Wheat beer

{{lang|de|Weißbier}} (German for {{gloss|white beer}}) uses at least 52% wheat to barley malt to make a light-coloured top-fermenting beer. {{lang|nl|Witbier}} (Dutch for {{gloss|white beer}}) uses flavorings such as coriander and orange peel. Belgian white beers are often made with raw unmalted wheat.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

German {{lang|de|Weißbier}} and Belgian {{lang|nl|witbier}} are termed {{gloss|white beers}} because {{gloss|wheat}} has the same etymological root as {{gloss|white}} in most West Germanic languages (including English).{{Cite web|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/wheat|title=wheat | Etymology, origin and meaning of wheat by etymonline|website=www.etymonline.com|access-date=1 November 2022|archive-date=5 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405101504/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=wheat|url-status=live}}

Other wheat beer styles, such as Berliner Weiße, Gose, and Lambic, are made with a significant proportion of wheat.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

{{anchor|Weizenbier|Weißbier|Weissbier}}

File:Hefeweizen Glass.jpg

{{lang|de|Weizenbier}} ({{IPA|de|ˈvaɪtsn̩ˌbiːɐ̯|lang|De-Weizenbier.ogg}}) or {{lang|de|Hefeweizen}}, in the southern parts of Bavaria usually called {{lang|de|Weißbier}} ({{IPA|de|ˈvaɪsbiːɐ̯|lang|De-Weißbier.ogg}}; literally {{gloss|white beer}}, referring to the pale air-dried malt, as opposed to {{gloss|brown beer}} made from dark malt dried over a hot kiln),Andreas Krennmair, Historic German and Austrian Beers for the Home Brewer, 2018, pp.33-34 {{ISBN|9781980468523}} is a beer, traditionally from Bavaria, in which a significant proportion of malted barley is replaced with malted wheat. Wheat beer was introduced in Bavaria in the 15th century from neighbouring Bohemia. Because of reinheitsgebot (German beer purity law), only beer made from barley was allowed to be brewed in Bavaria up until 1548, when William IV, Duke of Bavaria, gave Baron Hans VI von Degenberg a special privilege to brew and sell wheat beer.{{cite web |title=German researchers figure out how lager first developed in Bavaria |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/987496 |website=EurekAlert! |access-date=5 October 2023 |language=en |archive-date=7 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230607061935/https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/987496 |url-status=live }} By law, {{lang|de|Weißbiere}} brewed in Germany must use a "top-fermenting" yeast.Eric Warner, German Wheat Beer. Boulder, CO: Brewers Publications, 1992. {{ISBN|978-0-937381-34-2}} Specialized strains of yeast are used which produce overtones of banana and clove as by-products of fermentation. Historically, Bavarian {{lang|de|Weißbier}} was either brewed with a large share of wheat malt (which was a ducal privilege in Bavaria) or from air-dried pale barley malt only (which was a common drink amongst poor people). It is well known throughout Germany, though better known as {{lang|de|Weizen}} ({{gloss|wheat}}) outside Bavaria. The terms {{lang|de|Hefeweizen}} ({{gloss|yeast wheat}}) or {{lang|de|Hefeweißbier}} refer to wheat beer in its traditional, unfiltered form. The term {{lang|de|Kristallweizen}} ({{gloss|crystal wheat}}), or {{lang|de|Kristallweißbier}} ({{gloss|crystal white beer}}), refers to a wheat beer that is filtered to remove the yeast and wheat proteins which contribute to its cloudy appearance.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

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 flavor note unique to Hefeweizen beer is its phenolic character; its signature phenol is 4-vinyl guaiacol,{{Cite journal |last1= Donaghy |first1= John A. |last2= Kelly |first2= Paul F. |last3= McKay |first3= Alan |title= Conversion of ferulic acid to 4-vinyl guaiacol by yeasts isolated from unpasteurized apple juice |journal= Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture |volume= 79 |issue= 3 |pages= 453–456 |date= 15 October 1998 |doi= 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0010(19990301)79:3<453::AID-JSFA284>3.0.CO;2-H}} a metabolite of ferulic acid, the result of fermentation by top-fermenting yeast appropriate for the style. {{lang|de|Hefeweizen}}{{'}}s phenolic character has been described as "clove" and "medicinal" ("Band-aid") but also smoky. Other more typical but less assertive flavour notes produced by {{lang|de|Weißbier}} yeast include "banana" (amyl acetate), "bubble gum", and sometimes "vanilla" (vanillin).{{cn|date=October 2024}}

{{lang|de|Weißbier}} is available in a number of other forms, including {{lang|de|Dunkelweizen}} ({{gloss|dark wheat}}) and {{lang|de|Weizenstarkbier}} ({{gloss|strong wheat beer}}), commonly referred to as Weizenbock. The dark wheat varieties are made with darker, more highly kilned malts (both wheat and barley). Weizenbocks typically have a much higher alcohol content than their lighter cousins.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

The four largest brands in Germany are Erdinger, Paulaner, Franziskaner, and Maisel.{{cite news |last=Liebrich |first=Silvia |date=17 May 2010 |title=Brauerei Maisel: Unser Bier |url=http://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/brauerei-maisel-unser-bier-1.697011 |newspaper=Süddeutsche Zeitung |location=Munich, Germany |language=de |access-date=3 January 2017 |archive-date=4 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104090725/http://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/brauerei-maisel-unser-bier-1.697011 |url-status=live }} Other renowned brands are Augustiner, Weihenstephaner, Schneider (a bronze-coloured specialty), and Andechser. Regional brands in Bavaria are Hopf, Unertl, Ayinger, Schweiger and Plank. Aventinus is an example of Weizen Doppelbock, stronger and darker version of Weizenbock,{{cite web|url=http://www.germanbeerinstitute.com/Weizendoppelbock.html|title=Weizendoppelbock|access-date=29 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810202727/http://www.germanbeerinstitute.com/Weizendoppelbock.html|archive-date=10 August 2016|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.schneider-weisse.de/index.php?lang=en&tpl=brauerei.spezialitaeten.aven|title=Schneider-Weisse|author=Weisses Bräuhaus G. Schneider & Sohn GmbH}} made by the G. Schneider & Sohn brewery in Kelheim.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

British brewers producing cask-conditioned varieties include Oakleaf {{langr|de|Eichenblatt Bitte}}, Hoskins White Dolphin, Fyfe Weiss Squad and Oakham White Dwarf.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

{{lang|de|Witbier}} ({{langx|fr|bière blanche}}, {{gloss|white beer}}), or simply {{lang|de|witte}} is a barley/wheat, top-fermented beer 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. Today, along with hops it usually contains a blend of spices, such as coriander, orange, and bitter orange.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

As early as the 16th and 17th century, the white beers of Hoegaarden and Leuven were renowned.Paul Verhuyck, Corine Kisling, {{lang|nl|Het Mandement van Bacchus, Antwerpse kroegentocht in 1580}}, Antwerpen 1987, p. 42-44. Along with barley malt and unmalted barley it contained some oats, though apart from hops no other spices were used. The barley was usually not kilned but left to dry on attics where the wind was allowed to blow past it, in order to obtain a light colour.Georges Lacambre, {{lang|fr|Traité complet de la fabrication de bières et de la distillation des grains, pommes de terre, vins, betteraves, mélasses, etc.}}, Brussel 1851, deel 1 p. 350-363, 372-374.

The style was revived by Pierre Celis at the Hoegaarden Brewery in Belgium{{cite web |url=http://www.beerhunter.com/documents/19133-000215.html |title=Michael Jackson's Beer Hunter – Belgium's Great Beers |publisher=www.beerhunter.com |access-date=17 October 2009 |archive-date=23 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923183253/http://www.beerhunter.com/documents/19133-000215.html |url-status=live }} and the Celis Brewery in the United States{{cite book |first1=Michael |last1=Jackson |title=Pocket Guide to Beer |type=Hardcover |page=208 |publisher=Running Press |edition=7 |date=10 August 2000 |isbn=978-0-7624-0885-6}} {{ISBN|978-0-7624-0885-6}}. and is traditionally made with up to 50% raw wheat rather than wheat malt.{{cite book|last=Eßlinger|first=Hans Michael|title=Handbook of Brewing: Processes, Technology, Markets|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L8RwjqUKLygC&pg=PT101|year=2009|publisher=Wiley|isbn=978-3-527-31674-8|page=101}} It probably was Celis who started adding the various spices. The beers have a somewhat sour taste due to the presence of lactic acid or acetic acid, much more pronounced in the past than today.{{cite web |url=http://morebeer.com/brewingtechniques/library/styles/2_4style.html |title=BT – Witbier: Belgian White |publisher=Morebeer.com |access-date=14 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701002517/http://morebeer.com/brewingtechniques/library/styles/2_4style.html |archive-date=1 July 2013 |url-status=dead }} Also, the suspended yeast in the beer causes some continuing fermentation in the bottle.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

{{Main article|Berliner Weiße|Gose|Lambic|Grodziskie }}

A minor variety of wheat beer is represented by Berliner Weiße ({{gloss|Berlin White}}), which is low in alcohol (2.5% to 3% ABV) and intentionally tart. Sweetened syrups of lemon, raspberry, or woodruff herb are often added before drinking.{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}{{Cite book |last=Jackson, M. |title=The Simon & Schuster Pocket Guide to Beer |publisher=Simon and Schuster |year=1997 |isbn=9780671729158}}

{{lang|de|Leipziger}} Gose is similar to {{langr|de|Berliner Weiße}}, but slightly stronger at around 4% ABV. Its ingredients include coriander and salt, which are unusual for German beers, but are traditional for that style of beer.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

Belgian lambic is also made with wheat and barley, but differs from nearly all beers in the use of wild yeast for spontaneous fermentation.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

A variation on the barley wine style involves adding a large quantity of wheat to the mash bill, resulting in what is referred to as wheat wine. This style originated in the United States in the 1980s.{{cite web|last=Bernstein|first=Joshua M.|title=Wheat of the Moment|url=http://imbibemagazine.com/Wheat-Wine-Ales|publisher=Imbibe Magazine|access-date=12 January 2014|date=17 October 2012|archive-date=17 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170417071807/http://imbibemagazine.com/Wheat-Wine-Ales/|url-status=live}}

Wheat beers vary in name according to where they are brewed and small variations in the recipe. Among those used are:

• Weissbier, short Weisse: {{lang|de|Weiß}} is German for {{gloss|white}}. These terms are used almost exclusively in the Southern German state of Bavaria and in Austria.
• Weizenbier, short Weizen: {{lang|de|Weizen}} is German for {{gloss|wheat}}. These terms are used in the Western (Baden-Württemberg) and Northern German regions, as well as in Switzerland, for Weißbier.
• Hefeweissbier or Hefeweizen: {{lang|de|Hefe}} is the German word for {{gloss|yeast}}, is added to indicate that the beer is bottle-conditioned (unfiltered), thus might have sediment.
• Kristallweissbier or Kristallweizen: {{lang|de|Kristall}}, German for {{gloss|crystal}}, is added if Weissbier is filtered clear of sediment.
• Dunkles Weissbier or Dunkelweizen: A dark version of a wheat beer ({{langx|de|dunkel}}, {{gloss|dark}}).
• Weizenbock is a wheat beer made in the bock style originating in Germany.
• Witbier (literally, {{gloss|white beer}}) or simply {{lang|nl|Wit}}: Dutch-language name for the Belgian style of wheat beer.
• {{lang|fr|Bière blanche}} (literally, {{gloss|white beer}}): The French language name for wheat beer.

Bavarian-style wheat beer is usually served in {{convert|500|ml|USoz|abbr=on|adj=on}}, vase-shaped glasses. In Belgium, witbier is usually served in a {{cvt|250|ml|USoz|adj=on}} glass; each brewery (Hoegaarden, Dentergems, etc.) has its own shape of glass. Berliner Weiße is often served in a schooner.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

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 not traditional in Bavaria, and is generally frowned upon there. The modern American custom appears to have originated in Portland, Oregon, in the mid-1980s, where the Dublin Pub served Widmer Brothers Brewery's Weizenbier with a slice of lemon, to accentuate the citrus flavor of the Cascade hops.{{cite web

|title=Hefeweizen Facts And Fiction

|url=http://imbibemagazine.com/hazed-and-confused-hefeweizen/

|author=Adem Tepedelen

|date=18 January 2009

|work=Imbibe}}

In northern Bavaria, a grain of rice commonly is added to Kristallweizen, which causes a gentle bubbling effect and results in a longer-lasting foam.{{Cite web|url=http://www.food-from-bavaria.de/en/reg_spez/einzelprodukt.php?an=100&display_lang=en|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071106215730/http://www.food-from-bavaria.de/en/reg_spez/einzelprodukt.php?an=100&display_lang=en|title=Weizenbier or wheat beer|archivedate=6 November 2007}} A common item on pub menus in Bavaria is cola-weizen, which is a mix of cola and {{lang|de|Weizenbier}}.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

Another mixture popular during the summer is a radler variant with a {{ratio|1:1}} mix of {{lang|de|Weißbier}} with lemonade named after cyclists.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

German-style wheat beers feature fermentation by-products such as esters (which lend fruity flavors and aromas), especially isoamyl acetate, reminiscent of bananas, and the phenolic compound guaiacol, a metabolite of ferulic acid, which smells and tastes like cloves. Other phenolics sometimes found in wheat beers evoke medicinal or smoky sensations. The bittering level of most wheat beers is close to 15 international bitterness units, a very low level. Hop flavor and aroma are typically low.

The ester and phenolic aspects are produced by the special type of yeast, rather than the high fraction of wheat in the grain bill.{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}

The carbonation level can range from {{val|5.5|u=g/L}} (about 2.7 volumes; slightly higher than that of most other German beers) to {{val|7|u=g/L}}, or more. This produces a generous stand of foam, especially with the high protein content of wheat malt.

• Beer glassware
• Beer in Belgium
• Beer in Germany
• Rye beer

{{Reflist}}

• German Wheat Beer, Eric Warner, Brewers Publications (1982), {{ISBN|0-937381-34-9}}

{{Commons|Beers_from_Germany|German Beers}}

• [http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style15.php Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) wheat beer style guidelines]

{{Beer Styles}}

{{Wheat}}

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Category:Beer styles

Category:Wheat-based drinks

Category:Culture of Altbayern