from my birthday stash. After that, we’re onto the brews I brought home from Rehoboth.

ABV: 5.8%

Style: Marzen/Oktoberfest

Trivia: According to wikipedia, “The style is characterized by a medium to full body, a malty flavour and a clean dry finish. In Germany, the term covers beers which vary in colour from pale (Helles Märzen), through amber to dark brown (Dunkles Märzen). Brewers in the Czech Republic also produce pale, amber and dark beers in the Märzen style, called respectively 14° Světlé Speciální Pivo, Polotmavé Speciální Pivo and Tmavé Speciální Pivo.”

Random: It seems like Geoffrey Zakarian hates everything put in front of him on this show.

This brew poured with a half a finger of white head that dissipated almost instantly and left no lacing on the glass. The body was a clear, straw yellow with moderate visible carbonation. The nose was a bit on the floral side with some German hops coming through. It really just had a really clean smell to it. The taste had the German hops apparent in the taste with a hint of sweetness and malt. But, compared to other brews that I’ve had of the style, the sweetness is pretty muted, which I like. It was also lighter in color than any other brew I’ve had of the style. The body was a bit thin with mild carbonation, which worked for the brew. Honestly, I can say that this is a really crisp and refreshing beer and one that I really enjoyed. I would definitely have this one again.

Untappd Rating: 3.0/5.0

Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel

Last night, I headed out to Stuff Yer Face with some friends to take some notes on my first article for examiner.com. I said that I wasn’t going to do a beer review, but after trying this brew, I had to review it. It was also on my list of brews that I wanted to try and last time I was at Stuff Yer Face, they just kicked the keg of it.

ABV: 5.3%

Style: Dunkelweizen

Trivia: According to the German Beer Institute: “Dunkel means dark in German (as opposed to weiss, which means white) and Weizen means wheat. Like a Hefeweizen, Dunkelweizen is made from a mixed mash of wheat and barley malts, but unlike a Weissbier, it also contains a large array of lightly to thoroughly caramelized or roasted malts that give it both its color and its complexity.”

Random: I like Hefeweizen, and I like roasted malts, so this should work.

This beer was poured into a half liter glass. The color was a dark nut-brown color, not unlike Newcastle Brown. But, this brew was cloudy with a one finger white head and no visible carbonation due to the cloudiness. The head left minimal lacing. On the nose, there was a lot of banana, wheat and spice, which was to be expected. On the taste, there was still a lot of banana, but not as much carbonation as I expected. I also got some spice, mostly clove, and some wheat. The finish was quick and unremarkable, like a hefe. I thought this was really good. It was a bit heartier than a normal hefe, but not overbearing. I thought it was almost a bit nutty. I would definitely have this again. Awesome brew. You could almost get away drinking this in the fall.

Untappd Rating: 4.0/5.0