One of my favorite beers to enjoy are authentic German Weissbiers (pronounced “vice-beer” for English speakers). Weissbier simply means “Wheat Beer”. In America, the most common styles are known as Hefeweizen, literally “yeast wheat” or Dunkelweizen, meaning “dark wheat”. Naturally, with this being one of my favorite beers to enjoy it is also my favorite beer to brew at home.
Due to the suspended yeast that gives this style it’s cloudy appearance, there is a specific way to pour wheat beers in order to give a desired head of foam. Here is the easy step by step process to ensure that you get the most from your homemade hefeweizen.
Time to Pour
- Use the right glass. For hefeweizen, use a glass like what is pictured to the right. The glass is made to ensure that there is a good amount of room for foam at the top.
- Rinse with cold water. Rinsing the glass with cold water will ensure that the beer does not pour with too carbonation. Nobody likes a beer that is mostly foam!
- Angle the glass. Hold the glass at a 45 degree angle and allow the beer to run down the side. This will help eliminate the natural tendency of a hefeweizen to be heavily carbonated.
- Leave an inch of beer at the bottom. Once there is an inch or so of beer left, swirl the bottle to gather up the yeast sediment and then pour the rest into the beer. This adds to the desired cloudiness of the hefeweizen and contributes flavor. Yeast is also full of vitamins so there is the added health benefit as well!
- Don’t use lemon or orange slices. It is very common to put an orange or lemon slice at the top of the beer. Don’t do it. It detracts from the flavors of the beer itself. You won’t see any Germans putting lemon or orange in the beer and it’s for good reason.
There you have it. The perfect hefeweizen pour. Now stop reading and get yourself some Weissbier!