Weissbier

Today is unseasonably warm, so I reached for a warmer weather beer and found this bottle of Grand Teton Brewing's Howling Wolf. The label of the Howling Wolf says the bottle contains an unfiltered Weisse Bier. After drinking heavier beers all winter I think a nice Wheat beer will go down nicely. The Howling Wolf pours a very light, and only slightly hazy, yellow color with a foamy white head. It looks a bit more clear than I was hoping from the unfiltered description, and the aroma strikes me a being more pale than wheaty. Perhaps the long winter months have set my expectations a bit high for this light Weisse Bier.

This beer is exactly what I was looking for. Exactly. When I was poking around in the fridge looking for a beer to drink tonight I wanted something that was smooth, creamy and tasted familiar. When I saw this bottle of Mahr's Bräu Saphir Weiss I couldn't resist opening it. If you've read more than a few of my other posts you probably already know that I spent a good deal of time living in the small Franconian town of Bamberg. I may be biased but I still believe that Bamberg beers are the best in their class, and the beers from Mahr's Bräu are no exception.

The Weihenstephaner Kristall Weissbier was a pleasant surprise. Even though the label says this is a Kristall Weissbier, I wasn't expecting it to be literally crystal clear... and still taste like a Weiss. But sure enough, this beer has all the banana and coriander flavor of a regular Weiss but without the cloudy body. So what's the point? Why bother with finding a Kristall Weiss? Well, when it's nearing a hundred degrees outside you might not want to drink a thick wheaty Weiss... The filtered version of the Weiss is much crisper and more bubbly, it feels almost like a light Weiss. Sort of like how Bud Light is light, but with flavor. This beer is well worth seeking out, if you're able to find a couple of them. If you can, pick up a few of these and save them for a warm summer evening. You can thank me later.