Weihenstephaner Pilsner - Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan

Stavage

Australia

2.83/5  rDev -25.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured into a weizen glass, got a pretty nice big creamy white head on top of a pale straw liquid body. Head retention was ok, not much lacing.

Got a grainy straw scent. The spicy saaz hops smell is there, though it didn't hit me that strongly at first. There is a faint sulphuric smell in there which is a tad unpleasant to me.

Grainy malt flavours, a bit of sourness and a spicy sharp bitterness. I'm finding the bitterness dominates, and it is the bitterness of biting into an inedible fruit seed. If the hops character was a little more complex or the malt body a little fuller I probably would have found this far more enjoyable.

Light bodied as expected, carbonation is spot on. The taste is sharp and dry yet something is leaving a slimy film on my palate.

Overall my write up is probably a little harsh after being impressed by other Weihenstephan brews. This isn't a bad German pilsner but their are others which have impressed me far more. I might have enjoyed this more paired with a good steak, or maybe my palate just wasn't in the mood today. I'm willing to give it another go, but I'm not in any rush to do so.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2010 07:25:18 | More by Stavage

dgilks

Australia

3.38/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Looks are pretty much spot on for a pils. Straw coloured, good clarity, big, billowing white head with good retention. Could be slightly clearer.

Classic pils aroma. Pils malt, light but noticeable spicy noble hops and some sulphur. Good though the sulphur is possibly a touch high.

Some light malt sweetness plays with moderate bitterness at first. Some low level flowery hop character comes through as well. It doesn't have the crispness expected of the style and the finish could be slightly drier. This batch may be a touch underattenuated for the style.

Just under medium body with lower than average carbonation. I may have accidentally knocked too much carbonation out with my pour but I was fairly gentle. This is a bit disappointing.

Clean and refreshing, this beer has all the hallmarks of a classic pils in terms of flavour and aroma. Unfortunately, it lacks the crisp dryness that makes a pils great.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2009 05:41:55 | More by dgilks

CrazyDavros

Australia

2.88/5  rDev -24.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Crystal clear pale gold pour, with a small head.
Grainy and biscuity malt aroma, with some off-putting cardboard notes, but with next to no hops.
Exactly the same flavours, with a harsh unpleasant bitterness.
Carbonation too high, too watery.
Not enjoyable, but at least it wasn't the usual euro skunky lager.

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2009 10:53:18 | More by CrazyDavros

ADZA

Australia

4.4/5  rDev +15.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

This beer pours a pale see thru honeyish colour that has decent carbonation that leaves a fast vanishing one finger head with average lacing it has nice aromas of hubba bubba grape bubblegum filled noble,grassy hops a very pleasant aroma and the taste is as beautiful as the aroma it has a thin mouthfeel to be expected for the style that is perfectly balanced out with the crisp fresh tastes of noble hops with a soft bubblegum finish,i really like this beer and plan on making it a known face in my collection,in my eyes a well known breweries hidden jewel.

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2009 12:33:46 | More by ADZA

Orangevango

South Carolina

3.78/5  rDev -1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

A: very pale brilliantly clear golden color with an ample head that sticks around for a bit but eventualy is reduced to a thin white layer of larger bubbles. Carbonation can be seen rising through the beer.

S: More or less a floral and spicy hop aroma, pleasent and unskunked.

T: Sweeter than I expected, A very light hop bitterness. Pleasent, but not captivating by any means.

M: Thin and well carbonated, has a nice tingle on the tongue.

D: Drinkable as hell, I could drink this endlessly without even realizing I was drinking... to be honest, its too drinkable for my tastes, but that is the style's hallmark. Most foods would probably overpower this beer, but It would be interesting to try with some milder flavored things such as a spinach salad or a mild fish with a fresh lemon squeezed on it. A spicy food might also go well with it.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2009 19:29:00 | More by Orangevango

TheSarge

Illinois

4.47/5  rDev +17%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

A less popular beverage produced by this brewery is their pilsner. I didn't imagine they made this style, but it came with my little taster's pack.

Appearance is a good example of the style. A good amount of bright white head, and a golden body with impacible clarity.

Aromas I detect are lemony zest, with a faint grassy character. Also a slight toasty biscuit fragrance is perceptable.

The taste is sharp and to the point. Zero amounts of skunkiness, which plagues some of the more popular German Pilsners. Lemony hops with a vivid malt character.

This brew is very clean and a beautiful example of the style. There is even a slight warming finish, which is odd with only a moderate ABV. This pils deserves your serious attention.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2009 13:59:59 | More by TheSarge

laituegonflable

Australia

2.4/5  rDev -37.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Pours a pale golden with steady carbonation feeding a nice fluffy head. Dissipates slowly to leave a nice sticky lacing film around the edge. Clear and transparent. A good looking pils.

Nose is very nutty with a fair amount of spicy hoppiness - saaz maybe. A bit of unwelcome yeast aroma but it's not overwhelming. Could use a bit more complexity, needs more hops maybe.

Taste is a bit weak and watery, again with a bit of an unwelcome sticky yeast. A few hops on the front palate. The finish is a bit dry and bitter which is good but the main palate is not tasty enough to impress. It's decent drinking but I'd expect more from Weihenstephaner. Could use more bittering hops and aroma hops, really. Just a bit flavourless and the yeast seeps through too much. Mouthfeel is fizzy and overcarbonated.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2009 02:31:22 | More by laituegonflable

Macca

Australia

3.33/5  rDev -12.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

This pours a light golden colour with a good two fingers of head which drops to a minimal covering.

The nose is of grain and grassy notes.

Ok palate, again the grain/ grassy thing.

Medium bodied with a crisp finish.

An ok pils but not as good as I would expect from this lot.

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2008 09:24:20 | More by Macca

dasenebler

Maine

3.8/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This beer is kind of a rare find in Berlin, as Weihenstephaner's wheat beers are much more common. Anyway, I was glad to be able to pick it up.

Poured a golden yelllow, really not any different from your run of the mill pils, save a slightly better head and retention thereof.

Tasted nice, a balance of lightness, bitterness and hops, and breadiness. Slightly more distinctive hop flavor than the average pils. Solid overall. Not as smooth in terms of carbonation as I expected, but whatever. Good.

Serving type: bottle

10-09-2008 22:52:21 | More by dasenebler

thierrynantes

France

3.73/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Beer bottle (33cl.), tasted in 2008.

Appearance : light yellow color, with with foam head (not persistent).
Smell : sweet aroma of malts.
Taste and mouthfeel : bitter and intense hop. The bitterness is balanced by the rich malt.
Drinkability : a good beer in the style German pilsener.

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2008 18:46:01 | More by thierrynantes

koolk

Australia

3.6/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a golden straw with a large fluffy white head that persists well.

Has a well balanced nose of grains, citrus and grassier hop notes. Clean and enjoyable.

Palate has simple flavours of light malt and only a slight aftertaste of green hop bitterness. Not overly strong, but is pleasant and has a very crisp and dry finish.

Well balanced, good body and very refreshing.

Not an overly complex beer by any stretch, but this is a top session beer. At the price and size and availability (in Aus at least) it is well worth a look at.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2008 07:44:29 | More by koolk

wiseguy142

New York

4.3/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Had this at a Biergarten in Lichtefelde West in Berlin. I think this is by far one of the best and most unique German Pils I've had. It's not as skunky and boring as a lot of the German pils.. nothing like Victory Prima Pils etc so it's a little unorthodox. Significantly sweeter, candylike, but still with a clean pilsner taste that makes you keep wanting to drink it.

Serving type: on-tap

06-12-2008 14:15:57 | More by wiseguy142

madvoice

Australia

3.95/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a rather light golden colour. Very clear. Has a very thick creamy head that lasts quite a while and laces the glass all the way down. Smells very citrusy sweet and malty. Has a very crisp taste with light carbonation. The beer has a nice bite to it before it smooths out. Quite enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2008 06:55:15 | More by madvoice

stcules

Italy

3.45/5  rDev -9.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Yellow to greenish. White head, average compactness, with thin bubbles.
Quite decent smell, fresh hop, and a malty background.
A better taste, fresh, clean. Average hopping. Pleasant, drinkable.
Fresh aftertaste, with good hop, herbal, hay-like, and white flowers.
Good pils.

Drink from the tap in Berlin presents the thiny thiny, compact and persistent.
The peculiar characteristic of this beer is the balance and cleaning. Pleasant, elegant and drinkable remarkable way. The votes have been revised accordingly.

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2008 20:05:21 | More by stcules

Cs1987

Australia

4/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance - Light gold, 3 fingers of head which reduced.

Smell - Strong grains.

Taste - The taste is quite strong and pretty much what you'd expect from a German Pilsner. However, although it is hard to describe, I found there was something a little off about the taste.

Mouthfeel - The weaker parts of the flavour seemed to linger in the aftertaste. Carbonation and texture were both very good, though.

Drinkability - A bit harder going than your average pilsner/lager.

Overall - A little disappointing. Not up to the high standard of every other Weihenstephaner beer I have tried.

2009 EDIT: Okay, many reviews I did in 07/08 were inaccurate and contained idiotic statements due to my lack of beer experience at the time, but this is possibly the most inaccurate of them all. I have now decided this is the best German Pilsener I have tried, thanks to its fantastic balance and lack of flaws. The score has been bumped up from 3.45 to 4.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2008 13:04:51 | More by Cs1987

brendan13

Australia

3.28/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A - Poured into a 500ml stein with an inch of white head on top of a fairly light yellow beer. Lots of small carbonation bubbles racing to the top. Some sporadic patchy lacing.
S - Some slightly sweet grain & grassy hop notes.
T - Similar to the smell, the hops are a bit more noticeable in the taste - grassy & herbal.
M - Lighter side of medium bodied, medium to high carbonation. Fairly dry finish.
D - A pretty decent pilsener. Tasty & sessionable.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2007 09:49:23 | More by brendan13

Kulrak

Australia

3.7/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a golden straw color with a decent amount of foamy white head that sticks around for a while, but eventually fades to a thin layer. Smells slightly of noble hops with some floral aroma there as well. The taste is clean, with some slightly malty sweetness there, but there's a lot of noble hop flavor and enough bitterness to finish a little bitter. Mouthfeel is light and creamy, very nice. Overall, it's a very drinkable pilsener, wouldn't hesitate to get it again.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2007 11:39:00 | More by Kulrak

LittleCreature

Australia

3.95/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance - 4.0
Poured 2-3 fingers of thick, foamy white head, which took a long time to reduce to a creamy looking half finger. A very pale straw colour (not unlike many a white wine) with few fine bubbles rising. Leaves a lot of lace.

Smell - 3.5
There was a nasty smell as I opened the bottle, which disappeared almost immediately, leaving very little discernable smell. There is a vague hoppiness and sweetness, and certainly nothing offensive.

Taste - 3.5
Even for a pilsener this is very refreshing. Crisp upfront, with a smooth middle and bitter, dry finish. Tastes of plain crackers, and bitter hops with a little malt sweetness to balance. Highly competent, but nothing mind-blowing.

Mouthfeel - 3.5
Less carbonated than average for a beer of this style, goes down very smoothly and feels quite light in the mouth.

Drinkability - 4.5
Definitely sessionable, especially if you can find it at a good price. If you love your pilseners you will have no trouble drinking this all night.

OVERALL - 3.9
Interesting that I tried this one day after Pilsner Urquell. PU is definitely the more interesting, tastier pils, but I feel that this is better quality and fresher. Price is on the high side, but so is the quality, so value is average. That said, I've heard that many Weihenstephaner beers are cheaper than soft drink in Germany. All I can say is, lucky bloody Germans!

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2007 14:25:15 | More by LittleCreature

joecast

Australia

3.9/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

pours a light golden color with only a slight haze. low carbonation. forms a nice one inch thick white fluffy head. nice start.

aroma would have seen better days, but still good. i wasnt going to review this as its a few months past best before date but it doesnt seem to have deteriorated too far. some floral scent with the malt being much more noticeable than afresh version i would imagine.

thats a nice pilsner. too many dont have that good bitter bite to them. this one does. some hoppiness would have faded, but their presence is still easily detected. light malt sweetness balances things out just enough.

well rounded out mouthfeel and easily drinkable. 500ml goes as quickly as a smaller bottle of some other beers.
thanks to finite for sending this out.

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2006 08:39:31 | More by joecast

vancurly

Australia

4.53/5  rDev +18.6%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I've been looking forward to this, after the joys of the weissen....

Poured into a competitor's (Schneider-Weiss) 500ml glass....

Big white fluffy head, leaving a long lace. Yellow/straw in colour, with some bubbling. Clear.

Hop heaven. That aroma is straight out of my brew pot. Saaz & pale malts. Unbelievable. Don't think I've had a pilsener with that sort of nose. Subtle DMS. After a while in the glass, the hop subsides, and the Munich characters become more evident. After that, some straw-like aromas.

Hops and malt fill the mouth. This beer ain't shy. The flavour balance is excellent. Some subtle candy-ish malt notes, and floral perfumes. I get a very, very late aftertaste of lime.

Bitterness is balanced, and the beer finishes very crisply.

Excellent stuff. Excellent brewery.

Serving type: bottle

10-05-2006 06:17:06 | More by vancurly

DaveFL1976

Florida

4.25/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a suprisingly pale yellow with a thin white head. The beer's crystal clear and quite bubbly in the glass. The head settles down to a thin film in relatively short order.
Smells just like you'd expect a pilsner to smell. Light, crisp floral saaz hops and a sweet malt on the nose. The taste is crisp and clean. Well balanced sweet and bitters make this a very drinkable brew and the thin mouthfeel further add to this thirst-quenching beer. This beer has everything that I expect in a pilsner.
The only drawback is that it's rather boring to look at. No head. No lacing, and a rather common color.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2006 05:59:15 | More by DaveFL1976

jarmby1711

Australia

3.68/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A quite pale beer , with medium amount of bubbling and a fine dense head.
The smellis a balance of amlt and hops , with nothing particularly dominating but seemingly balanced.
The beer is reasonably tart and dry and does have that "characteritic" citrus tang.
It is a dry and cleansing beer , although watery in he mouth.
Certainly a summer beer ,to drink to slake the first , but has enoughquality to savour.

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2005 09:15:03 | More by jarmby1711

wl0307

United Kingdom (England)

3.18/5  rDev -16.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Coming in a 500ml brown bottle, the BB date is 15 JUL 06.
A: served in a weissbier glass, the beer is very pale straw hued, with a spongey white head dissipating slowly; big round bubbles slowly ascend from the bottom of the glass.
S: dryish grassy as well as lemony hop aroma upfront covering a mild grainy note of malts; after serious swirling, a more assertive malty note of lightly toasted bread along with a deeper, Saaz like spicy and grassy hop aroma comes forward, and at the tail a faintly honey-drink kind of honeyish note is absolutely there. Overall the aroma is simplistic, balanced, and quite restrained.
T: slightly grainy, even corn-like, texture of malts upfront, with very dry and refreshingly sour lemony hop presence at the back of the palate, gradually leading to a dryish, slightly grassy and toasty aftertaste of malts and hops; a little bitterness at the back but the finish is rather short but very clean.
M: crisply clean and not too fizzy on the mouthfeel while the maltiness provides very soft texture consistently--just about right for a pilsner or any quality lager; but the texture is slightly overly light for the alc. strength, and so are the overall flavour and aroma, making this beer just too light to be memorable or delicious.
D: this brewery makes brilliant hefe-weizen but this beer is out of that league of brilliance. Despite its decent quality, it's just a standard German lager in need drier characters to mimick northern German lagers, or more aromatic and hoppier presence to compete with its Bohemian counterpart, or a maltier body to immitate the Bavarian Helles, as in itself nothing much stands out. (Or maybe it's just my bias in favour of Czech Pilsner that makes me think so~~)

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2005 20:40:29 | More by wl0307

hefevice

Australia

3.43/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bottle. Sparkling clear pale gold, not much head and what there was didn't stick around (although I am suspicious of my glass). Sweet malty, cookie dough aroma with very subtle flowers from the hops. Taste starts with the sweet malt, then finishes lightly dry and bitter. Not being a big hop head I find it much better balanced in this respect than the few other Pilsner styles tried so far. Light slightly watery mouthfeel. Very crisp and refreshing.

Serving type: bottle

06-02-2005 10:05:08 | More by hefevice

BeerNutta

Australia

4.33/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Had this beer at the Australian Beer Festival.

I was cautious about this beer at first due to the fact that it was a pilsner and I thought Weihenstephaner specialised in Witbiers. (Aparently I was dead wrong. 50% & is Helles and 20% Pils. Thanks to paterlodie for the info) However I was pleasently surprised.

Poured a light amber. Immediately you could smell the a fruity aroma of bananas. The taste was pretty much the same, a fruitty begining, followed by a mellow malt middle, with a slight hop finish. Damn refreshing.

Like all Weihenstephaner's it was lightly carbonated so you could fully appreciate the beer. Definitely a beer I'm going to look out for.

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2005 04:48:55 | More by BeerNutta