Wheat beer
Encyclopedia
Wheat beer is a beer
that is brewed
with a large proportion of wheat
. Wheat beers often also contain a significant proportion of malt
ed barley
. Wheat beers are usually top-fermented (as required by law in Germany
). The flavor of wheat beers varies considerably, depending upon the specific style.
The main varieties are weissbier
, witbier, and the sour varieties, such as lambic
.
tradition of using flavorings such as coriander
and orange
peel which was revived by Pierre Celis
at Hoegaarden, and weissbier
(German - "white beer") based on the German
tradition of mixing at least 50% wheat to barley malt to make a light coloured top-fermenting beer. Both the Belgian witbier and the German weissbier were termed "white beers" because historically they are pale unfiltered and have a hazy appearance due to the type of yeast. Belgian white beers are often made with raw unmalted wheat, as opposed to the malted wheat used in other varieties.
German wheat beers are called weizen ("wheat") in the western (Baden-Württemberg
) and northern regions, and weissbier or weiss ("white beer" or "white") in Bavaria
. Hefeweizen (the prefix "hefe" is German for yeast
) is the name for unfiltered wheat beers, while kristallweizen ("kristall" being German for crystal) is the same beer filtered.
Breweries in other countries, particularly the U.S. and Canada, will brew wheat beers based on these two main traditions using special wheat beer yeasts.
Sour beers such as Berliner Weisse
, gose
, and lambic
are made with a significant proportion of wheat.
In Britain, wheat beer is not considered traditional, but several brewers produce cask-conditioned varieties, such as Fuller's
Discovery, Oakleaf
Eichenblatt Bitte, Hoskins
White Dolphin, Fyfe
Weiss Squad and Oakham
White Dwarf. British wheat beer tends to be a hybrid of the continental style with an English bitter, rather than an exact emulation.
Wheat beers are commonly marketed as spring or summer seasonal products.
Weissbier (Weißbier in German) refers to several different types of wheat beer. The terms "hefeweizen" or "hefeweissbier" refer to wheat beer in its traditional, unfiltered form. The term kristallweizen (crystal wheat), or kristall weiss (crystal white beer), refers to a wheat beer that is filtered
to remove the yeast from suspension. Additionally, the filtration process removes wheat proteins present in the beer which contribute to its cloudy appearance.
The hefeweizen style is particularly noted for its low hop bitterness (about 15 IBUs) and relatively high carbonation (approaching four volumes), considered important to balance the beer's relatively malty sweetness. Another balancing flavour note unique to hefeweizen beer is its phenolic character; its signature phenol is 4-vinyl guaiacol
, a metabolite of ferulic acid
, the result of fermentation by top-fermenting yeast appropriate for the style. Hefeweizens phenolic character has been described as "clove" and "medicinal" ("Band-aid") but also smoky. Other more typical but less assertive flavour notes produced by Weissbier yeast include "banana" (amyl acetate
), "bubble gum", and sometimes "vanilla" (vanillin
).
Weissbier is available in a number of other forms including dunkelweizen (dark wheat) and weizenstarkbier (strong wheat beer), commonly referred to as weizenbock. The dark wheat varieties are made with darker, more highly-kilned malts (both wheat and barley). The weizenbocks typically have a much higher alcohol content than their lighter cousins.
Some prominent commercial examples of hefeweizen are produced by Hopf, Paulaner
, Tucher, Erdinger
, Schneider Weisse
(original amber only), Franziskaner, Schweiger, Hacker-Pschorr, Ayinger (Bräu Weisse), Weihenstephan
er, and Widmer Brothers. The style is currently consumed throughout Germany, but is especially popular in its Southern German homeland.
brewed mainly in Belgium and the Netherlands
. It gets its name due to suspended yeast and wheat proteins which cause the beer to look hazy, or white, when cold. It is a descendant from those medieval beers which were not brewed with hop
s, but instead flavoured and preserved with a blend of spices and other plants referred to as "gruit
". It therefore still uses gruit, although nowadays the gruit consists mainly of coriander
, orange
, bitter orange
, and hops. The taste is therefore only slightly hoppy. The beers have a somewhat sour taste due to the presence of lactic acid. The suspended yeast in the beer causes some continuing fermentation in the bottle.
Witbier differs from other varieties of wheat beer in the use of gruit
. French regulation (the territory was French in the 14th century) excluded the use of hops in gruit. Witbier can be made with raw wheat, in addition to wheat malt
.
In recent times, some Belgian brewers have been making fruit flavoured wheat beers.
Leipziger Gose
is similar to Berliner Weisse but slightly stronger at around 4% ABV. Its ingredients include coriander and salt, which means it does not comply with the Reinheitsgebot
. Both Gose
and Berliner Weisse acquire their sourness through the use of lactic acid bacteria in the fermentation in addition to yeast.
The Belgian lambic
is also made with wheat and barley, but differs from witbier in its yeast. Lambic is a brew of spontaneous fermentation.
.
Kristallweizen (especially in Austria) and American styles of wheat beer are sometimes served with a slice of lemon or orange in the glass; this is generally frowned upon in Bavaria.
In northern Bavaria, it is common to add a grain of rice to kristallweizen, which causes a gentle bubbling effect and results in a longer lasting foam.
A common item on pub menus in Bavaria is cola-weizen
, which is a mix of cola and weizenbier. Often this is referred to as a "Neger" - the German term for a negro. If weizen-bock is used instead of normal weizen it is called a "Turbo-Neger".
Another mixture popular during the summer is a 50-50 mix of Weissbier with lemonade, called "Russ". The german term for Russian
In different parts of Germany bananenweizen (wheat beer with banana nectar mixed in) is very popular, as well as cola-weizen which consists of equal parts of wheat beer and some sort of cola.
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
that is brewed
Brewing
Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...
with a large proportion of wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
. Wheat beers often also contain a significant proportion of malt
Malt
Malt is germinated cereal grains that have been dried in a process known as "malting". The grains are made to germinate by soaking in water, and are then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air...
ed barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
. Wheat beers are usually top-fermented (as required by law in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
). The flavor of wheat beers varies considerably, depending upon the specific style.
The main varieties are weissbier
Weissbier
Weissbier , also known as Weizenbier , is a Bavarian specialty beer in which a significant proportion of malted barley is replaced with malted wheat: a wheat beer. By German law, Weissbiers brewed in Germany must be top-fermented...
, witbier, and the sour varieties, such as lambic
Lambic
Lambic is a very distinctive type of beer brewed only in the Pajottenland region of Belgium and in Brussels itself at the Cantillon Brewery and museum...
.
Varieties
Two common varieties of wheat beer are witbier (Dutch - "white beer") based on the BelgianBelgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
tradition of using flavorings such as coriander
Coriander
Coriander is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. Coriander is native to southern Europe and North Africa to southwestern Asia. It is a soft, hairless plant growing to tall. The leaves are variable in shape, broadly lobed at the base of the plant, and slender and feathery higher on the...
and orange
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
peel which was revived by Pierre Celis
Pierre Celis
Pierre Celis was a Belgian brewer who opened his first brewery in 1966 to revive the wit beer style in his hometown of Hoegaarden.-Early life:...
at Hoegaarden, and weissbier
Weissbier
Weissbier , also known as Weizenbier , is a Bavarian specialty beer in which a significant proportion of malted barley is replaced with malted wheat: a wheat beer. By German law, Weissbiers brewed in Germany must be top-fermented...
(German - "white beer") based on the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
tradition of mixing at least 50% wheat to barley malt to make a light coloured top-fermenting beer. Both the Belgian witbier and the German weissbier were termed "white beers" because historically they are pale unfiltered and have a hazy appearance due to the type of yeast. Belgian white beers are often made with raw unmalted wheat, as opposed to the malted wheat used in other varieties.
German wheat beers are called weizen ("wheat") in the western (Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
) and northern regions, and weissbier or weiss ("white beer" or "white") in Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
. Hefeweizen (the prefix "hefe" is German for yeast
Yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic micro-organisms classified in the kingdom Fungi, with 1,500 species currently described estimated to be only 1% of all fungal species. Most reproduce asexually by mitosis, and many do so by an asymmetric division process called budding...
) is the name for unfiltered wheat beers, while kristallweizen ("kristall" being German for crystal) is the same beer filtered.
Breweries in other countries, particularly the U.S. and Canada, will brew wheat beers based on these two main traditions using special wheat beer yeasts.
Sour beers such as Berliner Weisse
Berliner Weisse
Berliner Weisse is a cloudy, sour wheat beer of around 3% abv. It is a regional beer from Northern Germany, mainly Berlin, dating back to the 16th century. By the 19th century, Berliner Weisse was the most popular alcoholic drink in Berlin, and 700 breweries produced it...
, gose
Gose
Gose is a top-fermented beer style of Leipzig, Germany.Gose beers are brewed with at least 50% of the grain bill being malted wheat. Because of the use of coriander and salt, Gose does not comply to the Reinheitsgebot. It is allowed an exemption from the rules on the grounds of being a regional...
, and lambic
Lambic
Lambic is a very distinctive type of beer brewed only in the Pajottenland region of Belgium and in Brussels itself at the Cantillon Brewery and museum...
are made with a significant proportion of wheat.
In Britain, wheat beer is not considered traditional, but several brewers produce cask-conditioned varieties, such as Fuller's
Fuller, Smith and Turner
Fuller's Brewery is a regional brewery founded in 1845 at the Griffin Brewery in Chiswick, West London.It has an estate of over three hundred public houses.-History:...
Discovery, Oakleaf
Oakleaf Brewery
Oakleaf is an English brewery founded in 2000 in Gosport, Hampshire.- Year-Round Brews :* Oakleaf Bitter - 3.8% abv* Quercus Folium -4.0% abv* Nuptu'ale -4.2% abv* Pompey Royal - 4.5% abv* Hole Hearted -4.7%* Blakes Gosport Bitter-5.2%...
Eichenblatt Bitte, Hoskins
Hoskins Brothers Ales
Hoskins Brothers Ales was a small brewery based in Leicester, Leicestershire, England, UK. It was previously known as Hoskins and Oldfield....
White Dolphin, Fyfe
Fyfe Brewing Company
The Fyfe Brewing Company is a real ale microbewery in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland.-External links:*...
Weiss Squad and Oakham
Oakham Ales
Oakham Ales is a brewery now based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England but first established in Oakham, Rutland. Its headquarters is the largest brewpub in Europe, The Brewery Tap.-Notes:2006...
White Dwarf. British wheat beer tends to be a hybrid of the continental style with an English bitter, rather than an exact emulation.
Wheat beers are commonly marketed as spring or summer seasonal products.
Weissbier
Filtered beer
Bright beer is beer in which yeast is no longer in suspension. There are several methods used for clearing yeast from beer, from waiting for the yeast to drop of its own accord to filtering it.-Dropping bright:...
to remove the yeast from suspension. Additionally, the filtration process removes wheat proteins present in the beer which contribute to its cloudy appearance.
The hefeweizen style is particularly noted for its low hop bitterness (about 15 IBUs) and relatively high carbonation (approaching four volumes), considered important to balance the beer's relatively malty sweetness. Another balancing flavour note unique to hefeweizen beer is its phenolic character; its signature phenol is 4-vinyl guaiacol
2-Methoxy-4-vinylphenol
2-Methoxy-4-vinylphenol is an aromatic substance used as a flavoring agent. It is one of the compounds responsible for the natural aroma of buckwheat....
, a metabolite of ferulic acid
Ferulic acid
Ferulic acid is a hydroxycinnamic acid, a type of organic compound. It is an abundant phenolic phytochemical found in plant cell wall components such as arabinoxylans as covalent side chains. It is related to trans-cinnamic acid. As a component of lignin, ferulic acid is a precursor in the...
, the result of fermentation by top-fermenting yeast appropriate for the style. Hefeweizens phenolic character has been described as "clove" and "medicinal" ("Band-aid") but also smoky. Other more typical but less assertive flavour notes produced by Weissbier yeast include "banana" (amyl acetate
Amyl acetate
Amyl acetate is an organic compound and an ester with the chemical formula CH3COO[CH2]4CH3 and the molecular weight 130.19 g/mol. It has a scent similar to bananas and apples which is not detectable by all people. The compound is the condensation product of acetic acid and 1-pentanol...
), "bubble gum", and sometimes "vanilla" (vanillin
Vanillin
Vanillin is a phenolic aldehyde, an organic compound with the molecular formula C8H8O3. Its functional groups include aldehyde, ether, and phenol. It is the primary component of the extract of the vanilla bean. It is also found in Leptotes bicolor, roasted coffee and the Chinese red pine...
).
Weissbier is available in a number of other forms including dunkelweizen (dark wheat) and weizenstarkbier (strong wheat beer), commonly referred to as weizenbock. The dark wheat varieties are made with darker, more highly-kilned malts (both wheat and barley). The weizenbocks typically have a much higher alcohol content than their lighter cousins.
Some prominent commercial examples of hefeweizen are produced by Hopf, Paulaner
Paulaner
Paulaner is a German brewery, established in the early 17th century in Munich by the Minim friars of the Neudeck ob der Au cloister. The mendicant order and the brewery are named after Francis of Paola, the founder of the order....
, Tucher, Erdinger
Erdinger
The Privatbrauerei Erdinger Weißbräu Werner Brombach GmbH is a brewery in Erding, Germany. Its best-known products are its namesake Weißbiers .-History:...
, Schneider Weisse
G. Schneider & Sohn
-External links:**...
(original amber only), Franziskaner, Schweiger, Hacker-Pschorr, Ayinger (Bräu Weisse), Weihenstephan
Weihenstephan
Weihenstephan is a part of Freising north of Munich, Germany.Weihenstephan is known for:* the site of one of the three campuses of the Technische Universität München , namely the one for life sciences* the Fachhochschule Weihenstephan...
er, and Widmer Brothers. The style is currently consumed throughout Germany, but is especially popular in its Southern German homeland.
Witbier
Witbier, white beer, (French: la bière blanche), or simply witte is a barley/wheat, top-fermented beerBeer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
brewed mainly in Belgium and the Netherlands
Beer in the Netherlands
Beer in the Netherlands is known for the pale lagers, especially Heineken and Grolsch, which are exported globally. Grolsch is the leading import lager in the United Kingdom...
. It gets its name due to suspended yeast and wheat proteins which cause the beer to look hazy, or white, when cold. It is a descendant from those medieval beers which were not brewed with hop
Hop (plant)
Humulus, Hop, is a small genus of flowering plants native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The female flowers of H. lupulus are known as hops, and are used as a culinary flavoring and stabilizer, especially in the brewing of beer...
s, but instead flavoured and preserved with a blend of spices and other plants referred to as "gruit
Gruit
Gruit is an old-fashioned herb mixture used for bittering and flavoring beer, popular before the extensive use of hops. Gruit or grut ale may also refer to the beverage produced using gruit....
". It therefore still uses gruit, although nowadays the gruit consists mainly of coriander
Coriander
Coriander is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. Coriander is native to southern Europe and North Africa to southwestern Asia. It is a soft, hairless plant growing to tall. The leaves are variable in shape, broadly lobed at the base of the plant, and slender and feathery higher on the...
, orange
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
, bitter orange
Bitter orange
The name "bitter orange", also known as Seville orange, sour orange, bigarade orange, and marmalade orange, refers to a citrus tree and its fruit. Many varieties of bitter orange are used for their essential oil, which is used in perfume and as a flavoring...
, and hops. The taste is therefore only slightly hoppy. The beers have a somewhat sour taste due to the presence of lactic acid. The suspended yeast in the beer causes some continuing fermentation in the bottle.
Witbier differs from other varieties of wheat beer in the use of gruit
Gruit
Gruit is an old-fashioned herb mixture used for bittering and flavoring beer, popular before the extensive use of hops. Gruit or grut ale may also refer to the beverage produced using gruit....
. French regulation (the territory was French in the 14th century) excluded the use of hops in gruit. Witbier can be made with raw wheat, in addition to wheat malt
Malt
Malt is germinated cereal grains that have been dried in a process known as "malting". The grains are made to germinate by soaking in water, and are then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air...
.
In recent times, some Belgian brewers have been making fruit flavoured wheat beers.
Sour varieties
A minor variety of wheat beer is represented by Berliner Weisse (Berlin White), which is low in alcohol (2.5% to 3% ABV) and quite tart. Although it can be imbibed by itself, enthusiasts often add sweetened syrups of lemon, raspberry or woodruff herb into the beer.Leipziger Gose
Gose
Gose is a top-fermented beer style of Leipzig, Germany.Gose beers are brewed with at least 50% of the grain bill being malted wheat. Because of the use of coriander and salt, Gose does not comply to the Reinheitsgebot. It is allowed an exemption from the rules on the grounds of being a regional...
is similar to Berliner Weisse but slightly stronger at around 4% ABV. Its ingredients include coriander and salt, which means it does not comply with the Reinheitsgebot
Reinheitsgebot
The Reinheitsgebot , sometimes called the "German Beer Purity Law" or the "Bavarian Purity Law" in English, was a regulation concerning the production of beer in Germany. In the original text, the only ingredients that could be used in the production of beer were water, barley and hops...
. Both Gose
Gose
Gose is a top-fermented beer style of Leipzig, Germany.Gose beers are brewed with at least 50% of the grain bill being malted wheat. Because of the use of coriander and salt, Gose does not comply to the Reinheitsgebot. It is allowed an exemption from the rules on the grounds of being a regional...
and Berliner Weisse acquire their sourness through the use of lactic acid bacteria in the fermentation in addition to yeast.
The Belgian lambic
Lambic
Lambic is a very distinctive type of beer brewed only in the Pajottenland region of Belgium and in Brussels itself at the Cantillon Brewery and museum...
is also made with wheat and barley, but differs from witbier in its yeast. Lambic is a brew of spontaneous fermentation.
Names and types of wheat beer
According to the place in which the beer is brewed and small variations on the recipe, several different names are used for wheat beer:- Weissbier, short weisse': these terms are used almost exclusively in the southern German state of BavariaBavariaBavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
. "Weisse" is German for "white". - Weizenbier, short weizen: these names are used to indicate the same thing. "Weizen" is German for "wheat".
- Hefeweissbier or hefeweizen: "hefe" is the German word for yeast. The prefix is added to indicate that the beer is bottle-conditioned (unfiltered) and thus might have sediment.
- Kristallweissbier or kristallweizen: if the weissbier is filtered, the beer will look "clear" (or "kristall").
- Dunkles weissbier or dunkles weizen: a dark version of a wheat beer ("dunkel" is the German word for "dark").
- Weizenbock is a wheat beer made in the bockBockBock is a strong lager of German origin. Several substyles exist, including maibock or helles bock, a paler, more hopped version generally made for consumption at spring festivals; doppelbock, a stronger and maltier version; and eisbock, a much stronger version made by partially freezing the beer...
styleBeer styleBeer style is a term used to differentiate and categorize beers by various factors such as colour, flavour, strength, ingredients, production method, recipe, history, or origin....
originating in GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. An example of this style is Aventinus, made by the G. Schneider & SohnG. Schneider & Sohn-External links:**...
breweryBreweryA brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
in KelheimKelheimKelheim is a municipality in Bavaria, capital of the district Kelheim. It is situated at the confluence of Altmühl and Danube. As of June 30, 2005, the town had a population of 15,667....
, Germany. - Witbier or simply wit: Dutch language name for the Belgian style of wheat beer.
- La bière blanche (Literally, "white beer"): The French language name for this type of beer.
Serving wheat beer
Bavarian-style wheat beer is usually served in 500 ml, vase-shaped glasses. In Belgium, witbier is usually served in a 25cl glass, although there is no standard shape. Berliner Weisse is often served in a schoonerSchooner (glass)
A schooner is a type of glass used for serving German wheat beer or some Australian beers.In South Australian pubs and clubs, the term "schooner" refers to a glass with a volume of 285mL. In other Australian states, it means 425mL....
.
Kristallweizen (especially in Austria) and American styles of wheat beer are sometimes served with a slice of lemon or orange in the glass; this is generally frowned upon in Bavaria.
In northern Bavaria, it is common to add a grain of rice to kristallweizen, which causes a gentle bubbling effect and results in a longer lasting foam.
A common item on pub menus in Bavaria is cola-weizen
Shandy
Shandy, or shandygaff, is normally a beer mixed with citrus-flavored soda, carbonated lemonade, ginger beer, ginger ale, or cider. The proportions of the two ingredients are adjusted to taste, normally half-and-half. There are also non-alcoholic shandy mixes known as “rock shandies”...
, which is a mix of cola and weizenbier. Often this is referred to as a "Neger" - the German term for a negro. If weizen-bock is used instead of normal weizen it is called a "Turbo-Neger".
Another mixture popular during the summer is a 50-50 mix of Weissbier with lemonade, called "Russ". The german term for Russian
In different parts of Germany bananenweizen (wheat beer with banana nectar mixed in) is very popular, as well as cola-weizen which consists of equal parts of wheat beer and some sort of cola.
External links
- WeizenWeb - wheat beer around the world
- GermanBeerGuide.co.uk - A British website's guide to Hefeweizen