Edelweiss Weissbier - Hofbräu Kaltenhausen (Brau Union)

falloutsnow

Illinois

4.3/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From: Friar Tuck, Savoy, IL
Date: Best by 05/2013
Glass: Weihenstephan weizen glass

A complex, engaging, and inviting hefeweizen with interesting fruit esters and classic yeast, wheat malt, and clove flavors, this ranks highly in the pantheon of imported weizens. While I'm enjoying this on a cold spring day, I can see myself drinking one of these any time I'm desiring a good hefeweizen.

Pours a tall, 4cm head of creamy white foam, made up of small-sized bubbles, creamy a very soft, frothy appearance. Head has excellent retention, lasting several minutes as it fades to a 0.5cm cap atop the body. Lacing is present, but not particularly significant, leaving only a few lines and bubbles on the sides of the glass. Body is a deep, cold, golden orange color, very hazy (about 90% opaque) with light rendering a the body a paler gold yellow with faded orange center. Carbonation is visible in the body, many streams form along the sides of the glass and rise upward with some vigorousness.

Aroma is smooth but strong, of sweet wheat malt, vanilla, banana esters, and lighter clove and yeast. Very nice, inviting, and complex.

A very fruit-heavy hefeweizen with strong banana flavor and sweetness, a few other interesting fruit flavors in the back, with more subdued, but noticeable, vanilla, bready wheat, yeast, and clove. Front of palate experiences bready, wheat malt sweetness and yeast, with subdued clove, banana and coconut esters. Mid-palate tastes strong banana flavor with clove more subdued yeast, wheat malt, and clove. Back of the palate notes some interesting pineapple-coconut like esters (pina colada-like) along with the expected banana ester, clove, and faint band-aid. Aftertaste is fairly sweet, with slight tartness via an apple-cider like flavor with banana, yeast, and clove lingering in the background.

Beer is medium to medium-light in body, with carbonation of medium intensity, resulting in a slightly fizzy mouthfeel that quickly calms to a foamy middle and close. This is appropriate for the style, but a bit overaggressive at first. Each sip closes dry, with very little residual stickiness on the palate.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2013 00:37:57 | More by falloutsnow

PHKrames

Illinois

4.45/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Had from a bottle served in weizen glass

A-A cloudy yellow with a 2 finger head that lingers for a few minutes

S-Fruity and spices with possibly a hint of banana

T-This beer tastes almost like it smells. A hint of clove or spice to it with a fruity finish. And I still can think there is a banana element to this beer as well

M-Very smooth and crisp.

O-This is a fantastic wheat beer, almost the perfect wheat beer in my opinion. Perfectly balanced in every way. I don't know why this beer is not more popular and easier to access, but you can't go worng with enjoying one of these

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2012 16:35:29 | More by PHKrames

JohnGalt1

Idaho

3.53/5  rDev -13.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Austrian hefe?? Picked up at the COOP today for about $4... poured into my weiss glass... Good white head... slightly hazed very pale golden.

The nose is mainly banana esters with just a minor hint of clovey phenols.. decent bready maltiness.

Much more clove on the palate and it lingers through the finish.. banana is actually a little bit light... malts are light too... okay, but not great.

Body seems sorta flimsly... "beery" and certainly well carbonated.. I guess I just prefer a bit more residual heft on the tongue.

I will probably not buy this one again... but I think that my ideal hefe has more "Umph" in the aroma and flavor.

4/3.5/3.5/3.5/3.5

Serving type: bottle

12-17-2012 06:20:12 | More by JohnGalt1

StonedTrippin

Colorado

4/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

excellent and unique brew. pours very light sunny wheat colored with a 2 inch white head with some retention. smells floral like clover flowers or something similar, and also of a slightly zesty yeast. flavor is delicate and balanced, floral like the nose, but also a bit of honey sweetness and a very tart finish. its served with a lemon, but you really dont need it. leaves a nice mellow pollenated taste on the tongue. feel is spot on, super light in body and appropriately carbonated. its sessionable to the max, and is perfect on a hot summer day. different than a conventional hefe, this is worth seeking out. magic on tap.

Serving type: on-tap

06-26-2012 11:20:25 | More by StonedTrippin

hustlesworth

Ohio

3.4/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A- superfoam. White and dense with a wheat protein skin on top. Takes forever to settle. Little bits of lace. Body is a hazy lemon yellow with straight streams of bubbles.

S- mild clove, banana, and bubblegum with a "beery" aroma. Wheaty cracker sweetness.

T- Mild flavor as well, decent balance between sweet and tart fading into a white bread finish with some clove and banana.

MF- creamy wheat protein feel, carbonation is zippy at first but disappears on the swallow.

D- this one is ok but feels generic somehow. Maybe it's the water.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2012 00:26:05 | More by hustlesworth

supermeniscus

Netherlands

3.88/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

Served on tap at Rootz bar in The Hague.
A - slightly hazy, straw yellow colour. Served in Edelweiss glass. Very appealing
S - Smells of citrus fruits but lacking some definitive Hefe qualities
T - a few things going on, Definite taste of lemon & lime and something like toffee in the aftertaste. Plenty of wheat too
M - very light mouthfeel, almost like it was watered down. Didn't really like it
O - it did get better as it went down, but there are too many Hefe's i would choose over this one.

Serving type: on-tap

03-10-2012 20:00:34 | More by supermeniscus

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

4.05/5  rDev -1%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

500ml bottle poured into pint glass 12/2/12

A a bright pale yellow with lots of bubbles and suspended particles, two finger bone white foam quickly falls to a thin film leaving just a couple dots of lace

S the banana is mellow and not yet bruised, some floral notes and bubblegum work well together with a little peppery spice, pretty solid nose

T a little lemon and cereal come out but I liked the smell a little more, still very good but I thought the nose was great

M light and refreshing with loads of bubbles, leaves a little sour lemon behind on the finish

O pretty solid example of the style other then a pretty average look, better suited for a hot day but its working well for me

I didn't expect much from this random bottle but it was pretty good, something I'd drink again but I may wait for the summer sun

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2012 18:12:30 | More by wordemupg

cagocubs

Illinois

4.03/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 500ml big bottle into a hefe glass

A: Pours a hazy light gold with a nice foamed 1 finger white head that laces and leaves. Thin layer remains with carbonation flowing to the top and loose sentiment in glass.

S: Wheat, citrus, malts, spice, some earthy pine.

T: You get a lot of the wheat in the taste along with two varities of malt. Hops and citrus accompany.

M: Good coating and carbonation. Subtle aftertaste.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2012 19:30:08 | More by cagocubs

CrazyMike

Alberta (Canada)

4.35/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Cloudy, straw gold appearance with bubbly head that slowly settles down leaving good lacing. Smell consists of wheat, bananas, spices, yeast and citrus; great first impressions.

Taste consists of wheat, citrus, bananas and bread with a hint of pepper and various spices and other fruit. Very tarty overall, but the tastes blend very well together. Light bodied with high carbonation. Aftertaste is a lingering dry citrus, banana taste.

Now this is a wheat beer; has all the good qualities of one and no negative features. It’s complicated, but at the same time tasty and refreshing. Pick up a bottle if you come across it.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2011 00:48:51 | More by CrazyMike

shambeano

Australia

4.45/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

500ml bottle, poured into the edelweiss wheat beer glass that i scored with the purchase.

A- Pours a cloudy pale gold, with about an inch of super fluffy white head that just doesnt look like its going anywhere. quite vigorous looking carbonation can be seen easily throughout the beer. looks like a weizen should. fantastic.

S- Clove and spice straight up, i could smell the banana as soon as i opened the bottle which in the glass seems to come towards the finish, a touch of bubblegum. very nice.

T- straight up im getting a touch of bubblegum, the banana is not as present as it was on the nose but still there, some citrus flavours make an appearance, followed by a clove spiciness. However the banana reappears just at the end. very tasty, very tasty.

M- light and spritzy, a nice length of flavour and a drying finish, good, but it leaves the mouth feeling a little oily almost, which seems to detract a touch from the rest of the feel.

O- wow, i tried this a long time ago when i wasnt into a wheat beers that much and wasnt impressed. But man o man, this was a treat, everything i like about wheat beers was in this one.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2011 05:56:53 | More by shambeano

Murrhey

Montana

3.8/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pint bottle poured into a Pilsner glass, 10-19-11

A: Poured a thick head with large bubbles, poured three finger width, quickly shrunk to half a finger. Reasonably long retention. Slight cloudiness, lots of carbonation and a pale orange color.

S: Strong spiciness. Cloves? Definitely banana influence. It's nice.

T: A tartness from the spices and the hoppiness. The banana flavor is here as well. Yum!

M: Smooth but finished a little grainy, the carbonation adds another level in my mouth. Pretty complex, I like it.

O: I served it maybe a little warm, but even so, the complex flavors come off nicely. I enjoy this, but cloudier Hefeweizens are more my speed.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2011 02:04:51 | More by Murrhey

joemcgrath27

Alberta (Canada)

4.35/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - hazy straw golden, tall soapy white head eventually dissipated leaving solid lacing
S - strong esters of yeast, spice, banana, fresh bread, and a hint of leafy greens
T - big dose of yeasty banana and wheaty goodness, mild clove spiciness, some leafy and earthy hops round it out
M - big carbonation presence, bready and smooth, finishes bready with a little spice tingle
O - an outstanding example of a great weisbier with a big and chuggable flavour, I would love to find this on tap

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2011 01:41:02 | More by joemcgrath27

RollTide05

Hong Kong

5/5  rDev +22.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

This is, hands down, the best that I have ever had of this style. Tons of fruit and bananas on the nose and a very fruity and refreshing taste. Great mouthfeel and a fantastic finish. I could drink these all day, every day. It is very hard to find, but I know a "secret spot" here in Hong Kong that has it on draft. They always serve it in an Edelweiss Hefe glass and it is absolutely delicious.

I am a huge fan of Belgian beers, in particular, but this is one of my all-time favorite, non Belgian, beers...period. I love this beer and go out of my way to get it. A great everyday beer, if you can find it, because it is so smooth and refreshing. It is also very complex and will reward anyone who wants to sip it as well. Highly recommended.

Serving type: on-tap

09-13-2011 18:00:08 | More by RollTide05

BobZ

Massachusetts

4.38/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On vacation in Maine, 16.9 oz bottle poured into a Weizen glass.

Appearance: Cloudy straw yellow with a nice 1” to 2” head, excellent lacing.

Smell: Sweet, banana, hints of spice.

Taste: Very nice, a little more banana flavor than Weihenstephaner, slight citrus flavor and definitely bready yeast

Mouthfeel: Very light and very smooth.

Overall: Really good Hefeweizen, simply a delicious beer, if I could find it more often I would have it my summer wheat beer mix as a staple.

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2011 21:22:19 | More by BobZ

jazzyjeff13

United Kingdom (England)

4.35/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A 500ml bottle with a BB of June 2010, so it's about 8 months out of date. Purchased many moons ago now but carefully stored in my garage ever since. Label lists ABV as 5.5%.

Poured into a Guinness pint glass. The last quarter of the contents were thoroughly swirled to resuspend the yeast before serving. Initially pale golden, the beer ends up with a translucent straw-coloured hue. Plentiful fine carbonation is visible at the edges of the glass. A brilliant white head of creamy foam is created; this lasts for a few minutes before reducing to a stable surface layer. The aroma is sweet, yeasty and complex, with fruity ester and banana notes.

The taste is intricate yet subtle. The main component of the flavour is a balanced, mildly sweet/sour character. A prominent banana note is present, accompanied by hints of yeast, fruit esters and tart oranges. Mouthfeel is very smooth, coating the palate and leaving a slight dryness. Sour yeasty aftertaste.

In a word, excellent. Succeeds in achieving a complex flavour whilst remaining smooth and very drinkable. A great example of the style - highly recommended.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2011 23:20:55 | More by jazzyjeff13

jarmby1711

Australia

3.98/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

This I feel is a very good beer.
It falls down a little in that it lacks complexity, levels of aroma and flavour if you will.
Its got cloves in the taste along with the wheat , ut it is one dimensional ( maybe almost 2 dimensional)
Smell is quite good but , which is wheaty but nothing much else
THis is not at all shabby but just misses on being very good

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2011 02:54:43 | More by jarmby1711

ticklechicken

Korea (South)

4.55/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Pours with a small white head over a cloudy, dark yellow body with nothing fancy in appearance. It delivers a sweet scent of lemon, cloves and spice to the nose. I've read what others have said about the taste of this one, but to me all I can say is that this beer overwhelmingly tastes of apricot. There's a bit of spice and a yeasty aftertaste with its complementary dryness to the mouth, but still, the apricot stands out. The taste is just superb, and not what I was expecting from the smell. This is such a fantastic beer that I absolutely have to rate it high on drinkability. I'll absolutely be drinking more of these in the future.

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2011 14:01:34 | More by ticklechicken

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

4.33/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

After a quick blast of deep, dark winter, this return to the freezing mark is practically summer-esque - and so shall be the beer. That and the best before on the label is 02/2011 - well before actual melt next spring.

This beer pours a cloudy, but still bright, golden hue, with two fingers of creamy lily-white head, which settles at a slow, even pace, leaving some wind-blown snowdrift silhouettes of lace around the glass. It smells strongly of fruit and spice - banana, bubblegum, clove, white pepper, with some mild citrus and yeast. The taste is moderately sweet wheat malt, more fleshy banana, clove, a bit of lemon zest, and soft, earthy yeast. The carbonation is on the low, soft side, the body retaining a fair bit of sprightliness, and pulling off smoothness at the same time. It finishes off-dry, the graininess held in tight check by the spice and yeast.

Wow - what an easy, unobtrusive hefe - all the checkmarks are there, and they all blend effortlessly, making me forget the majority of examples of the style that I've previously encountered...

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2010 23:44:07 | More by biboergosum

BedetheVenerable

Missouri

4.5/5  rDev +10%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 5

Presentation: 500ml classy looking bottle with attractive label; there's a "best by end" stamp, but the code is unintelligible, who knows what it means...I remember this being my favorite Hefeweizen back when I first started drinking craft a number of years ago...now that it's being imported again, I had to give it another go...

Appearance: Nice hazy dark straw-gold beer, with high carbonation and a beautiful dense white cap with good retention. So far, so good.

Smell: Fresh, vibrant, and intensely fruity. The traditional banana/clove combination is well represented here...quite nice. While some weissbiers I've had tend to lean towards a banana bread character (i.e. more malt, or a hint of toastiness), this is all yeasty banana and clove.

Taste: Very nice. It starts out pretty typical, with lots of banana and a hint of spice. There's a very light maltiness underneath, and then (this is the first I've gotten this in a Hefeweizen before, I think) a bit of sour peach. My wife hated that it ended with that sour stone fruit twang, but I really like it.

Mouthfeel: I'm torn on the mouthfeel because it seems like it could either be a positive or a negative. It's light. Now I know that weissbiers are supposed to be crisp and refreshing, and that this definitely is. Yet it's almost too light. It could benefit from maybe just a touch more mouthfeel. Nevertheless, it's weight means that...

Drinkability: Off the charts. Probably the singly most drinkable Hefeweizen I've ever had. Period.

Conclusion: Very few beers that I've revisited down the years after liking them back when I was first getting into craft beer have impressed me now. This one I love as much as I ever did. I hope we can get this regularly in the States now that they have the distribution thing figured out. What a great wheat beer!

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2010 03:13:04 | More by BedetheVenerable

Halcyondays

California

3.48/5  rDev -14.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

500 mL bottle, Austrian beers are showing up in droves lately, good to see,

A: Pours a translucent dark yellow, on the clearer side for a hefe, big poofy somewhat fizzy head that lasts pretty well.

S: Definitely dominated by the clove esters, some citrus zest.

T: Real mix of lemon and clove, the lack of banana esters continues into the taste except for the very back end with a mild hint of orange peel. Nice sweetbready malt, almost pastry like. Does have its witbier-like tendencies at times.

M: Crisp, bright and springy on the palate with it's carbonation. Light-bodied overall.

D: Solid little hefe, not in the league with Ayinger yet, but I've had considerably worse.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2010 00:50:40 | More by Halcyondays

sfprint

Germany

3.83/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: Creamy yellow, looks a lot like carbonated lemonade. Quite beautiful.

S: It has much of the qualities of a fresh pineapple in the smell, except for the actual pineapple flavor part. It's quite sharp in smell, creamy, yeasty, lemon.

T: Light, refreshing in taste, slightly bitter aftertaste. Lemon, white cake.

M: Quite sparkly

D: Due to it's heaviness (the way it sits in my stomach), I couldn't drink a lot, but with a meal its very pleasant.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2010 23:08:46 | More by sfprint

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

2.63/5  rDev -35.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Brown 500ml bottle, best before 12/2009, drank during 11/2009. Poured into a Franziskaner Weissbier glass.

Pale, cloudy yellow body with a huge bright white head on top.

The prominent smell was of bananas, but not the ripe heavy aromas some produce in this style.

The light refreshing taste was of yeast and wheat, again like the smell, not very strong.

It feels weak in all aspects including the body and mouthfeel.

I thought the beer was playing at being a true Weissbier and failed to live up to my expectations. Drinkable, but disappointing.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2009 19:17:28 | More by BlackHaddock

eb003

Kentucky

4.5/5  rDev +10%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

WOW! I had this beer on-tap at a hotel bar in downtown Chicago. I had never had this before. They served it first with a lemon slice, which I immediately removed so I could full taste the beer. The next round from a different bartender offered an orange slice. I went ahead and enjoyed it with the orange slice. I thought the orange really complimented the flavor of the beer.

On with the review... The appearance was very good...very similar to most hefes and weissbiers I've enjoyed.

The smell was good, but it didn't seem quite as aromatic as others I've had.

The taste was very good. It was clean, refreshing, crisp, and light on the palate. It was what every weissbier I've truly enjoyed had been. The flavor was very nice.

The mouthfeel was very smooth. It was almost silky with a light amount of carbonation.

The drinkability on this was very high for me because I drank this all night long...without feeling full or tired of the beer. I put it as exceptional because it was a very enjoyable brew for me.

Cheers! and Bottoms UP!

Serving type: on-tap

04-21-2007 19:10:23 | More by eb003

BeerManDan

California

3.68/5  rDev -10%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

It was a medium light hazy golden yellow color when poured. It had loads of foam and a fair amount of lace. The smell of yeast, wheat and spices was evident, but not really intense. The taste was good, but, it just lack depth. A good average German wheat, but not an overpowering beer.

Serving type: bottle

06-17-2006 03:32:37 | More by BeerManDan

Sigmund

Norway

3.73/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

(500 ml bottle). Typical hefe cloudy golden, large head. Lovely strong aroma of ripe bananas, bubblegum and cloves. Cloves in the flavour too, light bodied, tasty but could still use some more "bite". Like most weissbiers not too much aftertaste. Good, not outstanding. Rerate: This is a beer I come back to all the time, as it is relatively cheap in Norway (available at Vinmonopolet) AND very refreshing. Not a great beer if you are looking for the big flavours, though.

Serving type: bottle

07-19-2005 14:52:01 | More by Sigmund