Wheat beer
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Weizenbier.jpg
Wheat beer is a beer that is brewed with both malted barley and malted wheat, rather than only barley. The addition of wheat lends wheat beers a lighter flavor and paler color than most all-barley ales. Wheat beer is customarily top fermented, that is, fermented with ale yeast.
Wheat beers have become very popular in recent years, and are especially popular in warm weather. In earlier centuries, brewing wheat beer was illegal in many places since wheat was too important as a bread cereal to "waste" it for brewing.
The two most important varieties of wheat beer are Belgian witbier and German Weizenbier.
Belgian witbier ("white beer"), of which Hoegaarden is probably the best-known example, gets its name from the suspended wheat proteins which give it a whitish color. Belgian white beers often have spices such as coriander or orange peel added, giving them a slightly fruity flavor.
German wheat beers are a well-known variant throughout the southern part of the country, the name changing from Weizen in the western (Swabian) regions to Weißbier in Bavaria. Hefeweizen (German for "yeast wheat") is a variety in which the yeast is not filtered out, though Kristallweizen (clear) and Dunkelweizen (dark) varieties are also available. The filtration which takes the yeast out of Kristallweizen also strips the wheat proteins which make Hefeweizen cloudy. Bavarian weizen beers are fermented with a special strain of top-fermenting yeast, which is largely responsible for the distinctive flavour, with its hint of cloves, bubblegum and banana.
A minor variety of wheat beer is represented by Berliner Weisse, which is low in alcohol and quite tart.
The Belgian Lambic is also made with wheat and barley, but differs from the witbier in its yeast. Lambic is a brew of sponteanous fermentation.
Many microbrewers in the US as well as in Canada now make their own varieties of hefeweizen and it is particularly popular in Portland, Oregon which now has more local breweries and local beers than even Cologne, Germany. Small brewpubs in Victoria, British Columbia have also tried their hands at various hefeweizen and witbiers. There are also several wheat beer breweries in Austria.
Different 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 or simply Weiße: "weiße" is the German term for "white", so "Weißbier" is just the German translation for white beer.
- Weizenbier or simply Weizen: this name is mainly used in Northern Germany to indicate the same thing. "Weizen" is the German term for "wheat".
- Hefeweißbier: "hefe" is the german word for yeast. The prefix is added to indicate that the beer is bottle-conditioned and sedimented.
- Kristallweißbier: if the hefeweissbier is filtered, the beer will look more "clear", from which the name "kristall".
- Dunkel Weizen: it is a dark version of a wheat beer ("dunkel" is the German word for "dark"). The term "weizen" is used because normally they are from the South of Germany.
Pouring wheat beer
At least in Europe, wheat beer is traditionally served in special glasses. In Belgium these are usually solid glasses, taking 25-33cl. In other countries these take half a litre (plus additional room for the foam), are tall and slim and taper slightly towards the base.
Pouring the beer into the glass requires skill as a lot of foam is built when pouring and without the right technique, you will invariably end up with a glass filled with a tiny bit of beer at the bottom and lots of foam on the top.
There are two techniques: Always start with wetting the inner surface of the glass with cold water. Then hold the glass at an angle of approximately 45°, and boldly pour in the beer (from a well-cooled bottle). While pouring, the beer should not fall freely, as it will otherwise turn to foam when hitting the glass. To accomplish this either (a) touch the inner top rim of the glass with the top of the bottle and pour slowly or (b) push the whole bottle with one elegant move upside-down into the glass so that its opening is immersed in beer and swiftly pull it up as the beer fills the glass. Just before the bottle is emptied, put it upright, swivel it and then top up the glass (this last step has two purposes: if you did it right, you might end up with too little foam - and swiveling produces additional foam. Also, it takes up any solid yeast remaining at the bottle's bottom which is important for the full taste of the beer).
A popular, if not indispensable method to include the remaining yeast at the bottom of a Hefeweizen bottle is as following: after emptying the bottle except for remaining yeast and a small amount of liquid, one rolls the bottle on a table with a number of quick movements causing the solid yeast to melt into the liquid, then pour this remainder into the glass. The yeast will then fall out into the freshly poured beer.
Correctly pouring a glass of Weißbier is an art which any self-respecting adult Bavarian is expected to have practised well enough to execute flawlessly. (It is a disgrace to be unable to pour the whole half-litre bottle into the glass or — even worse — let foam spill over requiring one to hastily suck it up.)
Hefeweizens are frequently served with a slice of lemon in the U.S., but this habit is frowned on in Bavaria.
External links
- WeizenWeb - wheat beer around the world (http://www.ozaru.freeserve.co.uk/weizen/weizenweb.htm)be:Белае піва