WHEAT BEER
A "top-fermented" beer fermented from a mix of wheat malt (usually a minimum 50%) and barley malt, which usually produces a very pale beer with an alcoholic strength
of just over 5% ABV, a sour, fruity-biscuity flavour (distinctive brews often have a spiced-apple character) and a substantial sediment (those prefixed with Hefe labour this point). Unlike most bottle-conditioned ales, the
sediment in a wheat beer is supposed to be poured into the glass to produce the desired cloudy effect. It gives the beer its special fruity roundness and, of course, makes the beer fizzy to one degree or another, which when
poured often throws such a vast, fluffy, voluminous head that it requires the use of a special glass to contain. Most wheat beers are German, but Belgium also has a certain renown, particularly for its rustic Lambic beers.
Producers of this style include Arcen (Arcener Tarwe is a lightly-hopped, cidery Dutch attempt at this style), Ayinger (Br�u Weisse is a frothy-white, tart, spicy beer that has been conditioned with sediment from the previous brew),
De Kluis (the Hoegaarden or Witte Van Hoegaarden is a well-hopped, cloudy yellow-white beer, spiced in the old style with coriander and cura�ao, typically tangy to taste, with a bitter fruit flavour that honeys with age),
Dinkelacker (Weizen Krone and a Hefe called Sanwald, both run-of-the-mill), EKU (run- of-the-mill Weizen), Erdinger (fizzy Hefe with a fluffy head, apple fruitiness on the palate and a spicy, bitter-sweet finish), Gouden
Boom (typically fizzy, quite spicy, with a sour finish, called Blanche de Bruges or Brugs Tarwebier), Haake-Beck (fresh, zesty Bremer Weisse, with a sharp, fruity finish), Hacker-Pschorr (Pschorr-Br�u Weisse has a fluffy-head and
a sour-biscuity flavour with a fine spiced-apple tang), Hofbr�uhaus (an Edel Weizen with lots of sharp-fruity flavour), H�ll (a copper- coloured Ur-Weizen, full of rich, fruity, bottle-aromas), Hofbr�uhaus (Dunkel-Weizen is not a
Dunkel, as such, but a splendid dark wheat beer), Kaltenberg (the crisp, unpasteurised Prinzregent Luitpold Weissbier has a typically tart taste, which is reminiscent of stewed apple on the finish), L�wenbr�u (cidery Hefe),
Maisel (a Weizen Kristall-Klar that is effervescent, predictably crystal-clear and well appreciated by some, plus a tawny-coloured Hefe with a sour-apple taste), Paulaner (the Altbayerische Weissbier undergoes a lengthy
conditioning and is appreciated for its supple fruitiness), Pinkus M�ller (its Alt Weissbier is rich, ripe and well-honed, with a soft, mature, malty flavour, while the Hefe is delicate and spritzy, with an easy, mild finish),
Raaf (a bitter-sweet Witbier that incorporates Pilsener malt, which gives the beer its long, delicate citrus flavour), Rauchenfels (Steinweisen is the wheat beer version of a "stone-beer" - see Rauchbier - which is predictably
sharper to taste and the preferred beer of Rauchenfels healthy cult-following), Schneider (the straight Schneider Weiss is a classic, although the Aventinus even better), Schultheiss (its Berliner Weiss is considered to be
the finest of its type), Spaten (decent but not special basic wheat beer, but a full, spicy-apple flavoured Hefe called Franziskaner), Tucher (lacklustre Weizen and Hefe), VEB (Berliner Kindle Weisse is classic, with a spicy,
stewed apple flavour and sour cream aftertaste, but while its basic Berliner Weisse is good, it does lack a certain concentration) and W�rzburger Hofbr�u (crisp and fruity Hefe). See also Alt Weissbier,
Berliner Weiss, Bi�re Blanche, Dunkel Weizen,
Hefe, Lambic, Weissebier, Weizenbier, Weizenbock and Whitbier (next entry).
WHITBIER (Generic)
Belgium. A white or wheat beer, often comparable to a German Weissebier.
WHITE BEER
Synonymous with pale-coloured wheat beer. See Weissebier.
WICK�LER PILSENER
Wick�ler brewery, Germany. The light aroma and overly clean palate of this beer is typical of the Premium-type Pilsener-style.
WITBIER
Raaf brewery, Holland A bitter-sweet wheat beer that incorporates Pilsener malt and has long, delicate citrus flavour.
WITTE VAN HOEGAARDEN or HOEGAARDEN
De Kluis brewery, Belgium. Hoegaarden was once the most famous wheat beer village in Belgium, with over 30 breweries, but as this style of beer gave way to
modern beers, all the breweries gradually went out of business. De Kluis was a brave revival of an abandoned brewery in 1965, but has required investment from the Stella Artois group to survive. Hoegaarden White is a
well-hopped, cloudy yellow- white wheat beer, considered by some to be the finest of its type. Interestingly it is spiced with coriander and cura�ao, an ancient but seldom practised custom that produces a typically tangy
beer with a bitter fruit flavour that honeys with age.
WORT
The liquid extract that is created from the mash. This sugary liquid is then fermented into beer.
W�RZIG HERB
Hofmark brewery, Germany. See Das Feine Hofmark.
W�RZIG MILD
Hofmark brewery, Germany. See Das Feine Hofmark.
glossary X
X-PERT
Gulpen brewery, Holland. A so-called super-premium style, this Dutch beer has a touch too much colour for a classic Pilsener, but is beautifully bottle-conditioned, which adds a smooth, refined quality
to its nicely hopped palate and finish.
glossary Y
YEAST
One of the four ingredients of beer along with grain, water and hops. Yeast is a single cell organism that converts sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide.
glossary Z
ZWICKELBIER (Generic)
Germany. An unfiltered beer, but one of no great distinction.
ZYMURGY
The science of beer brewing.
back to glossary entry A
