The Bar Towel

Just wanting opinions, from people who like Hefeweizens.

I know that Schneider is more "natural" (i.e. unpasteurized, bottle conditioned) but it strikes me as pretty dark and malty compared to the former, which doesn't strike me as very "summery".

Just wondering your opinions.

JeffPorter wrote:the former, which doesn't strike me as very "summery".

Weihenstephaner Hefeweizen not "summer-y"? Are we drinking the same beer? I'll take Weihenstephaner every day over (almost) any other hefeweizen.

liamt07 wrote:

JeffPorter wrote:the former, which doesn't strike me as very "summery".

Weihenstephaner Hefeweizen not "summer-y"? Are we drinking the same beer? I'll take Weihenstephaner every day over (almost) any other hefeweizen.

Sorry - I was a little vague - Schneider doesn't strike me as "summery" as Weihenstephaner does. But I like the fact that Scheider Weiss is unpastuerized and bottle conditioned, etc...Hence I'm torn between a beer that's more "natural", and a beer that, well, tastes better.

I'd take a Weihenstephaner over Schneider. However last summer I did drink quite a bit of Schofferhofer's Hefe.

Another vote for Weihenstephaner, though I'm a sucker for a fresh Hopfen Weisse.

Prefer the Weihenstephaner too.

I'm a bit of a sucker for Hefeweizens, what can I say I've spent a lot of time in Germany.

My favorites are Paulaner, Erdinger, Weihenstephan. In that order and assuming on tap, because I don't generally drink the style from bottles. I know this makes me a heathen to some, but that's just the way it goes.

Well, it's settled what I'm drinking this week, then! Cheers and thanks.

Hefe's are one of my favourites, but everyone's taste is a bit different.

I prefer a little more banana than clove from the yeast, and I really like Weihenstephan's yeast. Fresh at the brewery cafe, it was phenomenal. When it first came to Ontario I immediately went and bought a case. I thought it was alright, but not as great as I remembered (pasteurized as you mention). Even so, Bobsy did blind tasting and I picked it as the best (and I didn't think it was the Weihenstephan).

The Southern Bavarian brews tend to seem a bit maltier.

Last year I brewed my own and thought it was closest to the fresh brewery flavour. Hopefully mine will be just as good again this year. ;D

By the way, the 'student brewery' gets some flack, but I think their Hefe and Korbinian are among the best. But then everyone's taste differs.

I like Weihenstephaner, but Hopfen Weisse is damn fine too.

phirleh wrote:
I like Weihenstephaner, but Hopfen Weisse is damn fine too.

is that a pic of the restaurant on Guelph line between Brittania and Dundas?

i drove past that place so many times, saw the sign and started to salivate. never went in though, i drove by yesterday and i think it's changed hands. no more sign:(

My wife spent a semester doing research in Germany and became quite an aficionado of hefeweizen, actually introducing me to that style of beer back in 2002. She swears up and down that a fresh Schneider destroys all other hefe's. I think I prefer the Weihenstephaner, but a good King Hefe beats them all, IMO.

My wife, myself and a few others did a blind tasting about 4-5 years ago with Schneider, Weihenstephan, Pauliner, Erdinger, Hacker-Pschorr and Wunderweiss. If I recall correctly, I think Schneider won but was closely followed by Wunderweiss! I think I may have actually posted the results on bar-towel, but I'm too damn lazy to go through old posts. The tasting pre-dated Muskoka's Weiss, I believe.

I liked the Wunderweisse... it was actually the first hefe I had fresh on-tap. Denison's seemed to take over Toronto though... and it's also quite good. I found that Denison's varied quite a bit thought, which isn't surprising as it's been brewed at a few different places. There were a couple of times that it was a real banana bomb, and I loved it!

Some people see Franziskaner as practically industrial swill, but I actually like it's flavour profile as well (again, I'm not big on the clove flavour in a hefe).

I think the Schneider is a Bernsteinfarbenes (amber) Weizen, and I really like it as well, but yeah, I'll reach for something lighter in the summer heat.

bufordsbest wrote:

phirleh wrote:
I like Weihenstephaner, but Hopfen Weisse is damn fine too.

is that a pic of the restaurant on Guelph line between Brittania and Dundas?

i drove past that place so many times, saw the sign and started to salivate. never went in though, i drove by yesterday and i think it's changed hands. no more sign:(

Yes it is, at Mt. Nemo, I drove by the other day and it is a new restaurant and the sign is gone. It was a German restaurant before.

Agree about some definite banana flavors Derek and the Korbinian being scary good Doppel.

Denisons just re-jigged their beer to have a smoother profile with more banana and clove, less of the sometimes strong lemony tang - the two pints I had yesterday at Ceili Cottage were absolutely great tasty summer beer (don't rip on it for not having a ton of body, it shouldn't have to.)

Also for bottled 'ordinary' Hefe I really like Franziskaner by a mile. Aventinus is a hell of a nice weizenbock though. I mean to re-try Denisons in the 400ml cans, and the Schneider Hefe.