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Weihenstephaner Original Premium
Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan
- From:
- Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan
- Germany
- Style:
- Helles
Ranked #11 - ABV:
- 5.1%
- Score:
- 91
Ranked #6,490 - Avg:
- 4.09 | pDev: 11.98%
- Reviews:
- 1,038
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Sunday at 12:25 AM
- Added:
- Dec 30, 2000
- Wants:
- 221
- Gots:
- 506
A good beer takes its time. The long storage makes our yellow bright lager, “Original”, a flavourful beer enjoyed with fine poured, white foam. With a mild hoppy note and its pleasant fresh spicy taste, it goes very well with salads, poultry, stews or with a hearty snack. Brewed according to our centuries-old brewing tradition on the Weihenstephan hill.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by BeerAdvocate:
Reviewed by BeerAdvocate from Finland
4.5/5 rDev +10%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.5/5 rDev +10%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Review from BeerAdvocate magazine Issue #26:
Very pale golden yellow with a stunning clarity; sizable, spritzy head holds together well. Smells of freshly cut grass, pale honey, doughy biscuit, faint grape skin, and it's a little peppery from the hops. Impeccably smooth with a very delicate, light to medium body. Clean maltiness throughout, not all the way dry as some sweetness sneaks in at first sip. Bitterness is clean with a peppery bite and herbal backing. The graininess is just enough to pique the palate's interest, yet doesn't cloud drinkability. Finishes dry with a very clean aftertaste of pale malt and grassy hops.
What a lovely yet delicate lager, an underrated as well as overlooked beer, as the spotlight usually shines on its wheat beer brother. No frills and fits with the style. An ease to quaff back a half liter (or a full liter, for the more ardent lager lover).
Sep 20, 2010Very pale golden yellow with a stunning clarity; sizable, spritzy head holds together well. Smells of freshly cut grass, pale honey, doughy biscuit, faint grape skin, and it's a little peppery from the hops. Impeccably smooth with a very delicate, light to medium body. Clean maltiness throughout, not all the way dry as some sweetness sneaks in at first sip. Bitterness is clean with a peppery bite and herbal backing. The graininess is just enough to pique the palate's interest, yet doesn't cloud drinkability. Finishes dry with a very clean aftertaste of pale malt and grassy hops.
What a lovely yet delicate lager, an underrated as well as overlooked beer, as the spotlight usually shines on its wheat beer brother. No frills and fits with the style. An ease to quaff back a half liter (or a full liter, for the more ardent lager lover).
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by adamg39 from Ohio
5/5 rDev +22.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
5/5 rDev +22.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Quite nearly the perfect lager. Smooth, crisp, great flavor, but light enough to drink more than one. One of my two favorites along with Warsteiner Pilsner. Never disappoints, especially if you can get it fresh. All of Weihenstephaner's exports pour with a nice, fluffy head. Perfectly balanced between malty sweetness and hoppiness, with a slight leaning toward malt flavor. One of the best widely available beers in the world. Available in Cincinnati primarily in 6-pack bottles. Truly inimitable.
Mar 13, 2024Reviewed by MissouriMule from Missouri
5/5 rDev +22.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
5/5 rDev +22.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Even for a beer as highly rated as this, I may sound like a Pollyanna. To be clear, though, I am not particularly a fan of this beer genre. Still, I can find no fault with this Helles.
It pours a very pale straw. The head is white, and of small bubbles. The head will pile up if you pour vigorously, but it dissipates quickly.
From the nose, I mostly get sweet malts. In fact, I detect little else.
The taste is light and sweet malts, with a very subtle floral finish from the hops. I find this best consumed very cold. When it is warmer I lose the delicate hops flavor. The closest comparison I can make for the flavor is the taste of the small flowers that I used to eat off the honeysuckle that grew in the yard: sweet (not cloyingly so) nectar with a little herbal spice from the bloom.
Mouthfeel is fuller than I would expect given the lightness of all other aspects of the beer. That is a plus.
I do not plan to drink this beer frequently, but when I want a break from bitterer fare, I will probably pick some up occasionally.
Mar 12, 2024It pours a very pale straw. The head is white, and of small bubbles. The head will pile up if you pour vigorously, but it dissipates quickly.
From the nose, I mostly get sweet malts. In fact, I detect little else.
The taste is light and sweet malts, with a very subtle floral finish from the hops. I find this best consumed very cold. When it is warmer I lose the delicate hops flavor. The closest comparison I can make for the flavor is the taste of the small flowers that I used to eat off the honeysuckle that grew in the yard: sweet (not cloyingly so) nectar with a little herbal spice from the bloom.
Mouthfeel is fuller than I would expect given the lightness of all other aspects of the beer. That is a plus.
I do not plan to drink this beer frequently, but when I want a break from bitterer fare, I will probably pick some up occasionally.
Reviewed by BuxMontBeerLover from Pennsylvania
4/5 rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a light straw yellow, bright and clear. A one-finger white head on the initial pours.
Not much on the nose.
A very tasty German Helles. A malty, bready, slightly floral, lemony taste that goes down very smooth. Slightly bitter aftertaste. Not a hint of 5.1 ABV.
Medium consistency, mild carbonation.
Not my go-to style but enjoying the five different beers from a holiday variety pack. This was a very good, easy drinking, well-crafted beer. Cheers!
Feb 23, 2024Not much on the nose.
A very tasty German Helles. A malty, bready, slightly floral, lemony taste that goes down very smooth. Slightly bitter aftertaste. Not a hint of 5.1 ABV.
Medium consistency, mild carbonation.
Not my go-to style but enjoying the five different beers from a holiday variety pack. This was a very good, easy drinking, well-crafted beer. Cheers!
Rated by blkgeorge
4.29/5 rDev +4.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
4.29/5 rDev +4.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
After all the US brewery 'Helles' interpretations, it's nice to be able to taste a nice Munich helles. If you know, you know.
Jan 21, 2024Rated by JKENNEKE
4/5 rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
September 2023. Hartwell. Had it in the fridge for a year or two but still taste very good smooth full body would buy it again.
Sep 17, 2023Rated by USArmyRangerVet from New York
5/5 rDev +22.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
5/5 rDev +22.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
World class helles. Prosit.
Aug 17, 2023Reviewed by mpruden from Ohio
4.03/5 rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.03/5 rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Poured from an undated 12-oz bottle into a pint glass.
Appearance: Pure gold, with a two-inch white head that dissipated only gradually, leaving some lacing.
Nose: Bread and hops, just a hint of spice.
Mouthfeel: Light-medium — perfect for the style, perfect carbonation.
Attack: Follows the nose well — bread, hops, and just enough mild sweetness.
Finish: Very light hop bitterness to continue and balance.
Overall: This is everything I want in a Helles — the Ur-Munich Helles, if you will — and the Helles by which I measure every other Helles I taste. This is the beer I want to drink with a Caesar Salad, and the beer I use in my sourdough white bread recipe. I’d love to drink this fresh in Germany sometime!
Aug 11, 2023Appearance: Pure gold, with a two-inch white head that dissipated only gradually, leaving some lacing.
Nose: Bread and hops, just a hint of spice.
Mouthfeel: Light-medium — perfect for the style, perfect carbonation.
Attack: Follows the nose well — bread, hops, and just enough mild sweetness.
Finish: Very light hop bitterness to continue and balance.
Overall: This is everything I want in a Helles — the Ur-Munich Helles, if you will — and the Helles by which I measure every other Helles I taste. This is the beer I want to drink with a Caesar Salad, and the beer I use in my sourdough white bread recipe. I’d love to drink this fresh in Germany sometime!
Weihenstephaner Original Premium from Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan
Beer rating:
91 out of
100 with
2703 ratings
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