Franziskaner Hefe-Weissbier

Brewed by Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu (InBev)
Style: German Hefeweizen
Munich, Germany

Good example of a Bavarian Wheat. Mellow and friuty, not a big bite, Try it without a lemon first.

I think I was a little surprised at first at how highly this was rated, because the subtlety is strongly suppressed at even a bit colder than ideal. Big, white head, more regular and slightly larger bubbles than the Club-Weisse, dark yellow/brown/amber, mildly hazy (not deeply so). Quite light aroma relative to the flavors, with yeast and wheat being strong. The flavors are nice when it is warm enough, spicy and fruity, bananas, light pepper touch, gentle clove, perhaps a bit of bubblegum. Like the Club-Weisse, also, the palate improves as it warms, from the initial watery bleakness to a soft, fluffy carbonation with enough citrus sensibilities to think someone chucked in some lemon zest. Still, a bit flat, but the flavors are good. Somehow I would think the ideal hefeweizen would have those flavors at a slightly colder temperature than is required for this one to reveal itself.

Cloudy pale amber beer with lots of carbonation and sediment in the bottle. Thick white head which lighty laced the glass as it slowly went down. Aroma of bananna and yeast. The banana taste comes through very lightly.

500ml Bottle: Aroma of banana, cloves, nutmeg, spices, and yeast. Poured a muddy light brown/dark yellow/orange color with a medium-sized, creamy, frothy, white head that lasted throughout. Cloudy. Very sparkling. Full of large particles. Flavor is lightly sweet and lightly bitter. Tastes of bananas, cloves, yeast, slight bubblegum, slight citrus, and spices. Medium body. Slightly thin, chalky texture. Average to lively carbonation. Yeasty, dry finish.

50 cl bottle. Yeast tha bottom. Cloudy yellow colour with a great white head. Nice aroma of banana, yeast and a lot of bread. Also nice flavour of wheat with some sourness. Very drinkable, one of the best hefe-weissen I had, so far.

(500 ml bottle: $1.99 at Holiday Wine Cellar in Escondido, CA) This is most certainly a gorgeous beer. Pours a bright orange-golden body that’s fully cloudy, but I can still see quite a legion of carbonation bubbles rising quickly through the beer. The tall white head settles to and maintains a quarter-inch crown atop the beer for the entire session, leaving some patchy lacing. The nose is only mildly aromatic and is nicely balanced with wheat and banana, but there’s also some plastic table cloth going on there too. A balance of wheat malt and subtle banana in the flavor, but the finish seems a bit stale to me. Light-medium body tends to trail off toward wateriness in the finish. Contrary to what the visuals might indicate, the carbonation level is pretty light on the palate. You know, I seem to remember this tasting better years ago, and looking back at past notes, the quality seems to have dropped off now that it’s part of the massive conglomerate. Just not that exciting a beer any more.

(Draught at MacKinlay’s, Stockholm) Orange, cloudy colour with frothy, off-white head. Fruity nose with citric hints of wheat, bread, peaches and banana. Fruity, malty taste with notes of banana, plums and sweetish hints of cereal. Nice, consistent and refreshing summer beer, but doesn’t really rock my world.

The aroma is like sour kraut, yeast, and bread. The appearance is cloudy golden with large foamy head. Flavor is sweet malt and average hopping along with hints of banana and cloves. The thin palate and aftertaste that is similar to pilsner hurt the ratings somewhat but overall a good, complex brew.