Weihenstephaner Kristallweissbier - Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

3.35/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pint bottle.
Appearance: crystal-clear pale yellow color, with a large, looming chalk-white capper of foam.
Aroma: fresh and airy, a trifle citric and sour, but mostly lacking in vital weissbier aroma characteristics.
Nice, light, crisp, tangy texture/ mouthfeel, very light-bodied, good malty flavor, practically no hops that I can taste. Good flavor.
Have to admit a prejudice, though: I just can't get behind filtered wheat beers, especially when they come from an excellent producer such as Weihenstephaner. That wheat texture is so refreshing and rewarding in the best examples of the style, when I taste a non-HEFE weissbier, I can only think of what I'm missing.
There's a plasticy, bubblegum taste, too, just to the left of the vanilla/clove combo we find in great (and not-so-great) Bavarian weissbiers.
In this heat, though, it'll so, but it will be largely forgotten, especially as I down it quickly in order to get at the Weihenstephaner Dunkel Weisse in the fridge!

Serving type: bottle

06-22-2003 17:22:53 | More by feloniousmonk

LarryKemp

Texas

3.93/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The pour from the brown pint bottle was a very clear, very light straw and an aggressive pour provided a fluffy white head which quickly evaporated into a nice short ring surround the glass. The aroma had plenty of malt with some cloves. The taste featured the cloves with a sweet lingering on the tongue. Although this kristall weissbier had most of the aspects of a traditional weissbier, it is more subtle. I found no bubble gum nor banana in either the aroma or the taste. The bier had a medium mouthfeel and the carbonation dance upon my tongue. I find this a very drinkable beer and would recommend it to all but particularly to someone experimenting with wheat beers.

Serving type: bottle

05-30-2003 20:04:46 | More by LarryKemp

BierReise

Florida

3.4/5  rDev -15.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Very similar to the Hefe but not as good in my opinion. Crystal clear gold with large snow white head. Filtration seemed to take the body and yeastiness out of it. Therefore lacks the flavor the hefe brings. Almost like a light version of the Hefe. Still a quality brew just not my idea of a classic wheat.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2003 17:36:56 | More by BierReise

frank4sail

New Jersey

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

Musty malt smell with a touch of sweetness. Straw yellow color with lots of tiny bubbles. Airy white head with rather large white bubbles. Tin wheat sweetness to the taste with a hint of banana (yeast) to the finish. The mouth is a little thin and light. I like the banana finish to the brew but overall this beer seemed like it was a little too watered down.

Cheers to the BA Victory Beer Exchange for the sample!

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2003 13:21:11 | More by frank4sail

kbub6f

New York

4.25/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

1 pt brown bottle, bought locally (Grapevine refrigerated shelves), about a week in my fridge, reviewed 45F-65F.

The head is big, white and very noisy. Huge bubbles collapse almost like soda pop, leaving almost no lacing. The beer is a pale gold, extremely clear. Lots of big bubbles rise quickly.

Mmmm, nice spicy smell with a little citrus, a little dust. The front is spicy leading to a fruity middle. The feel is tingly, foamy. Toward the end a slight sour note creeps in. The finish is dry and fresh, getting a little buttery with temperature. I think I still like the Hefe a little more, but this is a great beer: fresh, spicy, subtly fruity.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2003 13:22:29 | More by kbub6f

Wildman

Ohio

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

This beer poured dark clear(crystal clear) yellow color and formed a huge white foamy head that latticed lace as it slowly, and I mean slowly, subsided. A heavy amount of carbonation was present. An aroma of malt, hops, cloves and bananas. The flavor was of malt, hops and yeast/bread. The finish was a touch doughy and light. Not as good as the hefe, but not a bad beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2003 20:14:34 | More by Wildman

ElGuapo

New Jersey

3.68/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A crystal clear dim golden colored brew with a massive pillow of white foam on top that gradually dies down leaving lace all over the glass. The aroma is loaded with yeast and a little breadiness. Slight bits of citrus also hit the nose, but not enough to balance the blast of yeast.

The flavor is a bit more balanced than the aroma. There is a whole lot of yeast flavor and bready grains. Citrus comes in a bit to balance. The flavor is a bit toned down from what I would like. I am very surprised at the amount of yeast in the aroma and the flavor despite it not sitting at the bottom of the bottle. The mouthfeel is very crisp. It is light and refreshing which makes it a great drinker. You could surely sit back with a few of these. It may get a bit boring with very little complexity, but it is still a good brew.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2003 17:42:21 | More by ElGuapo

zerk

California

4.13/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a clear gold, with quite a bit of carbonation racing to the top. Has a big, pillowy white head, that leaves sheets of lace behind. Aroma is exactly as I expect from a weizen style... sweet banana and clove esters, and a touch of herbal hop notes... I wish someone would come out with weizen cologne. Flavor is slighlty more subdued than the aroma... some notes of clove, with just a touch of banana. As the beer warms, you lose more of the esters, and get a more herbal hoppy bitterness. This beer is very clean and smooth, with a light body... another top notch beer from Brauerei Weihenstephan.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2003 07:11:23 | More by zerk

bierman2000

Pennsylvania

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

An excellent Wheat. clear and light in color, with a citrusy, clove smell. Refreshing and quenching, and a head that won't quit like most Wheats that are made well.The clove taste is apparant early in the beer and since it is a Krystal there is no yeast at the bottom which makes it clear and not cloudy. A good Krystal from the oldest brewery in the world.

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2003 12:03:22 | More by bierman2000

Morris729

Texas

4.58/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Pours a clear light golden color with a pillowy white head that slowly dissipates in chucks leaving a rocky lace. Nose is sweet and fruity with notes of ripe banana, vanilla, and clove. Light to medium in body with a good amount of active carbonation. Taste follows the template laid out in the aroma with flavors of creamy banana, spicy clove, and a bit of nutty yeast. Very refreshing and the best of this style I’ve ever had. Perfect for a warm spring day like today.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2003 15:15:50 | More by Morris729

cokes

Wisconsin

4.53/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Krystal clear goldenrod with an explosive white cap.
Nose of white pepper, clove, banana and W'stephaner yeastiness (lime and vanilla)
Taste is archetype of what beers of the style should be yet so rarely achieve. Tempered banana lathered in cream. Doses of potent cloves. Yeast that suggests one of Germany's western neighbors. Pricks of lime sorbet. sprinkled with granulated wheat. Dashes of spiced hops provide closure.
Soft and supple in the mouth. Nearly powdered in texture.
Delicious. Best of class.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2003 14:24:52 | More by cokes

oberon

North Carolina

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

A great brewery making a great kristall.Brilliant gold color,nice clean looking,fruity with a little mineral in aroma.Nice kind of herbal mineral quality in the flavor,goes down incredibly easy.There is something about the house yeast that imparts a tropical flair to their beers.A great summertime beer but just happened to drink one here in winter,good year around.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2003 11:44:57 | More by oberon

garymuchow

Minnesota

3.48/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Enormous head, white, foamy and a little fizzy. Wonderful aroma of phenol, cloves and slight banana, hints of wheat malt, with an overall flowery array of smells. Gold and krystal klear.
Maybe I have an older bottle, but the flavor was flat, lacking in zest and vigor. Largely a malt flavor with some wheat quality. Little in way of cloves, bananas and phenol. Mouthfeel was too flat too, with insufficient carbonation.
I'll redo this with a fresher bottle next summer. This was a dissappointment and I know it could be better.

Serving type: bottle

02-02-2003 16:41:10 | More by garymuchow

cncbofh

Colorado

3.68/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

Poured with a fizzy almost soda pop carbonation and lingering white foamy head. Light golden color with a delicate aroma suiting to a Weissbier. Not mouch in the mouthfeel category, as it slipped by the palette with a bitter aftertaste. The taste was above average compared to other beers in the category.

Overall, a very good selection for a warm summer day.

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2003 14:36:31 | More by cncbofh

mikes2923

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Probably my least favorite brew from Weihenstephan (that I've been able to find here in the States anyway), but that's not really a slight against it as much as it is a compliment to the rest. About what you would expect out of a Kristall Weizen, very light in color, with a nice clean wheat taste that is light on the palate but with a slight bite to it. Keep in mind when I use the term "light" I don't mean it in the "american light" sense, this beer definitely has a very solid and good taste to it and would be a perfect selection iof you're not in the mood for anything too strong or heavy.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2003 11:09:25 | More by mikes2923

Gusler

Arizona

3.88/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

The beer pours a cloudless light gold color, the head prestigious in size, the color a dazzling white, and the lace diaphanous sheets that cling steadily to the glass. Nose crisp and clean, malt dominates with light hints of citrus, and maybe a touch of yeast. Malt sweet at the start, with a middling mouth feel, the finish is curtly acidic, the hops purposeful in the spiciness, aftertaste quite dry and long lasting. The delicate balance of hops, malt, wheat, and perfection maybe another word to describe this beer

Serving type: bottle

12-03-2002 07:39:31 | More by Gusler

Jon

Illinois

3.73/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This German kristall weiss pours a clear gold color with a sizeable white head, which subsides quickly. Clarity is excellent, as this is a "crystal clear" beer according to the bottle. Steady carbonation is present throughout the duration of the brew. Nose is rather earthy, with notes of yeast and clove making their respective marks. Taste is a touch bland, but still pretty good, with spicy notes and mellow hops. Mouthfeel is rather prickly and carbonated. This would be a near-perfect summer thirst quencher.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2002 19:41:37 | More by Jon

Jason

Massachusetts

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

Presentation: 500 ml (16.9 oz) slender brown bottle with info about the beer on the back label as well as the freshness date.

Appearance: Rich shimmering clear golden colour and an effervescent bubby carbonation forms a thin yet unwavering white lace.

Smell: Fruity of bananas and pears with hints of melon and placid clove spice aroma. Trace wheat malt in the nose, cracker-like maltiness.

Taste: Modest body with a crisp solid carbonation that is both slightly sharp in the bite and fluffy in the mouth feel. Quick to the sharpness of the carbonation and spicy clove character gives a tingling sensation which cleans the palate. Fruity flavours lay subdued in the back though some alcoholic esters are obvious. Hops are nearly nonexistent with only a minute trace of flavour towards the end. Wheat malt is straightforward with a nutty and mild acidic twang more towards the finish. Relatively clean after taste with some remaining spicy wheat flavours.

Notes: Drinkable without a doubt with a palate cleansing quality, certainly good drinking and a great lunch time brew. Goes excellent with a cobb salad.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2002 06:55:44 | More by Jason

inebrius

Michigan

4.83/5  rDev +19.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Like Weizen-crack. Everytime I lay my eyes on a Weihenstephaner my mouth goes to slavering and I imagine myself sinking a hatchet into the melon of the beer store guy and running off with the lot. Profoundly balanced between the sweet malt and phenols and small dose of bittering hops. Each swig has your buds wailing for more. Peppery nose with the slightest hints of strawberry and banana. As tasty a Kristall as has ever been produced. When the Pope is not kicking out stained-glass windows it's likely he's kicking back with some serious German Wheat beers. Get some.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2002 06:13:01 | More by inebrius

marc77

California

3.8/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

Golden in hue, w/ brilliant, lager like clarity from the filtration. Beautiful, persistent, thick head akin to egg whites whipped to a soft peak. The aroma is comprised of soft banana esters, smooth wheat tartness and hints of bready pilsner malt. Clove phenol is present at a trace. Flavorwise, a combination of light wheat derived tartness and graininess is discernible initially, then is ensued by muted signature weizen esters. Malt sweetness is low and is correspondingly balanced by an equally low hop bitterness, leaving this brew somewhat dry overall. Although the filtration and lack of protein conducive to viscosity has lightened the body and mouthfeel versus a hefeweizen, this brew retains a quenching, refreshing nature. Finishes dry w/ a hint of clove ending abruptly. Although I enjoyed this brew, I prefer my weizens unadulterated. The filtration diminishes the ester profile and body, yet maintains and perhaps adds to drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

09-24-2002 18:30:01 | More by marc77

Bighuge

Minnesota

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

This brew really is a crystal clear light straw color. Big rocky white head with nice retention tops the brew. Really nice nose. Some wezen characteristics like banana and vanilla, but also a nice scent of belgian-like yeast. Very solid vanilla and banana tastes on the palate. Spicy, peppery notes also dance around. This is a little more subdued in the tastes than a great German Hefe-weizen. But this is really nice. I like this a lot. I haven't had many kristall weiss beers. I must say that I will be trying more in the future to see how they compare to this one.

Serving type: bottle

08-08-2002 20:04:33 | More by Bighuge

StevieW

Florida

3.7/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

16 oz bottle. The guy at my local beer store loves this one, and always has it in stock. Pours kristall clear, as advertised, with the same big fizzy head as the other kristalls. Nice wheat, yeasty smell, some citrus, then a certain sourness took over. Some very noticable yeast flavors, but again, a very bitter sour finish that wasn't expected. Not as crisp and clean as the other kristalls I have had, and a bit heavier. For some reason the sourness, (maybe stale ?) flavors dominated. I would choose the franziskaner club-weiss over this one.

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2002 19:14:15 | More by StevieW

AaronRed

New York

3.95/5  rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

What a clear beer. I figured that it would be, not not this clear, and for a Wiezen! I don't know how they were able to come up with such wonderful yeast flavors, without seeing the yeast. Slight banna, clove taste, but more subtle than other Weizens. Although I liked this beer and found it of amazing high quality, I think I prefer the richer Weissbiers, that have more of a body. This is a light beer, but packed with lovely flavor.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2002 21:36:49 | More by AaronRed

WilliamPhilaPa

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A one pint bottle poured into a Weihenstephaner Glass with lemon on the rim->The head pours a initially huge, frothy, white, that is l fairly long lasting. The body is sparkling clear ( filtered wheat) golden. Aroma is moderately yeasty (dough), moderately malty (light bread), with a note of clove and a hint of banana. Flavor is lightly sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Overall I thought it was a excellent brew!

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2002 17:04:02 | More by WilliamPhilaPa

mattmaples

Oregon

4.35/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

It has a snappier finish than the hefe. The carbotations seemed to bother me a bit, it gave it too much a a foamy texture (maybe mine was a little too warm) Good for the style, not my type of beer though.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2001 21:39:42 | More by mattmaples