Other Bavarian wheat beers in 2014

I’m not quite done with Bavarian wheat beers. Because there are still a couple of types I haven’t covered yet. And if nothing else, I’m a completist.

The first is a fairly recent development, Leicht Hefeweizen. Over the last decade or two lower-gravity versions of a few styles have appeared. And Weizen is no exception.

For the most, these are beers that would have been legal in the days when there was hole between 9º and 11º Plato. All but one of the beers fits into the old Schankbier category, which had a maximum OG of 8º Plato. At one time, pretty much all the Schankbier brewed was in the form of Berliner Weisse.

The one exception is the Göller beer, which at 9.5º is smack in the middle of the old forbidden zone.

Interestingly, the average rate of attenuation is a bit less than for the full-strength versions. I would have guessed the opposite.

Bavarian Leicht Hefeweizen in 2014
Brewer	Town	Beer	OG Plato	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation
Göller	Zeil am Main	Leichte Weisse	9.5	1037.8	1009.3	3.70	75.39%
Püls-bräu	Stadtsteinach	Weismainer Leichte Weisse	7.8	1030.8	1008.4	2.90	72.75%
Paulaner	Munich	Hefe-Weißbier Leicht	7.7	1030.4	1005.8	3.20	80.93%
Hacker-Pschorr	Munich	Leichte Weisse	7.7	1030.4	1005.8	3.20	80.93%
Kitzmann-Bräu	Erlangen	leichtes Weißbier	7.7	1030.4	1008	2.90	73.70%
Privatbrauerei Kesselring	Marktsteft	Steffen Leicht	7.6	1030.0	1007.6	2.90	74.67%
Pyraser Landbrauerei	Thalmässing	Federleichte Weiße	7.2	1028.4	1006.8	2.80	76.04%
Brauerei Hermann Sigwart	Weißenburg	Leichte Weiße	6.8	1026.8	1005.2	2.80	80.57%
	Average		7.8	1030.6	1007.1	3.05	76.87%
Sources:
The relevant brewery websites

The final type of Weissbier is a much older one. And rather under threat. Once this was the most popular type of Bavarian Weissbier, but fashion has turned against it and the version with yeast rules.

I can’t say that I’ve ever been a big fan. I prefer the ramped up spiciness of Hefeweizen. Kristall Weizen has always struck me as rather bland.

Here are the numbers:

Bavarian Kristall Weizen in 2014
Brewer	Town	Beer	OG Plato	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation
Paulaner	Munich	Weißbier Kristallklar	11.8	1047.4	1007.5	5.20	84.17%
Weihenstephan	Freising	Kristall Weisbier	12.7	1051.2	1009.7	5.40	81.04%
Privatbrauerei Kesselring	Marktsteft	Kristall Weizen	12	1048.2	1007.6	5.30	84.24%
Distelhäuser	Tauberbischofsheim	Kristall Weizen	12.5	1050.3	1008.9	5.40	82.31%
Kulmbacher	Kulmbach	Kristall Weisbier	12.7	1051.2	1009.7	5.40	81.04%
	Average		12.3	1049.6	1008.7	5.34	82.56%
Sources:
The relevant brewery websites

It’s a small sample, but there does appear to be a significant difference with the yeast versions: the rate of attenuation. It’s three points higher. My guess would be it’s because it’s conditioned at the brewery for longer.