Weltenburger Hefe-Weissbier Hell - Klosterbrauerei Weltenburg

JohnGalt1

Idaho

3.88/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

500 ml picked up today at Tres Bonne Cuisine for about $4... poured into my smaller weizen glass.

3 finger rocky head.. brew is expected hazy gold/lite orange.

Aroma is soft bready grains and some clove and banana... not much else...

Flavor is much better than the aroma.. nice punch of banana with lesser cloves... a little sour note mid-late palate all tied together by smooth slightly sweet bready malts.

Creamy medium lite body with prickly carbonation.

3.5/3.5/4/4/4

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2008 08:07:53 | More by JohnGalt1

orangemoustache

Illinois

3.9/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a hazy,brilliant gold with a big fat pillowy head of white fluff some small patchy lace slides away to almost nothing,overall a very inviting appearence. The nose is slghtly sweet full of banana and pineapple,a good amount of yeasty aromas. Nice and fresh tasting,with pale malts and some subtle banana and yeasty sourness that I can appreciate. Slightly grainy and earthy,nice bitter hoppy tail. The body is a light to medium,with light carbonation and a lasting dryness on the tounge. This is a delicious Hefe that should be appreciated.

Serving type: bottle

09-05-2008 04:13:53 | More by orangemoustache

Nowhereman529

Florida

3.6/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

This is a pretty decent looking hefe. It pours a hazy, darkish yellow with quite a bit of fluffy head to it that dissipates pretty slowly.

Smell is what a hefe should smell like: bananas, cloves, a little wheaty-maltiness.

Taste is a little bit of a disappointment. It still has that banana and clove going on with a little wheat, but it seems fairly simple. It's not a very memorable flavor, just sort of blends in with all the other hefes out there.

Mouthfeel is pretty lacking as well. It's a little thin and carbonation is pretty light despite all the initial head.

Overall a fairly average example of the style. I would drink it again, but probably not seek it out.

Serving type: bottle

08-28-2008 00:48:39 | More by Nowhereman529

ibashmuck

Wisconsin

3.7/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Purchased as part of "build-your-own-six-pack" at local grocer. Poured a huge foamy head on a cloudy light yellow body. Smelled of a typical wheat, with just a hint of banana, and clove. Sadly, there was skunky, spoiled smell that really came through. Maybe an older bottle? Hope so. Taste was nice, again banana and cloves, but no sign of that spoilage. Smooth despite a pretty high carbonation. Even with that skunkiness, it's still a good beer. Probably try another.

Serving type: bottle

08-24-2008 04:40:31 | More by ibashmuck

csbosox

Kansas

3.38/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Large format bottle. Color is straw with a light white head. Steady carbonation. Aroma is light and filled with faint bubblegum, lightly spicy cloves and allspice? as well as light fruit , cereal, and lemon. Mouthfeel is chewy and full. Taste is malty & wheaty with some tart lemon, vanilla, and pear. The malt comes through, but the yeast is pretty quiet in this beer. It seems a little too sweet to be a session, but it is pretty tasty. Would love to have fresh. 6/4/6/3/14.

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2008 06:04:10 | More by csbosox

Deuane

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A-Hazy yellow-orange with a thick, fluffy white head that reduced and left some lacing. A very lovely beer to look at...the color and head offset each other nicely.

S-Bready malt with light banana and a little sweetness. Nothing overwhelming like some hefe's.

T-A bit subduded. Rather light on the clove/banana taste. Mostly dominated by the biscuity malt. A small amount of hop bitterness and a citrus twang in the end.

M-Light body, very refreshing on the palate...nothing crazy. Would be great on a hot summer's day.

D-Tasty and refreshing, I would love this in the summer. Remember this is a Hefe-Weizen Hell, the word hell in German means light/clear....so this is a "light" hefe version....so one cannot expect a traditional "full" hefe taste profile. Taken for what it is this is a very nice and refreshing brew.

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2008 21:16:14 | More by Deuane

AlexLMS

Portugal

3.25/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: hazy with a pale light orange colour. No floating yeast. The head is huge, white and frothy. Very good retention but almost no lacing.
Aroma: fruity nose with citrus notes, yeast and sweet wheat malts. Light on the banana side.
Taste: cloves, yeast, wheat and fruits (citrus).
Mouthfeel: smooth, medium to high carbonation, average alcoholic strength (5.4% ABV) and light body.
Finish: not very long slightly bitter aftertaste.

Overall: nice wheat beer but not great. Very refreshing but could use more body. I missed a stronger banana presence.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2008 13:49:33 | More by AlexLMS

CharlesRiver

Connecticut

4/5  rDev +9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Big, brown German style bottle, capped. Pours out a hay-brown with a smaller size white head. Smell is light but Hefe like. Malt and some citrus smells come through. Not much carbonation but enough to maintain the head.

Taste is well, exactly what I thought, and I mean that in a good way. Banana, citrus, malt and some grass notes come through. I also pick up something bread-like as well. Light in body but not in taste.

A little sweeter than I like. My personal preference is a drier style ending. Again, I nit pick. I feel this is well made and very easy drinking. Do pick this up and enjoy this summer.

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2007 21:23:54 | More by CharlesRiver

Hautacam

Connecticut

3.43/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Hazy amber with a huge head that settles to about 1/2 " in a weizen glass.
Smells of dough and banana with a faint hint of hops.
Taste is sweet bready malt..banana and clove...some lemon and a bit more hops than I've tasted in most other hefes.Clean mild clovey finish and a bit of bitterness in the aftertaste.
Mouthfeel is medium and carbonation is high.
A pretty decent hefe. Refreshing for sure.

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2007 00:00:37 | More by Hautacam

Vancer

Illinois

3.18/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A surprising brew, not much going on here, a plain jane in most aspects. The pour and aroma were first clues; hazy amber yellow, just a minumul white head. Very subtle hints of malty banana.

Very basic hefe, you have to concentrate to taste the banana and clove. Average city, I’d stick with the much better, and cheaper American versions.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2007 13:07:18 | More by Vancer

Braudog

Virginia

4.13/5  rDev +12.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From a 1/2L bottle; poured with an immense, airy, boiling head of white foam. Hazy light orange and lightly carbonated. Solid banana yeast aroma, like a hefeweizen scratch-n-sniff. The first swallow is equally fruity, tart and tingly, heavily laced with a banana flavor, but also a swirl of pineapple, and fruit salad syrupiness. Textbook hefeweizen. (#2759, 3/27/07)

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2007 22:24:46 | More by Braudog

WMBierguy

Maryland

3.6/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a hazy amber-gold, with the usual thick, white head for which Hefeweizens are known. The flavor is typically for a regular Hefeweizen: malty, but not overly so, without any hint of hops. This is a very representative example of the style, and one that I (as a Hefeweizen fan) whole-heartedly recommend.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2007 20:35:04 | More by WMBierguy

pgenius

Massachusetts

3.65/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Poured a hazy yellow color with a thick white head

S - Nice malt aroma, a little sweetness to the scent

T - Tastes a little like a Saison with less body. Sweet, mildly bitter, lots a wheat flavor and malt

M - Light body with a slight bitter mouthfeel

D - Really tasty and refreshing, I would have another one

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2007 23:25:21 | More by pgenius

theopholis

California

3.73/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 3 | smell: 5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Note- This bottle had the word "Kloster" between the brand name and the style name. I am assuming it is just a lable change.

Appearance- Pours a pale yellow with hints of pumkin. Just a tad bit of cloudiness; I'd suspect chill haze if this weren't a wheat. The head is quite impressive, and has some staying power, but very little lace.

Aroma- Lots of malt and wheat sweetness. Yum. Also some barely discernable aroma of ripe banana. That is until you give it a good shake. Then the banana really comes to the front. Hardly any clove, but incredibly enticing. I can hardly wait to taste it.

Taste- Very interesting. Typical wheat-beer with some banana. Very easy drinking. Looks like most of the sediment stayed on the bottom, which is my loss. Should have stirred it up some. Oddly, as it warms, it you start getting caramel notes. Also start to get that dry pucker that so many European wheats get.

Mouthfeel- Pretty much what you would expect for a wheat. Medium body, maybe a tad under-carbonated, and get that dry-mouth pucker as it warms.

Drinakbility- Well worth trying. Not as refreshing as American versions, but a nice drinking experiance.

Serving type: bottle

02-15-2007 04:29:11 | More by theopholis

Jwaks

Connecticut

3.03/5  rDev -17.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Sering bottle

Pours a pale, light lemon yellow with a chill haze and a healthy fine head. A good dose of carbonation races up to meet a quickly dissapating head that leaves just a thin ringed covering of foam.

Muted aromas of ripe banana and lemon zest garner the most attention on the nose with spicy cloves, zesty wheat and bitter yeast playing in the background.

Easy on the entry offering light banana that give way to a bit of spice and lemon on the mid palate to a reserved tangy wheat finish offering a touch of yeast bitternes. Sour lemon lingers on the palate suggesting a neat and clean finish. This brew offers decent refreshing flavors though they aren't very bold, it doesn't make a statement nor stand out with in it's style, it lacks definition and proper body.

A light slick body and short finish give this brew a good mouthfeel, that paired with a note of sour lemon on the finish allow this beer to go down with ease.

Perhaps this is a light take on a hefeweizen, it definitely goes down like a light beer, but it could benefit from a bigger bolder body and better concentration.

Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2007 23:29:19 | More by Jwaks

HappyHourHero

Indiana

4.18/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Doughy banana aroma with a bit of spicy clove. Poured a huge creamy white head that held like a champ and left big swaths of lace. Unfortunately I wasn't expecting it and had to wait a few minutes to pour the rest of the beer. Hazy, pale wheat colored beer. The wheat base is evident in the flavor along with some cotton candy and a pinch of banana. Finishes mellow with a bit of lingering yeasty banana. Cotton candy adds a nice touch that makes this one stand out a little. Soft, light mouthfeel. A nice Hefe Weizen. I really like beers of this style, and this one is quite good.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2006 21:35:18 | More by HappyHourHero

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

3.9/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a glowing Kool-Aid orange in colour. Great froathy 2 finger head. Slightly hazy complexion. Aroma packs a strong wheat punch. A lot of crisp wheat comes through on the flavour as well, relies on little else. Texture is slightly flat, a little under carbonated maybe. Good fruity notes but could use more. Overall, not outstanding but defintely little to complain about. A good beer, among top hefe percentile in my books.

Serving type: bottle

09-16-2006 16:17:46 | More by biegaman

falloutsnow

Illinois

3.03/5  rDev -17.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Pours a bleach-white head that is several centimeters tall and composed of dense bubbles, somewhat resembling wet cotton. The head collapses rather quickly for a wheat beer, at least compared to others I've had, but a half-centimeter foam remains atop the beer for the entire session. Good lacing is left on the sides of the glass, elegantly framing the dark, golden yellow brew (when held up to a light source, the beer reveals its primary orange and yellow tints).
Aroma is rather lackluster: a bit of orange fruitiness, coriander and some alcohol, but no banana, yeast, wheat, or malt scents as I would expect from the the style. Taste follows the scent, some moderate tart fruitiness (and I detect some coconut, oddly) of orange or lemon upfront with wheat and malt following thereafter, but no detectable banana or clove. Aftertaste is tart and sweet, a bit candy-like, but not cloying. This is an interesting interpretation of a wheat beer, but not a version that I'd say is terribly successful.
In the mouth, the beer is medium-bodied on the palate, foamy and creamy from the moderate level of carbonation. It finishes dry, rounding out a very satisfying mouthfeel.
A relatively generic hefeweizen: good appearance and mouthfeel, but lacking in aroma and flavor, leading to an ambivalent stance. While this beer can be drunk easily, there are other offerings that have all aspects in order.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2006 04:25:27 | More by falloutsnow

EvilKeith

Alabama

3.63/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a cloudy hazy dark orange color with two fingers of impressive dense off-white head. sheets of lace hang in the glass.

Smell is a citrusy orange, bubblegum with a faint whiff of cloves.

Taste is much as the smell with the addition of lemon zest.

Medium bodied. Cliche though it is, I found it to be crisp and refreshing. Finishes clean.

Very drinkable. It would be easy to drink these year round.

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2006 22:53:19 | More by EvilKeith

davidchollar

Washington

3.93/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 5

unfortunately for weltenburgerr hefe-weissbier hell, the past few hefes i've had have been at the top of the list for best in the world in their category. having said that, i must point out that my everyday beer is a japanese rice lager, and that any sort of ale routinely rocks my world.

looks foggy and fizzy. cloudy dark golden with a great thick, white head. smells a lot like every other hefeweizen i've sniffed, but definitely less fruity than the rest. a more subtle fragrance of bananas and clove, a little more generic.

tastes good, quite simply hefeweizen. not really complex, but definitely tasty. light and bubbly, nothing special for mouthfeel. an automatic 5 for drinkability because at 5.1% i could drink this all night.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2006 15:39:07 | More by davidchollar

Troyone

California

3.73/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Although the label is different this appears to be the correct beer. This label states Weltenbuger Kloster Hefe Weizen Hell, where as the pic here appears to be a different label without the word Kloster (apparently part of the companies name).

Pours a slightly hazy wheat color with a white head that sticks around and some carb action.

Has a grainy wheat malt smell with a little sourness.

Lightly sweet/bitter, grainy, and wheat malt taste. The hops are well blended with a hint of banana.

Light bodied, slightly syrupy texture, and has a slight sourness/astringent finish.

A very drinkable hefe weizen, probably good on tap or at the brewery, however seems to be old or not fresh/crisp.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2006 11:29:23 | More by Troyone

SilentSabre

Georgia

4.43/5  rDev +20.7%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This was indeed a great Hefe. It poured the standard cloudy pale orange of most any other Hefe. It did not, however, have any yeast bits or anything else floating in it as I had expected. There was nearly no head at all and only a meager ring of lace around the outer edge. The smell of this brew was fantastic! Loads and loads of fruit and spice with a slight musty lambic like scent hiding in the back. The taste, too, seemed a distant relative of lambic with a slight tartness and slight sour fruit finish. The mouthfeel was very smooth as the carbonation was almost non-existent with this one.
This is with out a doubt, one of the best Hefeweizens I have had in ages. Absolutely do try this if you're a fan of the style.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2006 00:29:45 | More by SilentSabre

ybnorml

Rhode Island

3.85/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A clean yellow/amber beer. Has a big bubbly white head. The aroma is light with hints of yeast, grain and clove.There is a bit of sweetness and spice that reminds me of Belgian style beers. The flavor is a bit lighter than most of the Hefe Weizen's. I think this is because it is a filtered beer and most of the german wheat beers I have had were unfiltered. All of the bannana and clove note are there, just a bit subdude. The mouthfeel is not a thick, again as the others. But it is clean and refeshing. This is a good summer beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2005 02:23:41 | More by ybnorml

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

3.88/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Fuzzy, orange-banana with very little visible yeast (yet). The bone white head is large, soft, fine-bubbled and perseveres acceptably well. Unfortunately, there's very little lace, as could have been predicted by the featureless surface and the unsticky nature of the foam.

Although the nose is weak, what's there is pretty nice. The principal elements of the aroma are light clove, watery banana and minerals. As I continue to dip my nose into the glass, the minerals seem to be fading and the fruitiness is taking its place. Not a 'best in class', or even close to it, but enjoyable nonetheless.

HWH is better on the palate, thanks in large part to the now prominent sweet and sour banana flavor. I like a lot of banana in my hefes and this one delivers the monkey fruit. Clove plays second fiddle, contributing just enough spiciness to add character and to keep things balanced. I like the fact that the wheaty base isn't overshadowed by the more flashy flavors.

The flavor is a wonderful combination of sweet, sour and bitter. Each is present in roughly equal measure, allowing one to appreciate them on an individual basis with a little 'taste bud focus'. The mouthfeel is lightly smooth with a perfect degree of carbonation, making the beer a cinch to drink.

Weltenburger Kloster Hefe-Weizen Hell is a solid German hefe weizen. It won't replace some of my favorites, but I was surprised by how good this beer was once I got a chance to wrap my palate around it. I'm beginning to realize that this style is all about the yeast. To that end, the lightly sweet bananarific flavor present in this bottle is right up my hefe alley. Good stuff.

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2005 14:57:04 | More by BuckeyeNation

jonnylieberman

California

3.45/5  rDev -6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: nice big euro-bottle claiming the brewery is a million years old, etc. Beer pours hazy but not cloudy into my tulip. Overflowed like crazy (typical of Bavarian Hefes, which tend to be highly or over-carbonated) and then quickly fell down to about two fingers before re-crashing to almost nothing. Almost no lacing whatsoever.

Smell: The bananas are there, but... they aren't dominant. Also, much breadiness comes through. Slight acetyldehyde.

Taste: Sharp and crisp. Like an apple. No real cloviness that should be present. High CO2 level gets in the way of front of the tongue evaluation. Nice, sweet finish.

Mouthfeel is full, but a tad watery.

Overall: This is a fine quaffing warmer weather beer, but it does not hold up to the giants of the style (see to the right). Nothing jumps out and says "Wow!" or even "Hey..." Not much intrigue.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2005 02:56:00 | More by jonnylieberman