Edelweiss: The Beers:
How do you describe quality?
How do your describe World Beer Cup Winners in a few words. Let's let
the professional tasters of the World Beer Cup outline their mandates for
a quality beer in each category. (Reproduced from the criteria as outlined
on the Web, see http:/www.aob.org/wbc/index.html or http://www.aob.org/wbc/wbcguide.htm)
(The following items in italics are the actual comments of selected professional
tasters relating to Edelweiss.)
South German-Style Hefeweizen/Hefeweissbier:
The aroma and flavor of a weissbier are decidedly fruity and phenolic. The phenolic characterists are often described as clove-or nutmeglike and can be smokey or even vanillalike. Bananalike esters are often present. These beers are made with at least 50 percent malted wheat, and hop rates are quite low. Hop flavor and aroma are absent. Weissbier is well attenuated and vey highly carabonated, yet its relatively high starting gravity and alcohol content make it a medium- to full-bodied beer. The color ia a very pale to deep golden. Because yeast is present, the beer will have yeast flavor and a characteristically fuller mouthfeel. The beer may be appropriately very cloudy. No diacetyl should be preceived.
| Original Gravity (°Plato) | ApparentExtract/Final Gravity (°Plato) | Alcohol by Weight (Volume) | Bitterness (IBU) | Color SRM (EBC) |
1.047 - 1.056 (11.8-14°Plato) |
1.008 - 1.016 (2 - 4 °Plato) |
3.9 - 4.4% (4.9 - 5.5%) |
10 - 15 | 3 - 9 (6 - 18 EBC) |
"Edelweiss Hefetrüb . . . trademark clove and banana aroma and taste . . . clean though hoppy . . . bubblegum on the palate, very nice and light...a great summer Weizen."
"The unanimous favorite. Full-flavored and complex, with banana, clove, smoky, lightly tart aromas and flavors. Everything is in balance. A pure joy to drink!"
"hazy yellow, medium bodied, mild bitterness, mild hops, medium malt, - reminiscent of cloves, bananas, flowers. Fine carbonation, intensely aromatic with a lively frothy mouthfeel, beautifully wrought classic spicy flavors linger with a fresh finish."
South German-Style Dunkel Weizen/Dunkel Weissbier
This beer is characterized by a distinct sweet matltiness, and roasted malt and chocolatelike character, but the estery and phenolic elements of a pale wiessbier still prevail. Color can range from copper-brown to dark brown. Carbonations and hop bitterness are similar to a pale south German-style weissbier. Usually dark barley malts are used in conjunction with dark cara or color malts, and the percentage of wheat malt is at least 50 percent. No diacetyl should be perceived.
| Original Gravity (°Plato) | ApparentExtract/Final Gravity (°Plato) | Alcohol by Weight (Volume) | Bitterness (IBU) | Color SRM (EBC) |
1.048 - 1.056 (12 - 14 °Plato) |
1.008 - 1.016 (2-4 °Plato) |
3.8 - 4.3% (4.8 - 5.4%) |
10 - 15 | 16 - 23 (35 - 95 EBC) |
"Edelweiss Dunkel...the most popular among the three Dunkels and may have been the most popular of the night ... nice clove flavor that turns sweet, mouthful of flavor, a great brew...clove, banana, bubblegum on palate ... fairly sweet, but balanced out by wheat sharpness."
"Wonderfully fragant and refreshingly complex. Bananas, vanilla and clove are the core of this beer's aroma and flavor, with plenty of complex fruit (apples, lemons, plums), smoke and spices. Except for its somewhat reserved "dunkel" characteristics, it is everything that one could ask for in a dunkel Hefe-weizen."
"hazy copper brown, moderately full-bodied, mild bitterness, medium hops, lots of malt, - reminiscent of grapefruit, melon, bread dough, good carbonation, pours with a creamy rich head. Assertative fruit easters follow through on the rich palate. Gentle fruity finish lingers."
South German-Style Kristal Weizen/Kristal Weissbier:
The aroma and flavor of a weissbier without yeast is very similar to weissbier with yeast (hefeweizen/hefeweissbier) with the caveat that fruity and phenolic characters are not combined with the yeasty flavor and fuller-bodied mouthfeel of yeast. The phenolic characteristics are often described as clove- or nutmeglike and can be smokey or even vanillalike. Bananalike esters are often present. These beers are made with at least 50 percent malted wheat, and hop rates are quite low. Hop flavor and aroma are absent. Weissbier is well attenuated and very highly carbonated, yet its relatively high-strating gravity and alcohol content make it a medium- to full-bodied beer. The color is a very pale to deep golden. Because the beer has been filtered, yeast is not present. The beer will have no yeast flavor and a cleaner, drier mouthfeel. The beer should be clear with no chill haze present. No diacetyl should be perceived.
| Original Gravity (°Plato) | ApparentExtract/Final Gravity (°Plato) | Alcohol by Weight (Volume) | Bitterness (IBU) | Color SRM (EBC) |
1.047 - 1.056 (11.8- 14°Plato) |
1.008 - 1.016 (2 - 4 °Plato) |
3.9 - 4.4% (4.9 - 5.5%) |
10 - 15 | 3 - 9 (6 - 18 EBC) |
"brilliant pale golden, medium bodied, mild bitterness, medium hops, medium malt, reminiscent of bread dough, sweet herbs, melon. Pours with a rich lively head, creamy and velvety in the mouth with a lingering finish."
South German-Style Weizenbock/Weissbock:
This style can be either pale or dark and, like a bottom-fermented bock, has a high starting gravity and alcohol content. The malty sweetness of a weizenbock is balanced with a clovelike, phenolic and fruity-estery banana element to produce a well-rounded aroma and flavor. As is true with all German wheat beers, hop rates are low, and carbonation is high. It has a medium to full body. If dark, a mild roasted malt character should emerge in the flavor and to a lesser degree in the aroma. No diacetyl should be perceived.
| Original Gravity (°Plato) | ApparentExtract/Final Gravity (°Plato) | Alcohol by Weight (Volume) | Bitterness (IBU) | Color SRM (EBC) |
1.066 - 1.0580 (16 - 20 °Plato) |
1.016 - 1.028 (4 - 7 °Plato) |
5.5 - 7.5% (6.9 - 9.3%) |
10 - 15 | 5 - 30 (14 - 120 EBC) |
Edelweiss Gamsbock is not yet available in the U.S. However, one professional personally tested it , and with his typical low-key comment stated "It's Hefe and MORE!"