German Wheat & Rye Beers

 

The use of wheat grain in addition to barley is a centuries old practice in Europe that has only recently begun to spread in North America. Long before the rest of the world knew what it was missing and before the wheat styles gained popularity in America, German and Belgian drinkers had almost grown tired of wheat ales. In the 1960's, Michael Jackson reports that only "old ladies in hats" were drinking wheat beer in Bavaria, the traditional German home of wheat beers. German Wheat beers were seemingly a dying style.

 

Today, wheat ales are popular again in Germany and almost everywhere else. They are a rapidly growing segment of the craft beer market. American brewers have developed their own wheat beer style (American Wheat) that is discussed in the Light Hybrid category.

 

Let's remember that there are four basic ingredients in beer; barley, hops, yeast and water. A wheat beer substitutes wheat for a portion of the barley. In most wheat beers, wheat is at least  50% and not more than 70% of the grain with barley constituting the remaining grain percentage.

 

German Wheats

 

The Germans have been brewing wheat beers since the 1500's, mostly centered in Bavaria (southern Germany). Wheat was seen as a tasty alternative to the normal "red" ales brewed with barley. Accordingly, the Germans have developed a number of distinct styles of wheat beers including the Hefeweizen, Dunkelweizen and the Weizenbock.

 

Today the Hefeweizen (or weisse) is the most popular and common of German wheat beers. Hefeweizens are pale colored ales and often taste of banana or clove. The banana, clove or other flavors are produced by esters and phenols which are a by-product of the fermentation process.

 

The word weizen simply means wheat, while hefe means yeast. So a Hefeweizen is a wheat beer that has a very detectable yeast presence, usually in the form of a cloudiness or haziness in the beer. In Germany, one might order a weizen beer mit hefe, meaning “with yeast”.

 

Dark versions of hefeweizens are called Dunkelweizens. Today, the pale Hefeweizen is more popular, but in centuries past the darker Dunkelweizens were more common as older malting techniques normally produced darker malt. Dunkelweizens combine the fruity and spicy characteristics of a Hefeweizen with the rich malty character of a Munich Dunkel lager.

 

Though sometimes referred to as wheat Doppelbocks, Weizenbocks are not all that closely related to actual Bock beers. Weizenbocks are ales while Bock beers are lagers. The use of ale yeast is important to creating the fruity flavors that are characteristic of this style, while lager yeast are used in  Bock beers to create cleaner, less fruity flavors. The term bock or Doppelbock in the context of these beers is a reference to their alcoholic strength.

 

Another variant of the German Wheat style is the Roggenbier or Rye beer. In this style, most or all of the wheat is replaced with rye malt in the basic recipe, creating a fuller bodied version of a Dunkelweizen. Roggenbiers are rare in Germany these days and very hard to find in the United States.

 

Cuisine

 

German Wheat Ales are perfect for poultry, Latin American cuisine and earthy cheeses, as well as green salads. They are typically very refreshing and most popular in warmer weather.

 

Drink Wheat Beers in a weizen glass.