Hefeweizen dilemma

¿Question?

Hi all, I was stationed in Germany for a couple years and hefeweizens over there just completely ruined all other beer for me. I've been back stateside for a few years now and there is a hefeweizen that I used to drink out there that I just can't quite remember what it was called. It's very possible I may have never even known the name of it while out there as I always got it from the same small mom and pop shop out there. It was an extremely clovey/banana forward hefeweizen. I can say with absolute certainty that it was not any of the major brands that I can find in TX. These include: Weihenstephaner, Paulaner, Erdinger, Franziskaner, it definitely wasn't an American knock off over there.

The only other major brand I can think of would be Ayinger but I've never seen that in TX.

At this point I'm thinking it was some local brew or something but maybe y'all can help me out. Any suggestions?

in beerby Alarmed-Gas-6527

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Schneider is for me the best of the bigger brands. It is more clove forward than banana though. Other brands maybe spaten, hacker-pschorr, konig, tucher, andechs,

German beer can be quite local too, so if you can search for breweries somewhere by the city/region you were stationed at you may find it. Getting some might be more of an issue of course

Alarmed-Gas-6527

OP

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I'll give those a look and see if I can get any of them, thanks!

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At this point I'm thinking it was some local brew

The vast majority of beer sold in Germany is local, so yes, this is a logical conclusion. If you want us to guess, it wouldn't hurt to tell us where you were stationed. Was it Grafenwöhr?

Alarmed-Gas-6527

OP

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Yeah I was in Grafenwöhr. I thought I added that, my bad.

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Maisel maybe which is brewed not far from grafenwohr. Went to the brewery for dinner when I was at the area for an exercise

WanderingRedbird54

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I see that Tucher from Nürnberg area and Kapuziner seem to both be available in Grafeneöhr from tap. Is it one of those two?

Alarmed-Gas-6527

OP

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I remember those names. I'm unsure if it was one of those, but it very well could be. Where are you finding what the area has on tap?

WanderingRedbird54

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I'm looking on Untappd and checking the venues around town to see which beer people have had. I'm also seeing Maisel's on tap.

Alarmed-Gas-6527

OP

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I forgot all about Untappd. Thanks for reminding me

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Tbh if you're looking for a vacation idea, revisiting Germany and making the pilgrimage to find your long lost beer seems like a cool idea.

Just don't forget that you've been putting it on a pedestal and it might not be as good as you remember ;)

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Jacob, Plank, Nittenauer....?

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Do you have any recollection of what the bottle looked like, or was it always draft?

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My two favorites are Hacker Pschorr and Schneider Weisse. Both you can find in the US if you look hard enough.

Alarmed-Gas-6527

OP

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I've heard good things about the Schneider Weisse. I'll have to keep looking for it.

Alarmed-Gas-6527

OP

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Always draft unfortunately

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That is why I learned to brew. Took me two years before I got a hefe I was happy with.

Alarmed-Gas-6527

OP

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I've been strongly considering going this route. Can you point me in the direction to learn more?

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Hefe is a beer that’s pretty easy to make, tastes best as fresh as possible, and doesn’t have a lot of ingredients, Pilsner malt, wheat, maybe some melanoinin malt to give it a darker color, perle or hallertau hops, wyeast 3068 (tons of banana), and short ferment, usually I can keg in less than a week. According to some, it’s not to style since I love the banana, but it is low abv and super tasty

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local Texas: Live Oak Hefe is pretty solid. unlikely you had it overseas tho

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Altstadt brewery also makes some killer German inspired beers, there hefe is great

Alarmed-Gas-6527

OP

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I was super excited to try Live Oak and was somewhat disappointed since it was so hyped up. It's much better than any other American hefe I've had but doesn't quite top a true hefeweizen.

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I feel you. I think American brewers are notoriously bad at making Hefeweizen. It’s never quite right.

Unfortunately they don’t distro down in TX, but I think Troegs Dream Weaver is the most solid American made Hefe that I’ve tried.

Alarmed-Gas-6527

OP

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It's all about the yeast from my understanding.

The Live Oak brewer that came up with their Hefeweizen is supposedly Bavarian so I had higher hopes for it.

I haven't heard of Troegs Dream Weaver. I'll have to look into it, thanks!

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It’s not all about yeast. We have access to the same yeast German’s have used forever. It’s mostly about technique, which most American breweries aren’t designed for.

Open fermentation, top cropping, spunding, bottle/keg conditioning. They’re all crucial for top tier Hefeweizen and very few breweries are capable of all these. Mine included.

As you said, Ayinger is my favorite imported hef. It’s readily available here in Chicago, but maybe not in TX. Live Oak is good, but I agree it still doesn’t quite live up. My favorite American hef is Fat Head’s Goggle Fogger. They’ve put a lot of time and money into doing all the things I listed above. Not available in TX, but maybe you have an Ohio friend that can hook you up.

Alarmed-Gas-6527

OP

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I'll have to give that Goggle Fogger a look. Thanks for the recommendation. As for the brewing process for a top tier hefe, can you point me in the direction to learn more? I've been strongly considering brewing my own. I've already been searching for years now, what's another few years to master my own hefe?

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A lot of the things I mentioned are hard to do well on a home brewing scale. This article touches on most of the basics. I recommend the 110-113F ferulic rest that they mention.

If you want to dive deeper, Brewing with Wheat by Stan Hieronymous is pretty good. I’ve only flipped through it quickly. Most of my knowledge is through professional training and experience, unfortunately.

Alarmed-Gas-6527

OP

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Awesome, thanks for the resources and help!

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Could it have been Hacker-Pschorr Weissbier? I remember that one to be especially intense on the banana even compared to the other big German examples.

Alarmed-Gas-6527

OP

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Possibly, I'll have to see if I can get some in TX. Thanks for the help

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Oberdorfer was one of my favorites when I was visiting Germany. Had a little pop top bottle like Grolsch.

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Fredericksburg has several German style breweries (Alstad, Altdorf, etc) that make their own German beers, including Hefeweizen, and/or sell the great German varieties such as Franzekaner, Weihenstephaner, etc. And the town comes with all sorts of German food. You may find some you like there, I know I did.

Alarmed-Gas-6527

OP

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I knew Fredericksburg had a heavy German population but I never thought to head there for some beer. I'll definitely be making the drive soon. Thanks!

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It also depends where you were. Tucher and Kitsmann were popular around Nuremburg. Also look for Kapuziner. Best American Hefe I had was Sierra Nevada's Kellerweis which I don't think they make anymore

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That's tragic, SN Kellerweis was my favorite widely available American Hefe

Edit: is still on the website so I assume they still make it? https://sierranevada.com/brews/kellerweis

oriental_lasanya

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Agreed. It’s been over a decade since I’ve seen it. I currently live in North Carolina, where SN has a brewery, and their website doesn’t show it as available within a 100 miles of me. My understanding is that kellerweiss was a brewery exclusive after they stopped mass distribution, but I’m not sure if its current status. Brooklyn Brewery also had a great Hefeweizen about a decade ago that seems to have suffered a similar fate.

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Really no telling. Lots of small local breweries in Germany. Franzikaner is probably my favorite Weiss from the major breweries there.

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Erdinger or Weihenstephaner perhaps. Those are two of the best imo, and you can get both in Texas.

Alarmed-Gas-6527

OP

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Nah it wasn't either of them. Thanks though!

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Blue Stallion in KY makes a hefe as close to what I tasted in Germany as I've had. I don't have any idea how widely distributed it is, pretty available around KY

Alarmed-Gas-6527

OP

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I'll give it a look. Thanks for the recommendation

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Tucher, Benediktiner, or Andech maybe?

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My favorite German hefeweizen is Gutman! I like both the regular and the dunkel. Sadly, I've never been able to find it here in the states... But maybe you can if you're in a different area? I have family that live near Ansbach, so maybe it's local to that area, but I have no idea if that's accurate or not. Good luck, hope you find what your looking for a something equally as good!

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Hofbrau maybe?

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Spec’s typically sells Ayinger and many other German import beers. I have also seen them at Central Market if you have one nearby.

flying-broccoli

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Brauerei Michael Plank from Laaber should be available in Texas & they are some of the best in the Hefeweizen game!

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Don’t have a German brand beyond the list you gave, but if you can get Allagash White I’ve found it’s one of the best American wheat beers that match the clove forwardness of the Germans.

No-Chocolate9878

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Live oak hef is the best in the world, westbound and downs don’t hassle the hef is amazing but Prost brewing in Colorado is currently making better weissebier than anything in Germany right now.

Alarmed-Gas-6527

OP

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Live Oak definitely isn't the best hefeweizen in the world. I suppose that's subject to personal preference but I've never met anyone that's claimed that before. I was a bit disappointed with Live Oak when I gave it a try as it was hyped up so much and ultimately didn't live up to most of the German ones I had over there. Don't get me wrong Live Oak is better than any other American hefeweizen I've tried so far, but the best in the world is quite a stretch. Again, I suppose it comes down to personal preference and whether or not you've had hefeweizen on tap in Germany, because that shit is life changing.

I haven't tried any of Prost's line up yet, I'll give them a look, thanks!

WanderingRedbird54

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Prost is great, about on par with what Germany is doing imo.

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it's like people never heard of Widmer

Alarmed-Gas-6527

OP

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Widmer's hef is a horrible take on a hefeweizen. Does the style no justice. I was stoked to try it when I first went to the pnw a few years ago because it's one of the ones that kicked the scene off in the US and I was majorly disappointed in it. Among the worst hefeweizens I've had.

Edit: my post also clearly states that I'm looking for a German hefeweizen that I had while in Germany. They do not serve American hefeweizens over there lol

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i am a proud american who loves our beers but the best american beer is 10% as good as the most mediocre german beer

No-Resolution-6414

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You sound like a maga nationalist that's never even drank a beer.

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while i don't support anheuser busch due to their support of spuds mackenzie, i do like many american microbrews like shock top as well as more mainstream beers like michelob ultra

No-Resolution-6414

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Lol, shock top is macro owned by AB. Good for you if you like it, but it's a poor rendition of a witbier.