Schöfferhofer Kristallweizen - Binding-Brauerei AG

delta490

Virginia

3.55/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Poured a 500ml bottle into an Imperial Pint glass (it's all I've got that fits the bottle). Pours a moderate gold with a big creamy white head that lingers on and left some lacing. This might be entirely due to my chosen glassware. Aroma is nice, but somewhat underwhelming, with notes of fruity esters, a slight whiff of banana and a little spice. The taste is about the same. It has a nice mouthfeel, not to thin or thick and just a little tickle of carbonation. A solid, well-above-average weizen.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2013 07:16:54 | More by delta490

FLima

Brazil

3.65/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thick and persistent head on top of a nice bright golden color with lots of bubbles coming up. Good lacing as well. Aroma of cloves, banana, cereals, good intensity although it is kristallweizen.
Nice and different flavor, yeast and other expected tastes for a Weiss beer are less intense here, on the other hand you can better feel its malt and hop bitterness. I may have got some metallic notes, though.
Very light body with decent carbonation and small bubbles.
I liked the fact that this beer has in average a higher drinkability than other Weiss given it is a bit less sweet and you can better feel its bitterness and malts. Light beer for a summer day and to get some rest from traditional Weiss biers.

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2012 18:21:52 | More by FLima

Thehuntmaster

South Africa

2.7/5  rDev -23.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

500ml bottle 5,0% ABV
Served chilled in a weizen glass.

Appearance: The body is crystal clear and very light golden in colour. A gentle pour yields a massive, fluffy, white head that lasts an absolute age and leaves some good lacing.

Smell: This actually smells quite nice for a kristalweizen! Pale malt dominates, with notes of malted wheat and fresh citrus also noted. As the beer warms, the traditional banana notes of a weissbier become apparent.

Taste: Blegh, the flavour falls a long way short of the nose! Very little flavour and quite watery - almost verging into macro lager territory! Warming yields some improvement with notes of pale grain, wheat and a little banana.

Mouthfeel: Light, watery body with a high level of rather harsh carbonation.

Overall: I think a bottle or two would go down quite well on a very hot day, but it is still not a beer I would buy again.

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2012 09:17:58 | More by Thehuntmaster

TrevorWGrover

Germany

3.28/5  rDev -7.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

This extremely pale beer poured with a very thick, but fluffy, head. Retention was nothing spectacular, but respectable. The clarity was amazing to me but this the first Kristallweizen I had had. After learning that it was heavily filtered I was less impressed with the clarity.

There are a lot of aromas coming out of this beer. A lot of fruit, mostly banana I'd say. Very fresh smelling. Not getting much hops but a lot of pale malt fruity flavors and, of course, the typical wheat scents.

The taste is very smooth and very crisp. The banana fruit flavors are the most dominant in this fizzy, almost sparkling like a belgian-style, beer.

The mouthfeel is, again, fizzy and crisp.

Overall, a pretty good beer but nothing stand-out. I'd say about average in the style if I had to guess.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2012 21:57:44 | More by TrevorWGrover

Steedee

Missouri

4.9/5  rDev +38%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Very light, bubbly and clear, with a great head that holds for at least half the glass.
Very fruity, yeasty, banana flavor typically found in a German weizen.
This beer goes down smooth and is better at colder temps.
I've had this beer both from the bottle and on tap in Freidberg Germany and have not found anything in the US comparable. Highly drinkable.
I have drank this beer for dinner on many occasions....
If your visiting Germany it is a must try.
One of my all time favorite beers.

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2011 17:25:27 | More by Steedee

kojevergas

California

2.35/5  rDev -33.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Bottle sidepoured into a Schöfferhofer Kristallweizen pint glass.

A: Pours a 3.5 finger head of fair cream and decent thickness. Clear yellow colour. A nice upward bubble show.

Sm: Wheat, crystal hops. Standard fare for the style.

T: Clean open to a one note body of barley with a crystal malt generic finish. All around it's rather bland.

Mf: Fizzy coarseness with a strange wet/dry balance. Quite wet on the finish, which fails to coax the next sip out of you. Light on the palate.

Dr: It does hide its ABV well, and you could down a pint easily as it's not overcarbonated, but you wouldn't want to unless your only alternatives were American macro shitebeer (can we go ahead and make this a style on beeradvocate?).

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2011 22:53:17 | More by kojevergas

drpimento

Wisconsin

3.28/5  rDev -7.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Looked and smelled good, but a little lacking in the flavor and body departments. Poured with a nice, large, white, thick, foamy, frothy head and some lace. Color is a clear yellow. Aroma is standard Bavarian weiss- malt, bananas, spices, bit of lemon. Flavor is where it gets a little shallow and has a bit of a metallic component. Body is good and carbonatioin is ok. Finish is like favor. Nothing too special here.

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2010 22:32:29 | More by drpimento

lacqueredmouse

Australia

3.43/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Re-review; several years have past, let's see how I like it now.

After the pour, this beer looks an absolute treat: clear golden yellow colour, with a huge, boisterous and frothy, fine-bubbled and creamy head of pure white. This collapses a little, as it must, but it leaves some great sudsy German lace. It looks rather static in the glass - I'm surprised at the lack of carbonation, but otherwise it's a very good looking brew.

Big wheat notes on the nose. Very pungent banana phenols, some yeastiness and a vanilla sweetness which underlies everything. The robustness is impressive and enjoyable, and if it tends a little towards too much sweetness, I'll forgive it.

Taste is similar, and the sweetness does get a little cloying here. The banana phenols are present again, but get twisted slightly to an off-kilter flavour of marzipan. It's hard not to compare it to its sister hefe, but this lacks something of the round, buttery sweetness. It also lacks what would be the natural compensation otherwise - something clean, or crisp, or even a light hop bitterness. It ends a little too sweet, but stylistically, it's not too bad - the characters are rather classic of a German weizen.

It's a light and drinkable beer. Forgive it its sweetness, and it's mellow, very smooth and easy to imbibe.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2010 11:30:32 | More by lacqueredmouse

jhtipton

Spain

3.8/5  rDev +7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Limited time offer at the PX in Korea. I don't recall ever getting that much head out of a bottle of beer. Slightly fruity and sweet. Very drinkable kristal. Drank out of a pint weizen glass and although I poured carefully started off with about 4" of light foam. It dissipated quickly and did not attach to glassware. Would recommend.

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2009 23:43:03 | More by jhtipton

laituegonflable

Australia

3.1/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5

Here we go with another filtered wheat. Pours a very ordinary gold colour with weak bead but pleasant white head, tiny but visible bubbles which sinks at snail's pace but doesn't leave a snail's trail behind - lace is alright but pretty thin. Looks average.

Aroma is pleasant, many sweet spice characters on that. Not a lot of banana, but peach and apple fruit and a clove & cinnamon spice blend. Slightly sour but only just, mostly a light, pleasantly sweet fragrance. Tragedy is that it is very simple.

Flavour is fairly sweet, but with a slightly tart edge, more of the fruit with grape tannins and kiwifruit flavours joining the mix. Slight acerbidity from carbonation and a nice weizeny finish without very much potency: a slight spice, bit of a sizzle, but no oomph behind it, lacks the mojo of a hefe. Dominating flavour is sour, with a green apple acidity to it, and it's not well backed by a slightly watery feel that lacks depth and body.

I remember really enjoying this in the past, but I think it's because it gives vaguely pleasant wheat flavours, without the spicy and tart potency of the hefeweizen. It's a weaker, more "accessible" beer maybe, drinkable but not impressive.

Serving type: bottle

08-10-2009 00:47:04 | More by laituegonflable

atis

Finland

3.63/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours clear pale golden with generous white head with excellent retention, strings of small carbonation bubbles rising. Aroma is fresh citrusy and yeasty, some clove as well.

Taste is citrus yeast, touch of herbal bitterness that lasts into the aftertaste, mild fruitiness, sweetness becomes more apparent in the finish. Mouthfeel is light-medium with moderate carbonation.

Overall, it is good, but somewhat seemed too mild and lacking flavour in the beginning, but I started to enjoy it much more towards the end of the glass.

Serving type: bottle

07-05-2009 14:30:37 | More by atis

AltBock

Ohio

3.63/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

500ml bottle with a simple zebra striped label that has the name of the beer in big bold black letters. Above the name are 3 gold coins with a picture of the original founder in the center coin. Below the name of the beer is the style of the beer and the signature of the brewmaster (?) in front of an "A" and "X" card. The back label has an advertisement for their alcohol free Weizen, the ingredients in 500 different languages, and a best before date of 09.09.

I decided to pour this Kristallweizen into my Franzikaner Weizen glass. This beer poured a lightly hazy, but very pale straw yellow color. This beer was so damn pale that I thought this beer just saw a ghost. On top of ghostly brew was a sorry looking miniature fizzy head of white bubbles. It wasn't even foam, it was just bubbles. This itsy bitsy bubbly head of foam lasted for about half a second before it completely fizzled away into oblivion.

The aroma was an entirely different question. As soon as I popped off the cap, out comes the scent of Christmas. This Christmas like aroma was chock full of spices like cinnamon stick and allspice. Right behind all the spices was a strong whiff of cloves. If you think the aroma is done, you're wrong. After the cloves, this beer finished up with a hint of malted wheat and a touch of banana. When the was beer poured, this aroma diminished a little bit, but at least some form of the aroma was still there.

While the aroma was all about the spices, the taste just loved the sweet taste of malted wheat. It wasn't just regular malted wheat, it was crispy malted wheat. Behind the thick wall of crispy malted sat the taste of cloves, a gentle touch of ripe banana, a speck of yeast, and a few select spices. There wasn't as nearly as many spices in the taste as there was in the aroma. If you like the taste of crispy malted wheat with a few spices behind it, then this is your Weizen.

The mouthfeel was light, refreshing, and crispy as a cracker. The aftertaste was nothing but crispy malted wheat. No sign of the spices in here.

I didn't buy this beer in the good 'ol U.S. of A. Instead, a good fried of mine picked this up for me while they were in Germany. Am I glad he did? Yeah, I really am. This was an easy drinking crispy session Weizen.

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2009 01:58:02 | More by AltBock

TubaManJack

Illinois

3.15/5  rDev -11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

500ml bottle. 4 months before best by date.
Appearance-A slight yellow body with a full thick white wispy creamy head. A lot of carbonation and lacing its quite impressive.
Smell- A weak aroma of tart apples and wheat. The yeast isn't present or banana for that matter.
Taste- A subtle wheat beer with some apple bitterness at the end of each sip. But it seems too thin and almost watery.
Drinkability- Very pleasant to drink but lacking in complexity and any depth.

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2009 00:17:38 | More by TubaManJack

LittleCreature

Australia

3.43/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance - 4.0
Pours a towering white head over a clear straw coloured body. Head retention and lacing could stand to be better, but the image after pouring is a classic.

Smell - 3.0
Very subtle for a wheat beer, aromas of wheat malt and citrus are pleasant but underwhelming.

Taste - 3.5
Quite disappointing in that it is far less flavoursome than its big brother the hefe. Actually tastes a little lagery in its blandness. Very crisp with flavours of wheat grain and very tart lemon that could be mistaken as hop bitterness. Refreshing and boring.

Edit: although most will never discover this, it is much tastier after gentle warming. The last few, increasingly fruity sips increase the taste score from 3 to 3.5.

Mouthfeel - 3.5
A little coarse in the mouth compared to the best of its style. Carbonation is persistent, the beer quite light in the mouth.

Drinkability - 3.5
Not hard to drink, but I wouldn't bother with it again when there are much better wheat beers out there.

OVERALL - 3.5
If this were an Australian wheat beer, I would be saying that it isn't a bad effort. Fact is, this is a German wheat beer, and while kristalweizens tend to have less flavour than hefes, there is no real excuse for this beer being bland. No real flaws, it just doesn't excel or excite in any way.

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2009 09:45:06 | More by LittleCreature

MTNboy

Missouri

3.9/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

It has a straw yellow colored body with lots of creamy white head. The aroma is sweeter than the hefe and not as spicy. The taste is not as banana and or orange like but is equally as fruity with different fruit esters that were hard for me to put my finger on. Maybe more lemon than orange in flavor. There is still a little bit of clove tones. It is on the heavy end of being light bodied with smooth carbonation. It a refreshing beer for a day of bahnhof hopping.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2008 14:30:07 | More by MTNboy

JEdmund

Kansas

3.9/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance
Clear and yellow, more like a pils than a heffe; small head, which does not last

Smell
Very much like a heffe, but lighter and more lemony

Taste & Mouth Feel
Again, much like a heffe, but it is much crisper and citric; light and very refreshing, but still full of good fruity flavor (some banana)

Overall
Sometimes heffeweizen's can become too much banana flavor for me, so this is a nice, lighter alternative. A great full-flavored light beer!

Serving type: bottle

08-13-2008 17:56:01 | More by JEdmund

madvoice

Australia

4/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a blonde colour with light head which laces the glass. Smells very fruity, wheaty and sweet with a hint of banana. Very crisp clean taste with a mild banana/yeast flavour. Mouthfeel is fizzy and makes the tongue come alive! Very drinkable. Nice drop!

Serving type: bottle

07-12-2008 07:19:12 | More by madvoice

botham

Illinois

3.18/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

half liter bottle poured into a weizen glass at dach cafe in frankfurt am main, germany. pours a crystal clear straw color with a couple fingers of white head that dissipates quickly.

aroma is fruity, with a light yeasty character and munich malt. little else.

taste is lightly malty and fruity, with lemon, citrus and an apple note. no aftertaste.

mouthfeel is light bodied with a very crisp finish and a watery texture.

drinkability is decently refreshing, but lacking character. this brew leaves a bit to be desired, and the lemon it was served with did not help the situation at all.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2008 18:54:17 | More by botham

BleedBlueUSAF

Germany

4.33/5  rDev +22%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Just a quick review...

Pours a gorgeous blonde, suprisingly carbonated.

Great wheat on the nose with a slight banana taste and smell.

Kristal clear just as advertised, crisp and clean.

I like it and highly recommend it. Can't beat this for the price!

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2008 17:38:05 | More by BleedBlueUSAF

Kulrak

Australia

4/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a light golden color with a decent amount of foamy white head that laces the glass. Smells of wheat malt and sweet yeast, with a faint hint of banana. Tastes clean and sweet with some banana and yeast flavors there. Mouthfeel is fizzy with lots of tingling on the tongue, just like a weizen should be. Overall, it's a very drinkable beer, and a very nice kristallweizen.

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2007 12:30:41 | More by Kulrak

brendan13

Australia

3.18/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a bright pale straw colour with a big 2 inch head that gradually falls away. Very lively carbonation.
Smell is of wheat malt and clove spice but thats about it & the clove spice is very minimal at that.
Taste is very basic, apart from a little spice it's like I'm drinking a regular pilsner.
Decent enough mouthfeel but finishes a bit watery.
Drinkable enough but for the same price the regular hefe has a lot more character. I guess thats not really all that suprising though.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2007 08:45:23 | More by brendan13

basica

Singapore

3.58/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

I tasted this beer at Brauhaus and it was actually from Paul's glass; he ordered it after his
Pilsner Urquell which was pretty disappointing. This Kristalweizen was not sour like the
Franziskaner KristallWeizen that Junde had during my first sitting at Brauhaus. It pours out
not as cloudy as the Hefes which is expected but the carbonation was significantly furious.
When I tasted it, I felt that it had an immediate refreshing touch to it; more than the typical
German Weizen. The after taste contains a subtlety of wheat. On the whole the taste seems a
bit watered down and bland for me. I need something with more taste to it but this one's
exactly what Paul likes. Although he was disappointed with the Urquell, he felt that this
Kristallweizen was something truly impressionable.
(Disclaimer: I did not have enough of this beer to write a review. This review is based on
what I feel from what I have tasted and I am writing it because I probably would not be
having this beer again.)

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2007 08:35:47 | More by basica

TheSarge

Illinois

3.23/5  rDev -9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Awe, it's finally nice to have a real German beer for once here in Korea, especially after the heat wave caused by our pesky northern neighbors. As I was walking by my local Class 6 (military liquor store) I could see from the window pillars of newly shipped beer, and I could see the Hefe and Kristall shouting my name. Anyhow, it was a good day. First off I'll give this Kristallweizen a thought.

Appearance wise this looks pretty fresh, especially something exported from Germany all the way over here to Korea. There is much co2 which produces a moderate head, not like my favorite Hefe of course. This brew is golden in body and ultra crystal clear.

Schofferhofer Kristall gives off an aroma of a freshly baked sweet roll, with subtle hints of banana.

This tastes a bit citrusy, somewhat lemony in nature.

Kristall kind of reminds me of drinking champagne; likewise, very rich in carbonation and easily agitated.

Overall this is a very refreshing beer, especially on a nice moderately warm afternoon. The Germans serve this type of beer with a wedge of lemon, which highlights the citrusy flavor.

TheSarge

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2006 10:49:30 | More by TheSarge

vancurly

Australia

3.35/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Yellow gold, nice froth that falls away.
Very noticable toasty/caramel nose, that becomes more and more evident the further into the bottle you go. Subtle note of tinned vegies. Not really sure about this....
I taste the toast again....some banana in there, lemon.
Mouthfeel is a bit cloying, no crisp finish.
I'm tasting this in parallel with Weihenstephan and Erdinger (hefe). The toasty nose is the real difference here... not sure how that aligns with style. It's still a nice drop.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2006 05:41:00 | More by vancurly

jarmby1711

Australia

4.08/5  rDev +14.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Respendently clear.There is a lot of bubble and a lovely white sudsy head that persisted to the bottom and left a lace allthe way down.
Obvious wheat and yeast on the nose ,but not overpoweringly sharp or acrid like some wheats can be.
The wheat contribution is very subtle, but is obvious.The flavour is sharp clean and crisp.
The brewers advise on the label that a SLICE OF LEMON is an option.Do they offer the same advice on the home packaged product?
So should I or shouldnt I.Well the lemon tree is doing well so why not push the envelope.
It certainly didnt detract from the flavour and I think it adds a little complexity, so to my mind it is a reasonable option.
The mouthfeel is excellentas the persisting head lets you draw the biting crisp beeer through a soft and fuzzy barrier.
The more I have of wheat beer the more I enjoy them.
I had this in winter and look forward to trying it on a hot summers evening when it is likely to excell

Serving type: bottle

06-22-2006 04:06:28 | More by jarmby1711