WHEAT BEERS - THE BEERS OF SUMMER

by Charles Hiigel

Quenching the thirst has never been the first priority of brewers in the northern latitudes of Europe. Even Munich, the southernmost of the great brewing cities, is as far north as Seattle. Appropriately, their beers are made strictly from malted barley, and are more for sustenance than for refreshment. The idea that beer's purpose is to refresh on a hot day is a relatively recent invention of places like America's Great Plains or Australia's outback.

Still, Europeans do occasionally experience thirst. And they do, therefore, occasionally need to employ a more thirst quenching variety of beer. For centuries they have called upon wheat beers to do the job.

Those who have dabbled a bit in European wheat beers will have noticed that they are not what you would characterize as "normal." They range anywhere from mildly eccentric to dowright bizarre. Whereas corn or rice, the preferred lightening agents of modern brewers, dilute the beer's maltiness without contributing any character of their own, wheat accomplishes the job and definitely brings its own personality to the finished beer.

In all fairness to the grain, however, it should be noted that it is not the wheat that causes the eccentricities in the four types of European wheat beers - Berliner Weisse, South German Weizenbier, Belgian White Ale and Lambic. Rather, it is a few old fermentation habits, or even additional flavoring ingredients, that make the character of these beer styles so distinctive.

The nickname "white" (or "Weisse") for the German and Belgian wheat beers reminds us that these beer traditions date back to the time when everyday beers were dark. The two Belgian types probably even predate the understanding of hops, which were in use in Belgian during the time of Charlemagne. By comparison, modern light colored lagers, and the sciences regarding the working of yeast, are barely 150 years old. Fortunately, not all of the older brewing methods were forgotten, and some are now experiencing a revival.

Several brewers on the west coast of the United States have demonstrated that there is nothing particularly eccentric about wheat at all. Most of our local brewers use a single fermentation method for all their ales, and the use of a portion of wheat in the mash simply results in a more refreshing brew. The beers may have been inspired by the European models, and many are served unfiltered, but they should not be assumed to be in the same style as their predecessors.

What follows is a brief description of the European Wheat Beer Styles, and then a look at what West Coast brewers are doing with theirs.

SOUTH GERMAN WEIZENBIER

Less than a generation ago, if you mentioned wheat beer, it would be assumed you were referring to the famous Berlin variety. Since then, the Weizenbier brewers of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg have captured the imagination of German beer enthusiasts, and are rapidly stealing the market share from Pilsner brewers throughout Germany.

Brewers use the name "Weizen" ("wheat") and the nickname "Weisse" ("white") almost interchangeably, sometimes within the same brewery, and in some cases it may even be the darker variety that's called "white." So don't worry about the distinction. It's all wheat beer made from half to two thirds wheat and the rest barley, a low hopping rate, and always top-fermented. Color and strength variations abound, including Dunkel ("dark") Weizens and Weizenbocks (strong wheat beers) that are among the most distinctive of all the world's beer styles.

But it is the top fermentation and the specialized yeast strains that give all Weizenbiers their identifiable spicy and fruity character. The yeast may be called just "German wheat yeast," or more specifically named for the brewing university at Weihenstephan where the yeast strain was perfected. Most devotees prefer the yeasty bottle-conditioned version ('Hefe-weizen"), but even the filtered versions ("Kristallklar") will have no lack of the distinguishing yeast character.

Although Weizenbiers occasionally appear on tap, the pouring ritual is part of the experience, and bottles are often preferred, especially for the unfiltered varieties, where the bottle serves as the final fermentation vessel. The ritual begins with the tall and curvaceous "Weizenbierglas." The pouring method may depend on what area of Germany you're in. The glass may be wetted down, and the beer poured ever so slowly, controlling the effervescence and leaving the yeast sediment ("Hefe-trüb") behind in the bottom of the bottle. Or the bottle might be turned completely upside down into the glass, causing the foam to rush upward into the emptying bottle. The bottle is then rolled vigorously between the hands to loosen the yeast from the bottom and the beer is topped off, allowing the yeast to tumble slowly through the glass.

The ritual is not much different with the filtered versions, but a slice of lemon is traditionally tossed into the brew to kick up the effervescence and bolster the beer's thirstquenching ability. Try one when you're good and thirsty, particularly if its been a long, stressful day. You will find your thirst and your demeanor cured almost miraculously!

BERLINER WEISSE

Up north, the wheat beers are different. The famed summertime beer of Berlin (with a few examples brewed elsewhere in Northern Germany) is generally held to be the best thirstquencher of all the world's beer styles. It uses only about 25% wheat, and is brewed to a low alcohol strength (about 3% by volume). While the aroma will be soft, fruity and innocent, the taste will be sharply sour, the result of a lactic secondary fermentation.

According to the preferences of the drinker, the sourness may be balanced by the addition of either raspberry syrup or essence of woodruff ("Waldmeister," a green woodland herb) to the beer. The beer glass is a wide bowl-shaped vessel, and it is not uncommon to see the beer consumed through a straw. It is the balance between sourness and sweetness in a low alcohol beer that makes Berliner Weisse so effective at relieving thirst.

Sadly, importers of Berliner Weisse rarely last long in the United States. Because the beer is sour, and it has to be sold with large, expensive bottles of raspberry syrup (woodruff has never been imported), retailers are relunctant to sell it. A few speciality restaurants are willing to give the beer the special treatment it needs, but these establishments are rare and not enough to sustain an importer's business. So if you see some Berliner Weisse imported, buy enough to last you a while, because it may not be available for long.

BELGIAN WHITE ALE

Belgiun is full of old semi-forgotten beer traditions, and fortunately some of them get remembered and revived. The "White Beers" of the Louvain area were extinct until they were revived by Pierre Cellis at the DeKluis Brewery of Hoegaarden in the 1960s. "Hoegaarden White" is 40% wheat, 5% oatmeal, top -fermented and bottle conditioned, but this is only part of the story. In a tradition that dates back to before hops became the sole acceptable flavoring additive in beer, the ale is mildly spiced with locally produced coriander and cauracao. The result is an elixir that is totally captivating and refreshing. It is equally pleasurable as an afternoon refreshment or an accompaniment to desserts. It also makes a splendid substitute for champagne at brunch.

The succesful revival of Hoegaarden has inspired other breweries throughout Belgium to introduce versions of their own, and White Ale ("Witbier" in the north half of Belgium, "biere blanche" in the south) has emerged again as a popular and widely recognized beer style. In the late 1980s, Celis sold the Hoegaarden brewery, and has built a white ale brewery in Austin, Texas, to provide the beer to his American fans. Other American microbreweries have also began to show interest in the style, and it now appears frequently as a seasonal speciality at brewpubs. A handful of microbreweries have adopted the style as their year round flagship brand.

LAMBIC

Of all Belgium's semi-forgotten beer traditions, the most unforgettable is the practice of farmer-brewers in the Senne Valley, south of Brussels, of allowing spontaneous fermentation of a beer by microorganisms naturally present in the air in winter. There are so many eccentricities in the traditional procedures for making Lambic, that the use of wheat seems the least noteworthy. While space in this article does not allow for a complete treatise on lambic fermentation, suffice to say that this beer (made from 40% wheat, with hops used only as a preservative) does definitely go sour.

The real art of the lambic brewer is in the aging, mellowing and blending of the brews. Mellowing takes place in oak barrels in cellars, and the age of the beer is measured in the number of summers it has spent mellowing. A "young" lambic, aged only one summer, will still be sour. An "old" lambic, aged over two summers will begin to mellow and show the natural fruitiness of the wild lambic yeast. The most common Lambic type is the "Gueuze" which is a blend of two thirds young and one third old Lambic, which is then bottle conditioned and aged an additional year.

More popular in the United States is "Kriek" which is a blend of young lambic and large quantities of freshly harvested Schaarbeck whole black cherries, which, again, is bottle conditioned and aged one to five years in the bottle. Young krieks have a strong cherry flavor and are excellent dessert beers. Aged krieks take on a better balance with the original lambic character and are highly recommended as an accompaniment to brunch. Recent years have seen the addition of raspberry ("framboise") and peach ("peche") flavored lambics as a popular alternative in Belgium.

AMERICAN WHEAT BEERS

The principle behind American wheat beers is the same as the Europeans; brewers who specialize in full -flavored all-malt beers occasionally like a light-bodied beer the same as anyone else. The first brewers of Wheat beers in the United States were Widmer, which opened in Portland in 1984, originally as a brewer of Düsseldorf style Altbier; and Anchor, which staked its fame on the revival of San Francisco Steam Beer, and released four more beers they thought they would like while mowing the lawn. In both cases, the brewers chose not to switch to the German wheat beer yeast for their new beers, preferring to establish an American wheat ale style.

As the "Brewpub" format has become the prevalent type of brewing operation, brewers have realized that although the richer all-malt beers might be their first priority, they will have to brew something to appeal to those customers not fully dedicated to flavorful beers. At first, brewpubs introduced beers called "Golden," "Blonde" or "Extra Pale," and sometimes slipped in a little wheat without calling the beer wheat beer. Gradually, more brewers have added genuine wheat beers to the lineup as the entry level beer, allowing the Golden ales to become a separate style of their own, usually heavier and fully hopped.

Many brewpubs introduce wheat beer variations as specials. Dunkel Weizens and Weizenbocks have appeared frequently, but never as a year-round brew. Because of the low bitterness of wheat beers, they are the most amenable to having another flavor added in. The vaguely fruity flavor of the ale yeast used in wheat beers makes the addition of real fruit flavor a reasonable next step. Again, no brewers have suggested that their fruit beers should be compared to Belgian lambics. They are simply part of our own emerging American brewing tradition.

This is not to say that no German style wheat beers are brewed by our microbreweries. A significant percentage of them have made the effort to use the specialized yeast strain that defines the German style. It would be nice if brewers used the German language, "Weizen" designation for those beers and "Wheat" beer for the American style, but no such helpful tradition has been established. The most popoular American style Wheat Ale, the phenominally successful unfiltered beer by Widmer, uses the German title "Hefe-weizen."

The popularity of Widmer, currently the only beer by a microbrewer ever to become the largest selling draft beer in its home state, has assured that Wheat beers will be a part of American brewing for a long time. And microbrewers that have grown into regional brewers - Redhook, Pyramid, Sierra Nevada, - have found themselves actively promoting wheat beers just to keep up. Coors released a summer seasonal version, and Blitz-Weinhard, of Portland, has introduced a competing brand for Widmer. Now even Anheuser-Busch has entered the battle, effectively announcing that it considers "Hefe-weizen" a significant enough trend to be considered a bonafide "market segment" in the beer industry.

Where it will go from here is anyone's guess, one thing remains assured. However you like your wheat beers - American style or German, filtered or "mit Hefe," light or dark, weak of strong, - they are all the perfect solution to the summertime quest for the ultimate thirstquenching beers.

First published in The Celebrator, summer, 1991; revised, July, 1996. We thank the editors of The Celebrator for their permission to present this revised version.

See also "Wheat for Bread...," , and "An Age-old Tradition." .

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