Weihenstephaner Kristallweissbier - Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan

nogoodreason

Missouri

4.2/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Great beer from one of my favorite breweries.

As you'd expect it's crystal-clear with beady streams of carbonation and topped with a poofy constant head.

Nose is of cloves, honey, banana, peach and som tropical fruit. A faint spiciness is present. It's obviously rather sweet and ridiculously fruity. Body is soft, though quite assertively carbonated.

It's thick with honey sweetness at first, turning to cloves then fruit as it evolves, sweet and refreshing throughout while never cloying or one-dimensional.

A beautifully crafted beer, no question.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2004 19:36:42 | More by nogoodreason

ybnorml

Rhode Island

3.33/5  rDev -17.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A nice clean, not at all cloudy for a wheat beer, yellow beer with a big bright white head. A good strong bannana and clove aroma, which I expect from a good wheat beer. The mouth feel was a little light. The flavor was again light with a light spiceyness and a hint of clove on the finish. The aroma was German Weiss beer. The flavor was American Wheat beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2004 22:56:43 | More by ybnorml

mynie

Indiana

3.9/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Comes in a cool little 16.9 ounce bottle. Very German-American looking. For some reason, this bottle reminds me of the movie Strange Brew. Take that for what it's worth...

Very nice head, pretty but light color, perfect cascading carbonation.

Smells lightly like a sweet, grainy malt with hints of corn. Complex, but not too impressive.

Tastes spicey up front, malts and cloves with a little squash thrown. The aftertaste is fruity hops with just a touch of barley and a little more spicy of that wheat malt, which offsets the fruit nicely. Complex, once again, and nice, but notthing super.

Thin body but perfect combination make for a good mouthfeel,and the spiciness is surprisingly easy to drink.

Not the greatest of beers, but worth what I paid. I can't wait to try out some more Weihenstephaner brews.

Serving type: bottle

10-10-2004 01:18:37 | More by mynie

diamonddave

Pennsylvania

2.48/5  rDev -38.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Bright, almost neon golden color with a small quick-fading head. I think this is the first time I've ever been able to see through a glass of weissbier. All the cloudiness has been filtered out, and more's the pity. I guess that's why it's called "Crystal", though. Anyhoo...

Smells like bananas. Maybe there's a tiny little bit of something else in here, like cloves or something, but all I smell is bananas.

Tastes like, you guessed it, bananas. Slight (very slight) spicy kick, sweet banana finish. I sure could go for some yeast or hops or malt or, well... ANYTHING to balance out the banana flavor.

This doesn't exactly taste bad, but oy, the bananas! There's no way I could drink more than one bottle of this stuff. If you love bananas, then here's your drink. Otherwise, steer clear.

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2004 02:34:00 | More by diamonddave

Padron4KM

Arizona

3.23/5  rDev -19.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear pale straw yellow, with a huge, pillowy, meringue like head.

Head recedes quickly, but reapears with a little agitation.

Banana cream pie dominates the aroma, with just a dusting of clove. A little bit of bubble gum as it warms.

Body is light.

Flavor is lightly citrus (lemon), wheat, bananna and spice.
A slightly metalic and band-aid finish

Not very complex, but a nice refreshing beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2004 06:04:07 | More by Padron4KM

CAMRAhardliner

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a crystal clear gold color with an excellent head and a respectable amount of lace. The smell is a bold mix of bananas, lemongrass and cloves. The taste is of bananas, cloves, some other herbs, bubblegum from the yeast and a great hop bitterness in the finish. The hoppyness is definitely more pronounced than any weissbier Ive tried, Im not sure if this is a kristal thing or a Wehenstephan thing, but its definitely a thing. The mouthfeel was surprisingly fullbodied for such a light looking beer (like a lager really). It wasnt as crisp as Schneider Weisse, which is unexpected considering it has no yeast in it. A nice beer but I prefer the hefes more.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2004 04:22:24 | More by CAMRAhardliner

shapudding

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pale golden with lotsa chunks floating through it. Lots of white frothy head. Some beading going on with the carbination. Scented like a gueze, lightly soured and slightly musty, -like a good wine cellar. Very light mouthfeel- so feather-light and gentle, so soft. Not creamy. Just... there. Same with the tast, not much is jumping out with the flavor, this is so very balanced. Some light malty flavors, but barely. Kind of like a watered down saison maybe... The more it warms, the more the flavor devolops in here. Easy drinking since it is so mild. But if you are searching for flavors, you may find this one lacking.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2004 15:15:52 | More by shapudding

blitheringidiot

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Tall greenish brownish (what color is that?) pint bottle with loads of label info: "Premium Bavarium" "Brewed under purity law of 1516 alc. 5,6 vol." "Oldest brewery in the world" "cont. malt liquor 1 pnt." "Kristall Weisbier" "Store dark, keep cool 46-52 F" neck label "seit 1040" and a freshness stamp: "8320." Slightly hazy straw with loads of tiny beading, slick of a white cap, and some yeast scrod chunkers suspended in me pint.

Grainy dusty slightly white wine vinous scents.

First swigs: Airy, outdoorsy, difficult to describe flavors. Leafy slightly pilsnerish. Needs to be a bit above 40 degrees as warmed to the label info. Short quick aftertaste which becomes more lemony with citrous notes rising up. Well balanced hinting towards malty Vanilla ice cream.

Feel is thin bodied overall, but well bodied for the style. Easy drinker with an enjoyable exotic quality to it that is different from most American counterparts.

Last swigs: This could easily be dismissed as a bit tangy, maybe funky due to the Earthy bite, but extremely enjoyable. All aspects are delicate here. Easy all around. Requires a bit more detection to be appreciated. Reminded me a bit of a floral Earthy style like Fraoch Heather. Special BA thanks to Shapudding fo allowing me to enjoy this offering at a tasting. A Michael Jackson Great Beer Guide beer.

Beer is good. Happy exotic beering.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2004 02:54:01 | More by blitheringidiot

allengarvin

Texas

3.98/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

500ml bottle, poured into a Tucher weizen glass (don't have a weihenstephaner glass).

Appearance: Golden straw color, very clear, with tiny effervescent bubbles flowing to the top.

Aroma: phenolic, bready.

Flavor/body: Good hints of clove and vanilla. Estery, fruity flavors are slightly restrained (I believe they're stronger in the brewery's Hefeweizen). No hop taste and the bitterness is barely perceptable. Medium high carbonation. Very tart and refreshing.

Weihenstephaner's hefeweizen is possibly my favorite German wheat beer, and while the kristalweiss does not quite match up to it, it's still a very good, very drinkable beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2004 23:09:55 | More by allengarvin

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.55/5  rDev -11.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A different type of wheat beer. Wheat smell, taste but not creamy on the tongue, rather drops and powder texture. Malt, lemongrassy and cloves and banana and yeast. Light gold and white head that settles in. A natural carbonation.Lightly bitter. Not my flavours.

Serving type: bottle

08-29-2004 03:41:13 | More by northyorksammy

Roderick

Kentucky

3.18/5  rDev -21.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Just tried this beer from what the bottle says is the oldest brewery in the world.
The pour was light gold with a huge head that sat atop the brew like a crown , and the smell faint smell of alcohol & hops.
The taste was a malty sweetness that has a hint of cloves with a nice clean finish and hardly a hint of aftertaste.
This is a good beer and I'm glad to have tried it. but for the cost I could spend my money more wisely.
Price: 1pint $4.99

Serving type: bottle

07-25-2004 18:21:31 | More by Roderick

granger10

Wisconsin

4.33/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This beer poured a light golden color with a large foamy white head. Lots of bubbles racing to the top and good amount of lacing. The smell is more yeasty than I would expect and had some citric qualities to it. I could tell that this would be a crisp, clean beer just upon smelling it. The taste had a citric sweetness upfront with wheat undertones. Banana and clove come forward with the yeast. Long, dry finish. Very crisp and clean. This beer is great to have cleanse the palate while eating or just to enjoy in the summertime. I love this brewery.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2004 16:49:07 | More by granger10

brewQ

Missouri

3.55/5  rDev -11.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

I like a lot of these German Weiss brews in the half liter bottle. Weihenstephaner Kristallweissbier is certainly a well made brew.

The color is bright gold but the tip off is the starch white head that holds very well. The aroma is grainy and the flaovr spells it out as wheat without a great deal of spice or citrus to it.

In fact that's what I like about the flaovr. It contrasted well with all the mit hefe wheats- very clean and drinkable yet refreshingly different.

Maybe I lose some B vitamins but this is a very good summer beer.

Serving type: bottle

07-04-2004 04:43:57 | More by brewQ

Beastdog75

New Jersey

3.45/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Weihenstephan's Kristallweissbier follows their normal hefeweizen as a good, easy to drink wheat beer. Even though I like their hefe, it wasn't as complex as I was expecting it to be. This too wasn't that complex (not that I expected it to be), but it still turned out to be a great thirst quencher and was overall quite pleasing in the flavor department.

This kristalweizen pours a crystal-clear yellow/gold color with a decent foam head that lasts for about 1 minute. The aroma contained some fruity banana smell, some clove-like spices, and a hint of wheat. The mouthfeel was a bit more watery than I expected from a wheat beer, and had a low-moderate carbonation. The banana flavor is the most prominent feature of this brew. There is a bit of spiciness (including cloves and cinnamon), but as mentioned this is not as complex as a regular hefe. Low amount of dryness in finish. There is some continuing fruitiness and some wheat flavors in the aftertaste, and the brew finishes with no alcoholic warmth.

I did enjoy this beer. It served its purpose as a thirst quencher effectively, and overall it wasn't heavily flawed. In a sense this was like a "hefe-light," while still maintaining many of the qualities a wheat beer with yeast would have.

Serving type: bottle

06-29-2004 17:20:44 | More by Beastdog75

BeerManDan

California

3.9/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

It poured a medium wheat yellow with a lot of white foam. The smell of spices and wheat filled the nose. The taste was of wheat and spices, especially the taste of cloves was evident. An effervescent and refreshing beer, with little of the bavarian wheat fruit and spicy character.

Serving type: bottle

06-28-2004 23:06:31 | More by BeerManDan

rastaman

United Kingdom (England)

3.6/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Great to see Weihenstephaner in Australia, even though its only the Kristal. Having said this, this is a nice Kristal. Still has those fruity banana esters of the regular heffe, and still a huge cloveyness. Really smooth, soft, and manages to cover most corners of the palate quite nicely, tart flavour, with some welcomed saltyness. Nice one. Definitely one of the better kristall weissbiers i've had.

Serving type: bottle

06-24-2004 11:38:35 | More by rastaman

hobbes2112

Texas

2.93/5  rDev -27.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

500 mL bottle

This one started good, the pour is a dark straw/light gold with large white head. Smell was wheat, yeast and minor citrus. Taste was subtle citrus, wheat and very slight hops. The mouthfeel really is odd though, to be this is waaay too much body for the taste and aroma that come with it. This was to the point of excessive filling in my book. For such a light beer I want a light body too, or more taste.

I won't likely buy this again.

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2004 23:36:41 | More by hobbes2112

koolk

Australia

3.9/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Clean and clear pale yellow with hard bubbles and a nice creamy head that disperses quickly.

Subdued aroma is of yeast, bananas, wheat and a touch of mineral.

Tasty is slightly spritzy on the front with a nice tart aftertaste of green hops. Creamy inbetween, but no great length to speak of.

Good, but I really enjoy the full flavours of the hefe, yet still an enjoyable beer.

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2004 11:52:36 | More by koolk

Doiv

United Kingdom (England)

4.2/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Nice bright golden colour with a big white head, that quickly disperses and leaves hardly any lacing at all.

Aroma is nice and fruity - peaches, aplles and pineapples to name a few. Spicy and yeasty notes follow - perhaps a little like coriander?

Taste is yeasty, with raisins, bananas, apples, and pineapples, with a bitter aftertaste followed by a lingering fruity spice.

Good mouthfeel, and drinks brilliantly on a hot day.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2004 18:01:35 | More by Doiv

Bourre

France

3.8/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

The head was thin for the style and faded quickly on the so clear and pale golden color body. Big bubbles. Very nice smell: wheat, yeast, banana, and a hint of something roasted. Very sweet. Slightly iodated too. The taste revealed more citrus than one could expect from the smell. Very sweet, almost artificial candy-like. Banana and wheat. Mouthfeel is very clean and kind of light. Watery. The aftertaste is of subtle fruity hops. Drinkable but not overly complex.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2004 22:16:51 | More by Bourre

Gavage

New Jersey

4.45/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Clear pale yellow in color with a 1" head. The aroma was nice as wheat, banana, and yeast were clearly evident. The flavor was of wheat, banana, clove, and yeast. Light citrus tones hid in the background.

The mouthfeel was crisp. Some wheat and yeast lingered for a moment after swallowing. Very drinkable as this is extremely light and refreshing with a nice flavor.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2004 11:04:22 | More by Gavage

cypressbob

United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)

3.83/5  rDev -5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

500ml bottle

Pours with a medium yellow body, high levels of carbonation although not harsh, Large foamy head

Smell is nutty and dry, hints of dried fruit

Taste is dry, almonds, peaches and melon comes through, very strong esters, fruity overall

A nice beer, although I prefer a non filtered wheat, its still very drinkable and refreshing

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2004 18:07:28 | More by cypressbob

necoadam

Connecticut

4.15/5  rDev +3%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Perfect day for this beer. Hit about 80 degrees today so I decided to rotate the beer line up quickly. So I decided to crack up this great kristall beer. There was no freshness date on it so I was a little scared that it might not be good, but when I poured out this beer, a huge head developed so my worries were put out quickly. Poured out a nice light golden color, one of a kind. Smell consisted of bananas and pears mostly mixed in with some other light citrus notes with a touch of yeast. Taste was crisp and clean. Soft fruit hit the palate gently mixed with some ever so slight hops towards the middle with some wheat and malt going towards the end. And just like their Hefe, this beer has the right amount of carbonation in it. World class beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2004 01:03:07 | More by necoadam

TastyTaste

Minnesota

4.47/5  rDev +10.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This beer is truely a sight to behold. Poured into my Hacker-Pschorr Weisse glass, with a 2 1/2" head billowing over the top of gold liquid that is not surprisingly "Kristall" clear. The visible carbonation is also very beautiful. Cloves, bananas, malt, and a little hops are all present in the nose of this beer. Taste is very malty , with spicy clove flavors making themselves evident again, smooth aftertaste, all the flavors come together to make this a light, flavorful, very drinkable beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2004 22:58:26 | More by TastyTaste

Sixpack595

Michigan

4.43/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Crystal clear (surprising due to the name) and powerfully carbonated, this beer pours a pale straw color with a voluminous white head. Bannanas and clove are evident in the aroma as well as the flavor. Carbonation and spicy hops provide a prickly mouthfeel. Mothfeel is medium, striking a good balance, refreshing without feeling watery. Great beer. Seems to taste cleaner than a Hefe without losing much of the character.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2004 00:48:02 | More by Sixpack595